A Lexus dealer recently replaced the gauge diplay on my 2000 LS400 under warranty, but the new odometer came in at "0". I want to have it reset to the correct mileage on the car (62xxx). How can I get this done the right way?

Thank you,
Ron the wiperman

 

When I considered having the instrument cluster replaced under warranty on my 2000 LS400 in 2003 or 2004 to address the "Miles since refuel" TSIB, I was told by a Lexus dealer service writer that the odometer had to be ordered and "flashed" with the correct mileage and that the odometer mileage reading could not be changed at the dealership.

Since the "Miles since refuel" problem didn't occur very often, I decided not to have the cluster replaced.

If your dealer didn't order the cluster with the correct odometer mileage, he should have placed a decal on the drivers side door pillar stating the mileage at which the odometer was replaced.

Having the odometer replaced and reset to zero actually worked in my favor on my first LS -- a 1990 LS400 that I purchased new and wanted to keep a very long time. When it was rear ended about nine years ago ($10,000+ damage), the insurance adjuster missed seeing the odometer replacement decal on the door post and thought my car had covered only a fraction of its true mileage. I found out about his error months later after the repair was completed. I was told that if the adjuster had known the car's true mileage, the car would have been declared a total loss.

I'd say ... just pretend you have a new car.

 

unless you plan to sell the car without disclosing the true mileage, otherwise it's called Fraud.

 

Of course you have to disclose the true mileage when you sell a car. I was telling Ron what he could do for his personal enjoyment.

The first thing any person "should" do when buying a used car is check the driver side door post for an odometer replacement sticker. And see maintenance documentation to confirm that the advertised mileage is correct -- whether there is or isn't an odometer replacement sticker. My 00 LS is the only used car I've bought in over 30 years and I verified that the maintenance records supported its 38,000 mile odometer reading when I bought it.

I found it hard to believe that the person who did the claims adjustment on my then nine year old 1990 LS400 actually thought my car had only 20,000 miles on it and that he or she didn't check for an odometer replacement sticker. I would have certainly pointed it out if I had been present. But the old 90 LS looked brand new after 9 years -- except for the mangled rear end -- maybe the adjuster thought it was owned by an elderly person who "only drove it to church on Sunday". OK, I was already kind of elderly at the time.

One more thing ... when I considered having the cluster replaced under warranty on my 00 LS400 in 2003-4, the Lexus service writer seemed to discourage having the actual mileage flashed on to the new odometer. Unless I left my car with the dealer at the time the new cluster was ordered, the dealer was going to have to put an odometer replacement sticker on the car anyway since he couldn't, of course, know how many miles I was going to drive before the new cluster/odometer arrived and was installed.