This article was written by Tom Eisenberg and by wikiHow staff writer, Eric McClure. Tom Eisenberg is the Owner and General Manager of West Coast Tires & Service in Los Angeles, California, a family-owned AAA-approved and certified auto shop. Tom has over 10 years of experience in the auto industry. Modern Tire Dealer Magazine voted his shop one of the Best 10 Operations in the Country.
This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources.
This article has been viewed 48,147 times.
There’s nothing worse than hopping into your vehicle to take a trip or run some errands only to turn that key and nothing happens. Luckily, there are a few tried-and-true solutions if your starter has gone bad. First, we’ve got to make sure your battery isn’t to blame since it’s very easy to mistake battery issues for starter problems. Then, we’ll break down everything you can try to get the vehicle started before resorting to a mechanic. Read on to learn everything you’ll ever need to know about troubleshooting your vehicle’s starter and getting your engine running.
This article is based on an interview with our auto technician, Tom Eisenberg, owner of West Coast Tires & Service. Check out the full interview here.
Things You Should Know
- Jump the battery first before you presume the starter has gone bad—the odds are very high your battery simply lost its charge.
- If you have a manual transmission, push-start your car to bypass the starter and get the engine started.
- If you have an automatic transmission, gently tap on the starter repeatedly with a hammer or piece of scrap wood. This should knock debris or corrosion loose so you can start the car.
Steps
Expert Q&A
Video
Tips
References
- ↑ https://www.gadgetreview.com/how-to-jump-start-car-with-or-without-cables-another-car
- ↑ https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/testing-a-starter-motor/
- ↑ https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/testing-a-starter-motor/
- ↑ https://www.hagerty.com/media/maintenance-and-tech/testing-a-starter-motor/
- ↑ https://www.autoevolution.com/news/these-are-the-five-most-common-symptoms-of-a-failing-flywheel-157410.html