Car Dream Interpretation: Insights from 31 Unique Sources

If you do not envisage yourself owning this particular car, ask yourself why your dreaming mind selected it. What does it say about you? The answer should tell you a lot about your character, your self-image and your driving force or ambition. Dream cars can also represent yourself and your ability to control your life.

Are you a good driver in your dream? If you are, this suggests you are in control of your life.

If you drive badly, however, your unconscious may be warning you that you are making too many mistakes and heading for an emotional crash.

If a back-seat driver appears in your dream, could this represent someone who is trying to influence your life? Is someone else driving the car? Do you feel that this person is controlling your life or influencing you? Your dream may be expressing your dependence and lack of control. Pay attention to the people you are driving as this might suggest your feelings of responsibility towards them.

If you are not driving, are you happy to be driven by someone else?

If a dream car symbolizes your persona, then the steering wheel represents your conscious mind, and the engine and gas your unconscious, or your inner power and energy.

If your dream journey was smooth, this suggests stamina and energy, or to Freudians, progress in psychoanalysis. A bumpy road suggests anxieties arising from the unconscious.

If you broke down or ran out of petrol, this suggests that you are on the verge of depleting your physical, financial or emotional resources.

If you have a dream in which you are speeding or get a speeding fine, this suggests your pace of life is way too fast or that you are living life in the fast lane. Are you in danger of losing control? Your dreaming mind may be urging you to slow down—particularly if brakes feature in the dream.

If any other part of your dream car was featured, you can draw a parallel with your waking life. For example, if a tire was punctured, do you feel deflated? If the pedals were not working properly, do you need more energy to make further progress in waking life? If car wheels appear in your dream, this is a call to action. For Jung, the wheel is a potent symbol of the life force and creativity energy, whilst for Buddhists and Hindus a wheel indicates universal truth. Dreams of seatbelts suggest a sense of safety and caution, whilst whether you have your headlights switched on and off may symbolize whether your awareness is on or off. Car mirrors are clear symbols of looking at the past and seeing the effect of past events on your possible plans for the future.

If you are taking a taxi in your dream, this suggests that you are willing to take a back-seat in life and let others do the driving, rather than relying on your own efforts.

If you are driving the taxi or car, this suggests a willingness to guide others. Dreams of drunk driving or driving without a license suggest that you are not fully in control of your life. They may also reflect feelings of inadequacy, or even an unwillingness to conform to social standards.

If you are overtaken in your dream car, this suggests feelings of being left behind, whilst if you are overtaking, you may feel that you are getting ahead in life.

If you are reversing your car, you may suffer from a sense of not getting anywhere, whilst if you dream of running over someone, are you killing an aspect of yourself? If you end up finding yourself having to be towed, this suggests anxieties about the dependent or needy part of yourself. Traffic in dreams generally means the opinions and concerns of other people, but if you are stuck in a dream traffic jam, this reflects your frustrations in life.

If you are a passenger, it can also mean your knowledge will earn you good fortune, especially if the car is expensive. Some more car dream meanings...

If you are in the backseat of the car, your dream indicates that you let others tell you what to do, possibly due to low self-confidence.

To dream that you are almost hit by a car, suggests that your lifestyle, beliefs or goals may be in conflict with another’s.

If the car hits you, you are in serious conflict with a rival who you should try to avoid.

If you dream of being in a car that breaks down, you won’t get as much pleasure out of something as you expect.

To dream of buying and/or driving a brand new car means that your happiness is on the rise. You are getting better at dealing with new things that life throws at you.

If you dream of a flying car, you will rise above your current troubles and achieve your goals.

To dream that your brakes failed, forewarns that you are lacking stability in your life. Things in your life are out of control. Also, be careful - any agreements or contracts that you involve yourself in at this time will prove risky.

To hear a car horn is a warning against taking risks.

A dream about a remote control car suggests you feel like the events of your life are out of your control.

To dream that your car is stolen, means that you are experiencing an identity crisis or you are suffering some sort of loss in your life. Alternatively, you may feel that someone has stolen your success or has taken credit for something you did.

To dream of a car going in reverse suggests that you are feeling stuck. You’re having trouble growing up, or moving on to the next stage of your life. You may feel like you’re repeating old habits or mistakes.

