OT: How easy/hard to roll back odometer? [Archive]

View Full Version : OT: How easy/hard to roll back odometer?

Yiorgos

10-31-2006, 02:40 AM

Hey guys,

This is a question more out of curiosity, I don't have any intention of doing this to my own E34 or any one else's for that matter.

A friend of mine is looking around for a suitable E36 320i and asked me if it's easy to roll back the mileage on an odometer on BMWs of this vintage? I'm not sure if the odometer is different between an E36 or an E34, but I couldn't honestly give him a somewhat accurate answer.

I have only ever come across one source of information about this kind of thing, and it just stated that apparently it is easy to, but it didn't delve into any deeper information.

Anyone out there have a clue?

shogun

10-31-2006, 02:47 AM

E36 means built from 1990 -1998.
Si it should be a similar system like on E34 and E32.
Easy to do with a PC for an expert and no chance to see it, unless you also get the service reports etc, which also can be falsified.
Sometimes the service record bools are sold as blank books on some auction houses.
Best is to ask the former owner, or ask the seller for the BMW dealer which made the service on that car the years before. Then contact the dealer. Here in Japan BMW always notoes down the miles/km the car comes into their shop and what has been done.

Ferret

10-31-2006, 05:35 AM

If it's been clocked there's probably a reason - there should be evidence on the back of the speedo that the flash eeprom has been removed for reprogramming. (Usually dodgy soldering)

However, the general condition of the vehicle should be enough to show if it's suddenly lost 200k off the clock. Steering wheel/indicator stalk/pedal rubbers condition can be a giveaway - might have been changed though. One of the best indicators of wear are usually CV joints - hardly ever would you find that all four have been replaced - give em a rattle to see if they're loose.

Michael999

10-31-2006, 06:25 AM

Friend of mine took his Nissan silvia for a service, when he got it back the repair man said "i noticed you didnt have any log books on this import, so i took 40,000km off the clock for you"
OT, but still interesting :P

Zackb911

10-31-2006, 01:45 PM

I just bought a spare coding plug for my 89 for troubleshooting my lack of gauges and lcd display which I think is more than the capacitors. However if my plug is the problem id love to know where I could send it to get the replacement set to the approximate mileage, the title is "true mileage unknown" anyway so It wouldnt be hiding anything. Can the dealer do this? Or maybe a place like programa?

E34-520iSE

10-31-2006, 05:44 PM

If you can find a dealer/specialist with an EPROM programmer and they can set the coding plug up for you. He/She needs to take a hex dump of the old chip, correct the mileage where necessary and burn all the data to the new one. By the way, what type of coding plug are we talking about here? Is it the 'in the brown plug' one or the 'back of the dash' type?

Cheers,

Shaun

Alexlind123

10-31-2006, 10:28 PM