Concerns:
- Odometer divergence
- Odometer unbalance
- Wrong reading
- Mileage
- Problem
Geotab, has found that not all vehicles are created equally.
The way engine diagnostic information is read can be different depending on the manufacturer.
Whether it's converting miles to kilometers or something more complicated, there is no industry standard yet. Geotab provides an end-to-end telematics solution that allows us to actively support new vehicles as they are produced or introduce support for existing vehicles that require changes.
Odometer reading
For the odometer reading to come from the vehicle's ECM, the Geotab device must be active Pro or a ProPlus Plan.
The Base and the HOS Plans offers an odometer reading based on GPS position.
For vehicles on these plans, it is strongly recommended to enter the odometer value as soon as you install the Geotab device to ensure a more accurate estimate of the odometer.
⚠ Did you know that odometer reading is required by the DCE Hours of Service regulation? It is essential to ensure that your vehicle has a good odometer reading. ⚠
Situational scenarios
1. The device transmits GPS data, but no odometer data was read for 41 days.
It is then advised to :
- Check which rate plan is active on the device (see the Rate Plan tab from the Vehicle tab).
- Check the installation and especially the type of harness that is used.
- Check that the odometer reading is available for this manufacturer.
2. The device transmits GPS data and reads the odometer from the ECM.
The vehicle is currently moving, no anomalies are detected here.
3. The device transmits GPS data and an odometer reading in GPS positioning.
The device is active on the Base/HOS package.
For vehicles on a Base or HOS plan, it is recommended to manually adjust the vehicle's odometer at installation to obtain more accurate data.
Potential problems and maintaining accuracy
Under the hood, many calculations are made to maintain an accurate odometer. However, in some circumstances, what you see on MyGeotab may not match what your vehicle's dashboard says.
Here are the potential causes:
- One vehicle's engine has been replaced, but the on-board computer still relies on the original engine.
- The GO device has tracked several vehicles, each with different odometer values.
- The device is installed with the wrong harness connection.
- The vehicle manufacturer does not allow the reading of certain data (see reference document by clicking here)
- The GO device firmware does not currently support your vehicle.
- A typo was made when manually entering the odometer into MyGeotab.
All of these situations will cause a problem when you try and create reports such as an IFTA report.
The reports will then use the wrong odometer value to determine the number of miles your vehicles have traveled in different states or taxable provinces.
Depending on the issue, you may not see any odometer values at all or, in some circumstances, you may see values that appear to go up and down.
In most cases, a manual adjust on the odometer will help bring your data back to normal.
View this article on odometer compensation for further indications.
For assistance, you can call a member of our technical support team at (888) 299-8555 or open up a ticket via the AttriX Support Tab in your MyGeotab Database.
Did you know that? Unlike other telematics providers that sell off-the-shelf GPS tracking devices, all hardware and software is created by Geotab.
This means that everything, right down to the firmware on your Geotab GO device, can be modified to ensure that the data your fleet receives is meaningful and accurate.