Toyota Camry -- Speedometer not working... Will it fail smog?

The "check engine" light came on 03 Toyota Camry.

The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.

He checked some other stuff which I didn't understand -- something to
do with vehicle sensors.

He said he suspected the car computer and that he would need to read
the manual to see if he can fix the computer but I may have to take it
to a dealer for expensive repair or replacement of the computer.

Also, the mechanic mentioned that the car would not pass California
Smog with a non-functional speedomoter/odomoter.

Is that true? Not sure why smog check would care.

Rav > wrote:
>
>The "check engine" light came on 03 Toyota Camry.
>
>The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
>was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.

How long have they not been working?

>He checked some other stuff which I didn't understand -- something to
>do with vehicle sensors.

There's a sensor in the transmission that tells the instrument panel how
fast the transmission is turning. Sometimes that sensor breaks.

>He said he suspected the car computer and that he would need to read
>the manual to see if he can fix the computer but I may have to take it
>to a dealer for expensive repair or replacement of the computer.

It could also be a cabling issue somewhere.

>Also, the mechanic mentioned that the car would not pass California
>Smog with a non-functional speedomoter/odomoter.
>
>Is that true? Not sure why smog check would care.

Because without the odometer running, they can't query the computer to
get accurate engine information. If they want to know how much gas you're
using per mile, for instance, they need to know how many miles you have gone.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Nov 13, 5:50*am, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
> Rav > wrote:
>
> >The "check engine" light came on *03 Toyota Camry.
>
> >The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
> >was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.
>
> How long have they not been working?

Speedometer/Odometer haven't been working for a month. Car mileage is
58,000.

>
> It could also be a cabling issue somewhere.

Not sure if this means anything, but most of the time the speedometer
is at 0 , and the odometer doesn't move, and the "check engine" light
is on.

But sometimes, the "check engine" light goes off, the speedometer
jumps all around and the odometer bumps up the mileage
(incorrectly)...


And about how much will it cost if the computer has to replaced?

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:26:38 -0800, Rav wrote:

> On Nov 13, 5:50Â*am, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:
>> Rav > wrote:
>>
>> >The "check engine" light came on Â*03 Toyota Camry.
>>
>> >The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
>> >was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.
>>
>> How long have they not been working?
>
> Speedometer/Odometer haven't been working for a month. Car mileage is
> 58,000.
>
>
>> It could also be a cabling issue somewhere.
>
> Not sure if this means anything, but most of the time the speedometer is
> at 0 , and the odometer doesn't move, and the "check engine" light is on.
>
> But sometimes, the "check engine" light goes off, the speedometer jumps
> all around and the odometer bumps up the mileage (incorrectly)...
>
>
> And about how much will it cost if the computer has to replaced?


If it is the computer, you an expect $800-1100 just for the part.

I'm not sure where it is on this car, but they are usually either behind
the glove box or in the pass. side kick panel. They are easy to replae;
the plugs only go in one way. Expect to pay a lot to have a dealer do it.

if you go to http://www.car-part.com they are anywhere from ~$150 up.
It will not have the correct mileage. Also, make sure to get the correct
one for your car.

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:18:13 -0600, Ray O wrote:

> Sounds like the other guy was a parts swapper? Swap out this and that and
> hope it works. And of course they want to start with the most expensive
> item.
>
> **********
> I think an unintended consequence of the OBD II standard and the
> widespread availability of OBD II scanners is that people with just enough
> knowledge to identify and find a part in a car can swap parts.

He-e-e-e-y...wait a minute!!!

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:54:15 -0600, Ray O wrote:

>
> "Hachiroku ????" > wrote in message
> news
>> On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:18:13 -0600, Ray O wrote:
>>
>>> Sounds like the other guy was a parts swapper? Swap out this and that
>>> and hope it works. And of course they want to start with the most
>>> expensive item.
>>>
>>> **********
>>> I think an unintended consequence of the OBD II standard and the
>>> widespread availability of OBD II scanners is that people with just
>>> enough
>>> knowledge to identify and find a part in a car can swap parts.
>>
>> He-e-e-e-y...wait a minute!!!
>>
>>
> Been there, done that when the replacement part is cheap and I don't feel
> like crawling under the car more than once, like in the middle of January
> in Chicago

Or Western Mass!

"Rav" > wrote in message
...
>
> The "check engine" light came on 03 Toyota Camry.
>
> The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
> was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.
>
> He checked some other stuff which I didn't understand -- something to
> do with vehicle sensors.
>
> He said he suspected the car computer and that he would need to read
> the manual to see if he can fix the computer but I may have to take it
> to a dealer for expensive repair or replacement of the computer.
>
> Also, the mechanic mentioned that the car would not pass California
> Smog with a non-functional speedomoter/odomoter.
>
> Is that true? Not sure why smog check would care.

It is unlikely that the car's engine control computer, referred to as an
electronic control unit, or ECU, needs repair or replacement because they
have a very low failure rate. A competent technician who is familiar with
Toyotas knows that the engine ECU is the last thing to check, not the first
thing to check. Even if the engine ECU did need repair, it would have to be
sent out to an authorized repair facility for repair.

