🔧 Troubleshooting Guide - My Winter Car

Fast and reliable fixes for the most common bugs in My Winter Car. Whether your ignition isn't working, your car won't start, or your phone isn't receiving calls, we have the answer.

📋 Version Notice: This guide is based on My Winter Car Early Access patches through v.260102-01. Check Steam for future hotfixes.

Table of Contents - Common Bugs & Fixes

🔧 Ignition Not Working & Corris Rivett Won't Start

Vehicle High Priority

Diagnosis Checklist for Ignition Wiring & Engine:

  1. Ignition Not Working (Wiring Dead): If turning the key does absolutely nothing (no click, no crank), check your wiring mess. Ensure the Ignition Coil is wired to the main harness and distributor. Verify the Starter Motor and Battery terminals are firmly wired and bolted.
  2. Camshaft timing: Align small arrow with stamp on engine head (behind pulley), and the crankshaft stamp on the engine block.
  3. Air/fuel mixture: Target AFR for starting is approximately 11-12 (rich mixture).
  4. Flooded Carburetor: If you repeatedly pumped the gas while cranking, the carb is flooded. Fix: Remove the carburetor, save the game, log back in, reinstall it, and try again with choke ON without pumping.

🔌 Not Receiving Calls / Phone No Dial Tone

Gameplay High Priority

Cause: The physical phone wire has been unplugged from the wall socket.

✅ Solution

In My Winter Car, the phone requires a physical connection to the wall:

  1. Trace the wire from your table phone down to the floorboard.
  2. Look in the tight corner behind the desk against the wall.
  3. Use the Q key (lean) to maneuver your vision into the corner.
  4. Click to plug the loose wire back into the wall socket.

🚗 Sorbett Car Won't Start (Weak Cranking)

Vehicle CRITICAL

Cause: Block heater was NOT plugged in overnight. Engine oil is frozen solid.

✅ Block Heater Solution
  1. After parking at home, find black plug cord at front bumper and plug into wall.
  2. Leave plugged in overnight. Unplug BEFORE driving.
  3. If Already Frozen: Plug in block heater, wait ~10-15 minutes. Enter car, pull choke, pump accelerator 2-3 times, hold left-click on ignition while giving gas.

🍺 The Problem Bar Mystery - Alcoholism

Survival CRITICAL UNDERSTANDING

The Problem Bar represents alcohol dependency. Water has almost no effect on it initially.

✅ Solution: "Mega Sobering" Process
  1. Let Problem Bar reach 100 (turns red).
  2. Wait EXACTLY 38 minutes real-time.
  3. Drink water to bring bar back to white zone.
  4. Repeat this cycle 4-5 times until the label changes from "Problem" to "Thirst".

🌡️ Heater Doesn't Work / Body Temp Dropping

Vehicle High Priority

Cause: Heater system incorrectly configured or engine not warmed up.

✅ Dashboard Configuration
  1. Blower button: Click TWICE for max (important!).
  2. Temperature dial: Mouse scroll to LEFT (hot).
  3. Direction toggle: Set to LEFT (windshield).
  4. Wait 2-3 minutes for the engine to reach operating temperature.

⛽ Car Won't Start After Refueling at PSK

Vehicle Medium

Cause: Cold engine shutdown without proper procedure.

✅ Quick Fix

Pull choke out completely, pump accelerator several times, then hold ignition while gently giving gas steadily.

Prevention: Do not shut engine off at PSK. Leave it running while shopping.

🔋 Kekmet (Tractor) Won't Start

Vehicle Resolved

Status: FIXED in Patch v.260101-01 (January 1, 2026)

If still experiencing issues after this patch, verify game files on Steam and ensure your save hasn't corrupted the ignition switch state.

😴 Can't Sleep - No Prompt appears on Bed

Survival High Priority

Cause: Room temperature too low. Sleep is disabled in cold rooms.

✅ Room Heating Fix
  1. Locate radiator in the room (apartment OR parents' house).
  2. Turn on radiator using switch on left side.
  3. Set temperature to 30°C or higher.
  4. Wait 5-10 in-game minutes for the room to warm above 16°C. The sleep prompt will then appear.

🥶 Character Freezing to Death Even With Jacket

Survival CRITICAL

Cause: Jackets must be equipped using the F key. Just picking them up does not apply their warmth insulation.

✅ Vital Tip

Equip the winter jacket found near your apartment door. Avoid standing outside at night. Utilize the sauna at the parents' house to quickly recover your core temperature before long journeys.

📱 Phone Call Fails / Called But Nothing Happened

Gameplay High Priority

Cause: Hung up too early or used the normal number keys.

✅ Correct Number Dialing

Always use the NUMPAD to dial. More importantly, NEVER hang up early. You must stay on the line until the NPC finishes talking completely and hangs up on their end. Only then will the marker or delivery trigger.

💼 Futufon Job Door Won't Open

Gameplay Medium

Cause: The job has not technically started yet.

✅ Timing

Futufon jobs always begin on Monday. Revisit the building at 8 AM on the nearest Monday and the main locker door will be unlocked.

🚕 Taxi Dispatch / Other Jobs Not Working

Gameplay Medium

Taxi Job: You will not receive dispatch calls if your taximeter is turned off. It MUST display a price digit, not a dash "-".

Terminated: If you miss shifts, you are quietly fired. You must load a previous save.

💥 Game Crashes at PSK Store

Technical CRITICAL

Patch v.251230-04 Workaround: The Burger and Ala Carte sellers have been temporarily disabled because they were causing engine memory leaks.

Do not use mods that force-enable the food sellers until Toplessgun issues a permanent fix.

💾 Permadeath Not Deleting Ghost Saves

Technical High Priority

Status: FIXED in Patch v.251230-04

If you have ghost saves left over from earlier versions, manually delete them via File Explorer at AppData\LocalLow\Amistech\My Winter Car.

🔊 No Sound From CD Player

Technical Medium

Status: FIXED in Patch v.260101-01

Imported CDs now work across both the Taxi and the Sorbett. If still faulty, ensure your Windows audio mixer isn't muting background processes.

🎮 Controller Throttle / Brake Not Working

Technical Medium

Workaround: When setting pedals in the options menu, keep the pedal pressed IN while clicking the bind button. Controller mapping is heavily WIP right now.

🧊 Physics Glitches & Sorbett Freaking Out

Technical Medium

Improved in v.251230-04 but still present. Avoid parking vehicles too close to sheds or at extreme angles to prevent the mesh collision boxes from compounding and launching the car.

🔗 Related Guides

🔧 Corris Rivett Build
Fix "engine won't start" issues here. ❄️ Winter Survival Guide
Master the six survival indicators. 📦 Mods & Save Editor
Use MSCEditor to fix corrupted variables.