New report finds more than 20,000 vehicles were sold with rolled back odometers

An Ontario woman thought she got a good deal when she bought a van for $2,700, but later learned the odometer had been rolled back nearly 100,000 kilometres.

Thousands of cars are being sold with rolled back odometers, according to a new report.

A new report from CARFAX Canada found that in 2025, 20,642 vehicles were flagged to have had rolled back odometers in their vehicle history reports. The company suspects that number to be much higher.

“You can go on Amazon and buy a tool and roll back an odometer all day long, and that doesn’t protect anyone,” Mike foster, vice president of CARFAX Canada, said.

According to the latest annual report from the Ontario Motor Vehicle Industry Council (OMVIC), 2,332 dealers, salespersons and curbsiders were charged with various offences last year, resulting in a combined total of $1.9 million in fines.

A curbsider is an illegal seller of a vehicle who operates without a licence selling cars. OMVIC said in about 1,500 cases, curbsiders were involved in fraudulent activity, including odometer fraud.

• READ MORE: Ontario woman buys van with odometer rolled back almost 100,000 kilometres

“That has to be one of the top risks when buying a used car. They (the curbsider) are going to try and make that vehicle look better than it is and they are going to try and sell it for more,” said Maureen Harquail, CEO of OMVIC.

The odometer isn’t the only thing that records a vehicle’s mileage. Several newer cars have a “black box” and various electronic modules that can record kilometres, and a mechanic with a scan tool can find the true mileage fairly easily.

To avoid falling victim to odometer tampering, CARFAX advises purchasing the vehicle’s information package and a vehicle history report. It is also recommended to review the seller’s identification to make sure they are the lawful owner of the car, ask for service records and have the vehicle inspected by a mechanic.

The company also advises buying a vehicle through an OMVIC-registered dealer, as it offers additional protections.

While manufacturers could do more to stop odometer scams, CarFax said criminals are never far behind.

“As quickly as original equipment manufacturers (OEM’s) improve their technology, the hackers are figuring it out,” said Foster.