How to Hotwire a Car in Project Zomboid: Quick Guide

As you play Project Zomboid, you’d often think that going by foot through the apocalypse is the best choice. However, there may be times you’ll need a faster way to get around and eventually escape hordes of zombies. This is where Project Zomboid vehicles come in.

Vehicles such as cars can provide you an easy way out. But you can’t simply enter a car in-game and do whatever you like with it. It becomes crucial to know how to hotwire a car in Project Zomboid so you don’t have to look for car keys or waste time getting into an inaccessible car.

If you’re wondering how to learn how to hotwire a car in Project Zomboid, then you’ve come to the right place. This guide covers all the basic information you need in vehicle hotwiring, skills needed, and other relevant information regarding vehicles in Project Zomboid.

What are vehicles in Project Zomboid?

Just like real-life vehicles, Project Zomboid vehicles are ways of transportation around the game. They’re usually found in parking areas, driveways, and even on the road from accidents. Not all vehicles are in pristine shape when you encounter them though. Some vehicles may have a dead battery, no fuel, or their engine could be heavily damaged.

Additionally vehicles are objects in Project Zomboid that don’t despawn nor respawn within the game. So you can’t exactly tamper with them even if you have access to admin commands in-game.

There are also different types of vehicles in-game such as Standard, Heavy, and Sport vehicles. Standard vehicles are the most common vehicles you may come across in0game. These include sedans, station wagons, and some SUVs. They have average durability and speed, making them a decent choice.

For Heavy-Duty vehicles such as vans, pickup trucks, and ambulances, they’re more durable and have a bigger capacity for items. However, they lack in speed and have a lower capacity in their fuel gauge.

Then for Sport vehicles, these include performance sedans and muscle cars. As seen in their name, they’re pretty much made for sport, so expect these types of vehicles to be fast and easily driven for players. Keep in mind, however, that Sports vehicles have lower durability, item space, and will siphon gas than average cars. Plus, their vehicle parts are rare to come by.

Vehicle interactions and indicators you should know

While vehicles in Project Zomboid closely resemble real-life vehicles, there are some key parts you should pay attention to especially if you plan to use a vehicle or even aim to hotwire one.

Radial Menu

First is the vehicle radial menu. You’ll find your vehicle interactions through this. This is more than simply getting into the driver’s seat and taking the wheel to drive. You’ll find options such as ignition, radio, and headlights for the internal interactions. While for the outdoor interactions with the car, you can manage the doors, the trunk, gas, and more.

Refuel option

Within the radial menu when you toggle it outside of the vehicle, you’ll find an option to refuel your vehicle by looking for the gas cap. You can select the “Add gasoline” option, which can be done with a gas can or gas pump. Plus, you can “siphon gas” from a car if you have an empty gas can.

Dashboard

The dashboards work just like a real-life car dashboard. You can find indicators if certain car parts are turned on, turned off, broken, and more. This includes statuses such as your vehicle’s engine, battery, door locks, headlights, heaters, trunk locks, ignition, fuel gauge, and cruise control speed.

What is car hotwiring in Project Zomboid?

Now that you have some understanding on how interactions work with vehicles, we can then get to car hotwiring in Project Zomboid.

Car hotwiring is a mechanic that allows players to kickstart vehicles without the need for keys.

It’s truly an essential skill to survive in the game since you won’t have to spend time looking for keys or deciding to travel by foot. Once you’ve learned how to hotwire a car, you can pretty much take control of any abandoned vehicle in the game.

Hotwiring a car, however, isn’t a skill you automatically obtain when starting the game in Project Zomboid. There are different ways you can acquire it, such as through occupation or by meeting certain skill requirements. Once you’ve met the conditions to hotwire a car, that’s the only time you’ll gain access to this option on a vehicle’s radial menu and a vehicle will start through hotwire when attempting to drive it.

What are some things to consider before hotwiring a car?

As mentioned earlier, before you hotwire cars in Project Zomboid, some conditions need to be met. Here are the things you need to consider before hotwiring a car:

Occupation or Particular Skills

Mainly, you’ll need an occupation or the right skills. During character creation, you’ll have a chance to choose a job or go unemployed as you enter the game’s world. If you automatically want the hotwiring skill, you should get the Burglar Occupation. This will give you the ability to hotwire vehicles without needing any skill levels.

If you don’t have this occupation and want to learn the skill, you’ll have to get Mechanics 1 and Electrical 2.

These are levels that can be gained through practice or reading skill books in line with those skills.

For the Mechanics skill, you can increase this by dismantling and repairing vehicles such as removing and reinstalling parts. While for the Electrical skill, you’ll need to break down radios, TVs, watches, and similar electronics with a screwdriver.

Vehicle’s Condition

Before deciding to hotwire a car, be sure that you’re working with a vehicle that will actually work. It’s a waste of time if you’ll hotwire a car with a dead battery, no fuel, or severe engine damage.

Check the overall condition of your vehicle before fully deciding you want to hotwire it.

Nearby Vicinity

Another thing to consider is if your location is safe enough to hotwire a car. While hotwiring only takes a couple of seconds, you can still fall into danger from nearby zombies.

Be sure to scout the area if it’s safe. Plus, consider that hotwired cars can cause noise, attracting zombies to your position, so, be prepared to fight them or drive away immediately.

How to hotwire a car in Project Zomboid?

At this point, you’re probably ready to learn how to hotwire a car in Project Zomboid. The steps to do this are fairly simple.

One of the first things you should do is, of course, find a vehicle that you want to hotwire.

Ensure that the vicinity is clear of zombies. But if you’re playing in a multiplayer server, get a friend who will watch your back.

Next, approach the vehicle and enter the driver’s seat. This will give you access to the radial menu.

You can then open the radial menu by pressing “V” on your keyboard. This will then present you with some interaction options you want to do with your vehicle.

Then, you’ll have to find the hotwire option on the menu. Navigate to the “Hotwire Engine” option which is signified by a key and checkmark icon.

Once you’ve done that, click it to hotwire your vehicle and then you’ll have your car running. The ignition icon will then change on your vehicle’s dashboard.

Tips for hotwiring cars in Project Zomboid

The process to hotwire cars in Project Zomboid is straightforward. Anyone can succeed in this as long as they know the conditions to meet and how to navigate the radial menu. There are some things that you need to remember, however, to make your vehicle hotwiring more worthwhile.

Be sure to choose the right car. It’s best to find a car that is in good condition, such as a full gas tank and charged batteries. This ensures that your hotwiring is worth the effort for the vehicle you’ll be getting.

Additionally, use skill books to level up faster to gain the levels needed to hotwire cars. Early in-game, you may be overwhelmed with the different skills you can level up. But if you want to focus on gaining vehicle access, look for skill books on Electronics and Mechanics and work on activities related to both skills to level up faster.

Lastly, always be mindful of car alarms since these can trigger after car hotwiring. This will potentially alert zombies and you might have to abandon your temporary shelter on such short notice.

Mastering hotwiring in Project Zomboid can make your survival much easier, giving you more options in terms of travel for you and your friends. While it isn’t an essential skill to have, it becomes useful in times of need.