Honda Accord Speedometer/Odometer Not Working

Having a functioning speedometer and odometer is crucial because they can inform you if your driving is safe or not. If your speedometer is inaccurate, fluctuating, or isn’t working, then you won’t know what speed you’re driving at. If your odometer isn’t working, you can’t tell the distance your Honda Accord has traveled, so you won’t know when it needs maintenance.

A common cause for a non-working speedometer or odometer in a Honda Accord is a faulty vehicle speed sensor (VSS). This sensor provides vital speed data to these instruments. When it fails, the speedometer and odometer will stop functioning. Replacing the VSS, usually located on the transmission, can resolve this issue and restore functionality to these instruments.

Another reason for these issues in a Honda Accord could be a problem with the instrument cluster itself. Over time, the connections within the cluster can become loose or corroded, leading to malfunctions. In this case, repairing or replacing the instrument cluster is necessary to fix the speedometer and odometer.

Additionally, electrical issues can also lead to a malfunctioning speedometer and odometer in a Honda Accord. This could be due to a blown fuse or a fault in the wiring harness that connects these instruments. Checking and replacing any blown fuses, and inspecting and repairing any damaged wiring, can often rectify these problems, ensuring that the speedometer and odometer work correctly.

Read on to find out how to fix the speedometer and odometer in your Honda Accord. You can learn how to recalibrate an inaccurate speedometer, correct a stuck odometer, correct a jumping speedometer, and more. These solutions can help make your vehicle safe to drive.

Honda Accord Inaccurate Speedometer Reading

If your Honda Accord’s speedometer is inaccurate, then you could be ticketed by a cop for driving too fast or too slow. Speeding or driving under the speed limit can be dangerous for other drivers. Changing the stock parts of your Honda Accord, like getting different-sized tires, faults an inaccurate speedometer. A simple solution would be to recalibrate your speedometer.

Honda Accord Speedometer Calibration

For a manual speedometer:

Count the number of teeth on the drive gear: The drive gear is located in the gearbox, which is a part of the transmission. For access, unscrew any connections and the cover. The part should be mounted inside of the transmission. You can mark its teeth with a marker when counting them.
Determine your tires’ axle ratio: The axle ratio should be on a metal tag on the differential cover or a sticker on the axle. If you can’t find it, your Honda Accord’s vehicle manual should provide it.
Determine your tires’ revolutions per mile: You can find your tires’ revolutions per mile by measuring their diameter and circumference.
Use your findings to calculate the correct gear ratio on the speedometer: You can find the right gear ratio on the speedometer for your Honda Accord by using the numbers you’ve gotten and referring to a speedometer gear ratio calculator.
Replace your current driven gear with the necessary one: Find the correct driven gear for your Honda Accord and unclip the old one. Clip the new one in its place. Then re-secure everything, and you’re finished.

For a digital speedometer:

Find out the distance needed to drive to recalibrate your speedometer: You can find this information by contacting your local Honda dealership or searching in your vehicle manual.
Press and hold the calibration button: The calibration button for your Honda Accord should be located on the speedometer in your dashboard. Press the button with one hand and start your vehicle with the other, then release.
Press the button again: Now, you can drive the distance needed according to your local dealership or vehicle manual.
Press the button for the last time: After driving the recommended distance, press the button for the third time so your Honda Accord can recalibrate itself.

Honda Accord Odometer Not Working

Your Honda Accord’s odometer measures distance traveled so you can determine when it needs maintenance. If your manual odometer stops working, the gear that turns the numbers could have broken teeth. If your digital odometer stops working, the connections that power the liquid crystal display could be cracked. You can find two methods of fixing this below.

Honda Accord Odometer Correction

For a manual odometer:

The copyright owner of this article is Knowmyauto.com and was first published on Mar 21, 2021..

