Is this illegal?

[Tigermouse]

First of all I hope I've posted this in the right section. I've recently become the owner and driver of a 1996 Granvia - the speedo thingy (sorry, I'm a woman and I don't do technical!) is only in kilometres and not mph. I've just been told that it should either be in mph as well as kilometres or mph only, as for it to be in kilometres only is illegal in this country and it shouldn't have passed its mot, therefore it needs to be changed. The guy who told me that works at the garage where I took it to have minor work done prior to the mot two weeks ago, but nothing was said at the time and it passed the mot with no problem. Now is this guy talking out of his backside or am I driving round in an illegal vehicle? Any advice welcome please, I don't want to fall foul of the boys in blue!

[Swanny]

Plenty of imports pass with a KpH dial, as they can have a chip fitted that makes it read in MpH, even tough it says KpH.

[rune]

I dont think the speedo is part of the MOT, so it can pass with kph.

Also I believe its a road traffic offense to use it on the road if it doesnt read mph.

Its possible to get a stick on scale which converts the kph to mph. Costs about a tenner.

[Swanny]

Would this work for you?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TOYOTA-HIACE-REGIUS-GRANVIA-MPH-SPEEDO-FACE-DIAL-NEW_W0QQitemZ310208452175QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item4839dd564f

[nilahughes]

not sure that is is ilegal as mate of mine just bought an mx5 import with only kph on the dial and his passed m.o.t ,he just had fun trying to find where 30mph was so he could stick sticker on glass in front of dial .i did point out that becouse the glass is 3 inches away fom dial face you can read it wrong depending on how tall you are .

[pooch]

no dont think illegal,in fact i think theres no requirement to have a speedo at all believe it or not,wouldnt help with the speeding fines though!!!!!
the car i used to have alongside the bus used to chew speed senders for a hobby so i gave up and it passed in 3 different MOT stations who all said it didnt matter.

[mr mince]

Mph is only needed to pass the SVA, if the car came in over 10yrs old then it wouldn't need one.

Legally I think there should be a note of conversion of the important speeds in sight of the speedo

[propnut]

When I immigrated to the UK 12 years ago I brought my car with me and that was in Km/h and I never had any issue getting it through MoT. As far as I know it is still running about with the same speedo. I just used to do the conversion in my head.

Quite easy

50Km = 30mph
60km = 40mph
80km = 50mph
100km = 60mph
110 km = 70mph
130km = 80 mph

I am rounding off but you get the idea.

[Kernowman]

If it helps, Neima still has her original Kmh face for the speedo... and past all MOTs I have put her thru.
These have not all been at same MOT station either.
The choice to fit a chip so it reads Mph or change the face is a personal one and not a LEGAL requirement.
If it was it would have been done when the vehicle entered the UK and had it's first VOSA MOT before being allowed on the UK roads.

I have got used to the Kph and the conversion mentioned earlier is easy to remember once you get used to it.
Welcome to A.P.E.S. and I hope you enjoy your time visiting us.. 

[Tigermouse]

Hi guys, sorry I've taken a while to get back to you but I've been away for a couple of weeks. Thanks for the info, seems like I don't need to worry about it. I've actually done the relevant kph/mph conversations and written the numbers on little round stickers and stuck them on the dial in the right places - looks a bit daft but it will help till I get used to things.

[Gary (not GT Gary)]

Whatever works for you.  No worries over being away, we'll be here for some time yet.