My van turns over but will not start
Do not drive it
If it turns over properly but will not catch, the starting system and battery are doing their job, so the problem is almost always fuel, spark-equivalent (glow plugs on a diesel), or a sensor telling the engine not to run. On a cold morning with a van over about 80,000 miles, glow plugs are the single most common answer. If it has been losing power or running rough beforehand, suspect the fuel filter or fuel pump. If it died suddenly at speed and will not restart, suspect the crank sensor or the timing belt.
Most likely causes, and what they cost
UK prices at an independent garage for a van up to 3.5 tonnes. Ranges, because anyone quoting a single figure before looking at your van is guessing.
| Cause | How you can tell | Typical cost |
|---|---|---|
| Glow plugs | Worse when cold, better when warm, may fire after several attempts or with a long pre-heat. Often a glow plug warning light. | Commonly £120 to £350 depending on how many have failed and whether any snap on removal. |
| No fuel, or the wrong fuel | Gauge low, or you have just filled up. Diesel run completely dry often needs bleeding before it will restart. | Fuel plus a call-out if you are stuck, so often £60 to £120. Misfuelling is a far bigger bill, so do not crank it. |
| Fuel filter blocked | Had been hesitating, losing power under load, or struggling to pull up hills in the weeks before. | Typically £80 to £200 fitted, and worth doing as routine maintenance anyway. |
| Crank or cam sensor | Cut out suddenly while driving, no warning, and now cranks with no sign of firing at all. | Usually £120 to £300 including diagnosis, as the part itself is often inexpensive. |
| Timing belt or chain | A loud noise or a rattle at the moment it stopped, and now it spins unusually freely and evenly. | A belt replacement is commonly £400 to £800. If it snapped while running, engine damage can run into thousands. |
| Immobiliser or key | A security light flashing on the dash, or a fob that has been getting temperamental. | Nothing if the spare key works. A replacement coded key is often £100 to £250. |
Check these first, they are free
- Try the spare key. This costs nothing and rules out the immobiliser and a dying fob battery.
- Check the fuel gauge honestly, then check it against your last fill. Gauges fail and fuel gets taken.
- Look at the dash as you turn the key. Note every light that comes on, and photograph it.
- Listen to the crank. A fast even spin with no stutter at all can point at timing, a normal crank points at fuel or glow plugs.
- If it is cold, turn the key to position two, wait for the glow plug light to go out, then crank. Try that twice.
What kind of help you need
Mobile mechanic
The van is somewhere safe and legal to work on, and the fault has a fair chance of being fixed at the kerb: battery, alternator, starter, glow plugs, sensors, fuel filter, a hose, a belt, a simple electrical fault.
Cost: A mobile call-out is commonly £50 to £90 before any parts or labour, with roadside labour often £50 to £90 an hour. Expect more for evenings, weekends and anything on a motorway, and many will not attend a live motorway lane at all, which is correct and not them being awkward.
Recovery and towing
The van cannot be driven safely, or you are somewhere you must not stay: a live lane, a blind bend, a slip road, or a motorway with no hard shoulder.
Cost: If you have breakdown cover with recovery, this is usually included. Without cover, a local pay-on-the-day recovery is commonly £90 to £200 for a short tow, and motorway or out-of-hours jobs cost more. Long-distance recovery is normally charged per mile on top.
Van-capable garage
The van is drivable, or it is being recovered and you need to name a destination. Every garage we list holds a DVSA Class 7 MOT authorisation, which is the class for vehicles from 3,000kg to 3,500kg, so the ramp and the bay physically take a full-size van. That sounds like a technicality until you have been turned away by a car-only garage.
Cost: Independent van labour rates commonly run £50 to £95 an hour outside London and higher inside the M25, against £120 or more at a franchised dealer. A diagnostic check is typically £50 to £120 and good garages credit it against the repair.
Same-day van hire
The repair will take a day or more and there is work in the diary you cannot afford to drop. This is the step most people forget in the panic, and it is usually the one that saves the most money, because a lost day of work and a let-down customer costs far more than a day rate.
Cost: A short-wheelbase van is commonly £45 to £80 a day, a long-wheelbase or Luton £70 to £130, with a deposit held on a card and a mileage cap on top. Same-day and one-day hires carry the worst rates, so if the repair may run on, ask the weekly rate, which is often barely more than three days.
Questions people ask
Can I keep cranking it until it starts?
No. Repeated long cranks flatten the battery and can wash fuel into the oil on a diesel. Three attempts of about ten seconds each, with a rest in between, is the sensible limit. After that you are making the problem more expensive, not closer to solved.
Should I call a mobile mechanic or get it recovered?
If the van is somewhere safe and legal to work on, a mobile mechanic is usually the cheaper and faster option, because glow plugs, fuel filters and sensors are all genuinely roadside jobs. If you suspect timing, or the van is anywhere exposed, get it recovered instead.
How much should a mobile mechanic charge just to come out?
A call-out is commonly £50 to £90 before parts and labour, with many knocking the call-out off if they complete the repair. Ask that question before they set off, not after.
Where are you?
Put your postcode into the console on the home page and we will give you the safety steps for where you are standing, verified van-capable garages near you, and the rest of the options.
This page is general guidance for working vans, not a diagnosis of your vehicle. Costs are typical UK ranges and will vary by van, area and garage. If anyone is in danger, ring 999.