reprogramming odometer for 05 tc

itsZACyo · Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 13

heres my question, i noticed that my thermostat gauge wasnt working the other day, and also when i open the door to get into my car i hear a grinding noise coming from the cluster. so i took it in to the dealership cause it should have been under warranty but those douchebags said it wasnt. anyways they want to charge me over $700 for a new cluster. however my buddy can get me one for free cause he owns a wrecking yard. does anyone know how to or know of places that could reprogram the odometer of a new (but used) cluster to match the mileage of my car's mileage? the dealership said they could do it to a brand new cluster but not with one i buy and bring in. i dont see the difference. or does anyone know whats going on with my cluster?? i checked the fuses and they're all fine

equinox2355 · Joined: 03 Jan 2006 Posts: 2608 Location: Pleasanton, CA

now wait, have you done any modifications to the gauge cluster? (LEDS, painting needles, vinyl changing the color of the LEDS) If so, then they might be right to want to charge you, if not, they should warranty it (and if they wont, take it to a different dealership) also how many miles are on your tC? if its under 36,000 and under 3 years then they should warranty it! If its over 36,000 or more than 3 years, I think that it would not be covered and you'd have to pay.

itsZACyo · Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 13

i have 45000. so i guess its out of the warranty. but i have not done ANYTHING to the car. never messed with the cluster or even the dash! haha. any ideas?

datdude1119 · Joined: 24 Aug 2007 Posts: 725

equinox2355 wrote: now wait, have you done any modifications to the gauge cluster? (LEDS, painting needles, vinyl changing the color of the LEDS) If so, then they might be right to want to charge you, if not, they should warranty it (and if they wont, take it to a different dealership) also how many miles are on your tC? if its under 36,000 and under 3 years then they should warranty it! If its over 36,000 or more than 3 years, I think that it would not be covered and you'd have to pay.

wouldnt all 05's be out of warranty

equinox2355 · Joined: 03 Jan 2006 Posts: 2608 Location: Pleasanton, CA

Sadly if its out of warranty they are right to charge you for the cluster.

as far as reprogramming, I have heard it can be done, but I don't have much information beyond that.

equinox2355 · Joined: 03 Jan 2006 Posts: 2608 Location: Pleasanton, CA

datdude1119 wrote: equinox2355 wrote: now wait, have you done any modifications to the gauge cluster? (LEDS, painting needles, vinyl changing the color of the LEDS) If so, then they might be right to want to charge you, if not, they should warranty it (and if they wont, take it to a different dealership) also how many miles are on your tC? if its under 36,000 and under 3 years then they should warranty it! If its over 36,000 or more than 3 years, I think that it would not be covered and you'd have to pay.

wouldnt all 05's be out of warranty

Almost if not already yeah, but there is a slim chance an 05 could still be under warranty though lol I just wanted to be sure

itsZACyo · Joined: 30 Aug 2008 Posts: 13

so do you think its possible to get that used cluster my friend could get through his wrecking yard and somehow get it to match my current mileage?

a_german_named_hans · Posted: 8/30/08 6:21PM Post subject:

do you HAVE to program the guage cluster? or could you just throw in any old cluster and just ignore the mileage? I heard that it has to come programmed from over seas.

cweckel2000 · Posted: 8/30/08 7:09PM Post subject:

a_german_named_hans wrote: do you HAVE to program the guage cluster? or could you just throw in any old cluster and just ignore the mileage? I heard that it has to come programmed from over seas.

That is called ILLEGAL. Not sure how much info you are going to find on this issue here. From what I understand it is pretty much impossible to do it yourself as you basically have to reverse engineer it.

I'm pretty sure the mileage is stored on a chip (could be multiple chips) and you'd have to pull it out and somehow reprogram it. One of my professors used to work at Ford and he said the computer stores the mileage in different areas and performs checks to verify everything matches.

a_german_named_hans · Posted: 8/30/08 8:12PM Post subject:

cweckel2000 wrote:
That is called ILLEGAL.
well yeah, but so? my HIDs and tails are illegal too lol. if you can manage to find a odo with comparable mileage, no ones gonna notice. sure beats spending 700 bucks to get a new one.

drjohnson36 · Joined: 09 May 2008 Posts: 222 Location: Los Angeles, CA

Mileage isn't stored in the gauge cluster. It is stored in the ECU. No matter who's cluster you throw in there, it will read the same mileage as the vehicle it is placed in.

a_german_named_hans · Posted: 8/30/08 8:36PM Post subject:

^^ I dont think so.

equinox2355 · Joined: 03 Jan 2006 Posts: 2608 Location: Pleasanton, CA

drjohnson36 wrote: Mileage isn't stored in the gauge cluster. It is stored in the ECU. No matter who's cluster you throw in there, it will read the same mileage as the vehicle it is placed in.

no it isnt, it is stored in the cluster. Trust us, we know this.

beandip007 · Joined: 07 Jan 2006 Posts: 161 Location: Kansas City, MO

^^^^^
Agreed, just put a new cluster in and it will show the exact same millage as the one you took out.

equinox2355 · Joined: 03 Jan 2006 Posts: 2608 Location: Pleasanton, CA

beandip007 wrote: ^^^^^
Agreed, just put a new cluster in and it will show the exact same millage as the one you took out.

K, no it wont, the mileage is stored in the cluster NOT the ECU

a_german_named_hans · Posted: 8/30/08 8:39PM Post subject:

mileage is stored in the guage cluster, not the ecu.

drjohnson36 · Joined: 09 May 2008 Posts: 222 Location: Los Angeles, CA

Then get a cluster from a junkyard, take it to the dealer, and ask them to program it.

a_german_named_hans · Posted: 8/30/08 9:01PM Post subject:

^^ you can't. That's the problem. Its pretty retarded but the dealership can't reprogram the guage cluster. They have to order a new odo programed to the approx mileage, and then the real mileage is noted when the clusters are swapped.

cweckel2000 · Posted: 8/30/08 9:01PM Post subject:

lol you need to read. Dealers will only program NEW clusters.

cweckel2000 · Posted: 8/30/08 9:11PM Post subject:

Hmmm...I brought this up around a friend he his dad actually had to do this on one of their old Ford's. It is legal to just stick a new cluster in with wrong mileage as long as you get an Odometer change sticker and put it in the door jam. The sticker shows the mileage of the car before you put the new cluster in. Of course if you traded the car in or sold it you'd have to state the odometer is not the correct mileage.