A way to describe the sound a car makes when you're cranking it over, but it won't start?
What words or phrases can be used to describe a car unsuccessfully starting, i.e. a car that won't start when the key is turned in the ignition.
I am writing a satire on the dependence which people feel towards technology and would prefer it if I could describe the failed attempt at starting a car using auditory imagery.
I know that when the key is turned in the ignition, there is a "revving" sound, but I don't have a word to describe the sound when the revving dies down.
I'd call the sound a sputter:
to make explosive popping or sizzling sounds or to utter explosively and incoherently
Dictionary.com
If you Google sputter car, you get many examples.