Caution urged with viral TikTok ‘car hacks’
Fri, 19 Sept 2025
With many young drivers heading off to university and others looking to save cash, The AA is urging motorists to be cautious when trying out the latest "ingenious" car hacks on TikTok – as they could be costly, dangerous or even illegal.
Motoring trends are apparently gaining traction on the ever-popular app. With this in mind, The AA has chosen to highlight five of the ‘fixes’ that are being promoted… which it warns could actually be damaging or dangerous.
'Cosy car' makeover
For TikTokers seeking, ahem, a ‘cosier’ look for their car interior, one video is showcasing crocheted steering wheel and gearstick cover, along with painted sun visors and a roof lining adorned with pin badges.
The AA says there are thousands of Google searches each month for ‘steering wheel covers’, “but loose covers can slip, impairing control of the car”. If caught driving dangerously, penalties can include fines of up to £5000 and points on your licence.
Life-risking accessories
It seems some people are fitting clip-on decorations to their seatbelts, while others are attaching bottle holders to the headrest.
Both are dangerous. Seat belt ‘accessories’ can stop the belt working properly in an accident, while bottles can become heavy missiles under emergency braking.
DIY window tinting
Don’t want to pay an expensive specialist to tint your windows? Why not do it yourself, by applying darkened film to the glass?
Why indeed? Well, because too-dark tints are illegal. The front side windows should let in at least 70% of light, and DIY kits often don’t make it clear how much light they let through. On top of a fine, police can issue prohibition notices stopping you from driving your car until illegal tints are removed.
DIY alloy wheel painting
Despite not sounding a very good idea, spray-painting alloy wheels is actually a thing. That’s despite the obvious risks, including peeling finishes, potential wheel damage, not to mention contaminating the brakes and tyres.
Dashboard glow-ups
It gets worse. Buffing Vaseline into leather and plastic can “add shine and improve their appearance”. That’s until the dirt and grime it attracts starts to show, along with the risk of longer-term damage from the sticky residue.
Using a safety pin to unblock windscreen washers
This is actually a TikTok car hack that The AA does agree with. If your washer jets are spraying in the wrong direction, or not spraying at all, this tip is well worth a go – indeed, most car mechanics use it.
The trick is to be gentle, or else you’ll break the end of the safety pin off. At which point, it immediately becomes a damaging car hack.
"DIY is growing, but with limits," says AA Patrol of the Year Shaun Jones. "Although TikTok is full of car hacks, unsafe accessories and dodgy DIY jobs can leave you with fines, breakdowns, invalidated insurance or worse. If in doubt, seek professional advice – or simply leave it alone..."
