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Parts wear out and vehicles break down, but sometimes people behind the wheel just don't know what they're doing.
The Facebook page Mechanic Fails is dedicated to all the ridiculous things mechanics have seen on the job, and I suggest you buckle up because this is about to get messy.
From DIY fixes held together with nothing but hope and duct tape to good old-fashioned neglect, each of our cars is living its own life, and they can tell a lot about how their owners treat them.
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#1
Time For Another Mf
Sara Frazer 4 months ago
Yup! I'm a proud MAGAT and I did this to my truck, I can say I don't hear liberal trash radio and haven't been followed by police since cutting this, but my truck has been having a lot of flat tires, I think the liberal Democratic voters have been tossing nails on the roads!!!!! /joke pls lol
RELATED:
#2
Seems Like Everything I Touch These Days
DennyS (denzoren) 4 months ago
This is me last time I tried to change the power steering hose on my own. Had to call an uncle lol
A big part of why people allow their cars to break down as much as we can see in some of these pictures is distrust.
In 2023, ConsumerAffairs surveyed 1,000 American drivers 18 and over to find out how much they trust mechanics and what they do when they get a diagnosis they're not sure about.
The results showed that 78% of respondents don't always trust them. However, most weren't blindly paranoid. Only a small group (9%) reported never trusting them.
The vast majority (69%) said it depends on the specialist who's working on their car.
#3
Mfers Trying To Ruin My Friday
Geoffrey Scott 4 months ago
Had an '84 Buick Lesabre. Went on a 1/2 hr drive and could not get the cruise to shut off. Popped it into neutral and coasted to the shoulder, opened the hood to see a fire burning merrily on top of the intake manifold. Stupid chipmunks built a nest under the air cleaner and melted the kickdown cable for the accelerator.
#4
Nope Rope
UncleJon_TheMadScientist 4 months ago
Had a lady drive in to the Chrysler Jeep service department with her Grand Cherokee crying that her "baby" had fallen into the vents on top of the dash and was trapped inside the dash. Her calming her down we found out her "baby" was a boa constrictor pet... me and another mechanic figured how to c*x the critter out, one of us stayed in the car with the a.c. blowing cold out of the top dash vents nd the other one outside warming the windshield with a hot air gun. The snake wasn't happy about the cold and started crawling up the windshield words the warm spot. We grabbed and pulled all 36 inches of him out with no damage to either the snake or the jeep
Leg less In Minneapolis 4 months ago (edited)
Uh, Animal Control, we have a small problem here. Reticulated Python
Upstaged75 4 months ago
Could be anywhere really. Pythons are pretty common.
Load More Replies... DennyS (denzoren) 4 months ago
I've got a car for sale, you can test drive it, sure, but I'll be staying 20ft away.
nut nibbler 4 months ago
By the size of that snake I think 20ft away isn't enough.
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Sabrina 4 months ago
The snake probably won't think that way, she prefers you inside her as lunch.
Load More Replies... #5
Winter Protip
Lowrider 56 4 months ago
I had a friend who convinced his girlfriend to go to mechanic and to put 'winter air' in her tires.
Philly Bob 3 months ago
Gotta change the summer air in your tires to winter air, too! The more you know...
The survey data also showed noticeable differences between genders.
For example, men were more than twice as likely to say they had full trust in their automotive technicians. (Just 15% of women said they fully trusted mechanics, compared with 32% of men.)
"I think women, in general, are skeptical of things like that," said Lauren Fix, the editor in chief of Car Coach Reports and a member of ConsumerAffairs’ advisory panel. "They'll do the research. They tend to be more in-depth in finding out the answers."
#6
New Service Writer Making Sure You Check Them Fluids
nottheactualphoto 4 months ago
A "little inspector" once ate my car's wiring harness. $1300. Not cute.
#7
Less Tread = Lower Rolling Resistance = Better Gas Mileage. Don’t Let The “Man” Scam You Into Buying New Ones. Plus Tire Selfies Are Fire
weatherwitch 4 months ago
So illegal in the UK you'd have your car taken away and have so many points on your license you'd no longer have one 😮 They are just death tyres 😔
April Pickett 4 months ago
Slicks are for racing - NASCAR especially. They won't even race the cars in the rain because the tires have no treads.
Robert T 4 months ago
Slicks are a much softer compound which are actually sticky to touch. Reminds me of when we went gokarting in France and they threw a bucket of water across the track to spice things up a bit - I saw them do it and slowed down - and I still went spinning off onto the grass.
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Russell Bowman 4 months ago
Some states, looking at you Maryland, do not have yearly safety inspections ...
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DennyS (denzoren) 4 months ago
Apart from the obvious...that tyre myst have always had perfect pressure with very conservative driving to cut so evenly.
