Q&A for How to Start a Car

Yes, if your car has trouble starting, it helps to turn off anything else that uses the battery.

It depends on the year of the car. From a safety standpoint, it is a good Idea to have your foot on the brake when you're starting any motor vehicle.

Change the gas, oil, and oil filter. Make a visual inspection under the hood and fix any obvious problems. Recharge or replace the battery. If the car has been sitting for more than a couple years, or if it's valuable, have a mechanic make a detailed inspection before trying to start the engine.

The starter may have gone out. The ignition may have gone out, or the terminals could be having problems sending electrical current through.

Turn the key in the opposite direction from the way you turn to start it, or if it's a newer vehicle, press the "stop" button. Note that stopping a running engine while still driving is not recommended.

You may need to clean your battery terminals and connectors. If the battery is dead, there's probably a parasitic drain.

Check the battery terminals, they might need to be cleaned.

Show the computer logs to a mechanic and see what they think. Possible faulty parts include the ignition switch, the starter, or the transponder. That last part requires an expensive steering column replacement, so check everything else first.

Check your car manual. With modern cars, they don't like being given gas while being started. Often this can help with older cars but be careful as you could flood the engine if done too many times.

After you add gasoline, you should turn the key on and off without starting it. Turn it on for a couple seconds, off, on, and off again. This will cycle the fuel pump. After that, simply crank it a bit; it should start after a couple of tries. If not, do the on-off thing a couple of times and try again

Yes. Actually, most newer automatic cars require you to be in "park" for starting.

Turn the key the opposite direction to the way you turned it to turn it on.

It is not necessary to do that. You can if you want, but it does nothing for the car either good or bad.

Depends on the vehicle, but usually, no. Check your owner's manual for further reference.

This is expected behavior. When they go off, it means everything is working fine. You have an issue if the light remains on. Orange light means there's an issue and you should seek technical attention. Red light means stop the car immediately and check it.

You should put down the hand brake after you get your car started. Note: Make sure your foot is on the brake when you do this.

You have to turn the steering wheel towards the way it's not turned and try to turn the key. This happens because your car automatically locks up your steering wheel whenever you turn when the car is not running.

Shut off the car and look at the engine coolant, as it could be low. If it is, look at your manual and see what type of engine coolant you need for your car.

No, but you can lock your steering wheel and make it a pain to try to turn on your car.

It lurches and comes to a stop. You should always check to see if your car is in neutral while starting.

If it's an automatic, put your foot on the brake, ensure it's in park and then turn the key to start it. If it's a manual, ensure the car is in neutral and the handbrake is on, depress the clutch and then turn the key to start it. Applying gas is not needed, as the car's computer will apply the correct amount of fuel in order to allow the car to start.

It is recommended to drive off as soon as the engine has started and as soon as it's safe to do so because this allows the engine to get up to operating temperature as soon as possible. Being at the correct operating temperature will: Improve idle quality (sometimes even lower the idle speed of the engine) and allows the oil temperature to get up to temperature so it can flow more easily around the engine.