To dream of jumping out of a moving car may symbolize your fear of not being able to complete or succeed in a task. It may also represent your instinct to leave a relationship or situation that is taking you in the wrong direction.

To see or dream that you are in a convertible, refers to your glamorous attitude. You are showing off your power and influence.

To dream of a rental car is very positive. You are trying out a new way of dealing with issues in your life, instead of falling into the same old patterns. Also see “Car Crash”, “Car Wash”, “Car Mechanic”, “Chauffeur”, “Driving”, “Driving Lessons”, “Headlights”, “License Plate”, “Parking Lot”, “Road Trip” and “Window Wipers”.

Positive: Cars are by far the most common vehicle seen in dreams. In an internal dream, you might dream of an old car you once owned, or even of a car you desire to own.

• A car from the past could represent the circumstances surrounding that time of your life. It could also refer to the old ministry functions’ that you flowed in during that time of your life.

• I remember a lady who shared once how she dreamed that she was trying to drive the car she had when she first got saved.

The car was old and broken, but she was being pressured into driving it.

• The interpretation was clear. She was being pressured to function in a ministry and spiritual capacity she had functioned in, in the past. But she had moved on since then and it was no longer appropriate. It was time for her to move on.

• Dreaming of cars is common. You might dream that you receive a fast sports or racing car.

• This means that the Lord is going to lead you into a different type of ministry that has a bigger realm of influence. It also indicates that this will be a fast move for you.

• If you dream that someone else is driving your car, depending on the character driving your car, the interpretation could vary.

• Your father or husband driving your car could mean that the Lord Jesus is in control of your ministry (depending on your relationship with your father or husband). This would have a good connotation.

• Driving the car yourself could be good. It speaks of being in control and going in the right direction.

Negative: Someone driving your car that represents the flesh, pride or the world system would have a negative connotation. This would mean that something other than the Lord is in control of your ministry and spiritual life! • Different cars in your dream could represent different ministries.

• Having your car stolen, taken over or stopped, speaks of your ministry being taken from you. This does not have a good connotation.

• Now that you have a general idea, allow the Holy Spirit to define your dream or vision for you.

See Vehicles.

2. Your walk of life;

• If you are in the backseat of the car

- Then it indicates that you are putting yourself down and are allowing others to take over; 2 Kings 10:16; Eph. 4:8, 11; Eph. 3:6-7.

• Being in the front of a car

- Means that you can take the responsibility upfront;

• Dreaming your car has been stolen

- Indicates that you are being stripped of your identity/ or it can be your fears I had this dream for many years until I discovered This was my fear. Robbed by the devil; John 10:10.

• Dreaming your car is overheating

- Can be a dispute, watch out for an anger burst out.

• Driving backwards

- Indicates you are doing things backwards.

• Driving backwards but in the right direction

- You are doing the right thing but going about it the wrong way.

• Going the wrong way up a one way street

- You are heading in the wrong direction.

• Police in your rear view mirror

- Check yourself, are you disobeying the law?

• Being pulled over by a traffic cop

You need to stop, do a self-check

• Stopping when you see police pulling other people over to make sure they aren’t trying to stop you

- Quarrel. In this case the police let you go - you are doing fine.

• Facing and looking out the back window

- Looking into your past, people from the past.

• Driving from the back seat

- Feeling of having very little control or unsafe situations.

• Someone else driving your car

- Someone else controlling your life

• Driving someone else’s car

- Controlling their life.

• Following another car

- Being together, submitting, being a follower.

• Sitting in the passenger seat

- Passivity, is the person being helpful or not?

• Sitting in the back seat looking forward

- Being driven, who is driving you? Your boss?

• Getting a bigger car

- Increase in your life, job, responsibilities.

Dreaming Lens: What was the condition of the car in the dream? Was it drivable? Were you able to drive it? Were you in control or out of control? Were you in the driver’s seat? Was someone else in control of the car’s destination? Was it a car from your own life? Was it a fantasy car for you?

Personal Focus: Since we rely so much on our automobiles to get where we’re going, a car represents the connection we have to our path through life. Its speed, working status, style, and so forth, represent our feelings about our movement on that path. Any time you dream of a car, your unconscious is expressing thoughts and feelings about where your life is going at that moment. The best interpretation will combine this basic definition with shades of meaning based on the Dreaming Lens.