#8
QuincyForrest 4 months ago
"You know that oil stain that just keeps getting bigger and bigger on your driveway in the area near the rear of where your car sits? Yeah, it's perfectly ok to ignore it."
#9
The Slow It Down Light?
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I saw this on my car once - the brake had frozen and I live down a long highway. Until today, I'd convinced myself that I added the red hot detail but now I don't think so.
weatherwitch 4 months ago
I'd like to say that surely the OP isn't that dense but with the way of the world now.... 🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
Other factors might also play a role, but definitely not such a big one. For example, people between the ages of 35 and 44 were the most likely to fully trust mechanics, but that was largely because men in that age group were particularly trusting of mechanics; women 35 to 44 said they trusted mechanics at about the same rate as women of all ages.
#10
Anyone Need A Pizza Slicer?
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago (edited)
martin734: many US states have no regular privately owned passenger car safety inspections. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_inspection_in_the_United_States#Non-commercial_vehicles
Load More Replies... #11
Use Wd40 To Prevent Tires From Rusting
Robert Beveridge 4 months ago
“My old man's spare tires were actually only tires in the academic sense. They were round, they had once been made of rubber.”
Glen Ellyn 4 months ago
Is that rust or is the tire so worn down that the steel belts are showing through? 🤔
#12
Upstaged75 4 months ago (edited)
Telling cops "don't be mad" is probably not going to stop them from writing you a ticket.
#13
The Things I See Now That I Moved To Texas
nut nibbler 4 months ago
Anyone else find it amusing when people jack up pick up trucks to make them as high as possible for ground clearance then they fit steps on them in order to be able to get in which lowers ground clearance!
martin734 4 months ago
It's even more stupid when they then fit low profile road tyres that can barely cope with damp grass.
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WalterWhiteSavannah 4 months ago
Did someone convert a ranger into a dually? That raises more questions of f*****g why than the rest of the truck even.
Chris the Bobcat 4 months ago
That's a North Carolina flag on the front of the truck, and that white Honda at the left of the picture has no front plate, which Texas requires. Probably not Texas, especially as North Carolina has a lot of redneck morons too. (I would know. I'm from there.)
Nicole Weymann 4 months ago
Judging from the (excellent!) parking job this car was not put there by the owner. /JK
Glen Ellyn 4 months ago
That's not street legal where I live. The front hubcaps look like metal garbage can covers. 🤣
Fix, an ASE-certified technician, said mechanics are aware of our suspicions and are trying to mitigate them. But she would like to see more trust in their expertise.
"It's like going to the doctor, and they say you're sick. And they can say you have 'fill in the blank.' And you have to believe them," she explained.
"If I told you you had a broken arm, I would put an X-ray up on the X-ray machine, I would point to where the bone is damaged, and then we'd discuss it."
#14
Daniel Atkins 4 months ago
The inner child in me want to know how far it will shoot off the end of the hose when you release it.
#15
I'm Done
#16
Holeee S**t
Rachel Reynolds 4 months ago
I'm a mechanic in Michigan and that seems like something we'd see.
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#17
Shhhh.. Someone’s Sleeping
Bill Swallow 4 months ago (edited)
Sorry, came to ask "What the h3ll am I looking at here?" I don't know if I'm stupid or what, but I cannot parse that image. Have to wait till I get home and can look at it on the big monitor. EDIT: Not home yet, but ... It's a vehicle ... on a lift ... looking at the chassis ... with a critter ... inside a frame member ... ears (?) hanging down through a hole? Did I get it right?
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Approximately 80% of survey respondents said they feel like they'd been overcharged by mechanics in the past.
45% of people said they feel overcharged sometimes, but 35% said they always feel like their mechanics are trying to rob them.
Only 17% of people said they thought their auto services were always fairly priced.
#18
Pass Me The Half Inch....wait....
Jrog 4 months ago (edited)
The only company I could find selling wrenches in 8/16 size is actually american (Carburetedinnovations), and they justify it by saying that it's for ease of "calculating" steps up and down. It makes sense: if your measuring system is stupid all you get is stupid solutions.
Load More Replies... #19
It Almost Worked
Giles McArdell 4 months ago
Oh woe is me, that I have lived to see the day duct tape cannot fix something!
#20
Tibor Wants To Know Why??
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago (edited)
For those who don't understand: that's a dismantled drum brake. The friction surfaces of a drum brake needs to be clean and free of all grease and oil (the actuating mechanism usually needs a small amount of grease, depending on design). Someone's packed it with grease which means: 1) it won't work at all, not even slightly and 2) once you've cleaned all the grease out, the brake shoes need replacing because they've been ruined. A taper roller bearing (presumably the wheel bearing) is visible - that does need grease on it, but there should be a seal keeping the bearing grease away from the brake internals.
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#21
Drove In This Way. He Said It Was A Bit Squirrelly
Bill Swallow 4 months ago
The squirrel is after the nut behind the wheel.
