towing and your odometer

If you tow a vehicle, does the odometer reflect these towed miles and show them as mileage on the vehicle.
The owner of a used vehicle told me that most of the mileage on the car he was selling was "towed" mileage and not "real" miles.

If you tow a vehicle, does the odometer reflect these towed miles and show them as mileage on the vehicle.
The owner of a used vehicle told me that most of the mileage on the car he was selling was "towed" mileage and not "real" miles.


I think that's BS..

Towed miles with the wheels down still places wear on suspension and final drive components, even if there is no effect on the engine.

As we all know the effects of mileage and its relationship to wear and car value are not equal. Highway miles of course are much easier on a car than city traffic, but rarely can we be sure of the effects upon resale. This 'towed' mileage is just another example of this unknown factor.

i always assumed that if the car was off and in neutral, you could pull the car as far as you wanted and not have any miles get tached on.

If you tow a vehicle, does the odometer reflect these towed miles and show them as mileage on the vehicle.
The owner of a used vehicle told me that most of the mileage on the car he was selling was "towed" mileage and not "real" miles.

it depend on what type of car you are towing and how you tow it(four wheel, two wheel, front/rear tires)

If you have an electronic odometer it won't put any mileage on it unless the vehicle is on. Even if you're driving it, all you have to do is pull the fuse for the instrument panel and it won't put on any miles.

Why was he towing it all the time?

If you have an electronic odometer it won't put any mileage on it unless the vehicle is on. Even if you're driving it, all you have to do is pull the fuse for the instrument panel and it won't put on any miles.

For the most part this is correct. There are a rare few cars (including some mid-90s fords, some of the early electronic mazdas, and a couple others I'm sure) with electronic speedos that still tack on miles with the switch off. During the transition from cable-driven speedos to electronic, so companies used a cable driven electronic sensor. Part of the ECM always stays hot, and it just so happened that the speed sensor was hot in those vehicles.

Another example of this is in very late-model cars with theft deterrent systems. Some use the VSS to determine if the car is moving without the key in the switch. I think OnStar uses this communication function as well.

In most cases, the key off will not put miles on the odometer. If its a mechanical speedo, it will add miles if the drive wheels are on the ground. Do some extra research since a rare few cars have the cable drive or speed sensor on the non-drive axle, like the old VWs.

what is the car you're considering?

The car I am looking at is a 1999 Honda CR-V with 102,000 miles and all wheel drive. It was towed behind a motor home.

In that case, he's full of poop. Towing will not add mileage to a CRV. There are also very specific procedures for that car to tow it if its an automatic. If its a five speed, there are no procedures other than leaving it in neutral. I only say that in case its an automatic; if it wasn't properly prepared it may have a fried tranny.

The only way it could have added miles is if its an automatic and they solved the towing problem by allowing the CRV to idle while towing it to prevent tranny damage. This is a very poor decision, but some RVers swear by it. I swear at it.

MagicRat also has an excellent point. About the only thing that towed vehicle did not receive wear on was the engine. Otherwise, the tranny is spinning, the bearings, tires, shocks, u-joints, and bushings were all under the impression that the vehicle was actually tacking on miles, regardless of the fact that the odometer was sleeping.

In my opinion, this guy is being no more honest than someone who lies about its mileage.

Thanks a million for your information. I learned alot today. Didn't really believe the "towed" mileage part but just wasn't sure. Now I am sure I'd better keep looking !!

In that case, he's full of poop. Towing will not add mileage to a CRV. There are also very specific procedures for that car to tow it if its an automatic. If its a five speed, there are no procedures other than leaving it in neutral. I only say that in case its an automatic; if it wasn't properly prepared it may have a fried tranny.

The only way it could have added miles is if its an automatic and they solved the towing problem by allowing the CRV to idle while towing it to prevent tranny damage. This is a very poor decision, but some RVers swear by it. I swear at it.

MagicRat also has an excellent point. About the only thing that towed vehicle did not receive wear on was the engine. Otherwise, the tranny is spinning, the bearings, tires, shocks, u-joints, and bushings were all under the impression that the vehicle was actually tacking on miles, regardless of the fact that the odometer was sleeping.

In my opinion, this guy is being no more honest than someone who lies about its mileage.