'11 SE Speedo reading high

[jgayman]

My '11 SE speedometer seems to be reading about 3 MPH fast. Has anyone else noticed anything similar? Any idea if this is something that can be correctly via dealer software settings?

[05Moose]

Normal for it to read high. Toyota's specs are that it can read as much as 4 mph fast at 60 mph. Our '10 reads 4 mph fast at 65 mph (as does my '05 Tacoma).

[TrailDust]

+1 Mine reads 3 MPH too fast, and it's common among Highlander owners. When I bump up to 255 size tires from 245 I calculate it should bring the speedo error down to 1 MPH too fast.

[DavidHB]

my 2011 limited is 3 over

[jgayman]

Thank you for all the feedback, it's good to know it is normal.

[craftydad]

How do you know its faster? Mine reads faster according to what my gps says, but how do I know the gps is accurate? A gps is only accurate in location to some number of feet I think...

[edge3333]

Originally Posted by craftydad

How do you know its faster? Mine reads faster according to what my gps says, but how do I know the gps is accurate? A gps is only accurate in location to some number of feet I think...

I tested my 2010 Highlander SE using two different Garmin GPS's and a Magellan. All 3 show that my SE reads 2-3 mph high at 65 mph.

[jgayman]

Originally Posted by craftydad

How do you know its faster? Mine reads faster according to what my gps says, but how do I know the gps is accurate? A gps is only accurate in location to some number of feet I think...

I'm using the same GPS in the '11 as I had in the '01. The '01 was dead-on with the GPS. I tend to believe the GPS because it also agrees with those radio speed indicators they have setup in constructions zones.

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by craftydad

How do you know its faster? Mine reads faster according to what my gps says, but how do I know the gps is accurate? A gps is only accurate in location to some number of feet I think...

Without exception, every time I drive past those mobile police radar units that tell you your speed I'm 3 MPH faster on my speedometer than what the radar says, and I have two GPS units that both show my speed as 3 MPH faster.

[lets456]

Originally Posted by TrailDust

Without exception, every time I drive past those mobile police radar units that tell you your speed I'm 3 MPH faster on my speedometer than what the radar says, and I have two GPS units that both show my speed as 3 MPH faster.

How does this affect the odometer and warranties?

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by lets456

How does this affect the odometer and warranties?

Dunno, I haven't calculated it out, but given it's only a 1/2 inch increase in diameter I'm rough guessing that the difference in mileage posted on the odometer is negligible. As for warranty, I'm not worried either due to how minor the change is.

EDIT: I checked it out on a tire size calculator and the difference in revolutions per mile is 671 for 255 size tires, as opposed to 683 for the stock 245. Based on my calculations, looks like mileage would be 17.6 miles less on the odometer per 1,000 miles traveled with the 255 tires mounted.

[sweeneyp]

Yea my next tire will definitely be the 255 to get the spedo back to correct. I got back from a trip yesterday. my speedo said i was going 66 in Atlanta, while a Honda civic was passing me and i could see his digital speedo was saying 64... rather frustating. I don't understand why Toyota calibrates their speedo's incorrectly

[jgayman]

Ok... given that the speedo MAY actually be off, does anyone know how it gets calibrated? Is it something that can be done electronically?

[jeffs3820]

Unless the dealer gets updated software from Toyota there is no fix. 3-5 mph high is pretty typical of all new cars. Turns the odometer faster so the warranty is essentially shorter.

[horent135]

I think it is normal, I own 2 honda's and both read over 5mph... My Toyota reads little better like 2-3mph over