You are driving down the road when you notice something on your car dash that you had not paid much attention to before.
It catches your eye because it stands out next to your odometer as a completely separate, yet seemingly related, reading.
The thing that you are looking at in this case is something that reads “Trip A”.
What Does Trip A Mean In A Car?
This happened to me a few weeks ago and this is why I wanted to share with you what I found out about its meaning.
In this article, you will learn what the Trip A figure on your vehicle means, why it is there, and what you should use this information for.
Table of Contents
What Does Trip A Mean on My Car?
The Trip A reading on your vehicle is showing you the current mileage traveled on a specific trip. You can reset the Trip A reading at any time if you would like to do so. Most vehicles also have a Trip B feature so that you can log up to 2 different trips on your odometer if you wish to do so.
The purpose of the Trip A reading on your car
The purpose of including this on the vehicle is to make it possible for the driver to see how far they have traveled on a specific trip in terms of the total mileage.
Believe it or not, this is something that many people are interested in finding out more about. They want to know exactly how far they have traveled and have a log of that information.
How the Trip A Reading Can Help You
Many people are confused by why the Trip A reading exists at all these days. It is confusing to them because they are more familiar with the idea of just looking up directions on their computer or phone to figure out how far a trip is likely to be.
To be fair, the Trip A feature was much more relevant to people in the past. The fact that we do have the Internet now means that we are better able to see how far we will end up going on a trip before we ever even drive the first mile of that trip.
That said, there are some who still like to use the Trip A meter.
One reason why the Trip A reading might prove useful to you is if you are currently driving and don’t want to pull out your phone for safety reasons.
It is smart to leave your phone securely where it is for the time being and simply allow the Trip A meter to register the total mileage that you are traveling in your vehicle.
This will provide you with the same information that you might have gotten from your phone, but it will do so in a way that is safer for you because you aren’t taking your eyes off the road to look at your phone.
Your passengers and the other motorists on the road will surely appreciate that you are playing things safe like this.
Comparing Trip A to Trip B
One fun thing to do when you are driving on a route that is very familiar to you is to compare Trip A to Trip B. You should try to take a route that is a little different for you when you drive on your way back from somewhere that you go all the time.
For example, you might consider taking an alternative route to and from work. You can compare the two routes on your Trip A and Trip B readings. You may discover that taking a different route to work saves you a little on the total mileage.
These days, gas prices are high enough that most people are looking for any way that they can save some money on the routes that they drive all the time.
Learning a bit more about the routes that you take and how you can improve your overall distance traveled by shortening it up with an alternative route may help you save a bit of money on gasoline.
Every little bit helps, and you will surely want to take a route that will shorten the amount of time it takes to get somewhere.
Look at how you can use Trip A versus Trip B to come up with a compelling way to determine where you need to take your car and how you can save yourself a considerable amount of time and money by using Trip A versus Trip B to find the best routes wherever you need to go.
Resetting These Readings
You may not be able to reset the overall odometer reading in your car according to Findlaw.
This is relevant to the next owner of your vehicle if you trade it in and it is illegal to do so.
However, you can reset the Trip A and Trip B functions so that you have a clear reading on this and can actually see how far a specific trip is for you.
There is no question that doing so will enable you to use the functions time and time again until you are in a position where you can get the most value out of these readings in your car.
Make sure you reset the Trip A function before you set out on your next journey. You will need to have a cleared-out reading so that the reading itself will be completely accurate when you go to calculate exactly how far you are traveling down the road.
Frequently Asked Questions About What Does Trip A Mean In A Car
How do I reset my Trip A reading?
On most vehicles, all that you will need to do is press and hold the odometer button while you have the Trip A reading pulled up. This will instruct your vehicle to reset the reading back to all zeros. The importance of this is that you can finally see just how far you are really traveling on a trip compared to how far you think you are traveling. You may be surprised to learn how much of a difference there is between these two figures in many cases.
Do all vehicles have a Trip A function?
This has been a standard function in most vehicles for a very long time. It would be odd to find a vehicle that did not have this functionality at this time. You should continue to cycle through the buttons on your vehicle until you are able to find the Trip A reading if you have had trouble finding it up to this point. It is very likely that you are simply overlooking it in some way.
How can I compare Trip A to Trip B?
Simply make sure you reset Trip A to zero before driving somewhere and then reset Trip B to zero before driving to your next destination. Both figures will hold and you can compare the two when both trips are completed. It is at that point that you will end up with a head-to-head comparison that will surely be useful to you.
Conclusion On What Does Trip A Mean In A Car
Although Trip A readings may be a tad confusing to the average person when they first hear about them, there is nothing to be intimidated about. These readings are set up to provide value to you as the vehicle owner.
You should look over this feature very carefully to see if it makes sense to you and how you might gain additional value out of it in your life. Once you have nailed down both of those things, then you are good to go.