This unofficial car pre trip inspection sheet lists brakes, steering, suspension, tires and wheels as 49 CFR Part 570, Subpart A sets them out: the federal criteria for inspecting vehicles rated 10,000 pounds or less. Each line keeps the rule's figure.
Read the full guide
Mark one column for each inspection
1. Press Print blank sheet, or fill the sheet in on screen.
2. Work down the three groups: brakes, steering and suspension, tires and wheels.
3. Type 1 where a check finds something outside the figure on its line. Leave the box empty otherwise.
4. Add a column for the next inspection, up to six.
5. Checks that found a fault totals each column.
Three brake lines, 49 CFR 570.5(f) to (h), are read with one front and one rear wheel off; the rule's note says so.
For a daily pre trip van inspection checklist, use a column a day; a sheet holds six.
Questions and answers
What goes on a daily pre trip inspection checklist for cars?
This one carries the 23 lettered criteria of 49 CFR 570.5 to 570.10: nine for brakes, seven for steering and suspension, seven for tires and wheels. Some, such as rim runout, are measured with a gauge and suit a workshop more than a driveway.
Can it serve as a pre trip van inspection checklist?
Subpart A covers motor vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating of 10,000 pounds or less, except motorcycles and trailers. A cargo van pre trip inspection on a van at or under that rating uses the same lines.
Does Part 570 make anyone inspect a car before a trip?
Its own words: the part does not in itself impose requirements on any person. It gives criteria for State inspection systems (49 CFR 570.2 and 570.3). This page does not say what any state or employer asks of a driver.
What about a van rated above 10,000 pounds?
49 CFR 390.5T counts a vehicle of 10,001 pounds or more, used on a highway in interstate commerce, as a commercial motor vehicle. The straight truck sheet follows the parts those rules name.
All 29 lines
Brakes: 49 CFR 570.5 and 570.6 9
Backing plates and calipersNot deformed or cracked; no part broken, misaligned, missing or binding. Read with a front and a rear wheel off. 49 CFR 570.5(h).
Brake failure indicator lampIf the car came with one, the lamp works. The procedure: set the parking brake and turn the ignition to start. 49 CFR 570.5(a).
Brake hose mounting, surfaceBrake hoses not touching the body or chassis; not cracked, chafed or flattened. Front hoses are viewed from full left to full right. 49 CFR 570.5(e).
Brake linings and padsAt least one thirty-second of an inch over the rivet heads, or over the shoe when bonded; securely attached. Read with a front and a rear wheel off. 49 CFR 570.5(g).
Disc and drum embossed limitA drum within its embossed maximum diameter, a rotor within its embossed minimum thickness. Read with a front and a rear wheel off. 49 CFR 570.5(f).
Pedal held under 125 poundsHeld for 10 seconds, the pedal shows no perceptible drop in height or the indicator lamp stays dark. 49 CFR 570.5(b).
Pedal reserve at full pressPushed all the way down, the pedal still has a fifth of the distance to the floorboard left: the limit is 80 percent used. 49 CFR 570.5(c).
Stop from 20 miles per hourThe road test: stopped in 25 feet or less without leaving a 12-foot-wide lane, on a level, dry, hard road. 49 CFR 570.5(d)(2).
Vacuum hoses and power assistHoses not collapsed, abraded, broken or audibly leaking; with 25 pounds on it, the pedal falls slightly as the engine starts. 49 CFR 570.6(a).
Show all 29 lines (20 more)
Steering and suspension: 49 CFR 570.7 and 570.8 7
Shock absorber oil and rockingNo oil on the housing from a leaking seal; pushed down and let go, an end of the car rocks no more than two cycles. 49 CFR 570.8(b).
Springs, seals and bushingsBall joint seals not cut or cracked, springs not broken, stabilizer bars connected, shock mountings and U-bolts secure, rubber bushings in place. 49 CFR 570.8(a).
Steering linkage playWith the front end raised, free movement at the tread of a front tire is no more than one-quarter inch. 49 CFR 570.7(b).
Steering pump belt, reservoirDrive belt for the steering pump sound and gripping, reservoir topped up. The rule's words: no cracked or slipping belts, no insufficient fluid. 49 CFR 570.7(e).
Steering wheel lashFree play at the rim within Table 1: 2 inches for a steering wheel 16 inches across or smaller. Engine on, wheels straight ahead. 49 CFR 570.7(a).
Steering wheel, full travelBoth directions to the limit, with no binding or jamming felt in the steering gear. 49 CFR 570.7(c).
Toe-in and toe-outNo greater than 1.5 times the maker's alignment setting, read with a scuff gauge or other toe-in measuring device. 49 CFR 570.7(d).
Tires and wheels: 49 CFR 570.9 and 570.10 8
Checks that found a faultA total for each column: how many of the 23 lines were marked.
Chunking, knots and bulgesNone that show cord, ply or tread separating from the casing. 49 CFR 570.9(c).
Cords or belting showingNo cord or belting material exposed, to the eye or when a cut is probed with a blunt instrument. 49 CFR 570.9(d).
Every wheel nut and boltAll of them in place and tight. 49 CFR 570.10(c).
Rim bead runoutLateral and radial runout of each rim bead area within one-eighth of an inch, measured with a runout indicator gauge. 49 CFR 570.10(b).
Rim, wheel disc and spiderNo visible cracks, no elongated bolt holes and no sign of a repair by welding. 49 CFR 570.10(a).
Tire tread depth, every tireNot less than two thirty-seconds of an inch. Passenger car tires carry indicators that show when the tread is below that. 49 CFR 570.9(a).
Tires matched across an axleThe same size designation, construction and profile on both ends of an axle. 49 CFR 570.9(b).
Key 5
Made here, issued by nobodyMade for this site from the federal text. No state, inspection station, examiner or employer issued it.
Part 570 in its own wordsCriteria for State inspection systems. The part says it does not in itself impose requirements on any person: 49 CFR 570.2, 570.3.
Parts with no line herePart 570 gives no criteria for lamps, wipers, mirrors, horn or seat belts, so this sheet has none: 49 CFR 570.1.
Pedal forceUnless a line says otherwise, 25 pounds on a power-assisted or full-power pedal, 50 on any other: 49 CFR 570.5.
Reading a markA 1 says the check turned up something outside its line's figure or condition. Empty says it did not.
How this list was compiled: From Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 570 (Vehicle in Use Inspection Standards), Subpart A, Vehicles With GVWR of 10,000 Pounds or Less, sections 570.1 to 570.10, read on 2026-10-05 in the eCFR text dated 2026-10-01 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/part-570/subpart-A). The 23 part rows take every lettered paragraph of sections 570.5 to 570.10 once: 570.5(a) to (h), 570.6(a), 570.7(a) to (e), 570.8(a) and (b), 570.9(a) to (d) and 570.10(a) to (c). Each line restates its paragraph in our own words, keeps the paragraph's figures and ends with its citation. Where 570.5(d) offers two tests, the row gives the road test of (d)(2). The key lines follow 570.1, 570.2, 570.3 and the opening sentence of 570.5. The definition of a commercial motor vehicle used in one answer on the page is 49 CFR 390.5T, read the same day. Nothing comes from a vehicle maker's manual, a state inspection handbook or an employer's form. Licence: own work