Legal Information on Speedometer Calibration

Legal Information from Tacho Frankfurt on Speedometer Calibration

Please note the following legal provisions:

Here are some explanations regarding the current legal situation in Germany:
Since August 2005, Section 22b of the German Road Traffic Act (StVG) has been in effect.

This paragraph defines the criminal offense of "Misuse of odometers and speed limiters".
Rampant odometer manipulation and the resulting public pressure made the creation of a law criminalizing odometer tampering necessary.

Section 22b StVG was enacted to serve this purpose. The core intention of the law is to protect consumers from fraud when purchasing a vehicle.
After legal uncertainty existed following the introduction of the law regarding whether speedometer repairs and the necessary software are illegal, the Federal Constitutional Court has provided clarity: Software for repair, calibration, or restoration of the original mileage is legal.

Quote:

In enacting Section 22b (1) No. 1 StVG, the legislature did not intend to criminalize all forms of interference with odometers, such as for the purpose of calibration or repair. Rather, the criminal provision aims at the preventive fight against fraudulent deceptions regarding the actual mileage of motor vehicles in the used car trade.

Conversely, falsification does not occur when the odometer is interfered with for purposes of repair, calibration, conversion, or data restoration, because these actions aim to ensure or restore the proper functionality of the odometer, i.e., the display of the actual mileage of the motor vehicle.

Case Reference: 2 BvR 1589/05
http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/entscheidungen/rk20060509_2bvr158905.html

We explicitly point out that we perform odometer calibration exclusively for repair purposes.

Tampering with odometers for the purpose of fraud remains a punishable offense pursuant to Section 22b StVG.

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Adjustments to the speedometer or instrument cluster as well as all tuning measures are carried out under exclusion of any warranty. Rental cars and vehicles with tachographs cannot be adjusted for legal reasons.