Auto Emergency Tool Kit ?

Pointshoot777

Pointshoot777

Joined
Feb 16, 2001
Messages
748
Hi - I want to put together some basic tool kits to leave in our family cars (we have several). I looked on line and at a couple of big box stores and their pre-packaged 'auto emergency kits' looked like they were made up of a lot of junk. These tools and items will likely be left in our vehicles for a long time. They may never be needed. But if they ever are needed, I don't want the tools to fall apart or strip out bolt heads, etc when used. Also, I just want the basics. These kits can't take up too much room. Again, they may never be used.

And a final point - unfortunately I'm not made out of money. We'll need tool kits for three vehicles. So the options have to be a balance between reasonable cost and quality (defined as being able to reliably do the job required). I am mechanically inclined, but not a professional mechanic. Thank you in advance for your comments and suggestions.
 
In my trunk I keep some basic tools for my car. A socket wrench set, screw driver set, Allen key set, star key set. Also basic things like zip ties, duct tape, knives, gloves, and finally a big crow bar hidden in my spare tire compartment. If that can't get the job done then the job is too big for me to do on the side of the road.

Also grab a small fire extinguisher. I have a cheap vehicle one from Walmart you can find in the auto aisle but I'll be replacing it with a higher quality one eventually.

I put mine together over time, I didn't buy any kits. Some stuff you may already have. I also have a get home bag with medical supplies, clothes, food, water, ammo, etc etc in there as well which also just took time to set up. I wouldn't have been able to afford it all at once either.

Don't forget the medical kit though, it may not fix your car but it could fix you or someone else which is more important. Grab one from sports authority or army navy or wherever but make sure you add a tourniquet to it, some do not come with one. At the very least throw in a shoe lace that can be used as one.
 
Thanks @Converge ! Lots of good ideas there. I have a lot of the stuff. I'll need to pick up some additional tools that I can just leave in the vehicles.


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A big factor is the age of the car, and what you can reasonably do to it. I'm considering getting a couple of the bluetooth ECM scanners for our cars to do a bit of road-side diagnostic, or resets. We have a 08 suzuki and a '16 honda, I'm not going to be able to do much on the honda!

I'd look at the basics, what do you need to change the bulbs, tires, and belt if its even possible. Buying the single tool will be cheaper than full kits. Make sure that your lug nut wrenches fit the installed nuts (I've heard of several people, and seen it myself where the stock wrench only fits un-capped nuts, as used on steel rims, but they have capped nuts on aluminum. Worth having your bases covered there as the kit might be to help someone else.

I'd also add some reflector triangles, a high-vis vest, and a small 12v LED worklight. big zip-ties, a small hacksaw, and some decent tape, new cars have a lot of plastic, and if you did have a bump, and needed to keep driving, it would be nice to have stuff to secure the fender panels, bumper, or whatever so that you could get moving again.

Another thing I've recently heard of, and this applied to a Mercedes, but might cover other new vehicles as well, when the computer detected a dead bulb, the ignition was locked out. This was not in the user manual, and was not discovered until after a long, expensive recovery tow. So having bulbs and fuses might be the more critical spares these days rather than the old times of spare distro-caps and spark plugs. And from my days doing light-bulbs on cars, some have a very interesting method for replacement that might need specialized tools, (from memory I think it was the 08 Dodge 3500 needed a 10mm socket on at least 18 inches of extension, two people, an extra elbow, and a pair of six inch needle nose pliers, but that was a while ago)
 
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You can buy a decent set of craftsman sockets an wrenches for about $80, you are still going to need a crescent as well as a pair of pliers and a few screwdrivers. You could probably forgot the socket sets with a few good crescents and a pair of pliers. Every car should have a four way and jumper cables in them and I even keep a small hydrolic jack in mine.

If you want to go cheap just buy one set and keep it in your car. Make go bags for the other cars with backpacks and some basic gear, snacks and water as well as a few dollars in change so they can call you to go work on the car. How many of the cars you are talking about have drivers that know how to work on them for most problems?

When I drove my dad said you can either buy your own set of tools or park the truck, so I bought a good set and still have it twenty five years later (although it is upgraded with a different set now).

Buy good tools and you will only buy them once, , buy junk and you'll 'pay' for it!
 
Someone else mentioned it, but it bears repeating.....

How old is your car, and what are you comfortable doing on the side of the road? And I'll even add in, do you plan on being able to help others in need?

I keep a pretty good tool kit in my truck, but being as it's a 2016, there's only so much I can do without a diagnostic tool and a trained tech. The tool kit is more for rescuing others, or if there is an issue with the camper when I'm towing.

I keep a medium sized tool bag, with basic hand tools, and have consolidated where I can:
- 3/8" drive with both metric and SAE in common "medium" sizes (12mm - 17mm and 1/2" - 3/4") The sockets all ride on the same rail to save space, and I keep a 3/8" to 1/4" reducer on there as well
- 1/4" sockets in the smaller common sizes (below 12mm and 1/2")
- Multi-bit screwdriver, and a bit set. Bit set has both Phillips and straight blades, large and small, as well as some various torx, and other bits. Sounds like a lot, but the whole set could fit in an Altoid tin. I also keep a 1/4" drive adaptor for the driver. This allows me to use the 1/4" sockets on either the driver (very handy) or the adaptor for the 3/8" ratchet.
- 1/2" collapsible breaker bar/ratchet - Don't remember where I found this, but it's got an extendable shaft, which is a great space saver. Fully extended its about 18", but collapsed it's only about 12". It's a cheapie, but strong enough to break lug nuts. I also keep a cheap set of double ended 1/2" impact sockets, that will fit most cars or trucks. Takes less space than a four-way, but gives me more sizes to work with.
- Large and small of each: adjustable crescent wrench, vice grips, and channel locks.
- Larrge, heavy duty screwdriver that doubles as a pry bar (though I do keep a small pry as well)
- Medium ball peen hammer
- Set of folding hex keys
- Folding razor knife and spare blades, as well as an old pocket folder
- Duct and electrical tape, small spool of electrical wire, small 'sample-size' can of WD-40, and other misc. stuff
- 25' of paracord (braided into about 18")

Sounds like a lot, and it probably is, but it all fits in a medium tool bag from HD. And remember, this is in my truck, and designed for worst case scenario. So I've also got tie downs, tow-ropes, fire extinguisher, first aid kit, and anything else I could need stashed in the cab.

