When a car refuses to start, most drivers reach for jumper cables with more urgency than caution. Yet the single biggest mistake in that moment is also the easiest to avoid: treating a jump-start as a ...

One of the most useful tools for your safety and peace of mind while driving a vehicle is a portable jump starter. It wasn’t that far in the past that if you went to start your car and found the ...

A dead car battery happens to almost everyone at some point. According to the American Automobile Association, the common causes include corrosion build up, extreme heat or cold, too many accessories ...

No matter what kind of car you drive, there may come a time when you need to jump start your car or somebody else’s car. Learning how to jump start a car is fairly simple as long as you follow several ...

This article was updated with new products and information in October 2025. You’ve heard the horror stories. Maybe you’ve even experienced that dreaded "click-click" yourself. It's a situation auto ...

Consumer Reports no longer updates this product category and maintains it for archival purposes only. It used to be that a set of jumper cables (and an obliging fellow motorist) or a call for roadside ...

️ Editor's note: This product category requires new testing about once a year. We'll update this article with the most recent information when it's available. This article was updated in December 2025 ...