Replaced Cluster Reads Wrong Mileage

Hey guys, I am new here and I have my first question, of many I am sure.

So I recently bought and 04 z66 avalanche and got a killer deal on it because of the odometer not showing the true mileage. Now this shows up on both the Carfax and the title.

So my question is, is it possible to have the mileage corrected LEGALLY (I know it can be done illegally from things you can buy on the web).

This brings me to my second question, if it is possible to change the mileage and maybe have it certified, will the DMV change the title?

I already talked to carfax and they told me that if the DMV will change the mileage on the title, then they will change the carfax to reflect the title.

If anyone has any experience with any of this I would greatly appreciate your input, thanks!

I wish I could tell you about how to go about doing this, but I am not sure. It just raised a couple of questions....how do you prove what the actual mileage is? and, how did it become wrong in the first place?

I am pretty sure (not positive yet) that Chevy should be able to plug into the obd port to find the actual miles. The story about the odometer I was told is, the cluster was broken somehow, and the owner traded it in to a dealership, and a smaller dealership bought it from them and replaced it. I have been told that you can plug a brand new cluster in and it will read the correct mileage, but a used one will read the used mileage.

HMMM..makes sense.

Not sure what state your in, but I know in my state it can't be done legally or illegally... When I worked at the dealership people used to come in with TMU's all the time... Nothing they could do... Kinda like when you have a Salvaged title, it can't really go away. because you will never know the true mileage of the vehicle. Yes there are gauges that can be programmed if you buy them new, but the damage is basically done now..

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Originally Posted by ARMYtango

and, how did it become wrong in the first place?

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The way it becomes wrong in the first place is when you bring your car for service / inspection etc, your mileage is recorded. (That's why when you look up a car fax, you have so many "Records" under a vehicle that's never been in an accident. It records everything from change of titles, service, registration. If the numbers are constantly being increased and then suddenly "roll back," its considered a TMU, because something has obviously been done to cause the discrepancy. Ex, It shows that two years ago, at service you had 50K, then a year later you had 60k.. Now you come in and you have 45...

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Originally Posted by Kady

Not sure what state your in, but I know in my state it can't be done legally or illegally... When I worked at the dealership people used to come in with TMU's all the time... Nothing they could do... Kinda like when you have a Salvaged title, it can't really go away. because you will never know the true mileage of the vehicle. Yes there are gauges that can be programmed if you buy them new, but the damage is basically done now..

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I live in Florida, but no matter what state you're in it can be done illegally, hence the word illegally. You can easily spend a few hundred bucks online for the programmer, plug it into your obd, and adjust the shown mileage.

Now you tell me this, how can someone buy a new cluster when something on the old one breaks, and plug it in and it adjust ITSELF to the mileage of the vehicle. I know for a fact this can be done, so at this point I can only assume if you plug in an old cluster with mileage already on it, that you can have it adjusted to the true mileage of the vehicle.

Even if this can't be fixed on the title I would still like to do it just for personal use.

Mileage is stored in the cluster on units with digital odometers. When changing clusters, you should swap the odometer module from the old cluster into the new one.

Ahah! Someone who sounds informed in their answer.

So I assume that means once it is swapped, and that module is not swapped, there is no going back.

Thanks

The odometer module can be reprogrammed, but normally the dealer will only do it if they do the repair or if you tell them the mileage of the old unit when buying the new one. Most dealers won't sell you a new one unless the old one is broken beyond repair. They usually want to send the old one in for repair. Mileage is not stored in the ECM or the BCM.

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Originally Posted by moogvo

The odometer module can be reprogrammed, but normally the dealer will only do it if they do the repair or if you tell them the mileage of the old unit when buying the new one. Most dealers won't sell you a new one unless the old one is broken beyond repair. They usually want to send the old one in for repair. Mileage is not stored in the ECM or the BCM.

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Ok, well thanks for your knowledge moog.