How to Fix Traxxas RC Car That Will Steer But Not Move

There are many situations that you might get into with your RC car that will not allow you to enjoy the moment fully. You might be all set with your remote-controlled car and friends to rock the moment but then you suddenly discovered that your RC car is not moving at all but the steering still works. 

That would obviously disappoint you to a great extent and can ruin the moment for you completely. If you are facing such a problem, then you are in the right place as in this article we will try to answer why it is happening as well as what you can do to try and fix it. 

There are several reasons why your Traxxas RC car might not move and one of them is broken or damaged parts of the car that might make the car only steer but not move even a bit. To know for sure why this is happening you will have to go through some troubleshooting steps. 

Taking the time to troubleshoot the problem can be annoying but simply guessing won’t normally work out very well. 

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You can keep reading the rest of this article to learn about the different troubleshooting steps you should take. You can also check out the video below of someone else who had this problem and how they fixed it. 

Troubleshooting your Traxxas RC car

There are several troubleshooting techniques that you should try first before you get too concerned about this problem. 

Check the batteries 

Checking the batteries of your RC car is the first step. Check that they are a tight fit and not loose at all. You should also make sure that the batteries that you have are recharged properly and not too old. 

Take the batteries out and clean the area and then put them back again. If you are not able to move the car even now, then it might be some other issue. 

Check the antenna

The next simple thing that you should check is to make sure that the antenna of the car is in the correct position and fully raised. 

Often people will try and use their RC car but will have forgotten to raise the antenna on the car or remote. Obviously this is a simple fix and likely isn’t your problem but it does happen so we wanted to mention it. 

Check the frequency 

The next thing to check is if your RC is on the correct frequency. If you are close to the frequency but don’t have it right then your RC car might steer but not turn. Again this is rarely the issue but can happen. 

Check your motor

This step is a little more complicated so we saved it for last. Checking whether your motor is actually getting power is how you will narrow down whether it is a motor issue or if there is a wiring or other issue that is present. 

The easiest way to check your motor and make sure that it is getting the proper power is using a multimeter. If you don’t have one you can easily find them at most local stores or even online (found online here). 

All you have to do is turn your remote and RC car on and then put the multimeter on the wires to your Traxxas motor. If when you push the gas or reverse the volt reading goes up but nothing else happens then unfortunately that means that your Traxxas motor has gone bad and needs to be replaced. 

If you aren’t showing any volts when pushing the gas or reverse then you should check the wires that are running to the motor as well as check the battery pack as it’s possible your wires are damaged or not connected properly. 

If the wires are all connected then it is likely an issue with your battery pack needing to be replaced. 

You can find a new Traxxas motor for quite a cheap price here or you can buy a new Traxxas battery pack (if you need one) here.

What to do if you hear a noise?

If you hear a strange noise coming from your Traxxas remote-controlled car, like a grinding or whirring sound when you apply the throttle, your little car may have a slipped pinion gear. The gears might have got damaged due to some reason and you may have to get the gears replaced completely. 

You can re-mesh the gears but that is a tricky thing to do. You can talk with someone at your local hobby shop about how to do that but most of the time while you are there you will just want to get the replacement parts for your RC and replace them.

What to do if you do not hear any noise?

If you are facing a situation where your steering is moving but the car isn’t and you do not hear a noise, you may have the issue of loose wires or a loose wire (as mentioned above you can check this with a multimeter). 

You need to carefully look for all the connections on your Traxxas RC and see if some of the wires are broken. The wires of the car should run ultimately to a circuit board. If you do not repair the broken or loose wire, the issue may not get solved. 

There might also be a situation where you neither hear any noise nor you see any movement but in your steering of your car. If this is the case then you likely have a bad motor that will need to be replaced. 

If your motor is old and needs replacement, you first need to replace it otherwise your car will not work. The wires that go and connect to the battery might also be loose or broken. Check those wires too.

It might be your brushed motor causing an issue

This could be another reason for your car not moving at all. 

There are two types of motors namely brushed motors and brushless motors. It is very important to know what kind of motor your car is using currently. If your car is using a brushed motor, there might be a chance that it has gone bad and you must change it. 

They usually do not last very long and are known to go bad quickly. For a temporary fix while you are waiting for a new motor to arrive, you can take a screwdriver and tap the motor with it. Sometimes a brushed motor might move a little and start working again. 

If your brushed motor has stopped working this is the perfect time to upgrade your motor to a brushless one. Brushless motors tend to last for a very long time as they do not have any brushes to wearout and they are normally much better quality as well. 

A brushless motor will provide your car with more power, speed, life, and durability as well. 

What if it is not working on a brushless motor?

It might also be the situation where you discover that your car is already using a brushless motor system and still not moving. You might have the Tx and the Rx mixed up. Move both of them to try to make the car move again. If this also does not work, you must send an email or a message to the shop or the manufacturer from where you purchased it if it is new or still under warranty.  They might help you replace some important parts of the car and make it move again.

It is important to remember that just because it is a brushless motor does not mean that it isn’t broken. If you are showing bolts going to the motor (with your multimeter) and aren’t getting any movement then replacing the motor will likely fix the issue. 

Conclusion

To make sure that such situations do not occur, make sure that you buy an RC car from a trustworthy dealer and the car has a decent warranty for as long as possible. Some dealers will have longer warranties than Traxxas offers so be sure and look around. 

Troubleshooting for basic problems should be done first before digging into other possible issues such as the wiring or replacing the motor. 

It is important to buy a remote-controlled car that is from a good brand and is trustworthy and Traxxas certainly checks those boxes. 

Although sometimes you will have issues with your Traxxas RC they are relatively easy to work on and changing out the motor in your Traxxas RC car is simple and quite cheap as well. 

To see all of the available Traxxas motors online you can follow this link.