What would you do if you tried to turn your car on and the battery was dead? Would you know how to jumpstart it? If not, our Toyota service offers this guide that will help you out if you ever find yourself in this sticky situation:
How to Jump-Start a Car
- The first thing you need to do when jumping a car is to find somebody with a working car. Then, have them drive that car up to the non-working vehicle. Make sure both vehicles are off and then pop the hoods.
- Take your jumper cables and attach one red clip to the positive (POS) terminal on the dead battery. Connect the other end to the positive terminal on the working battery.
- Take one end of the black clip and attach it to the negative (NEG) terminal of the working battery. Important: Don’t connect the other black clip to the other battery. It needs to be connected to an unpainted metal surface, such as the metal strut holding up the hood.
- Start the ignition in the car with the working battery and let it run for a little while.
- Try starting the other car. If it starts, keep it on for about 20 minutes and drive it around so the battery gets fully recharged.
If your battery isn’t old or in bad shape, you should be good to go. It is, however, important to remember that batteries only last about five years. If yours is that old or older, you may find yourself having to keep jumping it. To prevent that from happening, make an appointment with the service center at Centennial Toyota to get a new battery.
