Tools to have in your car

[Bogie]

If you have lug nut locks on your wheels, WIRE THE "KEY" to something that isn't going to move around or be removed.

Get a 1/2" breaker bar, and maybe a length of pipe, and a socket that will work with your wheel lug nuts. Make sure you also have one that will work with the damn key, if necessary.

If you have room, upgrade your jack. Even a $40 el-cheapo floor jack is better than the scissor jack that MIGHT have come with your car. Check it before you need it. Use your tire gauge to check  your spare. You have one of each, right?

Have a decent flashlight or two.

Cig lighter tire pump. "String" type tire plug kit. If that won't fix the hole, "fix-a-flat" ain't gonna do it either.

Jumper cables. Buy the big thick heavy long ones.
 
Small wrench and socket set. You can get one for under $40. Not the world's best tools, but hey. Not gonna be used every day either. But if you need to mess with something by the side of the road, it'll help. I have fixed a "battery/alternator" problem in a rest area with a beer can. But I had the tools to do it with.

A vise-grip pliers. Or two.

Don't run under 1/2 tank if you can help it.

Spare fuse set, and make sure they are the same ones in your car. There are several types.

If you can swing it, a couple of spare relays that will work for things like the starter, lights, and so forth. Junk yards can be your friend.

Duct tape. 5-minute epoxy. A tube of fast epoxy putty. Superglue.

Don't rely on your dashboard to tell you that something is wrong. Check your oil. With the dipstick, not by looking at the sticker on your windshield, and telling yourself that you'll get around to changing it next week.

Tow/recovery strap. Next time your car is in the shop, ask the mechanic to show you where to hook it to in the front and the back. Don't just loop it around something on the bumper. Trust me.

[charby]

This has saved my dignity many times, I keep one in every vehicle, camper, boat and under the seat of my dirt bike.

[dogmush]

Meh.

That's close to what *I* carry, but overkill for most of the folks driving around  suburbia with good cell coverage.

I would say if you have to ask where to hook up a tow strap, you have no business towing a car, or need for the strap.

If you have the knowledge  to diagnose and repair dead relays, you don't  need this post.

I've never bought into the "not under 1/2 tank of fuel" church.  It's OK to use all your fuel.


Mostly  your list of tools and spares should reflect your use for the car.  What I drive around  with in my truck all day in Tampa, and what I have in it when I'm overlanding are two different  lists. Know what you are doing, and know the limits of your abilities.

[Nick1911]

I don't go too crazy.  Like charby, I like my multifunction screwdriver.  I've also got a multimeter, jumper cables and flashlight.  And some zip ties.

Never had a locking lug nut.  Cheap ass scissor jack is okay for my uses - I'm not willing to dedicate the space to a floor jack.  I do have a bit of cheater pipe for my shitty tire-change handle.

Tire repair kit is at home, ditto compressor.  I have a spare tire if I have a flat tire. 

My pickup might still have a cheap HF socket set?  It's almost useless.  On first use, one of the ratchets broke, and I sheared off the extension.

I don't think I've ever actually blown a fuse.

Spare relay?  Why?  If I need something on that isn't, I'll pull the relay and jump the normally open terminals with whatever's handy.

My recovery strap lives at home.  If I need to tow something, I'll need to go home for another vehicle anyway.  And I'm having someone else tow me out of a ditch or whatever, I'll call a tow service.

[Ben]

I don't like lugging a ton of stuff around all the time, so I have a "basic" kit in both vehicles that is complimented by a cell phone, AAA card, and credit card. I don't care about the man card anymore.

When I head for parts unknown, the rest of the stuff is in one, or two, bins, depending on where I'm going and what I'm doing. Takes 30 seconds to load or unload them, and then I have that much more space for around town driving. Well, the dog does, since the bins take up part of his space. Bins go for camping stuff too. There's a bin with the bare essentials, for if I decide, or have decided for me, that I'll be overnighting somewhere, then the secondary bin for "I planned on this" camping.