For example, an old car may point to an old way of maneuvering whereas a new car may indicate you are moving through life in a new way. A car from your past indicates that part of your history is under investigation. A fantasy car may mean the path you wish you were on. Driving someone else’s car might indicate a path that has been abandoned for the sake of another’s wishes, or even another’s path that you wish to emulate. A parent’s car could indicate the path taken by virtue of the wishes of the parents. A dirty car might indicate something that needs to be cleaned up. A crashed car could be calling you to examine the choices you are making on your path through life—are you paying attention to the danger signals?

The color of the car might have significance as well. A blue car may indicate your path toward more effective communication. A red car could point to issues of security or aggression (See Colors). People have every different relationships with their cars, so your Personal Focus in this area should be considered when making your interpretation.

If you are behind the wheel of the car, this shows self-control and the ability to steer your own fate.

If someone else is steering, and you’re in the passenger seat, consider if you allow other people to manipulate your decisions too much. Alternatively, there may be parts of yourself over which you have little mastery.

Travel, movement, and activity, as common to many vehicle emblems (See Highway).

A literal reflection of your current driving habits.

Parked: Halted momentum, or temporary waylay of plans, usually of your own making, whereas a traffic jam indicates external forces stopping your progress.

Your body’s condition: According to Edgar Cayce, each part of the car may correspond to a body part.

For example, wheels are legs, and therefore a flat tire may indicate regional circulation problems. Note that this is also true of buildings and other vehicles (windows = eyes, paint = skin, roof = hair or head, engine = heart or emotions, etc.). In this case, seeing a mechanic in your dream might be a gentle nudge to go to a doctor.

Speeding: Reacting quickly without real thought. Slow down, then decide the best avenue for approaching this situation.

Slow moving vehicles: The propensity for procrastination or delaying the inevitable.

Driving a standard in your dream shows how well you handle the constant changes that life hands you. Consider whether the gears grind or if the clutch sticks.

If so, get out some elbow grease and work on being more flexible and prepared.

Missing your ride indicates a failed attempt to forward current prospects. It may be necessary to wait a while before trying again (See Bus).

If dreamer driving: being independent; self confi­dence; being responsible for one’s own life direction. With one other person: relationship with that person. Alone in ve­hicle: independence; making decisions alone; feeling alone. Crashing vehicle: self-desired failure, perhaps to avoid stress of responsibility and change; fear of failure; failure in relation­ship; argument—you may be on collision course with boss or panner, occasionally psychological breakdown threatened. Another driver: being passive; being influenced by the opin­ions or emotions of someone else, or one’s own secondary characteristics, i.e. anxiety or emotional pain may lead us to make many decisions and so may be the dnving force in our life, rather than what might be more satisfying. Driving care­lessly: lack of responsibility, socially or sexually, need for more awareness. Reversing: sense of not getting anywhere; feeling that one is slipping backward; reversing a decision; change of direction. Overtaking: getting ahead. Overtaken: feeling of being left behind or not competing. Car body: dreamer’s body. Car torn apart, dismantled: stress; failure to care for one’s body; self destructive attitudes. Fuel: feeling drives, motivation; whatever has ‘fuelled one’s drive’. Old car, scrapped car: sense of old age, feelings about death. Car en­gine: energy; heart; central drive. Running over someone: killing’ some part of self through misplaced drive or ambi­tion; aggression.

1- The car is very often representative of our own personal space, an extension of our being.

To dream of being in a car usually alerts us to our own motivation, thus driving the car can indicate our need to achieve a goal, while being a passenger could indicate that we have handed over responsibility for our lives to someone else.

2- Dream scenarios involving cars are often more to do with what we are doing to ourselves on a psychological or emotional level. Being alone in a vehicle indicates independence, while dreaming of the brakes of a car shows one’s ability to be in control of a situation.

The car engine indicates the essential drives with which we have to deal.

A crashing vehicle suggests fear of failure in life, while a car on fire denotes stress of some sort, either physically or emotionally.

To be in a car which is driven carelessly, either by the dreamer or someone else, marks a lack of responsibility, while a feeling of being left behind would be shown by your car being overtaken.

