Speedometer Error

[beaver1]

Speedometer is off 2 mph according to my GPS which is accurate in 2 other vehicles. Lexus dealer tells me there is nothing they can do. I don't accept that to be a valid response from a professional maintenance shop. I was able to correct a motorhome by changing the dip switches but have not looked under the dash yet on this car. Just wondering if I have the only bad speedometer on the road.

[Billglea]

Speedometer is off 2 mph according to my GPS which is accurate in 2 other vehicles. Lexus dealer tells me there is nothing they can do. I don't accept that to be a valid response from a professional maintenance shop. I was able to correct a motorhome by changing the dip switches but have not looked under the dash yet on this car. Just wondering if I have the only bad speedometer on the road.

I just bought a gps and it confirmed what I suspected for awhile, my speedometer is off about 2 mph also. Reads 37 vs. 35 on gps.

[peteanello]

Speedometer is off 2 mph according to my GPS which is accurate in 2 other vehicles. Lexus dealer tells me there is nothing they can do. I don't accept that to be a valid response from a professional maintenance shop. I was able to correct a motorhome by changing the dip switches but have not looked under the dash yet on this car. Just wondering if I have the only bad speedometer on the road.

I think most vehicles I have owned (including my '09 ES), have had a speedometer that has been off 2 mph. I noticed the discrepancy when I drive past those portable radar trailers set up by police in town. Also, I have driven past permanent radar signs at freeway speeds, and noticed the speedometer is off by 3 mph. I think they make the cars like this intentionally so the driver is on the safe side, and not speeding. I personally don't mind it being off a little bit.

[SW03ES]

Completely normal. My '03 is off by 2MPH, and I assume my ES is as well.

Whats the big deal? Its 2MPH...

[K.C. Dia]

Speedometer is off 2 mph according to my GPS which is accurate in 2 other vehicles. Lexus dealer tells me there is nothing they can do. I don't accept that to be a valid response from a professional maintenance shop. I was able to correct a motorhome by changing the dip switches but have not looked under the dash yet on this car. Just wondering if I have the only bad speedometer on the road.

I just bought a gps and it confirmed what I suspected for awhile, my speedometer is off about 2 mph also. Reads 37 vs. 35 on gps.

I checked the speed of my 2010 ES350 with my Garmin from Walmart and Lexus was also off by 2 mph.

Edited September 4, 2010 by SW03ES
flamebait removed

[LEXIRX330]

Speedometer is off 2 mph according to my GPS which is accurate in 2 other vehicles. Lexus dealer tells me there is nothing they can do. I don't accept that to be a valid response from a professional maintenance shop. I was able to correct a motorhome by changing the dip switches but have not looked under the dash yet on this car. Just wondering if I have the only bad speedometer on the road.

I just bought a gps and it confirmed what I suspected for awhile, my speedometer is off about 2 mph also. Reads 37 vs. 35 on gps.

I checked the speed of my 2010 ES350 with my Garmin from Walmart and Lexus was also off by 2 mph.

:)

You and that Garmin!

2 mph? I am kind of in the middle on this one. I want the mph correct but then again if it is only off by 2 mph I can't see making a huge deal about it.

[bigwong]

Many cars are 2-3 mph high. If you go to the BMW forums, someone is always complaining about how inaccurate the speedometer is. I'd prefer an accurate one myself, but there's not much an individual can do when the manufacturer insists upon doing it the wrong way. You just have to get used to it.

[bearone]

I have a 2009 ES350 and the speedo is also off by 2-3 MPH, had it to two diffenent dealers and both say i'ts normal nothing they can do. So I learn to live with it, no big deal.

[LigaPower]

I have a 2009 ES350 and the speedo is also off by 2-3 MPH, had it to two diffenent dealers and both say i'ts normal nothing they can do. So I learn to live with it, no big deal.

same here on my 2007 ES 350

[rob_es350]

tire pressure will affect speedo accuracy, but it should be pretty marginal...2mph sounds a lot unless your speed is pretty high

if the speedo is reading too high, as it is in this case, you might have your tires over-inflated

take out some air to test the theory if you like..it will get it closer but you will lose some handling

as to whether or not 2mph is worth complaining a bout, DEPENDS on the speed at which it is off by 2mph

2mph at 20 is horrible..at 60 that speedometer is a complete piece of sh*t

2mph at 100 is just an annoyance, but even that should be better IMO

getting it right, with some margin of error allowed for tire pressure, should not be a difficult thing

[rob_es350]

Speedometer is off 2 mph according to my GPS which is accurate in 2 other vehicles. Lexus dealer tells me there is nothing they can do. I don't accept that to be a valid response from a professional maintenance shop. I was able to correct a motorhome by changing the dip switches but have not looked under the dash yet on this car. Just wondering if I have the only bad speedometer on the road.

