Vehicles

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This article is about vehicles as an overview. For a guide on how service them, see Mechanics.

Vehicles are a means of transportation used to traverse the landscape of Kentucky and as a place to store items. They can be almost anywhere on the map, usually appearing in parking spaces and driveways. Although it is also possible to find vehicles among wreckages on roads and main highways. Vehicles can be found in a range of conditions – sometimes with badly damaged parts, lacking fuel, or a dead battery. Most vehicles will be driveable after changing the battery and filling the gas tank, while others may have a badly damaged engine, making it near impossible to start without repairing the engine. Certain tools are often required to replace parts, whereas a specific recipe magazine is required depending on the type of vehicle being repaired and the type of part being targeted.

Vehicles are currently persistent in the world, regardless of what happens to them, they will never disappear/despawn (with the exception of admin abilities and closing the game incorrectly), likewise they will never respawn without server commands. It has been mentioned by devs, specifically on the Project Zomboid Discord, that there are plans to have vehicles catch fire and explode, likely damaging the engine to a certain point, thus leaving a burnt out wreckage, appearing similarly to those that spawn naturally.

Types

Vehicles come in three different types, along with parts which can only be installed in their corresponding vehicle type. A Recipe magazine must be read before the player can add, remove or repair parts. Unless the Mechanic occupation or the Amateur Mechanic trait has been selected.

• Standard

Laines Auto Manual - Standard Models

• Heavy-Duty

Laines Auto Manual - Commercial Models

• Sport

Laines Auto Manual - Performance Models

There are currently 9 different vehicle models available, however there are multiple variants from branded, like the Fossoil Chevalier D6, to emergency, like the Police Chevalier Nyala. Vehicles belonging to a certain profession will have relevant items spawn inside. For example, an Ambulance may contain medical supplies.

Available vehicles

Vehicle	General						Body					Variants
	Manufacturer	Model	Vehicle Type	Weight	Engine Power (hp)	Engine Loudness	Seats	Doors	Trunk Storage	Total Storage (Seats + Trunk)	Glove Compartment
Chevalier Cerise Wagon	Chevalier	Cerise Wagon	Standard	1200	420	40	4	4	60	120	5	Wood Siding
Chevalier Cossette	Chevalier	Cossette	Sport	1035	570	46	2	2	30	50	5
Chevalier D6	Chevalier	D6	Heavy-Duty	1300	400-480	55	2	2	80	100	10	Fire Fossoil McCoy Logging Co. Park Ranger
Chevalier Dart	Chevalier	Dart	Standard	935	360	27	4	2	40	100	3
Chevalier Nyala	Chevalier	Nyala	Standard	1100	400-480	40	4	4	55	115	5	Police Cruiser Park Ranger Taxi (Yellow) Taxi (Green)
Chevalier Primani	Chevalier	Primani	Sport	1100	500	40	4	4	45	105	5
Chevalier Step Van	Chevalier	Step Van	Heavy-Duty	1440	370-400	50	2	3	160	180	10	Mail Van Kentucky Herald Scarlet Oak Distillery
Dash Bulldriver	Dash	Bulldriver	Heavy-Duty	1370-1400	400-480	60	2	2	130	150	10	Fire Dept. Fossoil McCoy Logging Co. Police Park Ranger
Dash Elite	Dash	Elite	Sport	1100	500	40	4	4	45	105	5
Dash Rancher	Dash	Rancher	Standard	1150	440	45	2	2	40	60	5
Franklin All-Terrain	Franklin	All-Terrain	Heavy-Duty	1330	470	50	4	4	85	145	10
Franklin Valuline	Franklin	Valuline	Heavy-Duty	1000-1250	260-490	50	2 (6)	3 (5)	50-130	150	10	6-Seater Ambulance Radio Van 3N Radio Van Fossoil Van McCoy Logging Co. Mail Fossoil Spiffo's Van Knox Distillery Lectro Max Mass GenFac Transit
Masterson Horizon	Masterson	Horizon	Standard	950	360	27	4	2	40	100	3
Mercia Lang 4000	Mercia Lang	4000	Sport	1190	520	40	2	2	45	65	5
Trailer	Generic	Trailer	Standard	266 or 282	--	--	--	--	100	100	--	Cover
Advert Trailer	Generic	Advert Trailer	Standard	272	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Valu Insurance Vote Fairweather Spiffo's Sky Blue Banking Marple & Christie Legal Ready Prep Surplus 93.2 LBMW Radio Juke Box Bowling

Note: although it can't be seen, a helicopter can be heard at one point towards the beginning of the game. This is part of the metagame and not a physical helicopter.

Planned vehicles

Planned "Vehicle enhancements" from the Beeverdoid thusdoid blog post

• Fire Truck
• Military

Controls

Many of the vehicle controls can be customised in the game options. The controls displayed below are the default key-bindings.