To dream of reversing a car registers a feeling that one is slipping backwards or having to reverse a decision.

3- A car stands for spiritual direction and motivation.

See Journey, Road.

(AUTO) ENGINE, OIL-The engine is to the car as the heart is to the human body.The oil is to the car as the blood is to the human body. 

If the car is in good shape, then this dream is a reflection of your -care.

If the car is in need of repair, then so are you.

If your car is being worked on, then this suggests that you are undergoing a transformational overhaul. Dreams of being in a car represent that you are being carried from one place of consciousness to another.

If you are driving, then this symbolizes that you feel in control.

If you are a passenger, then this dream may be telling you that you have abdicated responsibility and are in a state of passivity or surrender. Consider whether or not you like where you are being driven, how you feel about what you are being driven in, and how you are being driven.

If someone else drives it you likely tend to let third parties lead you. The car also symbolizes the human body (like the CARRIAGE), so you can draw a parallel between the condition of both: a car in poor condition is a warning that you must take care of your health. The way of driving it is also the way you control yourself: if you do not drive it carefully or you suffer an accident the dream warns you about your mistakes. According to Freud, the car represented evolution of psychoanalysis.

Formerly, it was said that driving a vehicle in a dream predicted changes at home or in business.

If the vehicle breaks down, a friend will give you troubling news.

If your car is crashed or broken, you may be feeling like the circumstances in your life have stopped you from moving forward, maybe very abruptly. To have lost your car is to be feeling confused about where to go next.

The color of a car in a dream may offer some deeper meaning.

A car moving too fast or too slow for your comfort level may be indicating a desire to have more control than you actually have.

If you are driving the car, this may symbolize taking charge of your own life. (Remember that a dream may be either depicting patterns of behaviour that already exist or recommending to you a new pattern.) If someone else is driving, the dream may be expressing your over-dependence on others.

(2) A car may be a sexual symbol, representing the penis - especially if forceful motion is emphasized in the dream, or if the car is travelling through a tunnel.

See Crash.

Allowing one’s life to be driven by others might be indicated by a “backseat driver” or by “taking the backseat.” The dreamer may be being driven to new heights before he or she is ready. Or perhaps the dreamer is finally lifting himself or herself out of a rut.

The emotional feeling about the car determines the meaning. (See Vehicles.)

An automobile may also represent the physical body. Thus, car problems in your dreams may reflect difficulties you face in moving forward or breakdowns in how your body functions.

The different colors, makes, and models of cars may be seen as expressions of the qualities of your character.

(See Truck, Vehicle.)

If going up hill, you are going the right way. Down hill is the wrong direction. Both up and down, you are not in control and your energy is scattered.

If you are not in the driver’s seat, who are you letting drive your car? Get behind the wheel and take charge of your life and its direction. Note the color of the vehicle and how many people, if any, are with you.

See Number, Color.

2. Sexuality.

3. If in the backseat, one’s life is out of control.

4. If in the front (passenger seat), one is retreating into the safety of the womb.

5. If car is parked, represents some de­ceased person.

6. Personal mobility (either driving too fast, not fast enough or just right).

7. An extension of self.

8. Status.

9. Ambition.

10. Sexual self-image.

A car represents an individual’s journey.

The destination can often be symbolic of some form of goal.

If the dreamer is steering the vehicle it is inferred the individual is in control. Should the dreamer be a passenger it may infer that he / she is too willing to give up power and allowing others to take responsibility for them in life.

If the person is not a Christian a car symbolizes the way a person lives their life.

A car with body damage is indicative of a person who has a careless lifestyle

See automobile.

See Automobile, Carriage, Cart.

Speed, acceleration.

Freedom. Astrological parallel: Sagittarius Tarot parallel: The Chariot

If one sees himself riding a litter that is carried by people in a dream, it means that he will preside over people or beget a son who will be elevated in rank.

If a traveller sees a car in his dream, it means that his trip will take a slow turn and he will be delayed.

A car in a dream also signifies dignity, honor, advancement and attainment.

If one sees himselfholding to a car or running after it in a dream, it means that he will lobby someone in authority and profit from him as much as his nearness to such a car. Ifone sees himself riding on a cargo vehicle in a dream, it means suffering from distress and sorrow.

(See Carrier, Racing)