# Will a car in tow gain mileage on the odometer? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 6, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835 "2004-10-06T13:28:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/1 "2004-10-06T13:28:42Z")
My wife and I are thinking of towing a car to Arizona, to park at our vacation home. Thinking it would save us money in the long run, by not making us have to rent a car every time we go to enjoy our vacation spot… My question is this: The car would be in tow on all four tires. Not on a Uhaul two-tire trailer. So, will the odometer roll forward and add mileage to the car if the engine is off and the car is simply being towed? ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/2 "2004-10-06T13:42:46Z")
I’m pretty sure that the answer is yes the car odometer will register the miles. At least that has been true in the past. Is the odometer electronic or analog? That may make a difference, but I don’t know. There should be a way to disconnect the odometer for situations like this. ---
**Author:** ![Meeko](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e495f1/32.png) [@Meeko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meeko)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/3 "2004-10-06T13:49:30Z")
Then again, if it does, you can always rig up the car, and run it in reverse. This should work to take off the miles… Until your neurotic friend goes postal and kicks his dad Ferrari and causes it to be totaled. Isnt that right Cameron? 🙂 ((And please I hope Everyone knows what I am talking about)) ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/4 "2004-10-06T14:03:07Z")
Be sure to check with your car dealer to see if your specific car model can be towed this way without damage. Some cars are perfectly OK, but others can sustain damage to the engine/transmission/drive train when towed on all four wheels. In some cases you can install a towing kit which allows the drivetrain to be disconnected while towing. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/5 "2004-10-06T14:10:45Z")
Yeah, as **Fat Bald Guy** said, “dolly” towing a car isn’t possible for automatics. Only manuals can be towed in this manner safely. As for the Odometer. I doubt it. AFAIK you simply hitch it up to it’s tow rings, keep the car off and tow it. Is your odometer a mechanical display or LED/electrical? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/6 "2004-10-06T14:11:19Z")
> [@adam yax](#): > > There should be a way to disconnect the odometer for situations like this. This may not be at all relevant to all localities, but this would be illegal here, tantamount to winding it back. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/7 "2004-10-06T14:12:30Z")
Here is a [link](http://www.rvknowhow.com/dinghy.html) with more info about towing. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/8 "2004-10-06T14:20:56Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This may not be at all relevant to all localities, but this would be illegal here, tantamount to winding it back. Really? The purpose of the odometer is to measure the distance that car has been driven, not towed. I would imagine that it is illegal if you keep driving the car with the odometer diconnected, but why be penalized (in terms of the car value) for adding miles to it that the engine wasn’t driving it? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/9 "2004-10-06T14:49:54Z")
That’s part of the purpose, but the engine isn’t the only part capable of suffering mileage-related wear. But in any case, I think the situation here is that it would come under the blanket of ‘tampering’, regardless of your intentions. ---
**Author:** ![DeVena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dec6dc/32.png) [@DeVena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DeVena)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/10 "2004-10-06T15:14:58Z")
From my dad, who is a retired mechanic… and who has vast experience towing cars. Most cars odometers are connected to the front wheel system thingymabob (sorry, Dad was on the car phone and started rambling then we got cut off). If the front wheels are turning, the odometer is accumulating mileage. Which is why he always towed vehicles on a lift for automatics or a 2-wheel dolly for manual transmissions (like [this](http://www.carcaddyusa.com/)) which only let the back wheels turn. Some automatics will do OK on a dolly, but you may need to disconnect the transmission. [http://www.towingworld.com/faqs.html](http://www.towingworld.com/faqs.html) > [@](#): > > Q. Is it legal to disconnect my odometer? > > A. Yes, but only while the vehicle is being towed and if certain other conditions are met. When you sell the vehicle you will have to attest on the vehicle’s title that the odometer was disconnected while the car was towed and provide an estimate of miles towed. Also, if you install a Speedometer Disconnect from Blue Ox or Remco the electrical power to operate the disconnect must come from the tow vehicle and not the towed vehicle the disconnect is installed on. Even if these conditions are met it is still illegal to install Speedometer Disconnects on vehicles licensed in the states of Washington or Oregon. For more info on Speedometer Disconnects [click here](http://www.towingworld.com/catalog/Accessories/speeddisc.html). ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/11 "2004-10-06T15:23:42Z")
