For your sake, we hope you’re reading this in the comfort of your own home, not on your phone while you’re stranded beside the road. Either way, it’s super frustrating when your car won’t start. You probably have a few questions running through your mind and you’re looking for answers. Let’s see if we can help.
Top 5 Reasons Your Car Won’t Start
In all honesty, there are a LOT of reasons why a vehicle won’t start, but let’s take a look at the most common ones. Hopefully, your vehicle’s specific problem will fall into one of these categories.
- Your car’s battery is dead. If the battery is reaching the end of its life, this often comes with warning signs. Think back … do you remember having difficulty starting your car recently? If so, this might have been your vehicle’s way of telling you that the battery needed to be replaced. On the other hand, if you haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary before now, the battery could’ve gone dead from the lights or radio being left on while the car was off. In this case, try jump starting your car with jumper cables.
- Your vehicle has an electrical problem. When you try to start the car, do the dashboard lights come on? If not, you’re probably looking at a battery issue – see #1. If they DO come on but the car still won’t start, there is likely an underlying electrical issue. Don’t try to sort this out yourself. Simply take your car to your favorite auto repair shop and their expert mechanics can properly diagnose and fix the problem.
- The starter or ignition switch is bad. Now, you may not have seen this one coming. But, if you’ve ruled out a battery problem, this might be your next best guess. Unless you’re a mechanic with spare parts sitting around in your garage, you’ll want to get your vehicle to the repair shop to get this fixed. Unfortunately, this probably means you need a tow, but we can recommend someone for that!
- A clogged fuel filter is the culprit. Have you recently noticed any difficulty with acceleration or low power? If so, this might have been a clue that the fuel filter has become so clogged with debris that it can’t function properly. Without a clean fuel filter, the engine won’t get the fuel it needs to run and your car may not start. Follow a regular preventative maintenance schedule and you can prevent this from happening in the future. Most vehicle manufacturers recommend replacing the fuel filter every 10,000 – 15,000 miles.
- The gas tank is empty. What? Could it be this simple? Possibly. Maybe your gas gauge isn’t working properly. Or, maybe the last person to drive the vehicle didn’t pay close enough attention to how much was left. Either way, this should be a simple fix. If you’re stranded beside the road and you belong to an automobile club such as AAA, they may be able to bring you enough gas to get you to a station where you can fill up. Or, you can always call the driver who left the tank empty and ask them to help you out!
Whatever the reason is for your car not starting, we’re here to help. If you need immediate repairs, just give us a call and we’ll do our best to fit you into the schedule. Even better, though, is paying attention to preventative maintenance on a regular basis and maybe you won’t find yourself in this situation ever again!
