MY 2013 Speedometer reading incorrect!

I searched and couldn't find much on this issue. I have verified on my 2013 SL that the speedometer is reading 3-4 mph faster than what I'm actually going. I took it to the dealer and they verified that the wheel speed sensors (and speedometer) are reading 55 mph when the car is actually going 52. They checked at 65 and actual speed is only 61. Nissan Tech told them to test the other '13 on the lot. It was an SL as well with same tire pressure, etc. It read exactly the same as my Leaf. They told the dealer that it was within the spec so they would not be correcting it.

I find this to be ridiculous! A high tech car like the Leaf and I have to use my phone to verify my speed?? I called in to the hotline and complained but it doesn't sound like anything will be done at this point. I need to see if any other 2013 owners have this issue. My dealer told me that if they get a lot of complaints then something may be done on this issue. My wife drives this car and traveling under the speed limit on the interstate (when she thinks she is going right at 65) is dangerous. I had to take my Volt to the Chevy dealer this morning and I mentioned this to them. They were a little shocked that Nissan just brushed it off and didn't fix it. Any feedback from other owners would be helpful. If anybody buys the Silver Leaf from Uftring Nissan, you will have this issue as well!

How are they verifying the speed? On a dynamometer hopefully!

A lot of people attempt to use a GPS to verify speed when most consumer units don't properly calculate ground speed to any real degree of precision.

Speedometer readings are required by law to not read low
under normal conditions, so the manufacturer usually builds
a 1% to 2% "exaggeration" into the display.

The car knows the real speed, because the odometer
is supposed to be as accurate as possible.

However, a 5% "over-statement" is unusual.

What tire pressure are you using?
Raising the tire pressures will reduce this speed "gap".

I believe that a typical GPS speeds, on flat ground, driving at a
constant speed, with good GPS coverage, are probably quite good.

Do you know something about GPS "speed" accuracy
that you can reveal to better educate me, please?

I'm not 100% sure what they were using to verify actual ground speed. I will have to ask next time I stop by the dealer.

I was using the Speedometer Speed Box app on my Iphone to get an idea of how far it was off. It is right on with my Volt and I was right on with what the dealer found on the Leaf.

garygid said:

Speedometer readings are required by law to not read low
under normal conditions, so the manufacturer usually builds
a 1% to 2% "exaggeration" into the display.

The car knows the real speed, because the odometer
is supposed to be as accurate as possible.

However, a 5% "over-statement" is unusual.

What tire pressure are you using?
Raising the tire pressures will reduce this speed "gap".

Click to expand...

I will check the tire pressure tonight. I believe it is around 37. They did mention that they had the tire pressure exactly the same on both cars when they tested them. I am going to watch my ododmeter on a few trips to work to make sure it is exact.

With the Michelin MXV4s at 44 pounds and running a measured mile, my speedometer came back as 1.9 percent fast at 60 MPH on my 2011... Note that your speedometer (and odometer) will also become faster as the tires wear (smaller circumference).

Every car I have owned has read high by 1-2 mph. The worst was my '87 Mazda 626GT Turbo sedan, which was 7% too high! The odometer was off by 4%, adding another 4 miles for every 100 I drove, and then the speedo was an additional 3% off. The speedometer shop I took it to, who verified all the local police cruisers, installed a reduction drive on the speedo cable for me. After that, the speedo was right on, and the odometer actually removed 1-2 miles for every 100 I drove, registering only 98 or 99. My 2012 Leaf seems to be within about 1 mph. I don't know what could have changed from 2012 to 2013. :?

garygid said:

I believe that a typical GPS speeds, on flat ground, driving at a
constant speed, with good GPS coverage, are probably quite good.

Do you know something about GPS "speed" accuracy
that you can reveal to better educate me, please?

Click to expand...

I've never had very accurate speed results when using GPS, always a few MPH off (usually fast). I've assumed that it primarily has to do with the sampling rate and normalizing that occurs.

We have many speed radar signs here in the NW that has confirmed that my Leaf consistantly reads about 0.5-1.5 MPH over the speed radar sign.

My 2011 was just +1mph at 65. My 2013 is +3 at 65, +2 between 45-60, and +1 below 45. Both cars had 41-42 psi in the OEM tires.

You have to be a little careful about using speed signs like that as a reference. Unless the sign is straight on to your vehicle, which is very rare, you will get cosine error which causes the sign to read lower than the actual speed. There is an adjustment in the sign to compensate for cosine error, but it requires the sign to be set up by someone who knows what they are doing and also will only be completely accurate at a given angle from the sign.

DarkStar said:

We have many speed radar signs here in the NW that has confirmed that my Leaf consistantly reads about 0.5-1.5 MPH over the speed radar sign.

Click to expand...

you guys are lucky. Australian Design Rules (ADR) say a speedo can read 0-10%+, the leaf is 9% over.

