Whats the worst car problem you ever had

[Ice bowl 67]

What was the worst car issue you guys have ever had in all the years of driving? 

[Dr Krentist]

I had to get a new engine. Smoke started coming out from under my hood and so I took it to the nearest shop. They told me my engine was shot and to replace it with a refurbished one was going to cost $3,000. I couldn't think at the time and felt I needed a car, so I went ahead and did it. My fault. Years of neglect. They initially found oil in the pan and said they would need to keep the car all day to find out the problem. I kept pushing it back and that's what happened. Had to learn the hard way.

[FappyTheClown]

Last week I hit a left turn a little too hard and heard a bad noise. 5 seconds later my car started swerving. There was a service garage 10 feet ahead of me so I pulled it in. They put it in the air and one of the tires fell right to the floor. If I had driven it 10 more feet and that wheel fell I'm pretty sure my whole whip would have been totaled as even more stuff would have broke. Was I ever lucky that shop was right there.

[BuffaloBill]

My biggest car problem is that I want one of these and can’t afford it:

 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/jaguar/f-type-convertible

 

 

[Augie]

Not the worst, but most annoying - My AC stopped working in my (one and only) Taurus MANY years ago. I took it to a mechanic client next door who told me the good new is it’s only a $35 part. The bad news was it was $800-900 in labor because you can’t get to it. He refused to fix it because he didn’t want his banker mad at him. I took it to the dealer, and he was exactly right. When I told him he was right he said “I know, Ford has been making it that way for years but they refuse to fix it”. That $900 was a really big deal to us way back then.....to replace a $35 part. 

 

A kid in my son’s HS put sugar in his gas tank. Just as he was pulling onto I-75 the car just died. He could have been killed. The insurance company replaced the engine and every single part that gets anywhere near gas. Then we traded it in.  We could just never feel good about it. 

[Fadingpain]

28 minutes ago, FappyTheClown said:

Last week I hit a left turn a little too hard and heard a bad noise. 5 seconds later my car started swerving. There was a service garage 10 feet ahead of me so I pulled it in. They put it in the air and one of the tires fell right to the floor. If I had driven it 10 more feet and that wheel fell I'm pretty sure my whole whip would have been totaled as even more stuff would have broke. Was I ever lucky that shop was right there.

I'm trying to understand what actually happened in mechanical terms.

When you say "the tire" fell to the floor, I assume you mean the wheel, with the tire still on it.  Was there anything else attached to the wheel when it fell?  Like are you suggesting all 5 lug nuts snapped simultaneously so nothing was holding the wheel onto the hub?  

 

How old was the car and what percentage of it was composed of rust? 

 

[plenzmd1]

^^^^ I bought a first model year VW Toureg..oh boy what a mistake. The airbag warning light continually came on...no amount of trips to the dealership could get it fixed .permanent. Again you prolly knew it was just a faulty warning light..but my kids and wife rode in that passenger seat..how could you take the chance?

 

Finally had enough when i needed a new headlight..and essentially the whole front end had to come off to get to it.

Edited June 4, 2018 by plenzmd1

[RochesterRob]

4 minutes ago, Augie said:

Not the worst, but most annoying - My AC stopped working in my (one and only) Taurus MANY years ago. I took it to a mechanic client next door who told me the good new is it’s only a $35 part. The bad news was it was $800-900 in labor because you can’t get to it. He refused to fix it because he didn’t want his banker mad at him. I took it to the dealer, and he was exactly right. When I told him he was right he said “I know, Ford has been making it that way for years but they refuse to fix it”. That $900 was a really big deal to us way back then.....to replace a $35 part. 

 

A kid in my son’s HS put sugar in his gas tank. Just as he was pulling onto I-75 the car just died. He could have been killed. The insurance company replaced the engine and every single part that gets anywhere near gas. Then we traded it in.  We could just never feel good about it. 

  I put a locking fuel cap on both a GM pickup and car while working at one place of employment.  The place employed a fair number of bitter souls about their lot in life so they were not above keying or other forms of car vandalism.  The car was a 2000 Malibu which was a low mile student driver car when I bought it.  Somebody did break a key off into the lock of the pickup, however.  The worst breakdown was a timing belt going on an '86 Chevy Nova (Toyota Corolla) while on the way home from a friend's house during the winter.  Had I not made for a long good bye I would have gotten home before it broke which still aggravates me to this day.  