I just bought a gps and it confirmed what I suspected for awhile, my speedometer is off about 2 mph also. Reads 37 vs. 35 on gps.

I checked the speed of my 2010 ES350 with my Garmin from Walmart and Lexus was also off by 2 mph.

ok, this one of by 6% or so...that is a lot by anyone's standard

at 70mph, this speedo will say 74..not good

[jaki30]

Completely normal. My '03 is off by 2MPH, and I assume my ES is as well.

Whats the big deal? Its 2MPH...

Think about it.

If it is off by 2 MPH, the mileage on the odometer is reading higher than you drove.

That affects your warranty.

[K.C. Dia]

Completely normal. My '03 is off by 2MPH, and I assume my ES is as well.

Whats the big deal? Its 2MPH...

Think about it.

If it is off by 2 MPH, the mileage on the odometer is reading higher than you drove.

That affects your warranty.

Somewhat true. Assuming speed of 62mph vs 60 mph actual, if your odometer reads 36,000 miles, you have gone 34,838 miles. At 100,000 miles, you have gone 96,774 miles. Some of us could live with that, others maybe not. Depends.

[rob_es350]

ahhhh, strong point...if they are all off, and all wrong in the direction of showing higher speeds than actual, you have to think it is intentional

[Django44]

Think about it.

If it is off by 2 MPH, the mileage on the odometer is reading higher than you drove.

That affects your warranty.

Good point about the warranty. That means at a reading of 2 mph lower we're being cheated out of 2,000 miles of coverage on the basic warranty of 50,000 miles. (Is my math correct?) My '96 Camry also read about 2-3 mph lower at 50 mph - a little less at lower speeds, a little more at higher speeds. Someone (is there an attorney in the house?) should raise this with Lexus. Warranty aside, I don't mind the slightly lower reading - tends to keep me off the radar screens.

[rob_es350]

all wrong - I will elaborate if this posts..been having trouble getting this thing to work

[rob_es350]

Good point about the warranty. That means at a reading of 2 mph lower we're being cheated out of 2,000 miles of coverage on the basic warranty of 50,000 miles. (Is my math correct?) My '96 Camry also read about 2-3 mph lower at 50 mph - a little less at lower speeds, a little more at higher speeds. Someone (is there an attorney in the house?) should raise this with Lexus. Warranty aside, I don't mind the slightly lower reading - tends to keep me off the radar screens.

ok, site seems to work when replying in general, but not to another post

anyway

math above is all hosed up...also, idea about being off radar screens is a*s backwards

if the speedometer is reading lower than the actual, mileage will be less than the actual, and your warranty will last longer

the math needs to be done as a percentage, not using raw mph

example:

if your speedometer is 2.5mph off at 50mph, that is 5%, so the odometer will be off 5%, or 2,500 miles at 50,000 miles

if speedometer is 5% less than actual, you cheated them out of the miles, if the speedometer is greater than the actual, you got screwed out of some miles

as for staying off the radar screens

you will get MORE tickets if your speedometer is to low cause you are going faster than indicated!!!

if people have the speedometers off in both directions, there goes the conspiracy theory for the warranties

[K.C. Dia]

Good point about the warranty. That means at a reading of 2 mph lower we're being cheated out of 2,000 miles of coverage on the basic warranty of 50,000 miles. (Is my math correct?) My '96 Camry also read about 2-3 mph lower at 50 mph - a little less at lower speeds, a little more at higher speeds. Someone (is there an attorney in the house?) should raise this with Lexus. Warranty aside, I don't mind the slightly lower reading - tends to keep me off the radar screens.

ok, site seems to work when replying in general, but not to another post

anyway

math above is all hosed up...also, idea about being off radar screens is a*s backwards

if the speedometer is reading lower than the actual, mileage will be less than the actual, and your warranty will last longer

the math needs to be done as a percentage, not using raw mph

example:

if your speedometer is 2.5mph off at 50mph, that is 5%, so the odometer will be off 5%, or 2,500 miles at 50,000 miles

if speedometer is 5% less than actual, you cheated them out of the miles, if the speedometer is greater than the actual, you got screwed out of some miles

as for staying off the radar screens

you will get MORE tickets if your speedometer is to low cause you are going faster than indicated!!!

