'Project Zomboid': How To Hotwire Cars And Get Gas

Traveling around town in “Project Zomboid” is, by default, slow and very dangerous. Grabbing one of the many cars lying around everywhere is a great way to reduce travel time and outrun hordes. But finding a working vehicle isn’t always easy.

Usually, players will need a key to start a car up. But this can be bypassed by hotwiring the car, saving players the trouble of having to scrounge nearby buildings or zombies for car keys. Fiddling with the wires requires a bit of expertise, so it’s best to make sure that all requirements are met before attempting to jack a random vehicle.

How To Hotwire A Car In “Project Zomboid”

Any vehicle can be hotwired so long as players have 1 level in Electrical and 2 levels in Mechanics. Alternatively, those who start with the Burglar profession will be able to hotwire cars right from the get-go, making Burglars extremely valuable in group play.

Once the requirements are met, enter any car and press the “V” key by default to open the vehicle menu. Then, click on the Hotwire icon to begin the process. Note that this might take a few tries before the car is successfully hotwired, so it’s best to do this in a safe area.

Once it’s done, players will be able to drive the car around as if they had the key for it. Press “N” until the engine starts and press the button again to shut the engine off when the car is not in use.

How To Get Gasoline

Most cars in the game will have little to no gas in their tanks, making them unusable even when hotwired. To get gas, players will need empty gas cans which can be looted from tool sheds, garages and gas stations.

With an empty can in hand, approach any vehicle and right-click on them to see if the “Siphon Gas” option is available. This will drain the vehicle of any gas and transfer it to the empty can. This can also be done to the pumps in gas stations, which can fill up any gas can provided the station has enough fuel.

Alternatively, if a car has enough fuel, drive up to a gas station and manually fill it up from there. Make sure the car is facing the right direction, right-click the fuel pump and fill the gas tank up.