this talk of a non-operating odometer reminds me of a warning:

DO NOT reset the trim odometer while the car is moving.

this is true of all vw's, volvo's, bmw's and other cars with vdo speedometers
... this is a really quick way to break that little gear inside there. this
came about from my sister's volvo years ago ... after the service dept.
replaced the speedo, they told her about this. :)  and it seems to have fit
all the broken odometers that i've run into.

of course, if your speedometer doesn't have a trip odometer, this does not
apply. :)

joel