if people have the speedometers off in both directions, there goes the conspiracy theory for the warranties

We may be saying the same thing. My spedometer reads 62 when I am only going 60. I used 60mph for my calculation. The calculation is simple eighth grade math solving a ratio. Using your example, if your speedometer reads 52.5 mph when you are only going 50, the math ratio is" 52.5 is to 50,000 as 50 is to "what?" Or 52.5X = ((50,000)(50) and solve for X. X equals 47,619. So you are being screwed out of about 2,380 miles. (yes I was a math major, Univ of Texas, class of 1968, hook'em horns).

[rob_es350]

Good point about the warranty. That means at a reading of 2 mph lower we're being cheated out of 2,000 miles of coverage on the basic warranty of 50,000 miles. (Is my math correct?) My '96 Camry also read about 2-3 mph lower at 50 mph - a little less at lower speeds, a little more at higher speeds. Someone (is there an attorney in the house?) should raise this with Lexus. Warranty aside, I don't mind the slightly lower reading - tends to keep me off the radar screens.

ok, site seems to work when replying in general, but not to another post

anyway

math above is all hosed up...also, idea about being off radar screens is a*s backwards

if the speedometer is reading lower than the actual, mileage will be less than the actual, and your warranty will last longer

the math needs to be done as a percentage, not using raw mph

example:

if your speedometer is 2.5mph off at 50mph, that is 5%, so the odometer will be off 5%, or 2,500 miles at 50,000 miles

if speedometer is 5% less than actual, you cheated them out of the miles, if the speedometer is greater than the actual, you got screwed out of some miles

as for staying off the radar screens

you will get MORE tickets if your speedometer is to low cause you are going faster than indicated!!!

if people have the speedometers off in both directions, there goes the conspiracy theory for the warranties

We may be saying the same thing. My spedometer reads 62 when I am only going 60. I used 60mph for my calculation. The calculation is simple eighth grade math solving a ratio. Using your example, if your speedometer reads 52.5 mph when you are only going 50, the math ratio is" 52.5 is to 50,000 as 50 is to "what?" Or 52.5X = ((50,000)(50) and solve for X. X equals 47,619. So you are being screwed out of about 2,380 miles. (yes I was a math major, Univ of Texas, class of 1968, hook'em horns).

don't get paranoid my texas friend, lol, I was correcting Django44 who had everything way wrong

the calculations that you did are correct

[SW03ES]

Pretty much any car I have every had, from any manufacturer, reads a little higher than reality.

[rob_es350]

Pretty much any car I have every had, from any manufacturer, reads a little higher than reality.

ok, conspiracy theory is on

must be a known industry gimmick to save money on warranty work

i have to check mine

does the nav show mph? don't remember seeing that, but i don't use it much

thanks steve

[pj8708]

Pretty much any car I have every had, from any manufacturer, reads a little higher than reality.

ok, conspiracy theory is on

must be a known industry gimmick to save money on warranty work

i have to check mine

does the nav show mph? don't remember seeing that, but i don't use it much

thanks steve

Time to que the black helcopters, clicking sounds when you pick up the telephone, and a black box stuck underneath your car.

Paul

[K.C. Dia]

Pretty much any car I have every had, from any manufacturer, reads a little higher than reality.

ok, conspiracy theory is on

must be a known industry gimmick to save money on warranty work

i have to check mine

does the nav show mph? don't remember seeing that, but i don't use it much

thanks steve

No it doesn't. You need a Garmin or other after market GPS for that.

[pj8708]

Pretty much any car I have every had, from any manufacturer, reads a little higher than reality.

ok, conspiracy theory is on

must be a known industry gimmick to save money on warranty work

i have to check mine

does the nav show mph? don't remember seeing that, but i don't use it much

thanks steve

No it doesn't. You need a Garmin or other after market GPS for that.

You do love your Garmin don't you. LOL!!

[rob_es350]

Pretty much any car I have every had, from any manufacturer, reads a little higher than reality.

ok, conspiracy theory is on

must be a known industry gimmick to save money on warranty work

i have to check mine

does the nav show mph? don't remember seeing that, but i don't use it much

thanks steve

No it doesn't. You need a Garmin or other after market GPS for that.

that sucks...didn't think it was there

thanks k.c.