But... you could easily pair this down to some basics to fit in the trunk of your cars. In the trunk of the wife's car:
- Small 14" tool bag. You can find them for as little as $6 or $7 dollars in WallyWorld, or one of the discount stores if you wanna go really cheap
- Stubby ratchet and adjustable wrench
- Small channel locks and pliers
- Small assortment of sockets (90% of her Bimmer is 8, 10, or 14mm, so I just have those and one or two others)
- Set of hex keys
- Bit driver with a few assorted Phillips, straight, and tore bits
- Duct/electrical tape, length of wire, paracord, and razor knife

Being a BMW, her car came with a small, decent tool kit, but it fits in the well where the spare would normally go (came with run-flats, so no spare tire) but you gotta lift up the rubber mat, carpet, and trunk 'floor' to get to it - not something you wanna do in the rain, at night, on the side of the road - so a bag just made more sense. It also came with a small 1st aid kit, which is nice.

80% of what's in my bags all came out of my garage, so I didn't have to lay out much $ at all. But anything you do need, you can buy at Home Depot or Harbor Freight. Just decide where you can cheap out, and where you can't. The Husky or Kobalt stuff from the box stores is good enough for tools that you may only use once or twice, but don't want total junk. The HF stuff is good for things you're just gonna abuse once, or you just can't f'up too bad, like zip ties, bunnies, or pry bars. Just feel the stuff in hand first, and decide for yourself.
 
Thanks everyone for your very thought provoking comments. You've got me to rethink some of my approach. Most of the family members have limited auto repair experience. Maybe a very basic & small tool kit would be best to take care of minor issues. - - I can put a more comprehensive tool kit in my pick-up and trade it out if we use one of the other vehicles on a longer trip.


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IMHO just make sure it has a blanket, food & water, first aid kit, and something to start a fire everything else is vehicle specific
 
18" breaker bar with extended socket to fit the wheel nuts. Those POS sockets in the spare wheel kit are a real pain to use. You have to teach the wheel nut who's boss at the side of the road in the rain :)

Also a bottle of low temperature screen wash, some old rags, a pint of oil, bottle of water and a FAK.
 
Back in the day I had this old Ford pickup with a 300 inline six banger in it.

I needed a Crescent wrench and a big flat screwdriver. It was spacious enough under the hood to climb in there, sit on the fender well, and swap out your fan belt.

If it was raining, there was enough room to close the hood down a bit and keep the rain off your head while you worked. Kept a spare of each hose and belt behind the seat.

Today, I drive a Mazda CX-9. I don't recognize a damn thing under the hood. My emergency kit consists of a cell phone with the number of our local tow truck company programmed in. I keep an origami-ed $100 bill in a wallet pocket so I can pay him cash if I have to call him. I've familiarized myself with the location and workings of the jack and the spare, as that's the most likely "emergency" equipment I'll end up needing.

One day I'm going to get me another one of those old pickups, or maybe a Dodge Dart with a slant six. Something with naught but an alternator hanging off the side. Get my Crescent and screwdriver back.

My advice? Put together a decent set of tools that you can keep in one rig. Familiarize everyone with the tire changing apparatus. Keep the cell phones charged up.
 
Sosa said:
Don't forget a baseball bat, cash, bottle of booze and a hatchet.
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LOL Sosa, good list. Used to have a conversation with the wife before we left on a camping trip or such:

Me: "I'll grab a half gallon of whiskey in case of snakebite."

Her: "There's no snakes in Western Washington, silly."

Me: <eyeroll> "Fine, I'll grab a snake too."

BTW, just got back from my first trip to your neck of the woods (SF). Enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Pointshoot 777, we're rural west side, out by the coast. Lots of space between towns. We keep a Bug-Out Bag that we switch from car to car when we go.
 
I keep a big and small crescent wrenches, screwdriver with multiple bits, long socket handle and socket set, tow rope, siphon, jumper cables, full med kit and emergency stuff, like survival blankets, water purifier tabs, stripped MRE's, knife, other specific to my vehicle stuff as well as a fire extinguisher, farm jack and rock rail adapter, come along, 1 gallon gas jug empty. Some other stuff thats proven handy over the years and ammo in whatever caliber and mags I'm using at the time.
 
Velitrius said:
LOL Sosa, good list. Used to have a conversation with the wife before we left on a camping trip or such:

Me: "I'll grab a half gallon of whiskey in case of snakebite."

Her: "There's no snakes in Western Washington, silly."

Me: <eyeroll> "Fine, I'll grab a snake too."

BTW, just got back from my first trip to your neck of the woods (SF). Enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Pointshoot 777, we're rural west side, out by the coast. Lots of space between towns. We keep a Bug-Out Bag that we switch from car to car when we go.
Click to expand...
Koo. Glad you enjoyed your stay
 
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