I did take it up with the Nissan service department, they said the same (it was within spec) so no issue.

Of course it means I cannot rely on the big speedo stuck in front of my eyes, because if I tootle along 10% below the speed limit I will get hit by a truck barrelling along.

In the past I have used units like this (http://www.jaycar.com.au/productView.asp?ID=KC5435" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false to intercept and correct the signal from the gearbox to the dash, but I have no idea how this works on the Leaf yet. Does anyone have information about how the speed is determined, and whether it can be adjusted internally (eg via Consult)

Although the OP's values sound significantly off, we've had some discussion of this before. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=177842#p177842" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; might prove interesting to the OP and others.

The Priuschat link doesn't point to the right post in the thread anymore (due to a software change over there). http://priuschat.com/threads/speedometer-error-about-1-mph-some-evidence.77291/#post-1282138" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; discusses UNECE...

What if your leasing the Leaf and go over mileage due to speedo indicating higher speed and thus the car traveling further than actual on odometer?

Usually the car knows the real speed (as close as it can), and
drives the odometer with minimal error. However, the car
adds an error to the speed displayed at the speedometer.

First, do a real basic sanity check. Drive the car over a flat, level course at a fixed speed and known distance (I don't know if they use "mile" of "km" markers there along the road). With a basic stop watch, measure the time and calculate speed. Then compare that to the speedometer.

Alternately, any good quality GPS can derive reasonable ground speed data.

Here's the EASIEST test of all. Put the LEAF in its maintenance menu by first turning off the radio (this won't work on a 2013 LEAF-S base model without the Clarion navigation unit):

1. Radio off (lower left hand button)
2. Press MAP three times (upper right hand button)
3. Press Radio two times (lower left hand button)
4. Press MAP once

I'm doing this from memory, and haven't owned a LEAF in a bit of time, so I may have mistaken a step. Hopefully, somebody will correct me if so.

It may take several tries, but eventually you'll get in the maintenance screen, and with a bit of snooping around, you'll get to the page that show GPS data. Use the data labeled Vgps and drive the car as close to 1000 as you can (that's 100.0 kmh). Observe the variation with the speedometer.

Within the maintenance screen, there is a page to adjust the speedometer.

Thanks for the links and all of the information. I will try the trick with the GPS when I get a chance. I was also thinking the odometer wasn't accurate as well. I've done two trips with the Volt and the Leaf on the exact same route (my daily commute). My total miles with the Volt was 26.3 and the Leaf was 27.0 miles. I checked a point along the route and the Volt was 7.6 and the Leaf was at 7.8. The odometer seems to be 2.5% off when calculating miles. I also drove this route with our other car and it was exactly 26.3 miles. I did the route on google maps and it shows 26.3 miles. Hopefully this will be enough for them to go in and check things out.

My 2012 Leaf is consistently 8% off. If I want to drive 50kph I need the speedo to read 54kph. To drive 100 I must put the needle at 108.

Hello, All. This is my first post, so I beg gentle treatment.

I too am concerned about the consequences of my speedometer's overstating my actual speed. It says 62 when, by stopwatch on a measured mile, I'm actually doing 60. This raises the question:

Am I correct in assuming that if the speedometer overstates speed by roughly 3%, then my odometer also overstates miles traveled by the same percentage?

My concern about this pertains to the 12,000/yr. lease I've assumed. I will be close to 12,000 miles and the 3% may be enough to push me over the top, into penalty land.

If the speedometer/odometer relationship is as I assume, then I think I need to document my concerns with Nissan now, to put them on notice and give them an opportunity to correct the problem.

I'd appreciate any expertise on my basic question and any suggestions about how to best approach Nissan with the problem.

And thanks for a terrific website. I've spent hours poring over the wealth of information here!

Mike Flynn

Pastgasser said:

Hello, All. This is my first post, so I beg gentle treatment.

I too am concerned about the consequences of my speedometer's overstating my actual speed. It says 62 when, by stopwatch on a measured mile, I'm actually doing 60. This raises the question:

Am I correct in assuming that if the speedometer overstates speed by roughly 3%, then my odometer also overstates miles traveled by the same percentage?

My concern about this pertains to the 12,000/yr. lease I've assumed. I will be close to 12,000 miles and the 3% may be enough to push me over the top, into penalty land.

If the speedometer/odometer relationship is as I assume, then I think I need to document my concerns with Nissan now, to put them on notice and give them an opportunity to correct the problem.

I'd appreciate any expertise on my basic question and any suggestions about how to best approach Nissan with the problem.

And thanks for a terrific website. I've spent hours poring over the wealth of information here!

Mike Flynn

Click to expand...

They won't correct it. They're allowed by law to be (up to) 10% off at 50mph.

Now whether that has any bearing on miles driven. Or, if it does, whether Nissan will work with you on you lease mileage is another story entirely. It can't hurt to ask.