[chiefhiawatha]

chill out. you sounds ridiculous, and I am being nice.

[Hej]

Originally Posted by ben1364

Have you ever owned a motor vehicle that was equipped by the factory without an optimistic speedometer? This is not a BMW thing.

I've got a '98 Chevy S-10 pickup. When I drive by those roadside radar signs (the ones that show you your current speed), it's an exact match with my speedo.

[KUweatherman]

Good to see another KC person on here. :rocks:

[jhbodle]

I gotta agree with the majority of posts here. BMWs overreading speedo could save your ass. With my speedo reading 75mph, my GPS shows 71mph. That's fine by me.

So, moving this thread along a bit - how accurate is the rev counter? I imagine that has to be pretty accurate because if you touch the redline and it underreads you could do some damage...

[Armen52]

I'm surprised that anyone didn't know that speedos are generally a little overzealous with your speed.

I'm also not going to argue that BMW's are by far the worst offenders in this area. On local roads with the automated radar/"speed of your car" set up, my car usually shows up as 33mph when the speedo indicates 35.

In fact, I count on this error and comfortably cruise around on the freeway at 65mph where the limit is 60 since I know that I'd hardly be 1-2mph over if tagged. Meanwhile I'm passing all the bumpkins who think 60mph on their speedo means 60mph

On the other hand, I've heard that radar usually indicates 2-3mph below what you're actually doing. Is this true? And what about laser which I hear they use a lot in WA. I think a previous poster said +/- 1mph but I'm wondering where that number is from.

[A Friend]

Originally Posted by sdorn

If mine was that close I wouldn't be upset.



Actually, just the fact that it is inaccurate could be grounds for a lawsuit under the right circumstances. I could imagine a situation where going too slow could cause an accident or contribute to one. Here in Ga, you can get a ticket for going too slow as well. There are minimum speed limits that, in theory, you could violate. If someone wasn't aware of the inaccuracy of the speedometer and relied in good faith on its readings, BMW could have some liability.

The real liability would be if the odometer was similarly inaccurate. There would be a huge class action group of people that paid mileage overcharges on leases that could sue. There would be another huge group of people who were denied warranty coverage because they were just over the warranty mileage as a result of the inaccurate odometer.

This is all theoretical, though. I just want my damn speedometer fixed.

It's only 3 MPH off. If you are going within 3 MPH of the minimum speed limit you have more problems than we can fix here. If you did try to take this to court you would be laughed out of it. BMW knows about the issue and does not intend to do anything about it. Either live with it or get rid of the car. You sound like one of my kids when he doesn't get his way.

[sambonator]

So how inaccurate is the odometer?

[rds95991]

Isn't Honda being sued for this for the claim that they are doing this to shorten the warranty?

[dougman]

Originally Posted by sdorn

I currently have a Ford F-150, Mustang, and I just got rid of a Saturn SC2. All three of them had accurate speedometers that matched the GPS readings exactly. In fact I have owned more than a dozen cars, both foreign and domestic, and this is the first one with an inaccurate speedometer.

Interesting. My last few cars were an A3 and three GTI's, and all of them were about 10% under.

An auto manufacturer can easily get sued by a speedometer that read too low (I got a ticket when I shouldn't have; I was going too fast for the conditions and had an accident). So if they're going to err, it will definitely be on the low side.

[lkevinl]

Noticed the speedo issue myself. My city recently installed those high tech speed limit signs with built in radar gun. It shows the speed limit and then flashes your speed. They're permanent and solar powered.

I noticed that my speed on the sign is always 3-5 miles per hour slower than what my speedo shows. Weird. But hardly something to complain so vehemently about considering the fuel pump and air cooler issues that people are having.

On a side note, I think those radar signs are supposed to make you aware of your speed to guilt you into keeping it down to the legal limit.
What they may not have realized is that putting one approx. a quarter mile from the previous stop light is a HORRIBLE idea! It makes for a great way to measure your quarter mile top speed!

[LEDZEP]

The tachometer has deep seeded family issues.

