Why 'Push It to the Limit' Is Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty's Must-Do Side Quest

I’ve been roaming the neon-drenched streets of Night City for a solid two years now, and still, Cyberpunk 2077 finds ways to make my jaw drop. The 2.0 update and the Phantom Liberty expansion have completely recharged the game, piling fresh mechanics, gigs, and secrets onto an already massive open world. But if you ask me which single side quest has left the biggest mark on my playthrough, it’s not the flashiest main job or the most emotional companion mission. It’s a deceptively simple call that pops up in Pacifica: “Push It to the Limit.” This one optional task doesn’t just hand you a pat on the back and a few eddies—it unlocks an entire new layer of content that can change how you play, what you drive, and how quickly your pockets fatten up. And if you’re jumping into Dogtown now in 2026, this side quest should be your absolute first priority.

What 'Push It to the Limit' actually unlocks 🚗

When I first grabbed that yellow ride and got a message from El Capitan, I figured it was just another quick car heist. But after squealing into his garage, things got way more interesting. The merc congratulated me and immediately offered repeatable Vehicle Contracts—high-speed theft-and-delivery jobs that let you test-drive some of the wildest new cars while fending off gangs, cops, and rival thieves. This isn’t just a small addition; it’s a full-blown activity category that spreads across the entire Night City map.

These Vehicle Contracts are the perfect playground for the vehicular combat system added in the free 2.0 update. Each contract puts you in a different set of wheels, so you can experience Phantom Liberty’s lineup without dropping a single eurodollar—unless you fall in love and decide to buy later. And because every job revolves around a specific destination and obstacle set, they never feel identical.

How do you kick it all off?

You can’t just waltz into Pacifica and start boosting cars right away. I had to finish Phantom Liberty’s early narrative missions through “Spider and the Fly.” Once V is back in the full open world, a small blue-green steering wheel icon appears on the map in Pacifica. Roll up close, and there’s that bright yellow car just begging to be stolen. El Capitan rings you up, goading you into action, and the chase is on.

After you fight off the gangoons tailing you and park in the designated garage, the real fun begins. From then on, Vehicle Contracts pop up everywhere—new icons dotting the map. Grab any marked car, and the quest title “Just Another Story” confirms you’re in business.

The rewards are ridiculously good 💰

At first I thought these contracts were just for kicks—turns out, they’re some of the most lucrative repeatable activities in the game. Each completed job can drop crafting components, rare weapons, weapon attachments, and a variety of Shards. Money Shards convert straight into eurodollars, Skill Shards give an XP bump to specific abilities, and the real golden ticket: Autofixer Discount Shards. These stack with every contract, and if you save up enough, you can hit a 100% discount at any vehicle vendor. That’s right: free cars. In 2026, when some of those new CrystalCoat paint-job models still make my wallet weep, stacking discount shards is the ultimate flex.

Of course, the rewards scale with your performance. That’s where the optional objectives come in, and ignoring them means leaving Legendary loot on the table.

Optional objectives: the difference between good and legendary loot ⏱️

Every Vehicle Contract after the first comes with an optional challenge. Nail it, and you get an extra crate brimming with Tier Five items—Legendary weapons, armor, and attachments. There are four types of optional objectives:

Objective Type	What It Demands
⏳ Time Limit	Deliver the car before the clock hits zero
🚓 Hostile Tail	Shake off pursuers—gang members, police, or both
🔐 Hacking Challenge	Crack a mini-game just to get inside the target car
🛡️ Undamaged	Deliver the vehicle without even a scratch

I’ve sweated through all of them, and the “undamaged” condition is by far the trickiest. One errant bullet, one graze against a guardrail, and the bonus crate vanishes. The hacking challenges add a nice puzzle break, while the time limits force you to learn the fastest routes. Hostile tails are basically a ramp-up of the original “Push It to the Limit” chase—fun, frantic, and perfect for testing your combat-driving skills. Each successful bonus deliverable makes the grind completely worthwhile.

Can you really afford to skip this?

Other Phantom Liberty side quests are great for diving deeper into the story or unlocking new dialogue, but none of them open doors quite like “Push It to the Limit.” Vehicle Contracts give you a constant, refreshing loop: steal, drive, survive, and get paid. They showcase the DLC’s best features, from the revamped police response to the thrilling vehicular combat. And in 2026, when many players are still hunting for that last perfect build or the rarest ride, the Autofixer Discount Shards alone make this questline unskippable.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pulled up to a car dealer, dropped a fat stack of shards, and driven away in a brand-new Quartz or Riptide without spending a single eddy. That feeling never gets old. So if you’re just diving back into Night City or testing out the Phantom Liberty content for the first time, take it from me: drop whatever else you’re doing and hunt down that blue-green steering wheel in Pacifica. “Push It to the Limit” isn’t just a side job—it’s the key to the most entertaining and rewarding hustle in the entire game.

See you on the streets, choom.