Speedo and Odometer not working

Asked by Dick73 Mar 07, 2014 at 06:30 AM about the 2004 Subaru Forester X

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

Hi Im looking at buying an 2004 Forester and apparently the speedo and the odometer are not working. I realise that this is not a particularly difficult fix in other cars but my main question is if these are not working will the digital mileage clock tick over regardless? They aparently have not worked in atleast 4 years?

1 Answer

102,655

Many vehicles use a standardized communication protocol, called SAE J1850, to enable all of the different electronics modules to communicate with each other. The engine control unit counts all of the pulses and keeps track of the overall distance traveled by the car. This means that if someone tries to "roll back" the odometer, the value stored in the ECU will disagree. This value can be read using a diagnostic computer, which all car- dealership service departments have. Several times per second, the ECU sends out a packet of information consisting of a header and the data. The header is just a number that identifies the packet as a distance reading, and the data is a number corresponding to the distance traveled. The instrument panel contains another computer that knows to look for this particular packet, and whenever it sees one it updates the odometer with the new value. In cars with digital odometers, the dashboard simply displays the new value. Cars with analog odometers have a small stepper motor that turns the dials on the odometer.

5 people found this helpful.

Your Answer:

Own this car?

Share your experience with others.

2004 Subaru Forester

Review another car

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    Chris W
    Reputation
    11,400
  • #2
    TheSubaruGuruBoston
    Reputation
    9,780
  • #3
    Nick Eidemiller
    Reputation
    6,220
View All

Know more, shop wisely

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Subaru Outback
1,317 Great Deals out of 39,986 listings starting at $1,000
Used Toyota RAV4
2,011 Great Deals out of 29,357 listings starting at $1,200
Used Honda CR-V
2,033 Great Deals out of 41,995 listings starting at $1,050
Used Toyota 4Runner
1,226 Great Deals out of 18,699 listings starting at $1,300
Used Subaru Impreza
334 Great Deals out of 7,735 listings starting at $725
Used Subaru Legacy
329 Great Deals out of 7,036 listings starting at $499
Used Toyota Highlander
1,388 Great Deals out of 19,091 listings starting at $1,250
Used Toyota Tacoma
1,991 Great Deals out of 33,867 listings starting at $2,990
Used Honda Pilot
995 Great Deals out of 30,050 listings starting at $1,100
Used Toyota Camry
2,041 Great Deals out of 34,691 listings starting at $950
Used Honda Accord
1,543 Great Deals out of 30,088 listings starting at $450

Used Cars for Sale

2024 Subaru Forester For Sale
51 Great Deals out of 12,331 listings starting at $24,803
2023 Subaru Forester For Sale
78 Great Deals out of 1,258 listings starting at $23,976
2022 Subaru Forester For Sale
73 Great Deals out of 818 listings starting at $16,995
2021 Subaru Forester For Sale
216 Great Deals out of 2,982 listings starting at $12,499
2020 Subaru Forester For Sale
108 Great Deals out of 1,243 listings starting at $10,550

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.