I have no problem letting my fuel go down to 1/4 tank around town and whatnot. I still like to to start looking for gas right at half a tank when on trips, especially out West here, where it can take a while to get to a gas station. Once my "get gas" little voice speaks, I'll stop at the next decent station, which might be right at half a tank, or may take me down to 1/4 tank.

[Bogie]

And you'll be wondering where to hook up that strap the first time you skid into something  you can't get out of in the snow, and some teenager in Daddy's truck stops to help. I've see bumpers pulled off, tie-rods bent, and so on... Knowledge is a good thing.
 
If  you can't understand "swap the boxy thing in the fuse box with one like it, and see if it turns over" there is admittedly a problem.
 
Having too much gas is MUCH better than "damn, I hope I can make it... oh, damn..."
 
The whole mess, without the jack and the breaker bar (too long), will fit into mid-size plastic toolbox.

[dogmush]

And you'll be wondering where to hook up that strap the first time you skid into something  you can't get out of in the snow, and some teenager in Daddy's truck stops to help. I've see bumpers pulled off, tie-rods bent, and so on... Knowledge is a good thing.
 

My only real disagreement with you vs. I don't carry that is the above.  I reiterate, if you have to ask how to hook up a tow strap, you shouldn't be doing it.  There's a lot more that can go wrong then a bent tie-rod or bumper pulled off when that teenager hits the end of your harbor freight nylon strap with his dads 2500 GMC.  People get hurt that way.

If you know how to tow, or pull out, then great carry the gear to do it.  If you need to ask how to hook up, leave it to the professionals or have someone teach you the whole skill.

I do actually have a tow strap AND a snatch strap, but more often than not, I tug folks out with the winch. 

[MechAg94]

I have never tried to carry something other than the standard scissor jack in the truck, but I have a better jack at home.  For changing a tire, I would add tire chocks and something to put under the jack in case you find yourself on soft ground or uneven ground. 

No argument on the rest except some can be replaced with multitool equivalents if space is as a premium. 

I have changed tires on the side of the road.  I have had a battery go bad to the point it was dragging down the alternator.  Got someone to jump me with the battery disconnected.  Managed to drive home while keeping the engine revved enough to keep running.  These days I have one of the battery jump starter sets.  It is over 5 years old now so I need to think about replacing it. 

[Bogie]

Well, I do tend to stop and help people... who don't have the stuff...

Last time I pulled someone out from something - my next door neighbor who hates white people had her brother bring something to her. He got it off his truck with it in my postage stamp lawn. And since it had been raining, he got stuck. So I pulled my van over, gave my end of my trusty strap a few turns around my hitch, and told him to hook up. I took it slow, because, despite him being over 50 years old, I figured he knew about as much about that as about the junkyard battery that he tried to shoehorn into my neighbor's car... Which was... Yup, that bumper is starting to stretch. Back it up. Instruct him to wrap it twice around something that was made of steel, and then hook the hook. Okay. Got him out. And the idjit tied it on. That took him about 20 minutes to get loose.

In my URBAN area, when there's an interesting snow/ice event, it can take AAA or an indy vendor several hours to get to you. A couple of minutes to gain knowledge can save  you a LOT of strife.

[Declaration Day]

I have everything in my trunk that you suggested except the tow strap and jumper cables, but I carry a jumper box with a built-in tire inflator, which I think is much more convenient than jumper cables. I have a full-size floor jack too, not just a small hydraulic one.

[RoadKingLarry]

I had a POS car for a while that the most important "tool" I carried in it was a pack of road flares.
If the damned thing stranded me somewhere one more time I was going to use the road flares, down the gas tank.
 

[Ben]

For changing a tire, I would add tire chocks and something to put under the jack in case you find yourself on soft ground or uneven ground. 

