Re: Possession of this (odometer) device

[Ron Katona <ron3b@xxxxxxxx>]

Land Shark wrote:
> You get caught with one.. you got to jail.. 5 years
> in a nice federal prison.
> 
> They violate the US laws on odometer tampering.

Aw phooey... there goes big brother spoiling all the fun again... ;-)
 
> If you attempt to import one, it will be siezed and
> you might get charged!

President Clinton's "War on Odometer Computers?" (just say no)

> As far as diagnostic equipment.. there are TONS of
> devices that will manipulate the ABS for flushing
> and NONE of them are needed.
> 
> When's the last time your dealer used one?!?

Well, that's a good question. I've bled my ASC+T & ABS equipped car a
couple times after installing brake upgrades. I've had it flushed by an
independent in preparation for a drivers' school twice. I've had the
dealer do it twice. Each time, the dealer won hands down in terms of
pedal feel afterwards. Granted, I used crappy vacuum system to do it
myself (I swear this year I'll pick up one of Steve D's bleeder kits!)
and I have NO idea what the independent or dealer used, but the dealer
did the best job.

I've heard opinions 180 degrees out on whether ASC+T equipped cars can
be fully bled without dealer equipment and whether that would make a
difference in brake feel. I can't imagine that there's that much fluid
(and whatever contaminants are in the fluid) trapped in those systems,
so I don't understand why it would be a problem, but I'm left wondering
why the independent (and a highly recommended one in the DC area)
couldn't do a good job on two occasions. Maybe they just had a bad day.

> The problem with all these "fault code readers" so
> prevalent now is that the user/owner doesn't have
> the training needed to interpret what the codes mean

No doubt. I'd be willing to learn to be able to maintain the car fully
myself after the warranty expires though. I think the question for me is
more one of cost of the equipment vs. continuing to have the dealer
reset SRS lights every six months when my seat belt latch sensors fail -
and they have been failing that often.
 
> They are nowhere near as simple as the old 4 digit
> flash codes on pre-OBD-II vehicles :(

Whatever happened to timing lights, vacuum gages, and voltmeters for
diagnosing everything on your car? OTOH, my computerized marvel OBD-II
car started on the first crank after sitting in -20F weather for 5 days.

Thanks for the advice Jim.
- --
Ron Katona

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