On my 1999 Saab 9-5, the speedometer shows miles in large green numbers, and km in smaller orange numbers, both lit at night. This is a lot better than most other cars sold in the US where the km is obscure to the point of almost being invisible, there only to follow the law. The odometer is in miles but a friend of mine who is a Saab mechanic knows an undocumented hack that involves plugging something into the OBD port and changing a setting that will then make it display km.
Saabs sold in Canada have km only, as there is no law up there requiring miles inside the speedometer. That is the only real difference between the US and Canadian models; where there were different standards, Saab followed the stricter one, meaning the car meets the requirements of both countries. Wish we didn't have to go through all this. Carleton _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Martin Vlietstra Sent: Saturday, July 07, 2007 13:10 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39014] RE: How to switch a 2007 Passat to km/h? Has your VW dealer been any use? The odometer on my 2001 VW Golf (UK model) has an LCD display that shows miles. I understand that there is a way to set it to kilometers, but that it is in a secret garage handbook somewhere. On the other hand, my the handbook in my wife's 2004 Renault Scenic explains how to flip between metric and imperial units. Ideally, we will change the speedometer to show km/h when we next cross the Channel to France. _____ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Remek Kocz Sent: 07 July 2007 17:30 To: U.S. Metric Association Cc: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:39013] How to switch a 2007 Passat to km/h? Volkswagen tries too hard to appear American, and as a result they end up with cars that are overwhelmingly USC. The 2007 Passat and Jetta have temps in F printed on the coolant dial and on the climate control switch. The speedometer is only in mph. All this is annoying, but it's compensated by the electronic display that can display outside temps in C, calculate fuel efficiency in km/L or L/100 km, use 24h time, etc. That pesky speedometer is the only major problem. Does anyone have an idea how to force it to calibrate to km/h? This is a first car I've come across that doesn't have a dual-display speedometer, and the instructions don't mention switching to km/h. I visit Canada frequently, so displaying my speed in km/h is critical. Thanks, Remek