Absolutely. I think I posted here some years back on my interesting tire changing experience in Death Valley. The ridiculously uneven ground was challenging to say the least. I had to use my e-tool (hence replaced with a forestry shovel, because sometimes the tactical tools suck) to dig out a flat spot for the jack. I had a piece of 2x10 to put under the jack as well.

Also, I had the hydraulic bottle jack that I used for my old Trooper with me, and had never tested it with the 4Runner. Stupid mistake, because the jack point for the 4Runner is much farther under the vehicle than on the old Trooper, and there was no way I was putting my torso that far under the car in that situation, so had to default to the scissor jack, which worked just fine, if also with a sketchy feeling on the terrain. The bottle jack I have for the 4Runner now has a long enough handle to  keep me well outside the vehicle.

Also, I had neglected to check the tire pressure on the spare in forever. Luckily, I think the Toyota tech must have checked it at the last oil change, because it was okay. A mistake was that I used to carry one of those old style compressor/jumper boxes in the Trooper, but they are super bulky (the new ones are much smaller), so I didn't take it with the 4Runner on that trip. That has been rectified since then and I have a good Slime mini-compressor that hooks straight to the battery vs a 12v plug. Also of course a plugger kit.

So besides having the tools, you have to make sure they will work in situations where you need them. Also check your spare once in a while. Also, I have one of the compact LIon jumper kits, but I don't carry it on a regular basis, at least in Summer, because I'm scared of high temps inside the car exploding it, so I only carry it when I go on long trips or boony trips.

[dogmush]

If it makes you feel better, I keep my LiIon jumper pack in the drawer system of my black pickup in Fl, and it has not yet caught fire.

[Ben]

If it makes you feel better, I keep my LiIon jumper pack in the drawer system of my black pickup in Fl, and it has not yet caught fire.

It does. I used to carry it all the time in CA, then all the jackasses here got to scaring me with explody stories.

[MechAg94]

I was riding in a jeep once on I-10 and a tire shredded.  We ended up on the left side of the road on a curve.  We had to get the jack on asphalt to get it high enough.  Traffic was a bit too close.  If we had something to put under the jack we could have moved completely off the highway.  About halfway through, a highway patrol officer came up and put on lights a bit behind us.  We appreciated the help.   

[BobR]

In the wife's car there is a Leatherman, a flashlight and usually a cell phone and a AAA Card.

The truck is a different beast. Tow rope, tow straps to put around axles, another Leatherman, basic tools and just in case a Tyvek suit, muck boots, gloves and a shovel. You need to be prepared for a lot of things. Especially meeting up with an ex-wife.

bob

[bedlamite]

There are times the only tool I want in my car is a РПГ-7. Usually not for use on my own vehicle.

[Jim147]

1/2 inch breaker bar and the right socket for the vehicle and a 12 volt air pump in every thing.

Then we have my truck that already has everything in it

[Bogie]

Adding gloves to list.

[Fly320s]

Tools in my car: cell phone and credit card.

[Kingcreek]

What I used to carry in the 16cf tool box of my F250 is a lot different from what I carry in my Jeep Wrangler 4 door rubicon and a lot different from my wife’s Ford Fusion. It changes with the season also. But every vehicle has a fire extinguisher, basic or expanded med kit, blanket, gloves (both latex and leather), jumper cables, and a few hand tools. The Jeep has recovery and winch accessories and a folding shovel and tow strap etc.
If we’re on a road trip we have a cheap backpack with built in phone charger some bottled water and snack bars

[Cliffh]

In the truck I don't (currently) carry the glues Bogie mentioned, but do carry the rest.

I do carry at least one backpack with clothing, food & water; a very large bag (~ 24"x16"x18") full of medical supplies & a couple manuals; a couple lengths of 1/2" & 3/4" rope; a tow strap; folding shovel; blankets; spare jacket & hat.

During high wind seasons I'll sometimes throw the small electric chainsaw in too.  Lots of trees on the roads to work.

The car carries a lot less.  Mainly food & water, flashlights, tools for tires.