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Speedometer Not Working

A speedometer that reads zero or jumps usually has a failed vehicle speed sensor, a faulty wheel speed sensor, a poor connection or a cluster fault; ABS and gearbox warnings often appear at the same time.

Normal risk

Get it fixed soon. Driving without a working speedometer is unsafe and may be illegal.

Short answer · Why is my speedometer not working?

Modern cars take speed from a gearbox output sensor or from the ABS wheel speed sensors. If the source fails, the speedometer drops to zero or jumps, and other systems that use speed may show warnings: ABS, stability control, and gear changes on automatics. If speed is correct elsewhere, such as a sat-nav, but the needle is dead, the cluster may be the problem.

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Safe checks you can do

  1. Check warning lightsABS or gearbox lights point to a sensor.
  2. Read the codesSpeed sensor codes guide the repair.
  3. Compare with sat-navHelps tell sensor faults from cluster faults.

Questions that narrow it down

  1. Is the ABS light on?Wheel speed sensor fault.
  2. Does the gearbox shift oddly?Speed signal missing.
  3. Does the odometer still count?Helps locate the fault.

Possible causes

Listed without ranking. Use the questions above to see which ones fit your car.

  1. Failed vehicle speed sensorNo speed signal.
  2. Wheel speed sensor faultABS warning too.
  3. Poor connectionJumping reading.
  4. Cluster faultNeedle or display.
  5. Network faultSpeed data not shared.

Questions about Speedometer Not Working

Is the speedometer checked at inspection?

In many countries, yes.

Does it affect the mileage?

If the odometer stops, recorded mileage will be wrong.