One small thing about our cars that I find is a little annoying is the way the odometer is designed. On most digital odometer equipped cars, you can see the running total on your car as well as your currently selected trip odometer. However, on our cars, you can only view one at a time, i.e. "TRIP A", "TRIP B" or "ODO".

I always leave my odometer set to "TRIP A" (which I reset ever time I refuel, so it gives me an idea of how my gas mileage is doing), but occasionally I switch back to "ODO" and often get surprised at how many kilometers my car has on it and realize its almost time for some maintenance. Sometimes I wonder if Mazda did that on purpose so you don't realize how much mileage you're racking up on your car

 

What kind of car did you have before? I've never seen an odometer let you view both the running total and the Trip A or whatever at the same time.

 

well, my previous car didn't have a digital odometer, but my friend's 02 Jetta 1.8T has the running total above the currently selected trip. The new Lexus ES300 also has that but let's not compare with that...

 

I agree, don't see many cars that display both. However one 'odd' thing is that the ODO only displays round numbers. It doesn't show tenth of a mile.

 

First car I've had with a digital odo, so I didn't know they weren't all like that. It's fine by me. The less stuff cluttering up the dash, the better.

 

you can see both in my Focus!

 

On my rex also!

 

Rex = WRX?
Yeah, you can see both on a '03 WRX... but not on my '99 forester! So subaru has changed it over the years

 

Been driving a Mazda truck for past 2 weeks. It has both. But Im not so lazy as it would bother me to press a tiny button to keep track of my miles.

 

My 91 protege had a running odometer above the trip meter. It wasn't digital though.

 

My Dodge 4X4 with its V-8 shows both, but I don't always want to see that the old MOPAR has over 202000 miles on her.


I agree that it is a shocker when you go from the trip to the odo and see actual miles.

 

I've never seen Mazda's choice to provide only a single odometer display as anything except cost cutting. Nearly every other car I've ever seen, at least those that provide trip odometers in the first place, include BOTH total milage/'kilometerage' and trip. It's a really irritating omission that I wish was different (among the many things I wish were different, as probably most of you know by now! ).

One other thing about digital odometers that I find a little troubling: When investigating cars in a junk yard or perhaps those that don't have instruments powered on, there's no practical way for you to know how many miles/kilometers are on a car. Beyond satisfying simple curiosity (I find it interesting to note how many miles are on a car when examining them in a junk yard), noting how many miles/kilos are on a car can help you get an idea how worn some of its parts might be to help in making a decision whether you want to buy them, etc.. Basically I feel it's always better to know, and digital odometers make getting that knowledge either impossible or impractically difficult.

 

I don't think it's cost cutting, just space saving. I've been in much more expensice cars that are the same way.

 

Like I said, my subaru had it in one display. I agree though, it would be nicer as a seperate display. Digital odometers make it harder to tamper with (for your average joe), benefitting the used car market, which in general is a larger industry and more applicable to most consumers than junkyards. Also, look on the side of the car / windshield for the mileage written in yellow marker in junkyards....

 

I used Trip A to see how much miles I can go after the gas tank's filled up and Trip B to reach 3,000 miles to get oil change. To me, it's pretty useful.