Breakdown Problem
Car Won't Start — What It Means and What Happens Next
A no-start is the single most common call we take. The useful thing for you to know is that the sound the car makes tells us almost everything before we arrive — a rapid click, a slow lazy crank, or complete silence each point at a different fault and a different fix. Tell us which one you're hearing and we'll bring the right kit first time.
What you're likely seeing
- Rapid clicking when you turn the key — usually not enough current to spin the starter
- Slow, laboured crank that gets slower each attempt — battery is flat or failing
- Normal cranking but no fire-up — fuel, spark, immobiliser or timing
- Complete silence, no dash lights — dead battery, loose terminal, or an earth fault
- Dash lights up but the key does nothing — immobiliser, key battery or starter relay
Do this before anything else
- 1Don't keep cranking. Ten seconds at a time, then rest — repeated cranking overheats the starter and drains what charge you have left.
- 2If you're on a hill or in a live carriageway, put the hazards on and stay out of the vehicle behind a barrier if it's safe to do so.
- 3Check the obvious first: is it in park or neutral, is the steering lock jammed against the key, is the key fob battery dead.
On a motorway or dual carriageway, ring 999 and ask for National Highways before you call any recovery company. Motorway breakdown advice →
How we move the vehicle
Our drivers carry a professional jump pack rather than jump leads, so we can start a car with no donor vehicle and without the risk of a voltage spike through the ECU. If the battery takes a charge and holds it, you drive away. If the fault is the alternator, starter motor or immobiliser, the car isn't going anywhere under its own power and we load it onto a flatbed and take it to your garage, dealer or home.
What it costs
You pay either for a roadside attendance (jump start, terminal repair, diagnosis) or for a recovery to a destination — not both. We quote the figure on the phone before a driver sets off, and it doesn't change because it's 2am.
Full recovery cost guideQuestions we get asked
The service you probably need
Worth reading
Other problems we're called to
Tell us what the car is doing
Describe the fault on the phone and we'll tell you honestly whether this is a roadside fix or a recovery — and what it will cost — before a driver leaves.