car odometer question (1 Viewer)

[Dave Gorman]

My SO drives a 1994 Accord in which the odometer has just decided to stop turning. Now we're neither one very mechanically inclined -- in fact I'm a complete automotive idiot. I'm just wondering if this is common and how extensive/expensive of a repair this will be. (Actually just wondering how long we're going to have to put off getting it fixed!)

 

[Matt Stryker]

Does the speedometer still work?

 

[Dave Gorman]

Does the speedometer still work?

Yes.

 

[Matt Stryker]

The Haynes manual might be able to give you a better idea of how your odometer is set up: http://www.motorcyclebooks.com/honac192.html
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/tech/...eek001123.html

My best advice to you is to go through the dealer on this one. If your speedometer is still working, I would think the worst they could get you for is a new instrument cluster. (because the link between the transmission and the speedometer is fine) The important part is to get them to document everthing they do...otherwise when it comes time to sell, you'll have to explain why the odometer has been tampered with.

Usually a cable or an electronic sensor sends the speed from the transmission to the speedometer, and then the speedometer sends that to the odometer.

 

[Dale Bumann]

Our 89 Nissan Pathfinder's odometer quit in late 1998.
They replaced the $50 cable first, then after "me" telling them that it was still broke, they wanted $200 more for an instrument cluster. It has registered an add'l 2000 miles in the 20000 miles it's been driven on the old cluster.

Another funny story is when I had it in the shop for a new starter in 1997, and the rep told me a cell in my battery was bad. After saying no to a new Genuine Nissan Battery about 6 times, he left it alone.
That battery finally died last November.

I also noticed my Saturn dealer has been going over our '94 SL-2 with a fine tooth comb during oil changes now, since car sales are way down. (And yes, I could change my own oil but you cannot change oil in this car without a pit - or 4 foot arms).

 

[Eric_E]

How funny we should be discussing odometers and speedometers - just this morning I pulled out of my parking lot to discover my speedometer no longer works. Damn. I made an appointment to bring it into the dealership tomorrow morning, but I went ahead and drove the car about 10 miles to work anyway.

Matt: Any idea how much it might cost to get this fixed?

P.S. It's a 1993 Geo Prizm Lsi with an analog speedometer.

 

[Nathan*W]

Eric, the Prizm uses an entirely electronic cluster, which means there are no cables, just 4 plugs (like the back of a car stereo). The easiest thing to do is unscrew the cluster and make sure none of the plugs on the back have worked loose. If that fails, you can replace the whole instrument cluster in about 20 minutes, tops.

Tools needed: screwdriver

 

[Steve Schaffer]

93 Prizm is the same car as the 93 Toyota Corolla. It is an electronically operated analog speedo, gets a signal from a sensor on the transmission.

I'm a tech at a Toyota dealership and the speedo heads on these never go bad, but the sensor on the trans sometimes does. I would try a new speed sensor on the trans (bolts in where the old speedo cable used to go--on top of the trans) before swapping out the instrument cluster.

The speed sensor is a dealer item, and is different for manuals and 3 speed autos vs 4speed autos, and much cheaper than the instrument cluster.

There are tests on the sensor that can be performed with a volt-ohmeter to confirm if it's bad--check a factory (not Haines) manual for the procedure.

 

[Win Joy Jr]

That is really strange that the Odometer quit, but the spedo is still functional. Hondas use a sensor mounted on top of the tranny. Not a cheap part, but not the most difficult replacement.

BTW - Hondas are well known to have the sensor fail right around the 100k mark...

 

[Scott Van Dyke]

I'd leave the Odometer alone. Who needs it? Fix it if you sell the car.

 

[Dave Gorman]

I'd leave the Odometer alone. Who needs it? Fix it if you sell the car.

That would be my inclination as well, but my SO is pretty anal and probably wouldn't be able to tolerate a non-moving odometer for long!

 

[Eric_E]

Well, I just got back from the dealership, and they said the entire instrument cluster has to be replaced. Of course, the part isn't in stock, so they had to order it. I chose to have it overnighted for an additional $25, since I couldn't afford not to have the car until next Tuesday. So it looks like my grand total is going to be somewhere in the vicinity of $525. You have no idea how disheartening this is after just having paid off all my bills and imagining how I was finally going to be able to start saving for my home theater. Now it looks like it will have to wait, again. I think I'm destined to have crappy speakers for the rest of my life. :frowning:

 

[Eric Kahn]

No law requiring you to fix the odometer, if the car has alot of miles, just let it be and keep driving
also check with a junkyard before buying new