• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

A Moment With Franca

A Family, Lifestyle & Travel Blog

  • Home
  • About
    • About Me
    • Contact
    • Privacy Policy
  • Family
    • Family Events
    • Family Life
    • Family Days Out
    • Birthdays
  • Lifestyle
    • Home & Interiors
    • Bathrooms
    • Bedrooms
    • Garden
    • Kitchen
    • Health
  • Travel
    • Days Out
    • Things To Do In London
    • Holidays
    • Press Trips
  • Reviews
    • Theatre & Shows
    • Days Out
    • Toys & Games
    • Fashion
    • Beauty
  • Seasonal
    • Christmas
    • Halloween
    • Mother’s Day
    • Father’s Day
    • Easter
    • Valentine’s Day
  • Giveaways
  • Show Search
Hide Search

AA Car Genie: New Gadget to Avoid Breakdowns

amomentwithfranca · 27 June 2017 · 25 Comments

We travel a lot by car. We’re often visiting family in the Midlands or the Cotswolds which can be a 2 or 3-hour drive. Add to this our holidays and trips for the blog, as well as day to day use, it means having our car in road working order is essential for us, especially when we are with the girls. Breaking down can be bad enough, but can be much more difficult if you have small children. 

It is so important to feel safer while on the road, so since installing Car Genie from The AA, I cannot stress how happy I am. It has given us piece of mind as we don’t have to worry about breaking down on the motorway as a result of an avoidable fault. There will be no more surprises when a strange light appears on the dashboard.

Car Genie notifies me of issues that our car may have helping to prevent up to a third of breakdowns. So, in other words, this fantastic device can detect car faults which could cause a vehicle breakdown before they happen. Can you believe that?

This clever gadget and its corresponding app are very simple to install and use. It is designed to be self-installed by simply plugging it into your car’s on-board diagnostics (OBDII) port. This enables it to read the vehicle’s EOBD (European On-Board Diagnostics) system in real-time and broadcast the information to the Car Genie app, which is available to download for free on both iOS and Android.

Car Genie is then able to detect and notify you of standard OBDII faults, such as degrading battery health, problems with the ignition coil and failing exhaust gas recirculation, and tells users to act on them.

You can watch a short video below showing how I installed Car Genie in our car and then testing it for the first time:

Car Genie will help to prevent up to a third of breakdowns, meaning families can drive to their holiday destinations and young professionals can travel up and down the country to business meetings, with a clearer understanding of how healthy their car is and will be notified of any faults.

INSTALLATION

As I show in the video, installing Car Genie takes just a few minutes and it is very simple to use. You just need download the App and follow the instructions.

The AA Car Genie app comes with a Fitment Guide where you can see exactly how to install the device for your particular car. Of course, its important to check if your car is compatible before you get this device. You can do this HERE.

As soon as it was installed, I could see some info in the app. It gave me some basic information such as location, battery health, eco score, if there was any known faults with my car and driving summary.

CRASH DETECTION

Another interesting feature is that Car Genie has an inbuilt crash detection feature which means support from the AA’s experts can be given straight away in the event of a collision. Car Genie is uniquely able to detect a significant crash by registering changes in speed vs g-force, which triggers a call from the breakdown service to help customers deal with the situation and continue their journey. It’s quite amazing that this device can do all that!

ECO SCORE

Car Genie also assesses driving style by giving users an ‘eco score’; assessing speed, cornering, braking, acceleration and use of revs. Based on the user’s score, the app then offers fuel efficiency tips to save money. The corresponding app also features trip logging, which can be beneficial for mileage claims and it can detect car location using GPS, ideal if drivers forget where they have parked their car in a large multi-story carpark or even if their car has been stolen.

CAR DETECTION

This is a great feature because it uses the GPS to locate your car. This can be very useful if for any reason you forget where your car was parked or if it is stolen.

FEATURES

  • It is simple to use
  • Car Genie gives Members peace of mind by notifying users of issues with their cars helping to prevent up to a third of breakdowns
  • Car Genie has interesting features for Members such us an ‘eco score’ to offer fuel efficiency tips, crash detection if the worst happens and car detection using GPS
  • Sends push notifications with links to advice if a significant or ongoing fault is detected, so the AA will call the Member to offer support and can arrange to fix the problem
  • Identify faults early, such as degrading battery health, problems with the ignition coil and failing exhaust gas recirculation.
  • Asses driving style with its eco score functionality, assessing speed, cornering, braking, acceleration and use of revs.
  • Hardware’s ability to detect car location using GPS.
  • The app offers interactive maps and even trip logging, which can be beneficial for mileage claims.
  • Based on the user’s driver score, the app offers fuel efficiency tips.

