Q&A from the Bais HaVaad Halacha Hotline

Vehicle Inspection

March 23, 2023

Q Do I need to do bedikas chametz in my car?

A You must search your car for chametz, unless you are certain you didn’t bring any into it. Alternatively, you can sell the car through your rav, just as many people sell parts of their home, and thereby obviate the need to check it.

 The Chok Yaakov writes that although one must check his pockets for chametz if he puts food there, this bedikah doesn’t require a bracha, because the primary obligation is in one’s home. He also says that the time for checking pockets does not need to be the night of bedikas chametz, because pockets are best checked by emptying and feeling rather than by candlelight. R’ Shmuel Kamenetsky is quoted as saying that a car should be searched like a house, because a car, unlike pockets, is similar to a house. But if he is only searching his car (e.g., he is already away for Pesach), then misafek, he makes no bracha.

If one rents a car on Erev Pesach or Chol Hamo’ed, he must immediately search it for chametz left by previous renters. (Though rental companies clean cars between rentals, this cleaning may be insufficiently thorough.)