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I took my car for oil change and noticed that the Odometer wasn't working, it had stopped working for a while(speedometer and tachometer work just fine)..
My local mechanic said he couldn't or cannot replace Odometer and asked me to take it to a dealer.
Can I buy a 'used' one or an OEM instead of one from the dealer(am afraid I'll have to pay thro' the nose at the dealer). I tried finding prices online but couldn't find anything.
How much should I expect to pay for parts and labor?
You need to troubleshoot . It may be in the dash cluster or the pick up. Could be a short or blown fuse maybe. You need a repair manual to locate what it is you are trying to repair first. Nissans are crammed with electrical parts
Post up in your local forum and see if you can't find a good independent shop that does this sort of work.
Offhand, if the speedo works but the odometer does not, probably your pickup is fine, the problem is in the speedometer head itself.
Does this car have a mechanical odometer or electronic? BMW speedo/odometer heads from this era are sort of famous for the odometer to stop working, there are small plastic gears inside the head that you have to replace.
For a cult car like a BMW, there are mail order outfits that cater to this.
Depending, you may be better off getting a good used dash pod from a junkyard and installing yourself or have any decent mechanic install it.
Chief is right in that your first move needs to be to lay hands on a good shop manual, see what you are up against.
Last edited by M3 Mitch; 10-28-2009 at 04:44 PM..
Reason: Chief & manual
I took my car for oil change and noticed that the Odometer wasn't working, it had stopped working for a while(speedometer and tachometer work just fine)..
My local mechanic said he couldn't or cannot replace Odometer and asked me to take it to a dealer.
Can I buy a 'used' one or an OEM instead of one from the dealer(am afraid I'll have to pay thro' the nose at the dealer). I tried finding prices online but couldn't find anything.
How much should I expect to pay for parts and labor?
Yeah Altimas around that year are known for bad speedo clusters. My mom's 96 Altima's speedo and tachometer would work randomly. When it wasn't working the check engine light came on. Is your engine light on? If it's not you should ignore this!!!!!!!!! It's really not worth the fix if you can pass inspection.
When it wasn't working the check engine light came on. Is your engine light on? If it's not you should ignore this!!!!!!!!! It's really not worth the fix if you can pass inspection.
Engine light doesn't come on and in the state of FL you don't need vehicle inspection.
Probably the most practical fix would be a good used dash cluster from a junkyard. If you plan to keep the car long-term, you could have the original speedo repaired by an outfit like Programma, Hollywood Speedometer, etc. Probably would need to mail it off for repair, thus the beauty of having a spare dash pod.
I don't know about Altimas in particular, but on many import cars the dash pod is not hard to remove and replace, typically you unscrew or unsnap the speedo cable, take a few screws out, unplug a couple of electrical connections, and it's out.
That is, if you want to fix it. You could just do oil changes and similar maintenance based on time and your own estimate of how many miles you drive per week/month. Or track your fuel consumption, estimate your typical MPG for this car, and work back from that.
If you don't plan to keep the car, and really don't care about it that much, you definitely don't have to fix this.
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