"clocking" A Fortuner

[Spiny]

For various reasons I just realised my driver, who has been with me for 9 years, has been doing his own business in my personal car while I am at work. Since moving companies and going from using a company car to a private car, I estimate he has added an extra 15,000 kms to my Fortuner in the past year.

As my company pays for my fuel I never really thought to check how far the motor was traveling. (Stupid I know to trust a Thai, but alfter 9 years you think you know the character of someone)

Needless to say, I am now monitoring the daily distance travelled by the car. I was just wondering if there were ways of altering (clocking?) the Fortuner digital mileage meter so he might repeat his cheating activities.

By the way I have not fired the driver for various reasons and have given him the benefit of the doubt. So please don't ask me about this

[Farma]

There are Odometer cluster programmers on the market that allow adjustments.

I wonder what information is stored on that credit card sized service history card and what info the Toyota dealer sees when he plugs into your cars ECU.

You may be able to track the mileage that way.

[Spiny]

There are Odometer cluster programmers on the market that allow adjustments.

Farma

Thanks for the reply, would those programmers be easy found in Bangkok,

I recently had a 20,000 service.

I doubt my driver will try this trick again, but I just had this nagging doubt in my mind that my daily tracking of the odometer would be for nought if he really wanted to find a way round this. I am also tracking fuel consumption now. Can I assume about 8 to 10 km/litre?

thanks

[Farma]

A quick look Google shows those programmers are made in China or Hong Kong so I dare say they’re readily available via ebay and in Bangkok.

Our fortuner averages 9.9 at the moment with a combination of city and country driving + my lead foot.

Oops forgot to add ours is diesel too.

[HDRIDER]

HI

Mine do about 9-10 KM/L thats on Phuket

did a trip from Phuket-CM-Phuket, about 11,5 KM/L

Forgot: Diesel that is

[Who, me ?]

Stupid I know to trust a Thai,[/b

I find this remark very disturbing.

[modog]

You might need to install a GPS tracking system to record all activities of your vehicle, and monitor it on-line.

[indothai]

It's pretty clear. Just lay it out on the line and state the rules, if he doesn't like it he can leave... if he breaks the rules, show whos boss and fire him.

[Spiny]

Stupid I know to trust a Thai,[/b

I find this remark very disturbing.

I appologize for this remark but I am very upset at what he has done and don't really understand why he has had to resort to this deception. He will not tell me the truth of what he has been up to and suspect it might be some kind of taxi scam shared by the rest of the company drivers here, maybe using the company cars as taxis to Suwannabhumi, as the distance covered worked out to be about 100 km per day. The cars mileage is not tracked only the the working hours of the drivers.

He is an exceptional Thai man, he doesn't smoke, drink or womanize. I have lived and worked in Bangkok for 21 years and never encountered a young Thai man like him

I have helped him and his family in so many ways and in return he has helped my family also.

I considered him more like a son, as he is about the same age as my son, and he considers me more like his father, that's why I dropped my usual "Thai ripping off farang" guard when dealing with him, only to be taken advantage of.

Of all the Thai people I thought I could trust I thought it would be him. As I said I do not want to go into this aspect of my post but I am only concerned now with damage limitation and prevention of this deception in the future.

[A_Traveller]

^ On the above hopefully rather than looking at it as a generic issue, maybe he has been led astray by peer group pressure {you mention the other drivers 'scam'} and this might be a route to resolving this, reducing pressure but letting him know you understand his situation but want to recover your mutual position. Hope that makes some sense.

On the odometer the standard range Toyota ones are usually single chips in the cluster, {and yes they are programmable/resettable} and don't retroactively update from the ECU. Some systems, if there is a discrepancy between the ECU mileage {not all record it} and the cluster chip, the cluster is automatically reset.

Regards

[indothai]

Spiny, I understand where you are coming from.

That said, you really can't blame a person for wanting to make more money. If his goal is to make more money, then it really wouldn't matter what you install in the car to prevent him from doing so. He will find other methods to generate income with or without your car.

Modog suggestion is good, it's a GPS device installed in the car that you can track. Don't tell the drivers of the location of the GPS device, but do tell them that they are being track and show them the proof (ie: routes of the car on a map). Telling them in advance that they will be tracked will prevent the "spying" misunderstanding. Showing the proof will reinforce your statement.

