AA Car Genie - Reviews?

Jlawson118

I got an email from the AA yesterday advertising their new Car Genie device which was free when paying a yearly subscription fee of £29 which I find very reasonable. So I ordered one

The device promises to alert you of your battery health, as well as predicting breakdowns before they even occur. Even keeping track of your driving and giving you hints on how to save fuel and things.

It all sounds too good to be true but I'm looking forward to it arriving within the next few days!

Does anybody have one? Did it predict an early breakdown or anything?

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wgl2014

Could be OK as a novelty.

I would be sceptical that it may encourage you to get the AA out for preventative (chargeable) work that isn't really needed.

Given that a decent battery comes with a minimum of 3yrs warranty this shouldn't be a problem for most cars that are used regularly. As for predicting breakdowns all it will do is alert you to any pending fault codes that if enough to cause an issue would show up on your dashboard with a check engine light.

takman

All it does is read the fault codes and check battery voltage and is suited to people who don't look after their cars and ignore the engine light on the dashboard or who ignore signs of a failing battery that has been in their car for 6 years +.

You would have been better off getting a £6 Bluetooth ODB adapter off eBay and using the Torque app (free) to read your fault codes and check battery voltage. This app also gives you much more information as well.

If your interested in app that monitor driving styles there are many that are also free.

Jlawson118

Ahh I guess that is the case then. It's just I'm having non-stop issues with my car anyway and I've looked into buying a diagnostic computer but I'm not really a mechanic, nor have I been driving a long time to know what would be right or wrong to buy, so I just thought this little device might be a good idea but I guess it might have been a waste of money. We shall see. Thanks for your replies!

Tiexen

Jlawson118 wrote: »

Ahh I guess that is the case then. It's just I'm having non-stop issues with my car anyway and I've looked into buying a diagnostic computer but I'm not really a mechanic, nor have I been driving a long time to know what would be right or wrong to buy, so I just thought this little device might be a good idea but I guess it might have been a waste of money. We shall see. Thanks for your replies!

I don't think its waste of money:

“With certain fault codes, we actually proactively contacted members before breakdowns to advise them,”

“Any faults reported to members are also pushed to our diagnostic dashboard within the AA, so they’ll be constantly monitored by our technical helpdesk team. If it’s something that needs to be addressed quickly, the team will get the relevant technical information and make an outbound call to the member.

And I guess if you do have a breakdown the AA may know whats wrong even before they turn up.

forgotmyname

A device connected to your battery 24/7, using your battery power to monitor the battery, im sure there is a flaw in that design somewhere?

Silly idea but wont your battery have more power if it wasnt powering some silly gadget?

Predicts breakdowns before they occur? Simple OBD reader which will be one of the first things they plug in anyway.

chrisw

How many times does anyone actually break down due to an engine fault?

Batteries tend to give some warning that they will expire shortly and engine management faults usually either just flag a light or revert to limp mode to get you home.

Actual break downs tend to be mechanical such as puncture, split hose, broken spring, etc which no such gadget could predict.

Jlawson118

chrisw wrote: »

How many times does anyone actually break down due to an engine fault?

Batteries tend to give some warning that they will expire shortly and engine management faults usually either just flag a light or revert to limp mode to get you home.

Actual break downs tend to be mechanical such as puncture, split hose, broken spring, etc which no such gadget could predict.

My car was running funny towards the end of last year and I took it in for inspection and they found a corroded coil pack. They replaced it but the thing is, beforehand, I wasn't getting any engine management light..
Now it's running absolutely terrible again, and I last had it plugged into the computer about a month ago and nothing was showing back then either, no lights all the same.

Could there maybe be an issue with the ECU? In terms of my issues, the car is just very slow and sluggish as well as jumpy upon moving off, although I've never had issues with starting up the car. Or could this possibly be the battery?

Although I had my MOT last month and it passed with no issues whatsoever

alanf1314

I know nothing about my car so having the AA with me feels like a good thing! It also has additional things over and above breakdown according to the website:


Knowing your car’s location so you can find it or see if it’s been moved
Detecting a crash and triggering a call from us to help
Offering fuel efficiency tips, interactive maps and recording your trips
Letting you know of any issues through push notifications via the app


It's only £29 so will give it a try. Seems better than the pain and stress of breaking down

Nodding_Donkey

Just remember if your phone connects to the car via Bluetooth you'll have to decide which you want to use, this or your phone.

Exemplar

Hmmm not sure that is correct with modern smart phones that can have multiple BT connections.