WHERE TO GET ONE

AA are not currently offering new AA Car Genie subscriptions

OUR THOUGHTS

We really like this little device. I found it amazing that Car Genie can predict, prevent and protect us from breakdowns. We think it is very clever and will be very helpful for us. It will be great to be able to better understand issues with our car. Understanding how to drive our car more economically will be of great benefit too, saving us money on fuel and hopefully making us safer drivers too. It will be great to be able to goto a garage and inform them of the exact issue so a mechanic can diagnose and remedy the fault faster,  potentially save money.

Not sure when your MOT is due? You can check your MOT Expiry Date here to see when your current MOT expires.

What do you think of the AA Car Genie? Have you heard of it? Will you get one too? 

*Disclosure: we were sent the AA Car Genie as well as an AA Membership for the purpose of this blog post. This is a collaborative post with AA, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Thanks for stopping by,

Love you all ❤️

Franca  💋

Related

Filed Under: Gadgets & Technology, Collaborative Posts, Reviews, Travel, Videos Tagged With: The AA

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Carol desjardins says

    27 June 2017 at

    Sounds interesting

    Reply
  2. Cassie says

    1 July 2017 at

    Wow this sounds fab. I’ve recommend by hubbie checks it out after reading this post. He drives up to 500 miles a week.

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
    • amomentwithfranca says

      1 July 2017 at

      Oh wow that is a lot of driving! Yes he should check it out! It is really good! 🙂 x

      Reply
  3. Pen says

    1 July 2017 at

    What a great device. I don’t have a car, but if I did, I’d certainly want one of these. Pen x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  4. RaInbowsaretoobeautiful says

    1 July 2017 at

    This sounds like a super tool. I’m not sure we are with the AA so will need to look into it #kcacols

    Reply
  5. Jenny (Accidental Hipster Mum) says

    1 July 2017 at

    We could really do with one of these, We’re with the AA anyway – not because we travel often, we just break down ALLLLLLL the time! Once because my partner’s car was low on oil. This is SUCH a good invention!

    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  6. Nicole @ The Professional Mom Project says

    2 July 2017 at

    This is very cool. It would be super helpful to know if something is going to happen before it actually does. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  7. Fran Back With a Bump says

    2 July 2017 at

    This looks really useful! Thanks for hosting #kcacols x

    Reply
  8. Helen says

    2 July 2017 at

    Wow the Car Genie sound like it does everything and more! There are some marvellous inventions these days. #KCACOLS

    Reply
  9. SurrEy mana says

    2 July 2017 at

    Looks great and would definitely give peace of mind on long journeys. #kcacols

    Reply
  10. Blake says

    2 July 2017 at

    Really good idea! I’m with the AA and drive many miles per week! Definitely going to look into this! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  11. Tracey says

    2 July 2017 at

    I don’t have a car at the moment but this is definitely something I would use, I was always paranoid that the car would breakdown, especially on long journeys so this would put my mind at ease! #kcacols

    Reply
  12. The Hippy Christian Mum says

    2 July 2017 at

    Great vid Franca, I left a comment on YouTube too. It looks so easy to use, and so handy. #KCACOLS

    Reply
    • amomentwithfranca says

      2 July 2017 at

      Aww thank you so much lovely! It was so easy to install! And yes very handy! 🙂 xx

      Reply
  13. Ali Duke says

    3 July 2017 at

    The device sounds brilliant, especially if you do travel a lot.
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  14. Acorn Books says

    3 July 2017 at

    This is a great piece of kit to have. I’d use it so often just to find my car in the supermarket car park!
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
    • amomentwithfranca says

      3 July 2017 at

      Haha I know what you mean! I had the same problem when I go to the shopping center! 🙂

      Reply
  15. Jade - Raw Childhood says

    3 July 2017 at

    This sounds like a great little gadget! We could do with one of those myself! #KCACOLS

    Reply
  16. alana - BurniShed chaos says

    4 July 2017 at

    I’d never heard of this before but it sounds amazing, anything that can give you added peace of mind in long journeys has got to be a good thing x
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  17. Helen @Talking_Mums says

    4 July 2017 at

    Wow, this is such a good idea. It’s the first I’ve heard of it too. I’ll be suggesting this little gadget to my OH!
    #KCACOLS

    Reply
  18. Kimberley | Oh Just My Little Blog says

    4 July 2017 at

    This sounds great. I have family and friends all over the country so this would provide really good piece of mind when I’m driving all over the place x #KCACOLS

    Reply
  19. Bread says

    4 July 2017 at

    Oh awesome and it’s an app too. I love it. #kcacols

    Reply
  20. Anthony - Dada & Monkey says

    4 July 2017 at

    OBD readers have been around since the dawn of time, well perhaps not that long, Prodiag do one thats wifi and bluetooth for around £13 on Amazon all in. The AA have created an app for those not too familiar with car maintenance which most OBD readers do not offer, whether it’s worth £29 per month I’m not sure? #KCACOLS

    Reply
  21. Pickinguptoys says

    4 July 2017 at

    What a brilliant idea!I’ve never heard of this before, it’s unbelievable that a little thing like that can do so much but would be fantastic to have. I must admit I do worry when we go on long journeys x #kcacols

    Reply
  22. Rachel George, Ordinary Hopes says

    7 July 2017 at

    That sounds fab! Unfortunately, I am not with the AA so couldn’t check if my car is compatible. #KCACOLS

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

HI THERE, I’M FRANCA!