The reason that the car would not pass smog is that vehicles with the check
engine light (actually called the malfunction indicator light, or MIL)
illuminated automatically fail, and the reason that the MIL is on is because
of a problem with the speed sensor circuit.

There is a speed sensor on the transmission that sends a signal to the
speedometer control on the back of the instrument cluster, and diagnosis is
pretty straightforward. The On-board Diagnostics Generation II (OBD II)
scan tools used by professional technicians should have the ability to read
the signal generated by the transmission speed sensor and therefore check
the function of the speed sensor. Even if the technician's scan tool does
not have this capability, the sensor can be checked with a volt meter at the
sensor itself.

If the sensor is putting out the proper signal, then the next step would be
to check the wiring between the speed sensor and the speedometer control by
checking the signal at the wire harness at the speedometer control. If the
signal is good, then the speedometer control is bad, and if the signal is
bad, then the wiring between the sensor and speedometer control is bad. The
most time consuming part of doing all these checks would be removing the
instrument cluster to get at the speedometer control, about a half-hour
total for all the checks.

If anyone did any work just before the speedometer started acting up or if
you had any electrical work done on the car like installing an aftermarket
remote starter or audio system, I'd check that work first to make sure that
the speedometer circuit wasn't disturbed.

--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:21:26 -0800 (PST), Rav > wrote:

>The "check engine" light came on 03 Toyota Camry.

>The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
>was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.

>He checked some other stuff which I didn't understand -- something to
>do with vehicle sensors.

>He said he suspected the car computer and that he would need to read
>the manual to see if he can fix the computer but I may have to take it
>to a dealer for expensive repair or replacement of the computer.

>Also, the mechanic mentioned that the car would not pass California
>Smog with a non-functional speedomoter/odomoter.

>Is that true? Not sure why smog check would care.

the engine computer gets the road speed from the speedometer, actually there's
a cable or switch on the transmission that both the speedometer and
engine computer use.

On Nov 13, 6:21*am, Rav > wrote:
> The "check engine" light came on *03 Toyota Camry.
>
> The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
> was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.
>
> He checked some other stuff which I didn't understand -- something to
> do with vehicle sensors.
>
> He said he suspected the car computer and that he would need to read
> the manual to see if he can fix the computer but I may have to take it
> to a dealer for expensive repair or replacement of the computer.
>
> Also, the mechanic mentioned that the car would not pass California
> Smog with a non-functional speedomoter/odomoter.
>
> Is that true? Not sure why smog check would care.

Move to another state. Florida doesn't have that nonsense. I'm soo
glad. It not only wastes your money but something more valuable and
irreplaceable-your time.

On Nov 13, 12:31*pm, "Ray O" >
wrote:
> "Rav" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > The "check engine" light came on *03 Toyota Camry.
>
> > The mechanic checked with the diagnostic scanner and confirmed that it
> > was because the speedometer and odometer were not working.
>
> > He checked some other stuff which I didn't understand -- something to
> > do with vehicle sensors.
>
> > He said he suspected the car computer and that he would need to read
> > the manual to see if he can fix the computer but I may have to take it
> > to a dealer for expensive repair or replacement of the computer.
>
> > Also, the mechanic mentioned that the car would not pass California
> > Smog with a non-functional speedomoter/odomoter.
>
> > Is that true? Not sure why smog check would care.
>
> It is unlikely that the car's engine control computer, referred to as an
> electronic control unit, or ECU, needs repair or replacement because they
> have a very low failure rate. *A competent technician who is familiar with
> Toyotas knows that the engine ECU is the last thing to check, not the first
> thing to check. *Even if the engine ECU did need repair, it would have to be
> sent out to an authorized repair facility for repair.
>
> The reason that the car would not pass smog is that vehicles with the check
> engine light (actually called the malfunction indicator light, or MIL)
> illuminated automatically fail, and the reason that the MIL is on is because
> of a problem with the speed sensor circuit.
>
> There is a speed sensor on the transmission that sends a signal to the
> speedometer control on the back of the instrument cluster, and diagnosis is
> pretty straightforward. *The On-board Diagnostics Generation II (OBD II)
> scan tools used by professional technicians should have the ability to read
> the signal generated by the transmission speed sensor and therefore check
> the function of the speed sensor. *Even if the technician's scan tool does
> not have this capability, the sensor can be checked with a volt meter at the
> sensor itself.
>
> If the sensor is putting out the proper signal, then the next step would be
> to check the wiring between the speed sensor and the speedometer control by
> checking the signal at the wire harness at the speedometer control. *If the
> signal is good, then the speedometer control is bad, and if the signal is
> bad, then the wiring between the sensor and speedometer control is bad. *The
> most time consuming part of doing all these checks would be removing the
> instrument cluster to get at the speedometer control, about a half-hour
> total for all the checks.
>
> If anyone did any work just before the speedometer started acting up or if
> you had any electrical work done on the car like installing an aftermarket
> remote starter or audio system, I'd check that work first to make sure that
> the speedometer circuit wasn't disturbed.
>
> --
>
> Ray O
> (correct punctuation to reply)- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Sounds like the other guy was a parts swapper? Swap out this and that
and hope it works. And of course they want to start with the most
expensive item.