Speedometer adjustment
The speedometer adjustment or speedometer setting is a correction of the number of journeys made by a speedometer . She is z. This is necessary, for example, when a car is converted to a new rim and tire size. If the tire circumference becomes smaller, it must cover more revolutions for the same distance on the road . The speedometer then rushes ahead. If the tire circumference is larger than the standard tire, the speedometer slows down.
According to the legislator, the speedometer may not slow down in the EU and by max. Proceed 10 percent + 4 km / h. Before strapping a vehicle, it should be checked whether the speedometer deviation with the new tire dimensions is within the legally permitted tolerances.
In the case of speedometers driven by shafts , it was possible to put an intermediate gear with a corresponding gear ratio in the shaft drive, so that at the end of the shaft it rotated again with the distance traveled by the speedometer. Another possibility is to exchange the built-in spring for one with a different spring stiffness. - Speedometer adjustment services still do this today.
Modern speedometers are mostly part of the instrument cluster and move their needles via stepper motors . Their control signals must then be changed. This is done via software intervention by a vehicle diagnostic computer , the speedometer adjustment.
The speedometer and odometer are linked in the instrument in such a way that the speedometer adjustment also affects the odometer.
Odometer manipulation
The term "speedometer adjustment" is also used colloquially for speedometer manipulation, in which the mileage in the display is changed. The odometer ( odometer ) is actually affected , not the speedometer itself. This use of the term is technically incorrect, but is based on the fact that the entire unit of speed and odometer is colloquially referred to as a "speedometer". Changing the odometer is only legally permissible within defined limits for the purpose of repairs. Offering the service is also prohibited in Germany.
Any manipulation of speedometers, for example to achieve a higher profit when selling (also applies to leasing and rental vehicles), is prohibited according to Section 22b, Paragraph 1, No. 1 of the Road Traffic Act. Nevertheless, a large number of manipulations occur.
Prevention of odometer manipulation in Germany and the USA
While the lack of control was discussed in Germany until recently, the liability insurers and data service providers in the USA have long had websites and interfaces to view vehicle and insurance data online.
Anyone who enters the vehicle identification number in the USA can easily obtain information about times and mileage online. Information about damage history, theft registers, service information, manufacturer information (such as original equipment and manufacturing defects that lead to recalls), as well as inquiries about the vehicle made previously are also available.
In Germany there is a free documentation solution with Motory to provide evidence of a transparent odometer reading history for your own vehicle. A prospective buyer can see all the mileage and understand the source from which each individual odometer reading comes.
Circumstantial evidence
A note in the engine compartment provides information about when and at what mileage the car received the last oil change (sometimes the note from the penultimate one is still there). In the interior, the seats (especially the driver's seat), the steering wheel and / or the gear stick may show traces of wear, as can the pedals (accelerator, brake, and clutch). According to the Auto Club Europa (ACE), such signs of wear and tear are noticeable at the earliest after a distance of at least 120,000 kilometers.
You can contact the previous owners and the workshops where the car was. The registration certificate II (" vehicle registration document ") names the previous owner. The workshops store their customers' data for years; many invoices give the mileage of the repaired or inspected car.
Anyone who keeps repair and inspection invoices as well as old "TÜV documents" can document to the buyer when the car is sold that he has maintained the car and what mileage the car had at this point in time. If the seller can provide evidence of expensive repairs (e.g. changing timing belts , new turbochargers), this improves his position in the sales pitch. A seller of a car who has a low mileage in relation to his age, who has no invoices (or entries in the service book) and who cannot or cannot say which garage the car was at, makes himself suspicious.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Regulation No. 39 of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (ECE / UNO) - Uniform conditions for the approval of vehicles with regard to the speed measuring device including its installation , accessed on April 8, 2017
- ↑ Calculator for checking the speedometer deviation with changed tire sizes. AUTO MOTOR OIL, accessed March 4, 2017 .
- ^ Report of the ADAC and "Initiative against speedometer fraud" "According to police calculations, the speedometer has been manipulated on every third used car sold in Germany. The falsified mileage leads to an illegal increase in value of 3000 euros per vehicle on average. That means an annual loss of almost six billion euros to Germany alone. The victims are primarily private used car buyers. "
- ↑ Example on eHow.com: How to Get a Free Vehicle Mileage History
- ↑ Database solution for proof of a transparent mileage history
- ↑ TV report on VOX: Kampf der Oachomanipulation
- ↑ sueddeutsche.de: Tips