Toyota Forum banner

Is there a way to check actual mileage on the vehicle other than the odometer?

1 reading
239 views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  R Bush  
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I purchased this vehicle over a year ago for $5k because the mileage compared to the timing belt being replaced looked great.

Decided to purchase the carfax after a while and noticed a discrepancy. My odometer currently reads 179k+ while the carfax show in 2021 that the mileage was like 250k+(picture in the thread). Is there a way to check the actual mileage on the vehicle and transfer it to the odometer? Or not?

Trying to make this thing as legit as possible. Also, timing belt in actuality is around 100k+ miles. When do I need to worry about changing it?
 
#3 ·
I would take the 5-minute oil change entry with a grain of salt. Someone likely entered the wrong numbers. What are the entries before that?
I would trust the mileage entry from the dealer more because it comes directly from the paperwork and is how they verify warranty coverage for their work.

To answer your question, though. Some scan tools and the dealer can read the actual mileage in the computer. In my state, the CHP can also do this for most OBD2 vehicles. They do this when a car needs a new VIN assigned because of some discrepancy.
 
#4 ·
If you have the full CarFax report, take a look at the preceding years as I would be willing to wager that's where the problem is. If the same owner had the SUV for a number of years, there should be a pattern of how many miles per year they added. Take a look at year 2020, I would bet it would be around 133K. The digital odometers can malfunction, but it's more likely that the CarFax is in error. btw, twice I've had to have my wife's Honda re-inspected as they misread the mileage and entered the incorrect mileage.