Honda Civic Speedometer Not Working? Here’s What to Do!

You never really know how important your Honda Civic speedometer is until it stops working. Many times, drivers take an unconscious glance at the speedometer while driving. Why shouldn’t they, when it tells them how fast they are going?

What happens when you glance at your speedometer and it is not working? Some driver could panic, you shouldn’t. In this post, we will discuss the possible reasons why the speedometer isn’t working.

Honda Civic Speedometer Not Working: Most Likely Causes

The speedometer of your Honda Civic gets information about its speed from the “vehicle speed sensor.” After gathering this information, it sends it to the ECU. This component is programmed to work with the stock tire height and the car’s gear ratios. It then combines the data and sends the accurate reading to your car’s instrument cluster.

There are four major reasons why your Honda Civic speedometer will stop working. Let’s discuss them below:

Faulty Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS)

This is one of the top reasons why the speedometer of your car is not functioning as it should. Do you know that the vehicle speed sensor does far more than just send signals to the speedometer? It also has control over the car’s cruise control feature. Sometimes, if the VSS is not functioning properly, it affects how your engine runs.

You should check the engine with a scanner when you notice the “service engine soon” light. If you don’t own a scanner, then you should take your car to a mechanic.

Wiring Issues

When the wiring to the VSS or from it is exposed, it could affect your speedometer. Usually, you will notice this after driving the car through some heavy water. When you notice this, you should check the associated fuses to be sure that none has blown.

If any fuse has blown, then it is important to check the circuit for the root cause. Not solving the problem will result in the fuse getting bad over and over.

Faulty Engine Control Unit

Many people know this as the ECU. It is a computer that gathers information from your Civic’s sensors. This unit then makes use of this information to control the other systems in the car. After doing this, it sends telemetry data via the instrument cluster to the driver.

If this unit malfunctions, it wouldn’t be able to send such telemetry data. This means that your speedometer cannot receive any information. However, the ECU seldom has issues so you should first check the VSS and your wiring.

Speedometer problems

It is very rare for the speedometer to get bad when the other components of the system are working perfectly. If it should go bad, then you probably have a bigger issue on your hands. Check the instrument cluster to ascertain that all the other gauges are working. If they are out, then the issue is from the instrument cluster. Otherwise, you may need to get a new speedometer.

Honda Civic Speedometer Not Working: What to Do

Now that you have an idea of the possible causes of the problem, what can you do? In this section, we will discuss a few things to do when your Honda Civic speedometer is not working. Note that you may need to go to your mechanic for help. However, if you prefer to fix it yourself, you will need these instruments:

• Multimeter
• Scanner
• Soldering kit
• Extension, ratchet, and a metric socket set.

With this out of the way, here’s what you can do if your speedometer is malfunctioning:

Check the door jamb for tire information

Sometimes, your speedometer is not functioning as it should because you aren’t using the right tire size. In this case, the speedometer is giving you inaccurate readings. If the wheels are larger than they should, the speedometer begins to read slower than the actual speed.

Look at the door jamb to see the original recommendations from the manufacturer. Now compare this information to what you have on your tires. If you notice that the rim size is not the same, you can make use of an online rim/tire calculator. This will help to compare the tire sizes with what should be there.

What if you are not ready to swap the tires to the original recommendation? Here are a few things you should try:

• Recalibrate your speedometer. Do this by taking out the gauge cluster needle and resetting it.
• Change the VSS gear to one that has a different tooth count.

Replace the VSS

If your VSS is not working properly, an easy solution is to change it. After changing your VSS, the speedometer should work fine. However, if it doesn’t, then you should work on the wiring.

Replace the gauge cluster

If the gauge cluster has a break in its assembly, then you should replace it. Sometimes, the board is fried or cracked. When this happens, you cannot fix it no matter how much you solder the board. Unfortunately, this component is very costly and scarce. If you cannot find it or it seems too costly, you can try a different option. In this case, you should buy a GPS that can read your car’s speed. This component is easy to use and is a lot cheaper than the gauge cluster.

Solder the joints on the gauge cluster

As you continue to use the gauge cluster, some parts of the board may break due to wear and tear. Another reason for the breakage is temperature changes. When there are breakages on the gauge cluster, it results in cold connections.

If you haven’t soldered before, we suggest that you leave this to your mechanic. However, if you are adventurous, you can try it out yourself. The first thing to do is to remove the component from your car. Now, cover each of the solder joints by using new solder. Be careful when doing this so that you don’t damage the board.