[Augie]

16 hours ago, RochesterRob said:

  I put a locking fuel cap on both a GM pickup and car while working at one place of employment.  The place employed a fair number of bitter souls about their lot in life so they were not above keying or other forms of car vandalism.  The car was a 2000 Malibu which was a low mile student driver car when I bought it.  Somebody did break a key off into the lock of the pickup, however.  The worst breakdown was a timing belt going on an '86 Chevy Nova (Toyota Corolla) while on the way home from a friend's house during the winter.  Had I not made for a long good bye I would have gotten home before it broke which still aggravates me to this day.  

 

His Highlander  did “lock” the gas cap I believe, but it had been pried open. He knew who did it, but the schools new parking lot cameras were pointed away from the parking lot. Duh... His “educators” were a bunch of clowns. 

Edited June 5, 2018 by Augie

[ExiledInIllinois]

My 2017 Toyota Tacoma blower "Squirrel Cage" just broke this weekend in BFLo... No fan blower.  West Herr was supposed to fix, but said part they had sent is broken too.  Could have one by tomorrow... But I have to be back in Illinois.  I will get it fixed @ my dealer.

 

Only 12k miles...

 

In Erie now, on way home... @ Syrian place eating... Going old school, windows open.

 Probably worse?  Dropping transmission on Jeep @ 96k heading to work.  Rolled right thru ghetto miraculously on the South Side... To friendly confines of work... 

Edited June 4, 2018 by ExiledInIllinois

[SlimShady'sSpaceForce]

Broken camshaft and transmission work on my 4  X  4.  

 

(Who doesn’t have transmission issues with home?)

 

beyond that starters / alternators 

[FappyTheClown]

24 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

I'm trying to understand what actually happened in mechanical terms.

When you say "the tire" fell to the floor, I assume you mean the wheel, with the tire still on it.  Was there anything else attached to the wheel when it fell?  Like are you suggesting all 5 lug nuts snapped simultaneously so nothing was holding the wheel onto the hub?  

 

How old was the car and what percentage of it was composed of rust? 

 

 

The control arm broke. And yes, the wheel, so correction on that.

 

But, yea, I should have junked the thing a long time ago. I get sentimental with my cars. I like my Black Bomber.

Edited June 4, 2018 by FappyTheClown

[Gray Beard]

Several cars, several issues. So far none were too bad... 

 

Loose lugnuts, got home just before they came off. My fault.

 

Flat tire 150 miles from home.  Stopped every 25 miles to put air in. Made it. 

 

Broken belt (alternator, a/c) two blocks from home. Whew. 

 

Many dead battery stories with my first car, when I was too poor/cheap to buy a new battery. 

 

Check engine light and occasional bucking in a 1993 Taurus with the whole family on a vacation 1000 miles from home. Made it home but nerve racking. 

 

Rental car oil filter fell off on a freeway near LA. Business trip by myself. Oil gushed out and car stalled. I missed my flight but no big deal in the grand scheme of things. 

 

Several fender benders, especially in a 1980 Mazda. Terrible car. Rear wheel drive. Had good tires. Didn’t matter. 

 

1988 Chevy Nova (actually a rebadged Corolla) was a gutless wonder. Knocking and complaining all the time. 

 

A few other assorted check engine light stories. 

[RochesterRob]

5 minutes ago, Gray Beard said:

Several cars, several issues. So far none were too bad... 

 

Loose lugnuts, got home just before they came off. My fault.

 

Flat tire 150 miles from home.  Stopped every 25 miles to put air in. Made it. 

 

Broken belt (alternator, a/c) two blocks from home. Whew. 

 

Many dead battery stories with my first car, when I was too poor/cheap to buy a new battery. 

 

Check engine light and occasional bucking in a 1993 Taurus with the whole family on a vacation 1000 miles from home. Made it home but nerve racking. 

 

Rental car oil filter fell off on a freeway near LA. Business trip by myself. Oil gushed out and car stalled. I missed my flight but no big deal in the grand scheme of things. 

 

Several fender benders, especially in a 1980 Mazda. Terrible car. Rear wheel drive. Had good tires. Didn’t matter. 

 

1988 Chevy Nova (actually a rebadged Corolla) was a gutless wonder. Knocking and complaining all the time. 

 

A few other assorted check engine light stories. 

  Actually, I had little quarrel with the Nova's power.  The wife managed to knock 3rd gear out of the 5 speed manual transmission (don't know how that happened but was the last time I tried teaching her a manual transmission) and thereafter until it died I shifted from 2nd to 4th with no issue.  I drove the Thruway and 490 for a few years that way.

[US Egg]

Buying my 1st car at 18 from my Mom's boyfriends "buddy's" used car lot.

 

Halfway home the oil light came on, it overheated and the engine ceased.

[Punching Bag]

Bought a guaranteed used car from a local dealer.  