> [@Fat Bald Guy](#): > > Be sure to check with your car dealer to see if your specific car model can be towed this way without damage. Some cars are perfectly OK, but others can sustain damage to the engine/transmission/drive train when towed on all four wheels. In some cases you can install a towing kit which allows the drivetrain to be disconnected while towing. I read somewhere (Reader’s Digest?) about an elderly couple with a motor home towing their car behind. The car caught fire :eek: and unknownst to them, started a forest fire in the the countryside they were transversing. He was given the hefty bill of the cost of putting out the fire. :eek: :eek: :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/12 "2004-10-06T15:24:32Z")
This is an 84’ Renagade in mint condition manual tranny. I’m thinking I may need to get the two wheel dolly. I spent a long time restoring this thing, I do not want to muck up the tranny over 2700 mile trip to AZ from CT. Thank you all I do appreciate it. I also knew there would be a Ferris Bueller reference in this thread… ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/13 "2004-10-06T16:44:50Z")
**Phlosphr** , if this is just a one-time thing, you might seriously want to consider a trailer that you can put the entire car on. No worries about transmission damage or odometer mileage, no wear on the tires, etc. For an older car in mint condition, it might be worth the peace of mind. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/14 "2004-10-06T17:07:24Z")
If it’s a late model car that uses a vehicle speed sensor to actuate the speedometer and odometer, it will not register any miles while the ignition is switched off. If the speedo/odo is mechanically driven (by a cable), it will register if the drive wheels are turning forward. **DeVena’s** statement only applies to front-wheel drive vehicles. If it’s a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, it will not register mileage if the front wheels are turning, but it will if the rear wheels are (unless the driveshaft has been removed or disconnected, which is one approach to protecting the transmission when towing a rear-drive vehicle with the rear wheels on the ground). There may have been some cars made many decades ago that would subtract mileage from the odometer when moving in reverse, but I’ve never seen that happen on any car in 30 years of working on them. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/15 "2004-10-06T18:27:03Z")
> [@Enola Straight](#): > > I read somewhere (Reader’s Digest?) about an elderly couple with a motor home towing their car behind. The car caught fire :eek: and unknownst to them, started a forest fire in the the countryside they were transversing. > > He was given the hefty bill of the cost of putting out the fire. :eek: :eek: :eek: Jean and Frederick Howard were fined $1.3 million for setting a fire in Idaho which was caused by sparks and flames coming off their towed vehicle which had lost a tire. It took firefighters 4 days to put out the 600 acre fire. Here’s the only [link](http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc0.asp?DOCID=1P1:28005250&num=1&ctrlInfo=Round8a%3AMode8b%3ASR%3AResult&ao=) I could find. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2004, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/16 "2004-10-06T21:14:26Z")
> [@Gary T](#): > > if the rear wheels are (unless the driveshaft has been removed or disconnected, which is one approach to protecting the transmission when towing a rear-drive vehicle with the rear wheels on the ground). Good advice, i.e. do not tow a rear-wheel drive car by simply picking up the front of the vehicle and allowing the rear wheels to spin on the road. This is Bad[sup]TM[/sup], because the drive shaft is spinning inside the transmission’s rear shaft bearing. Under regular driving conditions this bearing is lubricated with transmission fluid via a pump. But when you tow a car, the transmission is **off** , thus no fluid is being pumped to the bearing. Yet the shaft is spinning. Bad[sup]TM[/sup]. ---
**Author:** ![Saranga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Saranga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saranga)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/17 "2004-10-08T10:22:21Z")
> [@DeVena](#): > > …Which is why he always towed vehicles on a lift for automatics… I’ve noticed a lot of towers do this. Is it just a catch-all for rear-wheel drive, 4WD, and AWD vehicles? Or can a front-wheel drive vehicle be damaged by towing with the rear wheels down? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2004, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-a-car-in-tow-gain-mileage-on-the-odometer/267835/18 "2004-10-08T12:26:17Z")
> [@Saranga](#): > > I’ve noticed a lot of towers do this. Is it just a catch-all for rear-wheel drive, 4WD, and AWD vehicles? Or can a front-wheel drive vehicle be damaged by towing with the rear wheels down? On a front wheel drive vehicle, the rear wheels are being towed by the car every time you drive it. The back of the car can’t tell the difference between being pulled by the front wheels and being pulled by a dolly holding the front wheels.