I am thinking of swapping out the cluster in my 2000 996 Cab for a silver face cluster for a better look. This seems relatvely easy to do.

The question is.....when I swap these out will the mileage transfer over automatically? Or do I start at 0 miles again with my new cluster?

Is this something I can swap myself? Has anyone attempted this?

Thanks!

 

http://www.renntech.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=799

The mileage is stored in the cluster, not the car computer. For example. I bought a used 996 cluster off ebay to put in my Boxster that has 45k miles. The used 996 cluster had 960 miles on it. When I plugged in the 996 cluster in my Boxster it displayed 960 miles.

If you plug in a new cluster it will have 0 miles.

Once a cluster has over 62 miles on it the mileage is locked and a dealer with the PST2 cannot change the mileage. But there are aftermarket companies that can change the mileage.

Watch out if you buy a used cluster as there are defective ones being sold. Jeff

 

I thought that the ecu was linked with the transmission and recorded your miles. that way the dealership will always know your actual miles and can adjust your odometer accordingly. I had a problem whereby my mileage was going up too fast and the dealership adjusted my odometer to reflect the actual mileage on the car. it was free of charge and the car had 28k miels on it. I think that if they couldn't tell through the ecu what the actual mileage was then anyone could just swap out their gauge clusters and reinstate their warranties or even worse change their mileage and sell the car stating it had low mileage. WHAT IS THE ANSWER?

 

The ecu/dme stores operating hours. Are you confusing this with miles? If the cluster has less than 62 miles then a dealer can increase the odometer to read any number your want, but cannot decrease the number to let's say zero. I do not know how a dealer can adjust the mileage displayed in the cluster to match the mileage stored in the ecu/dme if the ecu/dme does not have this information stored. This is what I have been told by the PCA tech advisor who also happens to be the shop foreman at my dealer in San Jose, and helps out us local owners. Ask your dealer what was done and see if you get different info.

If you swap out your high mileage cluster with a used cluster that reads less mileage to stay in warranty the dealer can tell. The VIN stored in the used cluster will not match your car. The operating hours in the dme will be off when compared to the mileage in the cluster. In my picture of the PST2 the 1998 Boxster has 1,160.9 operating hours in the dme. If that car came into the shop with 3,000 miles displayed in the cluster there would be some questions.

 

I don't think you should be so sure you'll be able to reduce the mileage reading by swapping clusters. The instrument cluster on my '02 cab malfunctioned at 15k mi. and was replaced under warranty. My dealer told me Porsche does not allow them to stockpile new instrument clusters specifically to prevent people from screwing around with their mileage. He had to take out my original cluster and put in a used cluster. He noted the mileage on my original cluster and the mileage on the used cluster. He sent my original cluster back to Porsche and they sent him a new cluster in return. After installing the new cluster, he noted the miles I had driven on the temporary cluster, added it to my original miles and burned the total into the new cluster.

 

I can do it. I have done it.

This is the 996 cluster I bought off ebay last year to put in my 1997 Boxster so I could have the 2 extra gauges. I drove .4 miles on this cluster to see if it worked. You can see it shows 990 miles, but my car has over 43k miles. You can also see the middle LCD is defective - so that is why I did not use it.



I then took the circuit board out of my Boxster cluster and swaped it for the board in the 996 cluster. The 996 cluster now shows my actual mileage of 43,446 as it has my Boxster circuit board.



If I drove to a dealer in a 1997 Boxster with 990 miles on the 996 cluster there would be some questions. First, of course, is why do I have a 996 cluster in a Boxster. Then why does the VIN in the cluster not match my car. Then why are the operating hours in my DME way higher then what they should be for 990 miles.