Disconnect the negative terminal on the battery: You should do this anytime you work with electrical appliances in your vehicle to prevent anything from shorting out.
Remove the instrument cluster: For older Honda Accords, this is a very tedious task, but for newer ones, all you have to do is unscrew the bolts holding it into the dashboard and unplug any connected cables.
Flip the speedometer and odometer gauge cluster over: On its back, there is the odometer gear. Disconnect the motor from the odometer gear, and you should be able to pop it out.
Replace the odometer gear: Now that you replaced the odometer gear, you can reassemble everything, and you should have a working odometer again!

For a digital odometer:

Repeat the first two steps for correcting a manual odometer.
Remove the back casing off of the instrument cluster: Now, you should be able to access the circuit board to inspect the LCD connections for any cracked or broken connections.
Flux the pins: Putting down flux can remove any impurities from the solder.
Solder the damaged connections: Heat the pins with a soldering gun to create a surface that the solder can stick to. Now you can repair the pins with solder and fix your digital odometer.

Honda Accord Speedometer Light Not Working

Car interior and steering wheel dashboard

The lighting in your Honda Accord’s dashboard is so you can see the speed you’re traveling at when it’s dark. If those lights are out, you could have blown a fuse, or the dash’s light bulbs could be burnt out. Possible solutions for these two issues could be to replace the blown fuse or change the light bulbs in the instrument cluster.

Honda Accord Interior Lights Fuse Replacement

How to replace a Honda Accord’s fuses:

Locate the fuse box: Your Honda Accord’s fuse box should be up and to the left of the air resonator box. Remove its covering to gain access to the fuses.
Find the Interior Lights fuse: The fuse box cover should have a printed guide for the fuses underneath it.
Take out the burnt fuse and replace it. There should be a pair of tweezers to remove the fuse in the fuse box case. After replacing the fuse, your lights should be working.

Honda Accord Instrument Cluster Light Bulb Change

How to change Honda Accord instrument cluster light bulbs:

Remove the instrument cluster: You can learn how to remove your instrument cluster by referring to the Honda Accord Odometer Corrections section.
Flip the instrument cluster over: On the back of the part, there should be multiple bulbs of varying sizes. Locate the burnt-out lights.
Unscrew and replace the burnt-out lights: You can find the right bulbs at your local Honda dealership. Then you can reassemble everything and have working dash lights.

Honda Accord Speedometer Needle Stuck

If your Honda Accord’s speedometer needle is stuck, you won’t be able to see the speed you’re driving at, which can be dangerous for you and the other drivers and possibly warrant a ticket for speeding. If your vehicle has cruise control, you can use this, so you at least know what speed you’re driving at. A solution for a stuck speedometer needle is to reset it with a magnet.

Honda Accord Speedometer Needle Reset

Manually resetting your speedometer needle by taking the instrument cluster out of the dash is hard work (especially for older Honda Accords) and could risk breaking the fragile needle. Instead, you can simply use a powerful magnet and set it against the instrument cluster’s protective window, following the needle around the circle until it’s back on top of the peg.

Honda Accord Speedometer Jumping

When your Honda Accord’s speedometer starts jumping or stops working altogether, that could mean that the vehicle speed sensor is damaged or broken. These conditions can make it hard to drive because the broken part can cause the transmission to go into overdrive, making it harder to brake. A solution for this problem would be to replace the vehicle speed sensor.

Honda Accord Vehicle Speed Sensor Replacement

How to replace your Honda Accord’s vehicle speed sensor:

Locate the VSS: The VSS is underneath the throttle body and over the differential. Unscrew any bolts and disconnect any cables so you can slide the part out.
Replace the VSS: You can find the right VSS at your local Honda dealership. Replace the part and re-mount it to the transmission. Now your speedometer should work smoothly.

Honda Accord Speedometer Color Change

If your Honda Accord’s speedometer starts changing colors, there is no need to worry. Honda has developed the ambient meter technology for speedometers to promote fuel-efficient driving using a range of colors, including green, blue-green, and blue. These colors can communicate to the driver if they are driving in the best way possible for saving fuel.

What the colors mean: