8 Of The Best Ryobi Automotive Tools & Gadgets You Can Buy (And 3 To Skip)

Ryobi is a familiar brand found online at the company's website and at other retailers like Amazon. If you want to shop for Ryobi tools in the real world, you'll find them exclusively on shelves at The Home Depot. The company's selection of tools is broad, and you can find affordable and intuitive hand tools alongside complex, expensive, or niche Ryobi tools.

Ryobi has tools for just about every job, including cleaning and maintaining your car. Whether you're filling out the tool collection in your garage, looking for a gift for the gearhead in your life, or just shopping for a new toy, Ryobi has plenty of automotive tools and products to choose from. That said, not all products are equally useful, and not all tools make sense for all lifestyles.

Based on the recommendations of professional reviewers here at SlashGear and other trusted publications, as well as feedback from consumers, we've put together a list of Ryobi products we recommend you consider, and a few we think you can probably skip.

Ryobi's automotive power sources offer portable power in three ways. The 120W and 800W inverters provide decent power output and versatility. The latter delivers 800 watts of power when connected directly to a car battery with alligator clamps, 300 watts when connected to a Ryobi 18V battery, and continuous 12V DC power when plugged into your car's 12V port, provided your car's engine is running.

Ryobi's 18V ONE+ 1,000-Watt Automotive Power Source is essentially the same machine, except that it offers an additional 200 watts of maximum power output when connected directly to a car battery. It provides two 120V outlets, two USB-A outlets, one USB-C outlet, and one 12V outlet. On the power input side, you can choose between a pair of alligator clips for connecting directly to a car battery, a connection port compatible with Ryobi's 18V ONE+ batteries, and a 12V connector for plugging into a 12V cigarette lighter port.

The car adapter delivers 120 watts, enough to charge phones and power small devices. When connected directly to a car battery, the unit's 1000W output is capable of powering larger devices like televisions. Just make sure you don't drain your car battery while powering your portable gizmos.

The 18V ONE+ Dual Function Digital Inflator/Deflator can be used to inflate sports equipment, pool toys, air mattresses, bike tires, car tires, and more. As the name suggests, it can also be used to help release air from those items when you're done with them.

It delivers up to 160 PSI and moves up to 16 SCFM (standard cubic feet per minute) of air. You can set the pressure you want, and a built-in auto-shutoff feature stops airflow when the tool reaches the desired pressure. Meanwhile, a digital gauge gives you pressure readings in real time. It's the most versatile of Ryobi's inflators with the largest selection of accessories.

The inflator also features a built-in carrying handle, hose storage, accessory storage, and a quick-connect air chuck. It comes in a kit with a pinch valve, sports ball needle, brass presta adapter, sweeper nozzle, pinch valve nozzle, and narrow pinch valve nozzle. It's good for high-pressure items like sports balls and tires, as well as high-volume items like air mattresses. According to Ryobi, it can fill an air mattress in under two minutes. Our guide to the 18V ONE+ Dual Function Digital Inflator/Deflator could help you decide if this tool is right for you.

This 18V ONE+ Jump Starter uses a Ryobi 18V ONE+ battery to generate up to 1,600 peak amps and enough power to jump-start up to a 6-liter V8 engine. It has step-by-step instructions printed right on the unit to walk you through the process, and it only takes about a minute, so it can get you back on the road in no time. Ryobi's official jump starter is certainly a more reliable option than many third-party alternatives.

It features an easy-start LED indicator and an onboard LED work light to illuminate your space in case you need to jump-start a car in the dark. For those who are unfamiliar with jump-starting a battery, the alligator clamps attach to a 12V car battery's terminals, with reverse-polarity protection to prevent sparking if the clamps end up on the wrong leads.

It's compact enough to toss in the back of your car until you need it, and you can get up to 20 jump starts per charge. Just be sure to keep the battery charged so it's ready when you are. You can get the tool by itself or in a kit with an 18V ONE+ 2Ah battery and a compatible battery charger. But if you're going to spring for this battery-powered jump starter, you might as well snag the kit. It's often more affordable (by about $11) than buying the tool by itself.

Many carpet cleaners prioritize power and coverage at the expense of convenience. Ryobi's 18V ONE+ HP SwiftClean Mid-Size Spot & Carpet Cleaner, by contrast, packs a smaller punch, but users say it makes up for it in other ways.

This spot and carpet cleaner has a 36-ounce tank for holding cleaning solution and a separate 20-ounce tank for holding dirty water. It uses Ryobi's 18V ONE+ batteries to clean up small- to medium-sized spots on upholstery and carpet, both at home and on the go, including messes in your car. You can get the tool by itself for $179. However, at the time of writing, you can get it in a kit with a 4Ah battery and a charger on sale for $169.

