Speedo Out

[Aussie Camry]

Hi guys,

Since purchasing my 09 Kluger I have noticed that my speedo is out almost 6 to 8 k's out allot.

I have the standard rims and tyres so what is causing this ? a faulty sensor ?

Edited April 20, 2015 by Aussie Kluger 09

[trentmeyer23]

It is built in to stop you from speeding if it is reading higher than your actual speed. Most manufacturers implement it these days.

[Aussie Camry]

It is built in to stop you from speeding if it is reading higher than your actual speed. Most manufacturers implement it these days.

To be that far out that's allot could understand 1 or 2 but almost 8k's out seems over the top.

[trentmeyer23]

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/my-speedo-is-reading-the-wrong-speed-20101118-17ynm.html

[Aussie Camry]

http://www.drive.com.au/motor-news/my-speedo-is-reading-the-wrong-speed-20101118-17ynm.html

Guess I will have to find out what my real speed is and put some marks on the speedo glass.

[MisterF]

If nned be, you can go up one size in your tyres. I had a speedo that over read by 12Kmh and fitted 275/17s on my VX Prado V6. Now the speedo is 100 % accurate and is in line with the GPS reading. I once had the misfortune to drive a god damned awful Commadore in Melbourne as a hire car. The speedometer was over reading by 15 Kmh . I wondered why we were going so slow and all the traffic was passing us. Hooked up the GPS to find when I was at 110, the speedo reading was 125Kmh. I guess that the manufacturers deliberatly make the speedomoters over read to avoid people getting fined.

[Hiro]

I once had the misfortune to drive a god damned awful Commadore in Melbourne as a hire car. The speedometer was over reading by 15 Kmh . I wondered why we were going so slow and all the traffic was passing us. Hooked up the GPS to find when I was at 110, the speedo reading was 125Kmh. I guess that the manufacturers deliberatly make the speedomoters over read to avoid people getting fined.

Just about every other car on the road will have a mis-reading speedo (although maybe not by the same amount). They could have been speeding (according to their speedo) too....

[MisterF]

Indeed they could have been "speeding" and may have wondered why everyone was passing them. My wifes car over reads by 3 kmh and my 4x4 is over reading by 5 Kmh, mainly because we spend more time in my vehicle then hers, and I asked the company to calibrate the speedo by 5 + Kmh

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

Most new cars read about 10% below the real speed.
This is done on purpose. One reason is to allow for a small safety margin against liability for fines and another is to allow for the wear of your tyres. When your tyres are almost due to be replaced your speed will be closer to the real speed.

If you are pedantic about picking up that extra couple of kph then get a good satnav and use the speed readout in that.

[TA74]

Hi Alex, this is normal unfortunatly. Its there for all the stupid/useless drivers on our roads.I complained to Toyota but they just said they all do it?????(Prado the worst). I now use my GPS for reading the speed.But i also fitted larger tyres, i went for LT245/70/17 instead of 245/65/17(about 20mm bigger). It now reads slightly over but that will come closer to the true reading as they wear down.

But think yourself lucky,we drive alot from Adelaide to melbourne,and we have noticed we overtake a hell of a lot of Subarus.they ALL do about 12km/h below the speed limit!!!!! I wonder what they think with everyone overtaking them.

Thanks Grant

[11/16Aurion 12Kluger]

Grant... all new cars will do it. All of them, for the reason stated above.
If they made them 100% accurate from the factory then we would have todays nit picking dropkick whingers blaming the car maker when they got booked because their tyres have worn down.

Tyre wear and pressure changes have never been able to be permanently compensated for with speedo calibration. If you know a way this can be done then the manufacturers would love to know about it.

As for the stupid/useless drivers doing under the speed limit without knowing it... I think they are smart and making the wise move to travel at their speed indicated.

Edited May 10, 2015 by KX-R & ACV40R

[TA74]

Hi KX-R, your right tyre pressures dont change a speedo accuracy, BUT tyre sizes do.Your speedo will change as your tyres wear!Thats one of the reasons i went for a 70 profile tyre than the factory 65 profile. Im slightly underreading at the moment but as they wear down my speedo will become more accurate. And i know this from experience, as this is the fourth car i have done this too.

Unfortunatly with the world being soooo PC. car manufacturers have to lean more to a conservative side,so they fit a tyre that will underread.

As for:-" the stupid/useless drivers doing under the speed limit without
knowing it... I think they are smart and making the wise move to travel
at their speed indicated".............................How can they be smart if they dont know there doing it?

[Hiro]

Hi KX-R, your right tyre pressures dont change a speedo accuracy, BUT tyre sizes do.Your speedo will change as your tyres wear!Thats one of the reasons i went for a 70 profile tyre than the factory 65 profile. Im slightly underreading at the moment but as they wear down my speedo will become more accurate. And i know this from experience, as this is the fourth car i have done th

Changing up a tyre size (65 to 70) has altered your speedo by 3.2%. If that has made you read over, then your speedo was pretty damn accurate to begin with, and not worth mucking around with.

And on a 245/70/17 wheel, 5mm of radial tread wear (10mm on diameter) will alter the speedo by 1.3%, which is bugger-all. Again, not worth mucking around with.

[TA74]

Hi Hiro, i went from the factory tyres to All Terrain tyre, the overall diameter was (according to the brochure) 25.4mm bigger than the factory tyre. I do have the print out from my tyre shop for the correction factor i just need to find it.