Pop the Hood: Car Maintenance

Pop the Hood is the car maintenance tracker that already knows your car. Every torque spec, fluid capacity, and service interval for your exact year, make, model, and trim is built right in — so you spend less time Googling specs and more time turning wrenches. One car or a whole fleet, it's your mechanic's notebook with an AI brain.

KNOW YOUR VEHICLE'S HEALTH AT A GLANCE
Every vehicle gets a Health Score — a letter grade from A to F on a real gauge — based on oil life, service history, and open recalls. The dashboard opens with what's next ("Oil Change in 900 mi") and shows exactly what's due, what's overdue, and by how much.

AI MECHANIC — YOUR POCKET DIAGNOSTICIAN
Describe a symptom — no scanner or OBD reader needed — and the AI Mechanic (powered by Google Gemini) gives you three likely causes for your exact year, make, model, and trim, factoring in the modifications and recent work you've logged. It pitches the answer to how hands-on you are: step-by-step if you do your own work, what to ask the shop if you don't.

TRACK EVERY SERVICE, EVERY DOLLAR
Use it as your oil change tracker and complete car repair log. Log oil changes, brake jobs, tire rotations, and more with full cost breakdowns. Track parts vs. labor and DIY vs. shop in the Cost Tracker, and see how much doing your own car maintenance has saved you. Export your full history as a clean PDF — perfect for resale value or insurance claims.

FUEL ECONOMY
Log fill-ups and see your MPG as a trend line with best, average, and worst — tap any point to see that fill-up.

SCAN RECEIPTS INSTANTLY
Snap a photo of a service receipt or parts store invoice. The app reads the mileage and total for you, then helps you log it as a service or add the parts to your garage in seconds.

GARAGE INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Track every oil filter, quart of fluid, and set of brake pads on your shelf. Set low-stock alerts, scan barcodes to add items, and assign car parts to specific vehicles. When you log a service, the app automatically deducts the right parts from your inventory.

SMART SHOPPING LIST
Running low on supplies? The app builds a shopping list from your inventory alerts. Check items off as you buy them and keep your garage stocked.

NEVER MISS A SERVICE
Factory service intervals for your car come pre-loaded, and you can add your own mileage- and time-based intervals. Get reminders before anything comes due — maintenance reminders are free for everyone, no subscription required.

RECALL ALERTS
Instantly look up open NHTSA recalls for any vehicle. See the affected component, the risk, and the remedy — all inside the app.

WARNING LIGHTS GUIDE
Look up the dashboard warning lights you're most likely to see, each drawn to match the symbol on your dash, with a severity rating and a plain explanation of what it means and what to do about it.

HOME SCREEN WIDGETS
Three widgets keep you informed without opening the app: your most urgent service, a garage status card with your estimated odometer, and your shopping and to-do lists — each one taps straight back into the app.

VIN SCANNING
Take a photo of the VIN on your door jamb, dash, or registration — or type it in — and the app fills in year, make, model, trim, engine, fluid capacities, torque specs, and open recalls.

CLOUD BACKUP & SYNC
Sign in with Google and your vehicles, maintenance records, inventory, modifications, and photos are safely backed up. Edits and deletions sync too, so restoring on a new device gives you exactly what you left.

YOUR DATA STAYS YOURS
No account required — no email, no sign-up, no strings. All your data lives on your device by default. We don't sell your data, we don't run ads, and we don't track you. Cloud backup is completely optional and only kicks in if you choose to sign in.

Free with one vehicle and unlimited maintenance reminders. Go Pro for unlimited vehicles, unlimited AI Mechanic, receipt scanning, cloud backup, and PDF exports.

Recent changes:
Pop the Hood 1.4 is a complete redesign:
• A new dark look built like an instrument panel, with a real health gauge
• The Dashboard shows what's next and counts anything past due
• Redrawn warning lights and an MPG trend line
• A smarter AI Mechanic, pitched to your skill level
• Overdue services are never hidden, and distances are correct
• Deleted items stay deleted after a restore
• Subscribers no longer see the upgrade screen on launch
• Dozens of smaller fixes