When you first began to
experience the intermittent or fading odometer problem, you probably
felt, as most of us did, that it was only a
minor inconvenience and not serious enough
to
spend good money having it fixed.
After all, except for this minor
odometer glitch and perhaps a couple of other "small problems" that are common in
these vehicles, you were probably reasonably satisfied with the vehicle.
Besides, you soon found that a little odometer CPR (e.g., strategic
'thumping' in just the right spot on the instrument panel) usually
restored the display and -- except on those very hot mid-summer days
-- the odometer worked most of the time.
But in spite of your best
efforts to keep 'thumping' life back into the odometer, the problem
returned more frequently and the blank odometer display lasted for
longer periods. Over time, the 'dash thumping' routine was becoming
more severe, but was less effective. Or it no longer worked at all.
As the problem worsened,
you began to realize that not being able to read your
vehicle mileage was more than simply a minor inconvenience. It
was creating real problems, and some of these problems were going to be costly....