Weighing just 9 pounds, this mid-sized carpet cleaner is relatively easy to cart around for cleaning up messes on the go. It features a collapsible handle, built-in accessory storage, a flexible 4-foot hose, a cleaning brush with a 7-inch cleaning path, a crevice cleaning tool, bristle insert, rubber insert, 6 ounces of cleaning concentrate, and a hose-rinsing tool. Battery power does mean you're sacrificing the unlimited runtime of a wired electrical connection, but you're getting cord-free portability in exchange.

Working on cars often means getting into awkward or unusual positions so you can better see the parts or systems you're working on. If you need to get underneath a car, you have two common solutions. If you have access to a mechanical lift, you can raise the car overhead and work comfortably. If not, you might have to limbo between the wheels using a flat, wheeled support known as a creeper.

It's like a wide skateboard you can lie down on to work beneath low-lying objects and structures. Ryobi offers a hybrid support that transforms from a slim creeper into a raised seat. The 18V ONE+ Dual Function Lighted Creeper/Seat is a relatively new addition to the Ryobi lineup. It uses a lever and a set of locking hinges to switch from one position to the next and has a collection of other useful features.

It features heavy-duty 3-inch caster wheels and a five-position adjustable headrest and backrest with a 400-pound carrying capacity, alongside a belt-clip storage slot, built-in storage for small parts and hand tools, chemical-resistant cushions, and a pair of flexible LED work lights. When in its seat configuration, it stands 16.75 inches tall, and it shrinks down to just 6.75 inches tall when being used as a creeper. To power the 800-lumen work lights, it accepts any Ryobi 18V ONE+ battery and can run for up to 18.5 hours on low with a 6Ah battery.

Resembling an oversized electric toothbrush, Ryobi's USB Lithium HP Compact Hand Vacuum Cleaner offers compact cleaning power at home and on the go. It weighs just 1.3 pounds, and it's battery-powered, making it easily portable. As part of Ryobi's USB Lithium lineup, it utilizes smaller cylindrical batteries to keep the tool compact. The USB Lithium batteries also feature an LED battery-level indicator that lights up green when the battery is fully charged, orange when it's half full, and red when it's low and needs a recharge.

Consumers are largely complimentary, citing the vacuum's compact size, versatility, and convenience for cleaning up small everyday messes. For bigger tasks, it offers a "max mode" for sucking up larger debris, and a detachable dust cup streamlines cleanup.

Between uses, the vacuum sits on a storage stand, which doubles as a battery charger. The vacuum runs on a pair of rechargeable lithium-ion 2Ah batteries, offering 14 minutes of combined runtime. In addition to the vacuum, users also receive a set of accessories, including an upholstery tool, a 2-in-1 crevice tool, and a dust brush attachment, for detailed cleaning of different spaces.

Whether it's a social interaction or a complex piece of machinery, sometimes a little lubrication helps things move a little more smoothly. At the same time, too much lubricant can make things too slippery and create a whole new set of problems. A grease gun probably won't help with those awkward social settings, but it can help keep your favorite workshop gadgets running smoothly.

Ryobi's 18V ONE+ Grease Gun weighs just 7.1 pounds and can hold up to 16 ounces of grease or a 14.5-ounce grease cartridge. Ryobi's battery-powered grease gun has plenty of cool features, and you can get the tool by itself for $169 or in a kit with a 2Ah battery and charger for $209. The gun will pump up to 19 grease cartridges per charge with a 4Ah Lithium+ battery and about half as many with the included 2Ah battery.

It's a decent option if you need a new grease gun in your garage. In Project Farm's testing and comparison of grease guns from other brands, including Milwaukee, Performance Tool, Ingersoll Rand, and DeWalt, Ryobi's grease gun was at or above average in nearly every category. Markings on the plunger rod let you see how much grease is left in the tube at a glance. It also features an LED work light to illuminate your work area, a flexible 30-inch hose, a flow rate of 7.5 ounces per minute, and a maximum pressure of 10,000 PSI.

If you're the type of person who's outside every weekend to wash your car or you've got a big outdoor cleaning project to do, a pressure washer could come in handy. Instead of a bucket of soapy water and a towel, you can use pressurized water to blast dirt away. The only question is which pressure washer to choose, and Ryobi's 1,200 PSI 1.8 GPM Cold Water Automotive High Flow Electric Pressure Washer is a solid option for casual summer cleaning activities.

