The Mahindra Roxor is the biggest thing to happen to the off-road community since bright orange recovery tracks. Can you believe we survived for so long on milk crates and 2x4s? Me either.
The Roxor is brand-spanking new in the States, so for you early adopters here’s all the information currently available on how easy it is to remove the speed limiter on a Roxor, unleashing its top speed of well over 70 miles per hour.
2019 UPDATE: The 2019 Mahindra Roxor has a different speed sensor. This article has been updated to reflect those changes.
Why Does the Roxor Have a Speed Limiter?
You may know that Mahindra has a long history in Jeeps, one that includes building them under license since the 1940s. The Roxor is the newest iteration of the Indian-market Mahindra Thar which is essentially a brand-new Jeep CJ5 - right down to the part numbers. In reality that’s a double-edged sword: that vintage simplicity makes it charming and easy to modify, but the Roxor won’t meet today’s federal safety regulations in the United States.
That means Mahindra can’t legally sell the Roxor as a passenger car, but like any good protagonist, they found a way. They skirted the issue by selling the Roxor through powersports dealerships as a UTV. Sure, it might come with a 5-speed manual transmission mated to a 2.5-liter turbodiesel engine – it even has DOT tires – but thanks to Uncle Sam the Roxor is limited to a Victorian top speed of just 45 miles per hour.
But Mahindra’s a smart cookie. They know people will make the Roxor street legal, but they themselves can’t talk about it. Dealerships can’t either; it’s a wink here and a nudge there, all for legal reasons. But the beauty of the Roxor is that it looks just like any old Jeep, so once it has a license plate it blends right into traffic. Normal people (including our friends in blue) won’t know it from any old Jeep.
Before I say anything else I need to address the elephant in the room. Literally, I have to. Our lawyers said so.
This is a legal disclaimer: Dirt Legal can obtain a 50-state legal title and license plate for a Mahindra Roxor in one of several ways. However, the rest of the legalization process is up to the end user. Additional parts, like blinkers and a windshield, may be required by law in your area. Ensure you’ve met all state and local requirements before operating a Mahindra Roxor on public roads.
The modifications mentioned herein will most likely void your warranty and result in you having tons more fun at the wheel of your Roxor. Got it? Great.
How to Remove a Roxor's Speed Sensor
2019 Update:
It appears Mahindra grew wise to our antics. As such, this section only applies to early-production Mahindra Roxors. 2019 Mahindra Roxors (and newer) may throw codes and go into Limp Mode if the sensor is unplugged!
Newer Roxors can be identified in two ways:
• The last four digits of the PIN (Product Identification Number, found on a Mahindra sticker on the driver’s side firewall) are 1500 or higher
• The speed sensor itself has a different design that’s wrapped in plastic and is harder to remove
To de-restrict later Roxors you’ll need to pick up a tuned ECU or send yours off to be tuned. The best and most affordable option we’ve found for ECU tuning is the Roxor Tune Package in our Roxor Store.
With that said, let’s cut to the most important off-roading question of 2018: how do you remove the speed sensor on a Mahindra Roxor?
Tools required: All you need is a zip tie and a pair of scissors. A small screwdriver may help to lift the tab on the plug.
Finding the speed sensor: Pictured above, the Roxor’s speed sensor is a large plug located under the car. It's on the back of the transfer case at the rear of the transmission, on the rear passenger’s side near the output shaft.
Removing the speed sensor: Snip the zip tie holding the cable, unplug the plug, and use a new zip tie to hang the plug somewhere safe.
Voilà – your Roxor is now capable of over 70 miles per hour!
Side effects: The speed sensor tells the Roxor how fast it’s going, so unplugging it deactivates the speedometer. Get yourself a GPS speedometer app (we use the free version of DigiHUD on Android) or just stick with the flow of traffic.
Or you can bench flash the ECU: The team over at Diesel Freak will bench flash your ECU to raise the “speed limit” variable to an unreachable number, like 150 miles per hour, so that the limiter never kicks in. That means your speedometer will still work, however, in addition to mailing your ECU to Diesel Freak and waiting on its return, you’re asked to hand over $600 for their trouble.
By contrast, the Roxor Tune Package in our Roxor Store costs a fraction of that and delivers the same results.
So, will it be a free speedometer app or a $600 ECU flash? You decide.
Why Remove the Speed Sensor?
There are bound to be a few people reading this who think the Roxor ought to stay the way it comes from the factory. If the factory put a limiter on there, then by God it should be there. I respect that opinion, but removing the speed sensor has many benefits - and mostly it's just plain fun.
If you've ever driven a Roxor you know how frustrating that speed limit feels - you can tell the car has way more power but something's holding it back. Unlimiting the top speed is the first step in driving a Roxor like a regular old Jeep. If you plan on using it as a UTV, especially in wide-open rural areas where you're hopping on and off public roads all the time, the Roxor makes a lot more sense as a road-legal vehicle.
Of course, if you're just planning on using it as a toy - one that you'll trailer to and from the places you go off-roading - I suppose the speed limiter won't bother you much. But that's boring. And as the proud owner of a Mahindra Roxor, you're anything but boring.
About the Author
As an automotive journalist, motorcycle racer, SCCA member, and collector of anything with wheels, Justin Dake makes a living out of being a professional car nerd. As a former employee of the State of Missouri, he knows how complex and convoluted state processes can be, and that experience underlies his role as the Editor of Dirt Legal.