Load More Replies... Rachel Reynolds 4 months ago
I can not tell you how many times I have seen this, or zip ties, or wire hangers.
Robert Beveridge 4 months ago
Squirrelly? That's straight up f****n family-of-feral-raccoons-y
”It's all about the upsell,” said Fix, who acknowledges that some shops tack on unnecessary services to drive up their profits.
"Think of it like McDonald's. You go through the drive-through: Do you want to biggie those fries?”
#22
Not Sure If He’s An Angel Or A Butterfly. Either Way Those Wings Made Him A Magical Tire Changer
#23
Oh Dear Lord
Cougar Allen 4 months ago
Normally you put on a couple of those wheel weights (those shiny square things) to balance the wheel. That wheel has hundreds of them on it. I don't know why someone did that but I'm sure it ain't no good reason.
Load More Replies... #24
My Mechanics Are Dicks
#25
A Couple Eyes And This Old Genny Is Thomas
But Fix said that as with every other service, it's natural that conditions—and therefore, costs—vary.
According to her, even between legitimate garages, prices might fluctuate because of different labor rates or because they use different parts. That's normal and expected.
So maybe it's about time we cut them some slack? As we can see, mechanics have to go through a lot on their job.
#26
Beth Wheeler 4 months ago
Why would anybody put roofing shingles on a truck. That's gonna add a lot of weight and k**l the gas mileage.
Tiggy Darling 4 months ago
Ladies like it. Particularly...All the shingle ladies, all the shingle ladies...
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#27
Justen Don’t Forget Again
nottheactualphoto 4 months ago
Were you asking for new brakes, or saying that you already had new brakes?
Load More Replies... #28
Me: You Sure You Want To Spend $700 On Tires? Customer: Yup, It’s Been Like That For Years
Undercover 4 months ago
How's this even legal to drive? Here in Italy you have to inspect your car every few years and if you don't fix things up, your car is deemed not streetsafe anymore. So it's basically illegal to drive if the car doesn't pass inspection.
Blue Bunny of Happiness 4 months ago (edited)
In the UK all cars over 3 years old have to be passed as roadworthy every 12 months. Commonly known as a MOT.
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Nicole Weymann 4 months ago
In Germany we have to get our cars inspected regularly every two years by the TÜV (Technischer Überwachungsverein = technical monitoring association). You get a sticker on your license plate (different colour for every year, so police can easily judge from afar if it's still valid), and if the car isn't up to safety standards you need to fix it up and come back for a new inspection. That inspection checks brakes, steering, lights, axles, wheels/tyres, body, and emission. A show like "Pímp My Ride" wouldn't nearly be half as interesting here, because 1) the before vehicles there looked worse than most of the stuff on our junkyards - you'd never see something like that in the streets, and 2) I bet at least half of the implemented changes wouldn't have been street legal here, either (though I read that the fanciest media gear was strípped off after filming anyway and did not stay with the car owners)
Load More Replies... #29
Diff Cover Stickers A Thing Now?
#30
F*****g Monday’s!
Cougar Allen 4 months ago
Gimme a hand pulling on this brake line. It's a little short, gotta stretch it out....
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
You're going to need that air spanner the foreman was always talking about.
Load More Replies... #31
I See No Issues Here
Russell Bowman 4 months ago
straight on pull might work ... but, first turn and you are gonna part ways
#33
Half Of You Probably Don't Even Know What This Is
Daniel Atkins 4 months ago
Cars use to have a distributer which distributed the spark to each cylinder at a specific time advancing it would put it out of time so the plugs would not fire correctly and the car would not run or run well.
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#34
Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago
I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS: messing about with high pressure air lines is always dumb. Think of the risk of that container exploding one way or another. If I saw anything like that in a workshop, I'd walk away and never go back.
Load More Replies... Forrest Hobbs 4 months ago
Ace: if it works the first time, it might also explode horribly the next time.
Load More Replies... Uncle Panda 4 months ago (edited)
I have an old ski boat with an inboard engine. There's no drain plug, you can't even see the bottom of the engine let alone interact with it. Instead, you have to use a small pump to draw the oil out through the dippstick tube. It seemed insane the first time I encountered it but it's quick and clean and I've considered doing it with my car too. I already own the pump and could use this thing to fill it back up.
#35
Best Patch Job I’ve Seen In A While!
#36
Mechanic Fails
Philly Bob 3 months ago
Unless it's for shooting 4 foot flames out the back, I give this one a 'No!"
Hidden Tracks 4 months ago
I think the technical term is "nacelles". Just watch out, those thing are always venting plasma...
#37
Oopsie
Rachel Reynolds 4 months ago
I am so paranoid of this happening that I still follow HS auto shop protocol; set the arms, lift about two inches off the ground, walk around and shake the car to make sure it's solid.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago (edited)
That looks like a Subaru STI, in which case, it's just showing off.
