Expert play: mechanical breakdowns and roadside on a live trip

Confirm safety before anything else: 'Are you and everyone in the car okay? Are you off the road / in a safe spot?' Don't talk about the car until you have a 'yes.'

Open the trip → Report issue → Mechanical. This pauses the trip clock, freezes the nightly meter, and unlocks FairCar's roadside concierge if your plan includes it.

Tire: if the car has a spare, walk the guest through swapping it on a video call. If run-flats or no spare, dispatch mobile tire service — your commercial policy usually reimburses.

Dead 12V (including in EVs — the auxiliary battery dies surprisingly often): a jump usually resolves it. Send AAA or a TaskRabbit; reimburse the guest on the trip via Pass-through credit (negative pass-through charge).

Check-engine light without limp mode: ask the guest to continue if safe and get a code reader at AutoZone (free). 90% of CEL events on the road are an O2 sensor or evap — not trip-ending.

If the car is undrivable and a tow is needed, dispatch the tow to your preferred shop or home address. File Report issue → Trip terminated by host (mechanical).

FairCar auto-refunds the guest for unused nights, reimburses up to $150 of their immediate alternate-transport receipts (Uber, rental shuttle), and helps re-book a comparable car from a nearby host at your cost basis (you pay the nightly difference, not the full new trip).

Do not penalize the guest's record — mechanical failure is never a guest issue. Their badges, streaks, and review stand untouched.