Find a Helping Hand
How do you jumpstart a car? First, you’ll need to find a good Samaritan or phone up a friend who has a working vehicle, so you can utilize the full charge of their working battery. When you have successfully found a helper, you’ll need to park either side-by-side or grille-to-grille – and be sure to keep your parking brake engaged and make sure the working car’s engine is off.
Prepare Your Vehicle
Now that you’ve found your co-pilot, it’s time to prep your car. Pop the hood to expose the battery and find your set of jumper cables. You might also consider investing in an emergency car kit at our parts department with extra tools like flashlights, gloves, and more.
Attach Cables and Charge
Follow these steps carefully–it’s important that they are followed in order:
- Attach one red clamp to the positive terminal on the non-working vehicle.
- Attach the other red clamp to the positive terminal on the working vehicle.
- Attach one of the black clamps to the negative terminal on the working vehicle.
- Attach the other black clamp to an unpainted metal surface on the non-working vehicle.
- Ask your helper to turn on their vehicle and allow the car to run for several minutes.
Start Your BMW
Try to start your BMW and see how you did. If your car starts, great! Be sure to take the long way home from Poway or drive around the neighborhood for at least 5-10 minutes to prevent your battery from draining immediately again. If your vehicle does not start, you can try again in a few minutes. After a few tries, you might want to call a vehicle to the nearest BMW service center. If your battery is truly dead, there’s nothing you can do but visit a professional.
Schedule Your Service at BMW of Escondido
Whether you need a battery check, a battery replacement, or a full vehicle inspection, visit BMW of Escondido in Escondido for all of your vehicle needs. We’d be happy to help you learn how to jumpstart a BMW or offer our best tips for creating a car emergency kit. Contact us with any questions!