• Pressing V will bring up the vehicle's radial menu – the vehicle's radial menu can be accessed from inside the vehicle or when standing adjacent to the vehicle. When sitting inside the vehicle you will be granted access to the ignition, car radio, headlights and more. When standing near the vehicle you will have access to opening, closing and locking the doors and trunk along with other features. An open door will allow you to access the inventory on the seats.

• Pressing N will start or shut off the engine. Pressing W inside the vehicle will also start the engine, if it is off.
• Pressing E will enter or exit the vehicle, though be sure to get in on the driver’s side for a swift exit.
• Pressing F will toggle the headlights.
• Pressing Q will sound the horn.
• Pressing O will bring up the heater controls.
• Pressing U will bring up the Vehicle Mechanics menu.

Car keys

Car keys will only grant access to a specific vehicle. They are required to start the engine, unlock doors, unlock the trunk and use the accessories on the dashboard.

They can be found:

• On the ground in parking lots near the vehicle.
• Inside storage containers in nearby houses.
• Inside the vehicle in the ignition, glove box, etc.

A key icon will appear over your character if they are in close proximity to the vehicle while possessing its key, indicating that it can be accessed and driven.

Hot-wiring

If the car key can't be located, a vehicle can be hot-wired if the player has the required skills of: 1 electrical and 2 mechanics. Hot-wiring will change the ignition key slot icon on the dashboard and display the key icon above all players when they approach the vehicle. Therefore, a hotwired vehicle can be accessed by anyone, which may not be desired on a multiplayer game.

To hotwire a car, you must use the radial menu, where the "Start Engine" option will be replaced with a "Hotwire Engine" option. Other methods of starting the engine such as clicking on the ignition key slot or pressing "w" will not work to start the vehicle without a key.

Locked doors can be accessed by smashing the window or removing it from within the vehicle's mechanics menu. A failed attempt to hotwire will not damage the vehicle or screwdriver, but may attract unwanted attention. Engines with a higher quality are harder to hotwire.

Dashboard

1. Engine Light - Indicates whether the engine is off, starting, or on.
2. Battery - Indicates the condition of the battery.
3. Outside Temperature
4. Door locks - Locks or unlocks doors.
5. Headlights - Turns lights on or off.
6. Heater/AC - Turns heating or air conditioner on or off.
7. Trunk Lock - Locks or unlocks trunk.
8. Ignition - Key storage slot. The key can be left safely in the ignition without battery drain.

The indicators on the dashboard have three primary colors.

• Grey: off
• Green: working/enabled/on.
• Orange: starting.
• Red: broken/disabled/off.

Refueling

A vehicle can be refueled by right-clicking on it and selecting "refuel", the option to "siphon gas" is available if the player has an empty gas can. Vehicles can be refueled using a gas can or at a gas pump, provided the gas pump is connected to a power source. If the option to refuel from the gas pump does not appear, the gas cap may be too far away from the pump; try repositioning the vehicle so that the gas cap is on the same side as the gas pump, most vehicles have gas caps on the driver's side.

• 

  Fossoil gas pump
• 

  Gas-2-Go gas pump

Towing vehicles

The player can tow any car (even car wrecks) by driving a second vehicle to it's front or rear, walking between the vehicles, facing either, pressing the vehicle radial menu (V), and select the plus sign. While towing doesn't require any other equipment, the towing mechanic has a few factors most players won't consider that determine the quality of your ability to tow.

Tire Pressure
The tire pressure of both the towing vehicle and the vehicle being towed affect the speed of which the vehicle can be towed.

Traits
The trait "Sunday Driver" will negatively impact the players ability to tow vehicles greatly, as the current build (41) has vehicle towing being heavily affected by acceleration, with Sunday Driver heavily decreasing player acceleration. Conversely, the trait "Speed Demon" will positively impact the players ability to tow vehicles greatly for the same reason.

Weight to HorsePower ratio
The overall weight of both vehicles does play a factor in the towing speed, however the amount of weight required to make any noticable difference would require the towed vehicle to be stripped of everything save for the tires/breaks/shocks -- even then, the difference is fairly small.

Common issues

Updated 06/25/2023

Vehicle disappearing after game crash
When driving a vehicle during a crash or closing/exiting the game incorrectly, upon reload can result in the vehicle either being at the location it was first entered or where it was during the crash. Given that the player may spawn anywhere from start to any point along the route driven, this can be problematic.

In the event that the save file rolled back to the previous autosave, however, the vehicle will have disappeared and cannot be found anywhere. There is currently no workaround for this other than spawning the vehicle using server commands.

Slow-motion
Often the game can appear to run in slow-motion (low FPS rate) when driving at higher speeds, The zoom level can affect this and can be used as a means of testing if it is an FPS issue or a different problem. Lowering the resolution, reducing the number of 3D characters, closing any background programs, making Project Zomboid a high priority in task manager, or performing a clean install of graphics drivers may resolve this issue.

See also

• Mechanics