rQuestionEngineering
Mechanical
Is it possible to verify that mileage had been tempered?
How is it possible the tampering is done ?
How is it possible the tampering is done ?
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E90 bmw mileage tampered with
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GregLocock
Automotive
Not without access to the service history and some detective work. You may be able to find the mileage whenever the ownership changed, depending on your jurisdiction.
A technician and/or criminal plugs a BMW authorized device or some other computer into the canbus and dials in the desired mileage.
As an aside, Ferrari are well aware of the abuse of this 'feature' and have recently disabled it on their kitcars.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376
A technician and/or criminal plugs a BMW authorized device or some other computer into the canbus and dials in the desired mileage.
As an aside, Ferrari are well aware of the abuse of this 'feature' and have recently disabled it on their kitcars.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376
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rQuestionEngineering
Mechanical
Access through history is done by any OBD device ?
BrianPetersen
Mechanical
No, he's talking about dealer service records. If the car has been taken to the dealer for maintenance, they should be recording what the odometer is at the time of that maintenance.
If the car has been taken to an independent shop for maintenance, then it's more difficult, unless you can find out which shop was used. If the car has been self-maintained by the owner, then good luck. But still ... there is probably a dealer service record somewhere. If the last independently-recorded odometer is more than what it shows now, then you know something shady has happened. If the last independently-recorded odometer is from years before and shows that the car has hardly been driven in that time, then it's questionable but you can't prove it.
Where I live, you have to record the odometer each time you renew the vehicle's license plate - so not more than 2 years.
A lot of it is just due to common sense. A car with (let's say) 200,000 km should have its share of wear on the pedals, steering wheel, paint chips in the front from rocks, perhaps a slightly sandblasted appearance to front-facing lights and windshield, etc. If it looks like 200,000 km of wear but the odometer says 80,000, then something is wrong. You can cover up simple and cheap signs of high mileage (e.g. pedal pads) but covering up ALL of them (paint, windshield, headlights, mirror covers, etc) is expensive ... and to be honest, if someone has renewed all of that and kept the car like new despite high mileage then what does it matter (aside from theoretical resale value) if the real odometer is more than what it says?
If the car has been taken to an independent shop for maintenance, then it's more difficult, unless you can find out which shop was used. If the car has been self-maintained by the owner, then good luck. But still ... there is probably a dealer service record somewhere. If the last independently-recorded odometer is more than what it shows now, then you know something shady has happened. If the last independently-recorded odometer is from years before and shows that the car has hardly been driven in that time, then it's questionable but you can't prove it.
Where I live, you have to record the odometer each time you renew the vehicle's license plate - so not more than 2 years.
A lot of it is just due to common sense. A car with (let's say) 200,000 km should have its share of wear on the pedals, steering wheel, paint chips in the front from rocks, perhaps a slightly sandblasted appearance to front-facing lights and windshield, etc. If it looks like 200,000 km of wear but the odometer says 80,000, then something is wrong. You can cover up simple and cheap signs of high mileage (e.g. pedal pads) but covering up ALL of them (paint, windshield, headlights, mirror covers, etc) is expensive ... and to be honest, if someone has renewed all of that and kept the car like new despite high mileage then what does it matter (aside from theoretical resale value) if the real odometer is more than what it says?
I know that a German company has made an app that together with an OBD-II adapter can check if the mileage has been tampered with. IIRC, it cannot show the true mileage, but searches for discrepancies in the different systems (mileage is stored in several places).
Can't remember their name, sorry.
Can't remember their name, sorry.
I'm not sure about the E90, but I have an E36 & E46 and...
Most of the ECUs hold the mileage (in kilometres). It is held so any faults can be pin-pointed. The ECU that is used to display the cluster mileage is probably the only one that is tampered with by someone.
I use INPA to access the ECU data.
If the mileage has been altered, it is unlikely that ALL the ECUs have been changed by the culprit.
Also, BMW dealerships (as already mentioned) will hold the mileage when any repairs/servicing were done. I think the key on an E90 holds your mileage as well as your VIN, so if you take that into a dealership as a first check.
In the UK, all MOTs are held online and can be viewed by anybody from the registration number. I don't know if your region does similar.
Most of the ECUs hold the mileage (in kilometres). It is held so any faults can be pin-pointed. The ECU that is used to display the cluster mileage is probably the only one that is tampered with by someone.
I use INPA to access the ECU data.
If the mileage has been altered, it is unlikely that ALL the ECUs have been changed by the culprit.
Also, BMW dealerships (as already mentioned) will hold the mileage when any repairs/servicing were done. I think the key on an E90 holds your mileage as well as your VIN, so if you take that into a dealership as a first check.
In the UK, all MOTs are held online and can be viewed by anybody from the registration number. I don't know if your region does similar.
If this is a modern BMW, altering the mileage is very, very difficult.
The system stored mileage and the mileage displayed on the OBC are not the same- you can change the OBC mileage, but in order to change the coded mileage in the ECM, you need a factory tool. If the ECM mileage and OBC mileage do not match, there is a 'silent' code. This will display on a factory BMW scan tool, but not on any aftermarket OBD tool or on the gauge cluster.
These tools- the factory ECM loading tool and the master BMW core software scan tool- would both be hideously expensive even if you could buy them, which you can't.
In short, a dealer can tell you if the silent mileage fault code is active- and if it is, that means the ECM or gauge cluster has been replaced, and the displayed mileage may not be reliable.
The system stored mileage and the mileage displayed on the OBC are not the same- you can change the OBC mileage, but in order to change the coded mileage in the ECM, you need a factory tool. If the ECM mileage and OBC mileage do not match, there is a 'silent' code. This will display on a factory BMW scan tool, but not on any aftermarket OBD tool or on the gauge cluster.
These tools- the factory ECM loading tool and the master BMW core software scan tool- would both be hideously expensive even if you could buy them, which you can't.
In short, a dealer can tell you if the silent mileage fault code is active- and if it is, that means the ECM or gauge cluster has been replaced, and the displayed mileage may not be reliable.
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