It pumps out nearly two gallons of water per minute and comes with a foamer for generating and applying cleaning foam. The pressure is relatively low at 1,200 pounds per square inch (PSI) compared to 1,800 or 1,900 PSI for Ryobi's other models. However, it moves water at a rate of 1.8 gallons per minute (GPM), a 50% higher flow rate than Ryobi's other pressure washers. It combines lower pressure with higher water flow so you can wash cars, trucks, and other vehicles, barbecue grills, patio furniture, and more while minimizing the risk of damage.

The user experience is customizable with an adjustable handle capable of shortening for better control. It also comes with three different nozzles, one that releases water at 15 degrees for a concentrated spray, another that sprays at 25 degrees for general cleaning, and a 40-degree nozzle offering a gentler rinse.

Ryobi's Foam Blaster is in the same product category as its more robust electric pressure washers, but it's in an entirely different class, making the Foam Blaster a pale imitation. It ostensibly removes dirt and grime from a variety of surfaces using detergent concentrate and cleaning foam.

It attaches to a quarter-inch quick-connect spray wand and is safe to use on common objects and materials like vinyl, wood, brick, stucco, concrete, cement, asphalt, fiberglass, tile, stone, aggregate, metal, plastics, vehicles, and more. Unfortunately, the consumer consensus is that the Foam Blaster doesn't quite live up to the hype.

Common complaints include inconsistent foam creation, with thin foam that doesn't cling, and incompatibility with some pressure washers. Users also note that it lacks durability, with the plastic canister becoming brittle and other components breaking with limited use. Some users also report premature failures, including units that stopped working after limited use. For a tool to even merit consideration, it needs to make your life at least a little bit easier, and by many accounts, the Foam Blaster does the opposite.

On paper, Ryobi's USB Lithium 3/8-Inch Light Duty Ratchet Kit has some useful features like an LED battery gauge, compact design, and a variable-speed trigger. That said, nearly one-fifth of consumers give it a failing grade, citing its limited torque and utility, short battery life, and faulty or broken units.

As part of Ryobi's USB Lithium lineup, it features the brand's more compact cylindrical batteries, common among handheld or pocket-sized tools. While the lineup is more portable, it's also typically less powerful. In addition to the aforementioned features, this ratchet kit also features a pin detent to hold sockets in place and an LED work light conveniently positioned beneath the anvil.

It's relatively underpowered compared to the rest of Ryobi's powered ratchet lineup. It can deliver up to 10 foot-pounds of powered torque compared to between 35 and 55 foot-pounds of powered torque available from other Ryobi ratchets. It's okay for tools to come in a variety of strengths; most of us don't need the beefiest ratchets in existence to handle everyday tasks, but our tools should meet some reasonable minimum standards. Put simply, they should be up to most of the tasks the average person is likely to throw at them, and this ratchet kit falls a little short.

The vacuum cleaner has historically been limited to the inside of your home, but no longer. Ryobi's 40V HP Brushless 600 CFM Blower/Vacuum Kit brings the power of vacuum suction to the outdoors.

The tool claims to offer more than 25 minutes of runtime on low, using two 40V 4Ah batteries. It can move up to 600 cubic feet per minute (CFM) of air at speeds up to 100 miles per hour. When vacuuming up leaves and other yard debris, the material is shredded by a metal impeller inside the vacuum tube, allowing you to compress up to 20 standard bags of yard debris into a single bag. It connects to an adjustable harness to more evenly distribute weight across your body, and you can control the vacuum with an adjustable-speed trigger and cruise control.

The tool comes with a 10.5-gallon collection bag, vacuum tip, speed tip, two 40V 4Ah batteries, and a rapid charger. Despite its many promises, users say it doesn't quite hit the mark. Common complaints include poor battery life and long charging times, subpar vacuum suction, and poor material quality. Specifically, users commonly complain that the handles break during use. Perhaps worst of all, users say the impeller clogs easily with wet leaves and other yard debris, undermining one of the tool's most important functions.

To create this list of some of the best Ryobi automotive tools and gadgets you can buy, we started by looking at the highest-rated and best-reviewed automotive gear currently available from the brand.

Each item on the list has at least one (and in many cases multiple) of the following qualifications: a positive professional review on SlashGear or another trusted publication, a positive personal experience from one or more SlashGear writers, or at least 100 reviews and a rating of at least 4 stars on one or more online storefronts. In this case, we only took into account ratings and reviews on the official websites of Ryobi and The Home Depot.

Finally, it wasn't enough for a tool to be highly rated by reviewers and/or consumers. We also considered utility, not just whether a tool or gadget is good at what it does, but whether it serves a practical purpose for the average person, gearhead, or garage hobbyist. If a tool made the cut, it met those criteria and stood out as a useful and effective product worth at least considering during your summer shopping sessions.