Federal Odometer Act

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The Federal Odometer Act, passed in 1972, modified the United States Code to prohibit tampering with a motor vehicle's odometer and to provide safeguards to protect purchasers in the sale of motor vehicles with altered or reset odometers. [1]

United States Code official compilation and codification of the United States federal laws

The Code of Laws of the United States of America is the official compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal statutes of the United States. It contains 53 titles. The main edition is published every six years by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the House of Representatives, and cumulative supplements are published annually. The official version of those laws not codified in the United States Code can be found in United States Statutes at Large.

Odometer instrument that indicates distance traveled by a vehicle

An odometer or odograph is an instrument used for measuring the distance travelled by a vehicle, such as a bicycle or car. The device may be electronic, mechanical, or a combination of the two. The noun derives from the Ancient Greek word ὁδόμετρον, hodómetron, from ὁδός, hodós and μέτρον, métron ("measure"). Early forms of the odometer existed in the ancient Greco-Roman world as well as in ancient China. In countries using Imperial units or US customary units it is sometimes called a mileometer or milometer, the former name especially being prevalent in the United Kingdom and among members of the Commonwealth.

The Act provides definitions and civil and criminal penalties for odometer fraud.

Odometer fraud, also referred to as "busting miles" or "clocking", is the illegal practice of rolling back odometers to make it appear that vehicles have lower mileage than they actually do. Odometer fraud occurs when the seller of a vehicle falsely represents the actual mileage of a vehicle to the buyer.

Interpretations

The Act was intended to protect consumers buying used vehicles from odometer fraud, and is typically applied against sellers who intentionally tamper with an odometer to misrepresent the actual miles an automobile has been driven. However, in 2004 and 2006, two class action lawsuits were filed against American Honda Motor Co Inc and two of its suppliers alleging that they had violated the Federal Odometer Act because the odometers in approximately 6,000,000 Honda and Acura vehicles overstated the actual mileage by 2% to 4% [2] even though the Act contains no provisions for odometer accuracy. Subsequently, Honda changed the tolerance of its odometers from -1%/+3.75% to ±2.5%. [3]

A class action, also known as a class action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member of that group. The class action originated in the United States and is still predominantly a U.S. phenomenon, but Canada, as well as several European countries with civil law have made changes in recent years to allow consumer organizations to bring claims on behalf of consumers.

Honda Manufacturer of automobiles, aircraft, motorcycles, and power equipment.

Honda Motor Company, Ltd. is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment.

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References

  1. 49 USC CHAPTER 327 - ODOMETERS Archived 2007-03-01 at the Wayback Machine Office of the Law Revision Counsel
  2. Odometer Settlement May Earn Class Lawyers $9.5 Million in Fees Law.com
  3. Settlement Agreement Archived 2007-02-22 at the Wayback Machine odosettlementinfo.com