odometer reset to 0 by mechanic?

Question

I brought my jeep to my mechanic to get an annual inspection done. However, when I went to pick it up, he said that the check engine light was on, and that when he went to clear it, the odometer reset to 0, and that I should put some miles on it this weekend and that he would do the inspection next week. When I brought the car in, the check engine light definitely was not on, and it sounds odd to me that the odometer would get reset as a result of trying to clear the light. I'd like to get the odometer back to where it was so that I can sell it in the future. Is this possible to do? And is there anything weird about the odometer getting reset like this?

Answer 1

go to the mirror and look to see if you have anything written across your forehead

Answer 2

It's not odd considering the complexity of the electronics & electrical systems, and their inter-linkage, as Toyota owners so painfully found out.



It's also not odd if the mechanic was not at a Jeep dealership. There's no way independent mechanics can have the software, hardware, experience & parts to diagnose/repair all brands. Therefor they guess and experiment which is likely what happened to you.



If you think this mechanic will pass you for inspection, put the miles on and take it back to him just to get the passed sticker, but not for him to do any more work, or as little as possible.



Then call some Jeep dealers and say you need your odometer went to zero, you drove it a lil, and you need it reset to the recent mileage. Maybe that's a common prob and they have a quick fix. Hopefully, the most recent mileage is stored in one of the micro-computers on board.



in the future, only let the Dealer inspect/work on ur Jeep no matter how simple the job seems to you.

Answer 3

well, if your mechanic didn't screw with it, then that wouldn't be the cause.

if the odometer is digital, then a wire may have shorted against something, triggering the check engine light and resetting the odometer.

i suggest you take the car to a dealer and ask there. show them the problem (0 miles and check engine light) and explain what happened. chances are they would be the best place to figure out what happened-your mechanic works on all sorts of cars, while the dealer specializes in just jeeps.

so, go to the jeep dealer, and ask for help. they have the best chance of fixing it.

if the odometer is analog (rotating number dial and mechanically connects to the wheels) then someone screwed with it-you can't reset those. and someone screwing with it may have triggered the check engine light. in that case, take the car to the jeep dealer and explain your suspicions. see what they can do to correct it.

Answer 4

It is against Federal Laws to reset or in any other way to Tamper with an Odometer Setting. If it has been reset to 0 you should take it to a Dealer and explain it to them and find out what happened. If you try to sell it, the State DMV may try to come after you.

Answer 5

Im not sure. nice car... more stupid BMW engineering to make life miserable to anyone avoiding the $130 oil change at the dealer. Try taking the Negative battery cable off for about a minute then hooking it back up. Cutting the power usually resets everything on most cars. Good luck! Maybe someone else will have the correct answer.

Answer 6

I've never heard of an odometer being reset accidentally. That's a value that is stored in the PCM and would have to be manually changed with a programmer, unless the PCM is somehow defective.

Answer 7

That's the tripmeter as well as the odometer, I bet. If there's a button near it, push it in and you'll see either another tripmeter or the odometer reading. Look in your owner's manual to be sure. That mechanic needs to do his homework, or stop lying to you if he knows better.