The speedometer in my 2006 MINI Cooper (manual trans) reads about 5 miles per hour faster than actual. Is this a common problem and is there a simple adjustment?

Thanks for your feedback.

 

Anything within 10% is normal, designed to over report to prevent under reporting which is against the law in Europe. Common among many cars. If do a search there was recently a thread on this very topic.

 

Yeah I am 5 miles off as well on my 2002 MCS.

 

normal for european cars.

i rent a lot of cars and get bored on long drives...so i check speedo readouts against mileage markers and a stop watch and a gps unit when i remember to bring it. i find my bmws/MC are about 5-10% over estimating. surprisingly, many american cars (chevy especially) are close to dead on.

no fix. just enjoy and motor on!

 

When reading 70, mine is actually at 67.

 

3mph is very common among the MINIs. I know mine is about 3mph over the actual speed.

 

Yes, I drive around with a GPS most of the time and the speedo always reads faster than the GPS.

I also suspect that it makes cars appear faster when people test drive them before buying. . . .

 

I motored past one of those speed read out signs the other day, speedo said 40mph, sign said 40mph. Well really the speedo read 65kph, but I convert on the run.

Mark

 

My speedometer is off my 4 mph according to my GPS. I thought it was because I have the chrono pack. Guess not. I just have to compensate a little and drive faster, oh darn.

 

While driving in reverse I find that my speedometer is quite innaccurate once I reach the speed limit on the highway (OK, just kidding!)

 

I wouldn't complain. The speedo in my Classic is 5-10 mph SLOW. It is mentally very hard to keep it at 50-55 on the highway.

 

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback. I also did a search, as suggested, and found lots of other discussions on this topic. It appears, though, that no one knows of an adjustment, simple or otherwise, to make the speedometer read accurately. I've asked my dealer and he's offered to check with MINI. If I get any useful information, I'll post it here.

 

mine is off all so a 02 mini. I would think changing
wheel size would do it

 

I've always wondered about the discrepancy, I began to wonder if this was a problem for the dealer to look at or if it was a common "quirk" to the MINI.

 

Anything within 10% is normal, designed to over report to prevent under reporting which is against the law in Europe. Common among many cars. If do a search there was recently a thread on this very topic.

 

Your ECU knows your real speed. I've got a Scangauge II, which displays data from the OBDII connection. That includes mph, which is consistantly lower than the reading on the speedo. The Scangauge also allows you to adjust for different diameter tires, which I've done.

Pretty handy. I've got mine set up to display mph, MAP, intake air temp, and coolant temp, though there are additional options. I've been using the IAT vs outside air temp from OBC to compare intercoolers recently. Being able to see the real coolant temp is nice also, since I've had to replace on thermostat when it started sticking occasionally.

Scott
90SM

 

good to know. Thanks!

 

I've found that I don't really care how accurate the speedo is... I'm just enjoying the drive. Hopefully the police will feel the same way