Hi, I'm Franca, a lawyer mum of 2 gorgeous girls married to my best friend, living in London. Award nominated parenting & lifestyle blogger. Read More…

Newsletter

    Built with ConvertKit

    Amazon

    What’s On

    • Barbie Movie Review: Girl Power or Feminist Flop?
    • Wicked Musical London Review
    • 42nd Street at Sadlers Wells Theatre London: A Review

    Family Days Out

    • Qbix Gamecube Review at All Star Lanes White City
    • Frameless London: Unforgettable Immersive Art Experience in Marble Arch
    • tastecard: Your Handy Guide to Exploring and Saving in London

    Collaborative Videos

    Popular Videos





    AWARDS

    BritMums



    BritMums

    Tots100

    Tutora Best Parent Insight Blog Award Shortlist

    RANKING

    Tots100
    Top 20 UK Parent Blog 2020

    Flea Network Top 20 UK Parent Blog 2018

    MEMBER

    LINKY

    Keep Calm and Carry On Linking Sunday
    ✨Wrapping up our Barcelona adventure✨ .We’ ✨Wrapping up our Barcelona adventure✨ .We’ve loved exploring this vibrant city during the summer and sharing it here with you! Hope you found our tips helpful if Barcelona’s in your travel plans. 🇪🇸.Next stop: Torrevieja! ☀️ Get ready for content of two weeks of sun, sea, and summer vibes! Hopefully will bring you a warm escape as the chill of autumn sets in! 🏝️🌊. What’s your favourite destination to escape the autumn chill?.#VisitBarcelona.....Barcelona | Barcelona Skyline | Barcelona Landmarks | Spain | Exploring Barcelona | Barcelona Diaries | Travel Guide | Travel Blogger | Cityscape | Barcelona Tourist Attractions | Family Travel | Mirador del Santuari Barcelona
    ✨24 Hours in Barcelona: Exploring the Must-Sees✨.Although our time in Barcelona was brief, we made the most of every moment. Check out this list of must-visit places we explored in just 24 hours! 🌆.1. Stroll Las Ramblas - Soak up the lively atmosphere and street performances.2. Discover Plaça Reial - A picturesque square with palm trees and vibrant architecture.3. Marvel at Casa Batlló - Gaudi’s architectural masterpiece.4. Explore La Pedrera (Casa Milà) - Another Gaudi gem with a unique rooftop.5. Be awed by La Sagrada Familia - An iconic masterpiece still under construction.6. Soak in Views from Mirador del Santuari - Panoramic vistas of Barcelona.7. Hit the Beach at La Barceloneta - Feel the sand between your toes.8. Savor Tapas & Tinto de Verano - Enjoy delicious Spanish bites and drinks..Bonus: Plan a visit to Parc Güell for more Gaudi magic!💫.✨Watch the reel till the end for the full Barcelona experience. Like, Save, and share if Barcelona is on your travel list!✨.Which Barcelona attraction are you most excited to visit? 🤩 .#VisitBarcelona.....Barcelona | Barcelona Skyline | Barcelona Landmarks | Spain | Things To Do In Barcelona | Exploring Barcelona | Barcelona Diaries | Travel Guide | Travel Blogger | Travel With Kids | Cityscape | Barcelona Tourist Attractions | Family Travel | Mirador del Santuari Barcelona
    ✨La Sagrada Familia ✨.We were captivated by ✨La Sagrada Familia ✨.We were captivated by the beauty of La Sagrada Familia which is a must-see in Barcelona! .We didn’t manage to get in due to lack of time but we did our research just in case we had time, so here are some key insights to keep in mind before your visit to La Sagrada Familia:🌟La Sagrada Familia is Open All Year Round🌟It is located in the Sagrada Familia neighborhood 🌟The easiest way to get to the Sagrada Familia is by metro. Alternatively, you can get there by bus🌟You need to buy tickets in advance. You can buy ticket up to 2 months in advance🌟You should purchase your tickets through the official website 🌟The Sagrada Familia box office only sells tickets for that specific date and you may have to wait 4 or 5 hours until the next available entrance time🌟There are discounts on full fare for children under 11, students, disabled and senior citizens (65+)🌟Any time with the sun outside is good for visiting the church🌟 You can buy a ticket to climb the Torre de la Pasión or the Torre del Nacimiento🌟The ascent of the towers is done with an elevator but the descent is made by a long and narrow spiral staircase🌟There are audiguides available to purchase🌟As the Sagrada Familia is a Catholic church, you must dress appropriately.Swipe left for a close-up view and pics of us in awe of this remarkable masterpiece! 🏰.✨Like, Save & Share if you are planning to visit Barcelona or if someone you know would like to visit ✨.Did you know it’s finally nearing completion after over a century? 🏗️🔜 .#LaSagradaFamilia ....Barcelona | La Sagrada Familia | Gaudi | Spain | Things To Do In Barcelona | Gaudi Experience | Exploring Barcelona | Barcelona Diaries | Travel Blogger
