Whether you are driving a keyless car or a regular car with a key, you may be having some trouble with certain things. Say, for example, how to keep the radio on when the car is off?
You may want to listen to the radio without keeping your engine running. How do you do that? Well, you are about to find out.
There are a few different ways to do this, and we will go through them one by one. Be sure to read the entire article in order to find out more.
There are two methods to do this.
The method to use depends on the type of car you have:
– Regular cars (with keys)
– Keyless cars
In addition, each car model may have its own methods.
Let’s start with how you can do it on regular cars (the ones with keys).
How to keep the radio on in a regular car?
In a regular car, you have the option to turn the key to the Accessory position which is typically marked as ACC. You can turn this on for the car to get into accessory mode. This will keep the radio on when you turn the car off.
Here’s the step-by-step process to do this:
- Rotate the keys in the slot to position it in the Accessory mode.
- You should hear some clicks after that. You can now use your car radio.
How to keep the radio on in a keyless car?
With keyless cars, the process is entirely different. Keyless cars come with a power button which generally doesn’t give you the luxury of turning the accessory mode on.
So, what do you do?
Here’s the trick. It’s very simple.
Just follow these steps:
- Hold the shifter and flip it over to the right.
- While you do that, shut the car off.
- Let go of the shifter and the radio stays on.
Although the methods illustrated above may seem simplistic, there can also be other methods that could be just as simple or more complex depending on the model of the car.
Read on to understand what we’re talking about.

Recent Car Models
Modern cars have a digital system that lets you know when you are doing something wrong. Hence, if you have a new keyless car model, you may not be able to access some features that easily, but when you can, here is what you should look for.
In modern cars, just push the stop/start button really quickly once. This way you will not start the engine but only the radio. When you quickly press the button, your car will go in accessory mode and the radio will be turned on.
Now, when you want to start the engine, you can push the button again and put some pressure with your foot on the brake and then press the button again which will start the car.