Install and use car mods in MSFS 2024: find the active Community folder, fix nested packages, select a vehicle and map practical driving controls.
On PC, install an MSFS 2024 car mod by extracting its package folder into the simulator’s active Community folder, then restart the sim. In Free Flight, select the car as you would an aircraft, choose a ground spawn, and use the package’s assigned throttle, steering and brake controls.
What counts as a car mod in MSFS 2024?
A usable car mod is normally a selectable vehicle package, not a road-traffic replacement. Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 treats most drivable cars as unconventional aircraft, so they appear in the aircraft selector and use flight-simulator control bindings.
- Standalone drivable vehicle: includes its own model, textures and configuration and can be selected directly.
- Dependency-based conversion: requires another aircraft, vehicle or shared library to be installed first.
- Traffic or scenery vehicle: changes background road traffic or places a static model; it cannot be driven by the player.
Read the description before downloading and confirm that it says the vehicle is drivable. A drivable-car package with listed variants and installation notes illustrates the details to check, although an older MSFS package is not automatically guaranteed to work in MSFS 2024.
How to install an MSFS 2024 car mod
- Check compatibility and requirements. Prefer a package explicitly marked for MSFS 2024. If it mentions only MSFS 2020, treat compatibility as unconfirmed and check whether it needs a base model or library.
- Select the correct variant. Some archives contain alternative models, liveries or configurations. Install only the combination permitted by the instructions; mutually exclusive variants can overwrite or conflict with one another.
- Extract the download. Do not place a ZIP, RAR or 7z archive directly in the Community folder. Extract it with an archive utility first.
- Find the package root. The folder copied into Community should normally contain files such as
manifest.jsonandlayout.json. A typical correct path isCommunity/CarName/manifest.json. If it becomesCommunity/CarName/CarName/manifest.json, the package is nested one level too deeply. - Use the active Community folder. Its location varies between Microsoft Store, Xbox app, Steam and custom installations. Our instructions for finding the Community folder MSFS 2024 is actually loading avoid the common mistake of copying a mod into an abandoned or duplicate folder.
- Restart MSFS 2024. Launch in normal mode rather than Safe Mode, which disables third-party Community content. Search for the car by its displayed vehicle name, not necessarily its archive or folder name.
For a large collection, storing add-ons elsewhere and activating selected packages with MSFS Addons Linker is easier to manage. Direct Community-folder installation remains simpler for one or two cars.
How do you drive a car mod in MSFS 2024?
Free Flight is the most reliable mode for driving a car mod because Career Mode does not generally treat unofficial road vehicles as valid career aircraft.
- Open Free Flight and select the vehicle through the aircraft or vehicle selection panel.
- Choose a flat starting point. Use a quiet airport runway for the first test because it provides a level surface and often loads the vehicle ready to move. Once it works, try a parking position near an accessible road.
- Load the flight and release the parking brake. If an apron start leaves the vehicle unpowered, use the assigned engine auto-start command or retry from a runway start.
- Apply throttle gently. Car add-ons inherit aircraft physics, so sudden throttle or sharp steering can cause skidding, tipping or bouncing.
| Driving function | Typical MSFS binding | Common issue |
|---|---|---|
| Accelerate | Throttle axis or throttle increase/decrease | The vehicle may need its simulated engine running first. |
| Steer | Rudder or yaw axis | Aileron controls often do nothing; duplicate rudder assignments can cause sudden turns. |
| Brake | Wheel-brake axis or left and right brake commands | An inverted pedal axis can leave the brakes permanently applied. |
| Hold stationary | Parking brake | Check this first if the engine responds but the car will not move. |
| Reverse | Package-specific | The mod may use a reverse-thrust range or another assigned command; there is no universal car-mod binding. |
| View | Normal cockpit and external camera controls | Some vehicles provide only a basic interior viewpoint. |
A steering wheel or gamepad will not necessarily behave like it does in a driving simulator. Assign its steering input to the control expected by the package—usually rudder—and map acceleration and braking manually. Remove duplicate bindings from unused controllers if the car steers or accelerates without input.
Why is my MSFS 2024 car mod not showing or moving?
The most common cause is an incorrect package path, followed by an incompatible MSFS 2020 package or a missing dependency.
- Not listed in Free Flight: confirm that the archive was extracted, the package is in the active Community folder and its manifest is not buried inside an extra folder.
- Missing after a crash: exit Safe Mode and reload normally once the suspect package has been checked.
- Visible but unable to load: install any required base model or library and remove duplicate or conflicting variants.
- Engine responds but the car stays still: release the parking brake, inspect the brake-axis direction and verify that throttle is assigned to the active control profile.
- Steering is erratic: clear duplicate rudder bindings and temporarily disable steering-related assistance while testing.
- Pink, chequered or missing textures: reinstall the complete package and its dependencies. This usually indicates missing assets rather than a graphics setting.
- Vehicle sinks, jumps or tips over: test on a flat runway. Persistent ground-contact problems usually point to incompatible contact points or physics that require an update from the package author.
- MSFS crashes while loading: remove the car package and verify that the simulator starts without it. Add other mods back in small groups to identify a conflict.
Do MSFS 2020 car mods work in MSFS 2024?
Some MSFS 2020 car mods load in MSFS 2024, but compatibility must be judged package by package. Simple models may work, while ground physics, animations, sounds, cockpit instruments or dependencies can fail even when the vehicle appears in the selector.
Keep the original archive so the package can be removed cleanly. Do not overwrite a working MSFS 2024 version with an older package merely because their vehicle names match.
Can you install car mods on Xbox or PS5?
Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 cannot install arbitrary downloaded car mods by copying files into a Community folder. Console players are limited to add-ons distributed through the simulator and approved for their platform; PC freeware packages cannot be sideloaded.
The same restriction applies even though MSFS 2024 itself is available on PS5. Our explanation of how mod and add-on support works on PS5 covers the console-specific limitations.