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
The Car Genie costs £29 for a yearly subscription exclusively for AA Members and is available to order online from the AA shop now, www.theaa.com/breakdown-cover/connected- car.
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 💋
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Sounds interesting
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
Oh wow that is a lot of driving! Yes he should check it out! It is really good! 🙂 x
What a great device. I don’t have a car, but if I did, I’d certainly want one of these. Pen x #KCACOLS
This sounds like a super tool. I’m not sure we are with the AA so will need to look into it #kcacols
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
This is very cool. It would be super helpful to know if something is going to happen before it actually does. #KCACOLS
This looks really useful! Thanks for hosting #kcacols x
Wow the Car Genie sound like it does everything and more! There are some marvellous inventions these days. #KCACOLS
Looks great and would definitely give peace of mind on long journeys. #kcacols
Really good idea! I’m with the AA and drive many miles per week! Definitely going to look into this! #KCACOLS
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
Great vid Franca, I left a comment on YouTube too. It looks so easy to use, and so handy. #KCACOLS
Aww thank you so much lovely! It was so easy to install! And yes very handy! 🙂 xx
The device sounds brilliant, especially if you do travel a lot.
#KCACOLS
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
Haha I know what you mean! I had the same problem when I go to the shopping center! 🙂
This sounds like a great little gadget! We could do with one of those myself! #KCACOLS
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
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
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
Oh awesome and it’s an app too. I love it. #kcacols
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
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
That sounds fab! Unfortunately, I am not with the AA so couldn’t check if my car is compatible. #KCACOLS