Three times I had engine issues and each time the dealer told me it was not something covered.  Computer or other issue.

After third time I took it to another dealer and was told that is was a cracked cylinder in engineer and from build up it was at least 6 months old.  Cylinder was fixed and it was covered by warranty.  Cylinder was cracked when I bought car.

 

Then I found out that as part of a dealer issuing a warranty on a used car the dealer is partially responsible for any repairs paid out on a warranty.   The dealer basicly stuck me with non-warranty issues getting more dollars in order to not have to pay into warranty fund.

 

[Gray Beard]

11 minutes ago, RochesterRob said:

  Actually, I had little quarrel with the Nova's power.  The wife managed to knock 3rd gear out of the 5 speed manual transmission (don't know how that happened but was the last time I tried teaching her a manual transmission) and thereafter until it died I shifted from 2nd to 4th with no issue.  I drove the Thruway and 490 for a few years that way.

It seemed like it didn’t age well. When it was new it seemed pretty good. I had it for nine years, and the knocking was getting pretty bad near the end. I would put high octane gas in it to cut down on the knocking. I also had the five speed manual. I would let the rpms get pretty high before shifting to keep it from knocking. Maybe it just needed a tuneup. I don’t really remember all the details, since it’s been over twenty years.

[DC Tom]

When I moved down do DC, I got a VA driver's license.  Then I traded in the car I had to buy a new one.

 

Then a few months later, I get a letter from New York State: "Your insurance has lapsed on your old car."  Told them I didn't have it any more, they told me "Fine, just send us the bill of sale."  I send them the trade-in agreement.  "No, that's not sufficient, we need the bill of sale."  But I didn't sell it, I traded it in.  "But you no longer have the car?  How did you dispose of it without a bill of sale?"  I traded it in.  "Okay, then we need the bill of sale."  I don't have that, I have a trade-in agreement.  "That's not sufficient, we need the bill of sale."

 

After two months of that nonsense, I get a letter: "Because your car is uninsured, and you are delinquent on the fines for lack of insurance, we are suspending your NYS driver's license."  I haven't had a NY driver's license for about six months.  I forget exactly how I got that resolved; I do remember it required a letter to the Lt. Governor and a rather lengthy phone call to a county judge.  

 

Next year, I get an envelope in the mail from NYS Department of Taxation: "We notice you had a suspended driver's license for last year.  This qualifies you as a resident of NY, therefore you owe us a full year's worth of income tax..."  

 

So that's my worst car problem: owing income tax in a state I didn't live, for having suspended a license I didn't have, for not having insurance on a car I didn't own.

[Wacka]

A girlfriend told me she was driving her brothers's Ford Falcon hen he car suddenly stopped running and  there a tremendous noise. The motor mounts had rusted outing the motor and transmission had fallen out.

[ExiledInIllinois]

2 hours ago, Wacka said:

A girlfriend told me she was driving her brothers's Ford Falcon hen he car suddenly stopped running and  there a tremendous noise. The motor mounts had rusted outing the motor and transmission had fallen out.

The engine cradle on my 2006 Chrysler Pacifica was doing that.  Dumped that car @ 200k... Hope whoever got it had good luck.  I filled it with oil and welded it up.  No way I was sinking 2 grand into a used cradle doing same thing.  Or 3-4 for a new one.

 

Chyrsler only honored the extended warranty pasy 150k on the 2004/2005s.  Mine was a 2006, built in 2005.  Probably same part.  Eff Chrysler.

[row_33]

Not a catastrophe but a friend complained paint was peeling on his new car.

 

Turned out it was coming off in license- plate sized chunks on four locations.

 

 

[WhoTom]

Summer 2016, we were vacationing in the Upper Peninsula (U.P.) of Michigan. On the drive home, the transmission on our 2004 Saturn Vue died. Got towed 20 miles to the nearest town - Escanaba, Michigan - which has the only GM dealership within a 100 mile radius. They didn't know how long it would take to repair it, or even to give us an estimate, so we asked about a car rental agency so we could drive home. There's one about 20 miles away, but they had no cars available and didn't know when they would have one.

 

The guy at the dealership makes a phone call and tells us, "I have someone who's willing to drive you home." (We live in northern Illinois - a good five hour drive from Escanaba.) Turns out, the guy is a retired school bus driver who drives a truck for the dealership, moving cars to and from Escanaba to places all over the Midwest and the south.  I know this is going to cost us a lot, but we don't have much choice, so we move our gear from the Vue to the dealership's car, the guy drives us home, and then turns around and goes back to the U.P. the same night. I know the dealership was paying the driver, but I gave him a tip for doing it on short notice.

