Odometer rollback
Illegally altering a vehicle's odometer to show fewer miles than it has actually been driven.
Odometer rollback is tampering with an odometer so it shows lower mileage than the car has actually traveled, making the vehicle seem more valuable. It is a federal crime, whether done with tools on older mechanical odometers or software on digital ones.
Mileage recorded on titles and in vehicle history reports helps buyers spot inconsistencies. As a seller, report the reading exactly as shown on the odometer disclosure.
Federal law prohibits disconnecting, resetting or altering an odometer with intent to change the mileage it registers.1 NHTSA estimates that more than 450,000 vehicles are sold each year with false odometer readings.2
References
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Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School), 49 U.S. Code § 32703, “Preventing tampering”, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/49/32703 ↩
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National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Odometer Fraud”, https://www.nhtsa.gov/vehicle-safety/odometer-fraud ↩