Mileage Exceeds Mechanical Limits

July 19, 2009 7:33 AM

Just got a Pennsylvania title for my car (2000 Rav4) - title indicates the correct odometer reading (~120,00 miles), then says "MILEAGE EXCEEDS THE MECHANICAL LIMITS." What the what? That status is apparently used for cars with 5-digit mechanical odometers when the numbers roll over after 99,999 miles. Mine is digital. It clearly reads 6 digits. Is this a big deal? Should I get a new title? Will this be a problem in the future if I try to sell the car? Has this happened to anyone else?
posted by billysumday to travel & transportation (6 comments total)

Do the six digits include the decimal?
posted by Aquaman at 7:34 AM on July 19

No decimal. Right now it reads: 122608.
posted by billysumday at 7:39 AM on July 19

Did the car have a decimal in the first place? My 2009 Mazda CX-7 has less than 10,000 miles and doesn't have a decimal. Same with the 2005 and the 2001 model year cars I had before it with digital odometers.

I wonder if it's something that automatically gets added after 99,999 miles without a manual intervention when the title is created? Older cars with mechanical odometers typically only had 5 digits. Might be worth a phone call to PennDOT and see about getting that removed.
posted by jeversol at 8:08 AM on July 19

This is a big deal. What it's saying is that, in the case of your car, you have over 1 million miles on the odometer. In Massachusetts, when you go to sign over a title to a new owner, there is some language on the back that says "I certify that this mileage is blah blah blah," with a check box, and people tend to check the box because they think they're certifying that the mileage is correct. But If you read it carefully you're saying that the odometer has rolled over. Someone did this once when selling me a car, and we had to go get a notarized letter explaining that it wasn't the case before the DMV would process the title with that box checked, then crossed out.

Someone made a mistake when they gave your old title to the PA DMV (I assume you just moved to PA, not that you just bought this car from someone?). You should get this sorted out so that there is no ambiguity about the mileage on the car when you sell it later.
posted by autojack at 8:22 AM on July 19

When I had my car title transferred to me, I did just as autojack mentions. I checked the box that stated my odometer rolled over, but I thought it said something else. Luckily, the lady at the DMV noticed this, said "You don't want to do that," and corrected it right then.

If you are considering selling it in the future, I would get it corrected to avoid any potential problems.
posted by mathlete at 10:27 AM on July 19

The cars I own are old enough that such statements don't apply, so the title people automatically put the blurb on there about "may not be correct."

In Oklahoma it says "EXEMPT," just because the car is old enough for it to be exempt from the disclosure requirement.
posted by wierdo at 6:07 PM on July 19