Sursa foto: Unspash/Sergio Souza
The German organization ADAC, the equivalent of the ACR in Romania, but with more specific tasks and activities, says that the tests it has carried out prove that even modern cars allow mileage to be changed. German engineers say that mileage manipulation can be done by legal means.
The problem of cars with altered mileage affects perhaps tens of thousands of vehicles in Germany each year, many of which make their way to Romania and other eastern countries. Demonstrating mileage tampering is extremely difficult, so it can be done in almost any service station without leaving too many traces.
The German police estimate that every third second-hand car on the country’s roads has had its mileage altered. And many of these end up in Romania, either via dealers or direct purchases.
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ADAC engineers have managed to change the mileage on some of the latest generation cars and say they have managed to tamper with the car’s mileage recording mechanism “in a matter of minutes”, using a device bought on the open market. The engineers’ access was so easy that in two of the cars it was done through the car’s diagnostic port, and in the third, it required connecting directly to the odometer.
The software they were able to tap into the cars’ records contains instructions for another 170 cars manufactured after 2019. The people at ADAC say that EU law is not very clear on the illegality of changing car mileage, with the current law only applying to cars manufactured after September 2018.
As for the devices with which the contents of car computers can be accessed, ADAC says they are legal, easy to use and legally sold. The mileage forgery can be done at any desired value, without having to dismantle any car component.
According to representatives of the German organization, the most victims of this manipulation are private customers, who are affected not only by paying a higher price for the car than they would normally pay, but risk damaging the car by not following the manufacturer’s recommended mileage when changing important parts.
At the moment, the service shops are not able to detect changes in mileage, not even official dealerships or experts. The only methods are information on overhauls or technical inspections, which at the time of the service mention the actual mileage.
Edited for English