# Odometer Answer: Did Click and Clack Get it Wrong?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/odometer-answer-did-click-and-clack-get-it-wrong/47425>\
**Category:** The Show\
**Tags:** jetta, volkswagen\
**Created:** [April 13, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/odometer-answer-did-click-and-clack-get-it-wrong/47425 "2010-04-13T21:25:02Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![The\_Half-Million\_Mil](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d2c977/32.png) [@The\_Half-Million\_Mil](https://community.cartalk.com/u/The_Half-Million_Mil)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/odometer-answer-did-click-and-clack-get-it-wrong/47425/1 "2010-04-13T21:25:02Z")

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I recently linked Click and Clack’s answer to why the data in digital odometers isn’t lost when a car’s battery is removed to my blog [http://blo…-mill-man/](http://blogs.menshealth.com/half-mill-man/) (See “Odometer Update.”) Well, the good folks at Ross-Tech, makers of diagnostic software for VWs and Audi, weighed in and say that Tom and Ray got it wrong. So, guys, is Ross-Tech right?

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**Author:** ![tardis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f0a364/32.png) [@tardis](https://community.cartalk.com/u/tardis)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2010, 9:30pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/odometer-answer-did-click-and-clack-get-it-wrong/47425/2 "2010-04-13T21:30:41Z")

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I know of no cars that store the odometer reading magnetically. The ones that I know of (Fords) use FLASH memory, which is non-volatile (meaning that power is not required to retain the memory.)

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**Author:** ![Ranck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/aca169/32.png) [@Ranck](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Ranck)\
**Post date:** [April 14, 2010, 6:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/odometer-answer-did-click-and-clack-get-it-wrong/47425/3 "2010-04-14T18:39:33Z")

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The Ross-Tech guys have it right. You could, _kinda-sorta_, call EEPROM a magnetic storage, but it’s not really. Magnetic storage implies a tape or disk or, God help us, ferromagnetic beads, but not solid state electronics which is what EEPROM is.