#38
Lunch Anyone?
Daniel Atkins 4 months ago
Probably the cabin air filter. At least there isn't a dead mouse on it which happened to my in laws.
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#39
2002 Sequoia Dispenses Chocolate Milk From The Trans
#41
Kieth Smith Submitted This One. Just A Little Game Of Hide And Seek Going On
April Pickett 4 months ago
Where does he keep the stepladder, or does he just show off his Plumber's butt getting in?
nottheactualphoto 4 months ago
The Ford Excursion was already a special-needs car. This makes it more so.
martin734 4 months ago (edited)
I don't get this at all. When off-roading, the most common way of getting stuck is grounding the diff or axles, lifting the body up off of the axles does nothing to improve the ground clearance unless you also fit bigger tyres to increase the clearance under the axles. What this does really well though is to destroy the prop shaft UJ's every couple of thousand miles.
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I don't get it either. In fact, I just traded in an old full sized pickup for a Ford Ranger, in part because I started having to hop up to get into the full sized one.
#42
We've All Got Our Favorite Gravy Covered Block. Worth Every Penny
Uncle Panda 4 months ago
When the IBM PC first came out, they described it as "an attractive putty color!" Never let your programmers write ad-copy.
#43
This Pic Really Messed With Me
Lost Panda 4 months ago
They bought a 5-point for a 4-point and made it work... Looks bad, but hey...
Jrog 4 months ago
pretty sure this is machining defect missed by QC. The cast is fine, the drilling was done with the wrong pattern, then sent for tumble finishing and anodization without a second glance. The holes are well made (CNC) and are under the finishing.
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#44
Should Be Fast
Bill Swallow 4 months ago
Oh Dear God! This would give *Red Green* a heart attack. (Must be Dougie Franklin's go-kart...)
Robert Beveridge 4 months ago
Imagine how fast your wheelie could pop you!
Load More Replies... #45
Towed In/ No Brakes/ Couldn't Get To Bleed
Uncle Panda 4 months ago (edited)
Home mechanic has the left rotor on the right and vice versa. They won't bleed because being upside down creates a small compressible air pocket in the system. Rightside up, it's a small oil reservoir. Ask me how I know.
T.O.S.o.R. 4 months ago
The AIR bleeder valve is on the bottom and should be on the top. This caliper goes on the other side.
#46
This Is How Slav People Modify Thier Exhaust On A Car
Robert Beveridge 4 months ago
As long as they're squatting and in track suits, everything will be okay.
#47
I Give Up! It’s Getting A New Oil Pan
Robert Beveridge 4 months ago
"I give up" strongly implies there was a period where he was still making an effort. Presumably while it looked like that. I, having been desperate, understand why... but I'm seriously confused as to how.
nigel perkins 3 months ago
Those oil filters need a special tool to remove them ask me how I know !
#48
It's Almost Like It Takes Effort To Be This Terrible. My Daughter Welds Better. Thanks Ks Ricky And Adam
Scott Rackley 4 months ago
Nah, that's MIG welding wire, they kept sticking it and cutting it off...and trying again. Shouldn't be MIG welding exhausts anyway.
Load More Replies... #49
Let's All Congratulate Joel Schlueter On Graduating Jb Welding School
#50
They Have No Idea Wtf Happened. I Need To Know!!
Ace 4 months ago
Not a bullet, something more solid has shaved the edge of the wheel rim, cutting it off and forming the spiral that's still attached.
Load More Replies... Uncle Panda 4 months ago
I think they hit a curb at high speed. I saw that happen once and it looked a lot like this.
#52
A Little Embarrassed Here. Off The Front Of My Own Truck. 102,000 Miles On It
#54
Brakes Are Noisy….
DennyS (denzoren) 4 months ago
For anyone wondering, the left brake pad was installed reverse.
#55
#58
Just Here For The Free Balance Check
#59
Good Job Keith. They Were Not Like That Until You Worked On It
martin734 4 months ago
I think they actually may have been like that. The three sockets in the top right of the picture are special sockets that are used for removing rounded and damaged nuts. The flutes inside them grip onto the rounded nut or stud and the more force you exert to undo the nut or stud, the harder they grip.
#62
Drop Bear from Hell 4 months ago
No - steering wheel is on the wrong side....
Load More Replies... Jrog 4 months ago
homemade air intake elevation. Useful if you have to pass shallow water. Given the lights and rack, this is an okay-ish rallycross conversion.
Load More Replies... #63
Just Need An Oil Change
#64
DennyS (denzoren) 4 months ago
I know right, this was actually done pretty neatly. A little smoother and it would match the panel.
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#66
Guess How This Happened
#69
Mechanic Fails
Bill Swallow 4 months ago
Not sure myself. They're using that front-wheel stand incorrectly?
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