 

A few days later I contact the dealership and ask how much I owe for the drive - he says, "Nothing. Don't worry about it." A couple of days after that, he sends me an estimate, which is way more than the car is worth. Also, it would take several weeks to get the parts and do the job. Now, transmissions are a specialty, and I'm thinking that a dealership in the middle of nowhere probably isn't going to have someone with that kind of experience. Besides the fact that we're going to need a car sooner than that, and the prospect of having to go back up there to get the thing after the repair just doesn't add up. The car has under 100k miles (original) and the engine and body are in good shape, so I start looking around to see how much the engine is worth. Most places show a value between $400 and $800. So I contact the dealership and ask if I can just send them the title of the car in exchange for the drive and the estimate - they can sell the engine and whatever parts are salvageable. They agree.

 

Meanwhile, my wife is online, looking for cars that better fit our travel needs. She finds a "program car" - one that was leased for a year by a business, has hardly any miles on it, and sells for $6k less than a new model. So we bought it and we're happy with it.

 

 

[K-9]

Not having one.

[Augie]

I hit a GIANT submerged pothole near Buff State that knocked out my rear speakers. If I had had airbags back then.....

[row_33]

before cell phone days, my car broke down on the 401, 90 degree heat, about 3 miles from the closest offramp, in business casual clothes.

 

after a mile walking a van pulled over and a woman driver, with 2 kids in the back, said "hop in"

 

she drove me to a phone off the next exit ramp and then drove me back to my car, offering to stay until AAA arrived.

 

i said that was fine and thanked her for her kindness and have tried to do the same to others in bad situations like this as well.

 

pass it on...

 

 

[seregil42]

Was in an accident that totaled the car.  It was an older car, though, so wasn't a huge deal.

 

As for general wear and tear issues, had muffler and carburetor fall off of a Ford Focus.  Car was 12 years old, I think.  That was about a month after some electrical wiring in the car disintegrated and left the car unable to start.  (Car actually shut off on me as I was driving it into the parking space of the mechanics).  Was starting to get transmission issues on it when I traded it in.

 

All in all, I've been rather lucky with my cars.

[Marv's Neighbor]

I had a heater core fail, that flooded the floor on the passenger side.  That prompted me to change from GM to Nissan.  Made the change in '83, and never looked back at Mr. Goodwrench!

[Pine Barrens Mafia]

Once fell asleep behind the wheel trying to drive home while on leave in the Army. There's nothing scarier than waking to the sound of rumble strips as you careen into the concrete barrier in the middle of a highway.

 

[PastaJoe]

Had a 1972 Buick Skylark back in mid 80’s. Going to work in the morning up an inclined bridge that had a stop light on the other side. Light turned green, gave it gas, and the car wouldn’t go forward. Turned out that the transmission wasn’t working in forward, only reverse worked. So I had to go backwards as far right as I could on bridge, wait for traffic to pass, and drive backwards down bridge until I got to level ground and could park it. Then had to walk about 10 miles on shoulder in dress clothes in summer (pre cell phones) to get back where I could call someone for assistance.

 

Another time the tie rods on a van give out just as I turned into my driveway, causing the wheel to collapse into the wheel well.

[707BillsFan]

My 66 Mustang's heater core rusted out (back in 90?). Being a poor college student, I couldn't afford to fix it. No defrost, no heat. Winters and cool mornings were fun. Same car, all lights on the dash went out (beyond fuse replacement issue). So not only was I cold, had a frosty windshield...I had no idea how fast / slow I was going while driving at night. It looked good though!! 

[MILFHUNTER#518]

17 hours ago, Limeaid said:

Bought a guaranteed used car from a local dealer.  

Three times I had engine issues and each time the dealer told me it was not something covered.  Computer or other issue.

After third time I took it to another dealer and was told that is was a cracked cylinder in engineer and from build up it was at least 6 months old.  Cylinder was fixed and it was covered by warranty.  Cylinder was cracked when I bought car.

 

Then I found out that as part of a dealer issuing a warranty on a used car the dealer is partially responsible for any repairs paid out on a warranty.   The dealer basicly stuck me with non-warranty issues getting more dollars in order to not have to pay into warranty fund.

 

Vehicle Service Contracts are an awesome thing to have for the right price, however you must always ask if they are a "Dealer Re-insured" product. If you get a service contract that is not, and widely accepted anywhere, then you will never have an issue with getting a claim paid out. The service contract you had on that vehicle was a dealer re-insured product, hence the hassle.

[HOUSE]

I haven't had any real problems, small stuff but I never keep a car beyond the warranty period.

