How To Read Mileage On A Car (Current Odometer Reading)

• Emma Davies

Updated on August 23, 2022

One of the most important factors in the used-car market is the mileage of the vehicle as this is usually a good indicator of its condition.

The higher the odometer is, the more miles the vehicle has covered which creates more opportunities for engine damage, worn parts, and very expensive repair costs.

Usually, the odometer is located near the speedometer and can either be a physical set of mechanical numbers or in newer vehicles, it may be a digital display. In order to read the mileage, you will see a row of numbers that is either 5 or six digits. When you have located it just make a note of the numbers that are currently displayed.

So where is the vehicle’s odometer, how do you read it, and is it always the most reliable way to find out more about a car? Let’s take a closer look at how to read mileage on a car and get a better insight into the car in question.

Car Mileage Explained

Your vehicle mileage is primarily designed to tell you how much it has been used, but you can use it to determine a lot of other important factors and information too.

The mileage is directly linked to the value of your vehicle and can indicate the health of the engine and parts that may need replacing. In a competitive market, the odometer is an exact way to know the mileage covered.

How Do Odometers Work?

Most odometers work by counting the wheel rotations and assuming that the distance traveled is the number of wheel rotations times the tire circumference.

If your tires are worn, damaged, or underinflated then this can create errors in your odometer so it is common for them to be off by a certain percentage.

You will find that odometers vary in newer vehicles as technology has grown, and so have the methods by which we track mileage so let’s look at the differences between newer and older odometers.

Old Odometers (Mechanical)

Older odometers are mechanical and turned by a flexible cable made from a tightly wound spring. It spins inside protective metal tubing with rubber housing that is turned by a gear to engage the output shaft of the transmission.

This cable then leads up to the instrument panel and it is connected to the input shaft of the odometer where it tracks your mileage.

It also uses a series of three gears known as worm gears. The input shaft drives the first worm which then drives a gear, each full revolution of the worm will turn the gear into one tooth which is connected across the other worms, and the final gear is hooked to an indicator.

These indicators have a row of pegs sticking out of one side and a single set of two pegs on the other side. They all work together to turn and engage the pegs on the next indicator to turn and roll over the numbers to display the milage on your display.

New Odometers

Newer odometers are the most commonly found with a digital display that is easier to install and has much more advanced tracking systems.

Each car manufacturer will use different technology and these changes regularly with the advancements in technology such as GPS being used to track mileage or tracking other aspects of the vehicle to build an accurate display of the mileage of the vehicle.

This information is transmitted through a single wire of communication from the engine control unit to your dashboard and relays information that the ECU has counted to track your distance.

So what would happen if someone tried to roll back or alter an odometer?

Can Odometers Be Wrong?

Not only can the accuracy of your odometer be wrong, but you may also find some dodgy sellers who try to get as much money as possible by lying about the vehicle mileage.

If you think your odometer is providing inaccurate readings then you can test using a measuring device to see if your odometer increases over a mile distance. It may seem like a small miscalculation wouldn’t create a big discrepancy but throughout your vehicle’s life, this can create a huge amount of difference.

Rolling Back Odometers

If you’ve found a deal that’s too good to be true then you might be considering if someone has tampered with the odometer and “rolled it back” to gain more profit.

It is a practice that is sometimes used by dishonest salesmen and is easier to perform on a mechanical odometer but is still possible on digital odometers just much more difficult because of advanced security features.

Although illegal, if you find your vehicle has had the odometer rolled back then you can usually get a refund or dispute with the garage, they wouldn’t want to risk their reputation.

If you suspect your odometer has been rolled back then you can check quite easily. The best way is to check previous reports and vehicle history where owners have had work done and the mileage has been noted.

If the mileage has dropped since a previous reading then you know that the odometer has been tampered with.

FAQs

Does the odometer mean miles?

The odometer is used to measure the distance your vehicle has traveled and the mileage is your fuel consumption per kilometer.

Is 200000 miles a lot for a car?

Generally in most modern vehicles that have been well maintained, 200,000 miles is easily achievable without any major issues. When you break it down, the average person drives 10,000-20,000 miles a year so this accounts for 15 years of use.

What are the speedometer and odometer?

The speedometer is used to indicate the speed of your vehicle while the odometer measures the distance traveled.

Is a 10-year-old car too old?

The average lifespan of a vehicle is around 10 years old so the mileage will be a strong indicator of whether the vehicle has much life in it or not.

Conclusion

When it comes to purchasing a used vehicle it can be hard to know whether a deal is too good to be true and checking the odometer and knowing how it functions is a good way to consistently monitor your car.

Whether you want to maintain accurate readings to get the best resale value or think the distance traveled is not accurately reflected in a sales price, you can use the odometer to your advantage to work out a good deal and keep on top of the amount of road you cover in your time on the roads.

For more related articles, check out these posts:

Can You Reset Miles On A Car? Is It Legal To Reset The Odometer?

Does Replacing The Engine Reset Mileage On The Odometer?

What Are the Different Gauges In a Car For?