Their bikes are the same way. Someone figured out a way to fix the LT's.

http://www.bmwlt.net/ubbthreads/show...apsed&sb=5&o=0

[scollins]

There are usually odo check signs on the side of freeways to help you determine if your odo is accurate. You can also time yourself over a known distance to see what your speed is. The odo and trip are linked together, so the trip should be as accurate as the odo.

Try this: Set cruise to 70 MPH, then reset trip and start a timer at the same time. When the trip reads 1.0 miles, stop the timer. For a true 70 MPH, the timer should read 51.4 seconds. If it reads 53 seconds, then you are traveling at 68 MPH. This is real easy to see with a wristwatch that has a tachymeter function. If you are really good, you could do all this at the same time that you pass one of the odo check signs.

Also, since the dash is all digital these days, it is entirely possible (and likely!) that the speedo and odo are not related. They can make the odo as accurate as tolerances allow, and set the speedo to be accurate within a defined range.

I don't think BMW is screwing anybody out of warranty coverage. And if the speedo being off a little really makes you that crazy, seek professional help. I'm not being a smartass either.

[MikeCCrutchfield]

The car KNOWS the correct speed. The Analog gauge just reports a different speed...same exact thing in my Jetta TDI. Funny thing is....there is a way for me to fix the speedometer in my Jetta using VAGCOM but that makes the odometer read EVEN LOWER than actual milage (by a couple more %).

That said....Odometer is FINE. Speed sensors are fine, computer is fine
Analog gauge - intentional margin of error due to European Regs, Marketing, Fear of lawsuits, insert conspiracy theory here.

End of story.

[murellus]

instead of 70 mph why not just set it to 60mph...easier mafs

[chilenko]

who cares, this is really a nonissue. every car is going to be slightly off depending on a variety of factors. i already noticed this a couple times driving by the radar signs that display your speed and i actually like the fact that the speedo ups your speed a bit so you've got a little bit of room. its kind of like setting your clock a couple mintues fast so youre on time.

[urnone]

I had a VW passat and it had the same thing... i programed the code in the AC and you could read your speed digital... and it was 3-5 mph off at times... I find this better... cuz you have more chances of NOT getting speeding ticket.. heh

[Garrett]

Originally Posted by rds95991

Isn't Honda being sued for this for the claim that they are doing this to shorten the warranty?

Odometer and speedometer are two different things....!!

[DasBlitz]

Originally Posted by sdorn

That is a ridiculous excuse. Who cares what is legal. They are intentionally giving us inaccurate instruments in what is supposed to be the "Ultimate Driving Machine". That is just ridiculous.

Wow. Grow up dude. You want a car that is fully accurate then go get another Saturn. Otherwise please end your argument. Because it only makes you look worse.

Listen, it is put in place so your ass is covered(makes you slow down a bit) and their ass is covered(they dont get sued for misc. things). Don't want to drive a BMW no big deal. But to come on here and bitch as if it will be changed. I am sorry my BMW is still an "Ultimate Driving Machine" whether or not the speedo is incorrect.

Shit if you are pissed about this, wait till the danm thing breaks down.

[turbotko]

Some people are just way way way way too damn ANAL. Are you really that concerned about it? Where's the safety issue at?

I get this complaint from customers at the dealership all the time. Almost all the people that complain about it will argue with me over whether it's normal or not also..........I mean, I am a master tech, I think I would know. The Bulletin that says up to 10% off is acceptable usually shuts them up though!

Now, try convincing someone that BMW says that it's acceptable for a car to use 1 quart of oil every 700 miles

[mesier1111]

Originally Posted by JackMac

BMW has done this (optomistic speedo readout) across the product range for many years. One more thing to make your car unique from the crowd.

unique??..........or just fu*&ed up? God damn germans, got to make everything complicated, just make the speedometer accurate, it ain't hard

[Fraggy]

Originally Posted by sdorn

Plus, it is just one of those things with me. I need my clocks to be set within seconds of the atomic time. I need my speedometer to be accurate. I need my thermostat to maintain accurate temperatures. I expect instruments that measure something to be accurate, regardless of whether it is in my car or anywhere else.

We have meds for this disorder