    ✨Admiring the Timeless Beauty of Casa Batlló✨ ✨Admiring the Timeless Beauty of Casa Batlló✨ .We managed to check Gaudi’s masterpiece facade within the 24 hours time we stayed in Barcelona! 🏠 We’re hopefully planning a longer stay to explore the interior! ☺️.Watch the reel till the end to get a glimpse of its fascinating details, including those impressive skull-like balcony railings! .✨Like, Save & Share if you are planning to visit Barcelona or if someone you know would like to visit ✨.Have you ever visited this architectural gem? .#CasaBatllo ....Barcelona | Casa Batllo | Casa Gaudi | Spain | Things To Do In Barcelona | Gaudi Experience | Exploring Barcelona | Barcelona Diaries | Travel Blogger
    PR Invite ✨Feasting at Burger & Lobster✨ .Ou PR Invite ✨Feasting at Burger & Lobster✨ .Our taste buds had an amazing time in the heart of Mayfair in London yesterday! 🌟 We enjoyed the delicious food from @burgerandlobster Family Feast menu - a fantastic culinary experience for the family. Sienna was thrilled watching the lobsters alive. Nick’s first lobster experience was a complete success! The grilled lobster was wonderfully tender, and the crispy chips were a real treat. 🦐🍟.I must say, my first taste of lobster rolls was delightful. The girls enjoyed their cheeseburgers, and my tropical juice was a refreshing choice for that hot summer day. 🍹🥵.The £100 Menu offers:🌟For the adults: Whole Lobster, Original Burger, and Original Lobster Roll, all served with fries, salad, and your choice of sauce, plus a drink each. 😋🍔🦞🌟For the kids: Cheeseburger, Plant Burger, or Prawns & Fries, served with fries, a scoop of ice cream, and a soft drink. 🍔🍟🍦.Did you know you can enjoy this feast at all their London locations throughout the week? A treat that’ll leave everyone smiling. 🍔🦞👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The offer caters for two adults and up to three children (aged 12 and under). .This special menu also joins a host of exciting activities and offers taking place across Burger & Lobster restaurants including their mid-week Shell & Spritz Hour, offering guests £1 oysters and £5 selected cocktails from Monday to Friday, 3pm - 6pm.We highly recommend the £100 Family Feast Menu! it’s an unforgettable feast! 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦😋 .Watch the reel until the end and tag someone who needs to savour this experience! 🍔🦞.#BurgerAndLobster ....Burger & Lobster | London Restaurants | Where To Eat In London | Eating Out With Kids | Family Friendly Restaurants | Mayfair | Kid Friendly Eats | London | Where To Eat With Family | Taste London
    ✨Back In Beautiful Barcelona✨.I remembered b ✨Back In Beautiful Barcelona✨.I remembered being here, standing in front of "La Pedrera", Casa Mila feeling the vibrant spirit of Barcelona! This was our 3rd stop from our road trip and it was perfect! 🌆🇪🇸.I am so excited to share our whirlwind adventure with you all! Our Barcelona journey was quick but so memorable. Stay tuned for the upcoming content as I will be telling you our experience, from the places that you must visit as well as where to have good tapas and drinks to enjoy Barcelona properly. We managed to fit a lot in such a short stay! Although we missed some key places we would love to come back and add those to our bucket list!💃👜🌞 .Have you been to Barcelona before?.#LaPedrera #CasaMila #VisitBarcelona #GaudiBarcelona #BarcelonaSpain #BarcelonaExperience #BarcelonaTravel #BarcelonaGram #MaxiDress #SummerDress #EveryDayOutfit #EveryDayStyle #Over40 #Over40Blogger #OverFortyStyle .....Barcelona | Casa Mila | La Pedrera Casa Mila | Casa Gaudi | Spain | Things To Do In Barcelona | Gaudi Experience | Exploring Barcelona | Barcelona Diaries | Travel Blogger
    Load More… Follow on Instagram
    Copyright © 2023 · A Moment With Franca · Privacy Policy