We had a similar situation like your's in another country.... We eventually had to let him go, it was a sad day for everyone.

[Naam]

Stupid I know to trust a Thai,

I find this remark very disturbing.

me too. it should read "never trust anybody!"

[Spiny]

Stupid I know to trust a Thai,

I find this remark very disturbing.

me too. it should read "never trust anybody!"

Yes, agreed, I am sorry for that remark, okay, but I am a very disappointed, and it was my way of lettng off a bit of steam

[torrenova]

Check your tyre wear is one suggestion. Not accurate though.

The sad fact is that he has abused his position and you don't know what other scams he has going. The only way forward is to report him to the police and fire him so he cannot sue you for unfair dismissal and after 9 years he'd get a pretty penny and perhaps knows this.

[Spiny]

Anyone know how many kms to expect a set of Fortuner tyres will run on Bangkok roads before needing changing

[Spiny]

The sad fact is that he has abused his position and you don't know what other scams he has going. The only way forward is to report him to the police and fire him so he cannot sue you for unfair dismissal and after 9 years he'd get a pretty penny and perhaps knows this.

I can't dismiss him as he works for my company through an agency. I could change him for another however, my experience of other drivers has also been less than favorable.

The change was that he is now driving my private car not a company owned vehicle. He switched agencies after I switched companies so he could carry on working for me and my family.

[jkinbkk]

I think the GPS idea is good.

However, I would use an excuse that due to the recent increase in 4x4/SUV's thefts you will install the GPS devise so you could locate your Fortuna in the event of theft.

Once installed show him how it has tracked your vehicle and that should be enough to stop whatever it is he is doing (if in fact he is doing anything untoward with your vehicle), plus it will be non confrontational which I think keeps face all round.

[stingray]

You might need to install a GPS tracking system to record all activities of your vehicle, and monitor it on-line.

I'm interested too. where you can buy this GPRS Tracking System and it is possible to shut down the engine if the car go out of range?

[whimsy]

You might need to install a GPS tracking system to record all activities of your vehicle, and monitor it on-line.

I'm interested too. where you can buy this GPRS Tracking System and it is possible to shut down the engine if the car go out of range?

Here is one place that sells GPS trackers.  It is in Chiang Mai, but they do mail orders.http://www.eaglegps.info/shopdemo/index.ph...&zenid=e3ca

[bino]

When I was a teenager and didn't want Mom to know how far I had driven her car, I'd get underneath it with a pair of pliers and unscrew the speedo cable from the transmission, then reconnect it when I arrived home in the wee hours of the morning.

Granted that was decades ago, and modern cars probably have an electronic connector on the transmission instead.

The reprogramming device sounds a little too sophisticated for a young man who is trying to make some extra money by moonlighting as a taxi. I'd suggest getting under the truck and figuring out how he could disable the odometer that way. You just might find that the cable connector has fresh wrench / plier teeth marks on it, or the electric connector is surprisingly free of dirt / road grit, etc.

[snowball]

You might need to install a GPS tracking system to record all activities of your vehicle, and monitor it on-line.

I'm interested too. where you can buy this GPRS Tracking System and it is possible to shut down the engine if the car go out of range?

Check out www.gpspro.net

[mikethevigoman]

Stupid I know to trust a Thai,[/b

I find this remark very disturbing.

I appologize for this remark but I am very upset at what he has done and don't really understand why he has had to resort to this deception. He will not tell me the truth of what he has been up to and suspect it might be some kind of taxi scam shared by the rest of the company drivers here, maybe using the company cars as taxis to Suwannabhumi, as the distance covered worked out to be about 100 km per day. The cars mileage is not tracked only the the working hours of the drivers.

He is an exceptional Thai man, he doesn't smoke, drink or womanize. I have lived and worked in Bangkok for 21 years and never encountered a young Thai man like him

I have helped him and his family in so many ways and in return he has helped my family also.

I considered him more like a son, as he is about the same age as my son, and he considers me more like his father, that's why I dropped my usual "Thai ripping off farang" guard when dealing with him, only to be taken advantage of.

Of all the Thai people I thought I could trust I thought it would be him. As I said I do not want to go into this aspect of my post but I am only concerned now with damage limitation and prevention of this deception in the future.

I think he has considered it a perk of the job, have a talk with him and get it clocked ,