35,000 and its time for a new one

[WhoTom]

38 minutes ago, 707BillsFan said:

My 66 Mustang's heater core rusted out (back in 90?). Being a poor college student, I couldn't afford to fix it. No defrost, no heat. Winters and cool mornings were fun. Same car, all lights on the dash went out (beyond fuse replacement issue). So not only was I cold, had a frosty windshield...I had no idea how fast / slow I was going while driving at night. It looked good though!! 

 

About 15 years ago, my wife saw a "for sale" sign on a metallic blue '65 Mustang coup, my favorite color, vintage, and model. I called the guy and set up a time to check it out. It was beautiful. I took it for a test drive and when I got to a stop light, the engine started running rough. The owner (in the passenger seat) reached for the shifter, put it into neutral, and told me to rev it up. "It's the only way to keep it running while idling," he said. Then he told me that he'd brought it to four different mechanics and nobody could figure out what was wrong with it.

 

It was a damn fine-looking car, but I passed on it. I'm glad I did - it would have been a money pit.

 

 

[SinceThe70s]

Brake line went as I was leaving a restaurant. Not a good feeling pressing the brake pedal to the floor and nothing happens. Restaurant exit was uphill and I was driving a stick so it was manageable after the initial scare.

[DC Tom]

1 hour ago, WhoTom said:

 

About 15 years ago, my wife saw a "for sale" sign on a metallic blue '65 Mustang coup, my favorite color, vintage, and model. I called the guy and set up a time to check it out. It was beautiful. I took it for a test drive and when I got to a stop light, the engine started running rough. The owner (in the passenger seat) reached for the shifter, put it into neutral, and told me to rev it up. "It's the only way to keep it running while idling," he said. Then he told me that he'd brought it to four different mechanics and nobody could figure out what was wrong with it.

 

It was a damn fine-looking car, but I passed on it. I'm glad I did - it would have been a money pit.

 

 

 

But it was a lunch-pail type car?  With fluid hips?

[Buffalo716]

A few years ago my mother took her car to the local car shop for a tuneup... the douche mechanic PURPOSELY CRACKED her engine block with a hammer or something 

 

10 days later my moms car died in the middle of the road, could’ve killed her

[Gary M]

A wife that doesn't watch the gauges on the dash.

 

 

[WhoTom]

1 hour ago, DC Tom said:

 

But it was a lunch-pail type car?  With fluid hips?

 

Yeah, but that wasn't enough to make my buy it. Now, if it been holding a fish ...

 

[The Real Buffalo Joe]

Top This:

A few years ago, I went camping in Texas Hill Country with my cousin and uncle. We were on this gigantic ranch. After my uncle went to bed, My cousin and I decided to drive around the property. We found a lake, and drove right up to the lake. The ground we drove on, was really dry... until about 6 inches deep. The truck got stuck in what was essentially quicksand. My uncle left his phone in his truck to charge, so he didn't hear our calls. We spent the night in the car, and he finally called us back the next morning. My tried pulling us out with a rope, nothing. We decided to try jacking the truck up to make it easier to pull, nothing. So we decided to go back to camp, get some food and water in us, then go back and try, or call a tow truck at least.

 

We all jump up in the truck, and drive off. A mile down the road, just as luck would have it, we run over a sharp rock and get a flat tire. No biggie, we'll just put the spare on. Except the fact that the only jack we had, was in the only other vehicle we had, two miles back at the lake. About 20 oz of luke warm water between the three of us. So we had to hike two and a half miles each way, through giant hills, in the Texas heat. Got the jack, just to find out the last time  my uncle had the tires rotated, the people at the dealership put the lugnuts on too tight that none of us could get them off with a regular lug wrench. Including my offensive lineman cousin. So we drove back on unpaved roads to camp, and had to get a two for one special from the tow truck driver. Ended up just staying an extra night.

[frostbitmic]

4 hours ago, Marv's Neighbor said:

I had a heater core fail, that flooded the floor on the passenger side.  That prompted me to change from GM to Nissan.  Made the change in '83, and never looked back at Mr. Goodwrench!

I had that happen in my first car, a 1970 Ford Maverick. If anyone had been sitting in the passenger seat they would've had severe burns. Why any manufacturer would put something like that inside the firewall under the dash is beyond me.

 

In another scary instance about a dozen or so years ago, I picked my daughters up from a week of summer camp. It was about 45 miles in each direction and mostly highway. I was doing about 70 mph both ways and when we got near home they told me they were hungry so we stopped into a fast food burger joint. After eating we got in the car and backed up, the front right side of the car dropped ... The ball joint snapped. If that happened at 70 we would've been toast.