My odometer has been broken for a couple years. My mechanic will soon be replacing the gear and I would like him to also roll it forward to provide a more accurate reading.

1. Is it legal?

2. Is it easy to do, once it's opened up to replace the gear?

 

Legally your car is TMU (True Miles Unknown) since the odometer has not recorded the miles actually covered. However, mileage statements are only mandatory for cars ten model years or newer. Older cars are "exempt". In any case you can put any miles you want as long as you disclose it, or qualify for the exempt status. I believe a competent speedometer shop can easily fulfill your request.

 

It's a silly thing to do, but I did it too. When I tallied up the readings in the service history (the car's been through four odometers) the final figure came out to 750,950 plus whatever was racked up in the four years with no ticking odometer at all. I couldn't let people think that this car got into the condition it is today with only 217,000 miles on the clock.

Other information I gleamed from the lengthy service history (which goes so far back that half of it is written in illuminated blackletter) is that the car has cheerfully avoided the midwest (rust capital of the world) for its entire life. It spent time in Georgia, Mississippi, and Florida in the seventies; California, Washington and Virginia in the eighties; it spent 1994 to 2007 in New Orleans, and then it returned to California where a woman bought it for her son in Seattle, who upon receiving the car simply couldn't learn stick so he sold it to me for 500 dollars. It's worth noting that the boy's mother drove the car from Sacramento to Seattle with one plug wire missing.

 

Trust me the storm troopers wont parashoot into your driveway to check if your odometer is accurate =) Of course they may try to tax you on it...

Im sure a shop can make it happen if you want to pay them to.

Or you coud watch Faris Bullers Day Off, but put it in drive instead of reverse

 

I wouldnt mess with the mileage roll forward thing. Just me.

Replacing the little gear is really easy, the little gear (about 3/8" dia) is about 30 bucks. Type 240 volvo odometer repair into a Google search. there is a nice step by step procedure. work on a nice clean brightly lit table. work slowly and you will have no problem. Save your money for oil seals or mufflers. Dave