The speedometer in my 2004 Impala is going haywire. We were driving home one night on the interstate using the cruise control and we noticed the guage was showing a higher and higher speed reading though we could tell we weren’t actually going any faster. My husband took out the guage cluster a couple of days later and didn’t really do anything to it but put back in and it was working fine again for a while. Now it’s not. In researching this problem online I have found this is a common problem for this vehicle. So my question is-What is the cheapest fix? There is a website that says it repairs speedometers starting at $99. I wouldn’t dream of paying $500+ at a dealer. What about getting a speedometer out of the junkyard?
Can you just change them out or would it involve the whole cluster?
It might not be the speedometer. They’re rarely driven by a simple cable like in the old days. Probably it’s all electronic and there is a speed sensor or sending unit attached to the wheels or maybe the transmission.
Thanks. We’ll check it out.
Yes, the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) is usually attached to the transmission. Don’t assume the instrument cluster is bad. Try a new VSS first.
Having it rebuilt is probably your best bet, Junkyard unit will probably develop the same problem and needs to be programed at the dealer anyway. If you don’t have a check engine or abs light on and the car shifts normally, I would suspect the VSS is operating normally.
When the speedometer in my 95 Taurus was reading way to fast i checked with the dealer. Dealer price to replace the speedo with a new one 450 bucks.
Took the car to precision speedometer service in Anaheim, cal. & paid them 120 bucks to rebuild the speedo.
See if you have a similiar shop in your area.
Where I live there is a shop called “Mr. Speedometer”. They are qualified speedometer calibrators and cruise control installers, and do most of the taxi work here. There rates are reasonable and the staff very qualified.
This type of shop can quickly tell you what your problem is or is not. I find dealers hopeless at this type of thing.
My money is on the VSS.