Oppo QOTD: What the Dumbest Car Mistake You've Ever Made?

"Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis" (Dwhite95) 08/19/2014 at 13:56 • Filed to: None

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We've all made mistakes, but whats the worst one you've made? I learned to drive in only Fords, sure I had a Cavalier for drivers ed but you dont spend that much time in the drivers ed car. So when I got my Grand Prix I needed to learn the differences between Ford and GM car in how they work. One of the worst cases of this was the windshield wipers. In a Ford you just turn the nob and they come on, in the Grand Prix you need to turn the nob and push the stalk up. I went a for a few days thinking my wipers legitimately broken before I finally figured it out.

William Byrd > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:00

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Lack of Oppo. I took a 90 degree turn way too fast in my first car, a 1988 Nissan Pulsar NX, and even though it was FWD, got a LOT of oversteer. Being 16 years and 1 month old, I froze. Spun around 180 degrees and smacked the ditch on the other side rolling over. Quite dumb. Car was fixed a month later but it was never the same. Traded for a new 1993 Mustang.

macanamera > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:00

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Drove out of a gas station once with the nozzle still in. Pretty embarrassing.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:00

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I went to pop the van into neutral going down a hill and accidentally went too far and put it in reverse.

Yeah, not a pretty noise.

Transmission still works though, so I've got that going for me. Which is nice.

NinetyQ > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:00

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The first time I drove my '96 Grand Prix at night, I couldn't figure out how to turn the brights off. Felt like a jerk driving around like that, but figured it out once I got home and could ask my mom.

Second dumbest mistake: buying a 20 year old 5-cyl Audi with a rusty underside and electrical problems.

My citroen won't start > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:02

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Playing with the C5's suspension, forgetting it in the lowest setting and scraping the car when leaving the garage.

EL_ULY > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:04

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I had a ES350 come in once with some ghetto ass 22" chrome wheels. Everyone was at lunch and I was juuuust finishing up the service on it. For some reason (probably because it had 4 types of wheel locks) I forgot to tighten the lugs on the driver's side. As I pulled out of my bay to go to the car wash area, I hear and see lug nuts rolling on the ground . I thought, "are those my lu.......BOOOM!!!" The car is on the ground and the wheel is ten feet away. "OMG OMG OMG" I said while looking at what I did. My thoughts were, "ok, no body damage AAAAND nobody saw this" I grabbed a floor jack, raised it up, put the wheel on, and drove to the car wash. There was a slight ticking noise probably from the dust cover but I said fuck it, gave it to the car wash people, went to lunch, and the car never came back. Yes I am evil.

1234567890-- > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:05

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Selling my Corolla to a friend for pocket change when I had a 'time' and sold all my stuff to go on an extended motorcycle trip. Short sighted. I could have really used it when I got home and needed reliable transportation again. Dad's bronco was a terrible for pizza delivery.

Stupidru > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:07

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Tightening my lug nuts with an impact wrench when I was in a hurry. Seriously, never do this EVER. Learn from my dumbass mistake and take the extra minute and use a proper torque wrench

Yes, that's my wheel on the other side of the freeway

And this is what happens when you over-tighten your lug nuts

RazoE > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:07

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I didn't know how to use the windshield washers on my IS300 for over a year. My first car had a button on the dash. On my Supras, you pulled the stalk towards you. Same with my xB. Then I bought the IS and nothing. Then one day I got bored and looked through the manual while sitting on the can. Turns out there's a button on the side of the stalk. WHOOPS...

*Note: I always park in the garage, and wash/dry my car every week or two so my windshield never got dirty enough to have to use them for over a year.

Party-vi > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:08

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I've got a two-fer. Once I painted the Willys headers with hight temp paint, except it wasn't; I had grabbed the wrong cans from a box and used regular black paint. We started the engine after the paint dried and the damn thing smoked up the whole garage and driveway as the paint cooked off the headers. That one sucked.

Another time I changed the plugs on the BMW after I bought it, thinking it was relatively straight-forward. Plugs are done, go driving and something doesn't seem right. I had scheduled service anyway to do the water pump and fuel filter and after dropping it off they stated "hey you've got a couple miss-fires, looks like someone used the wrong type of spark plug." Cost me $200 to swap out MY plugs for the right ones. Derp.

CalzoneGolem > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:09

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Bought a PT Cruiser. I loved that thing but I would have been better served by any other hatchback ever created. I was in love, what can I say?

1234567890-- > My citroen won't start 08/19/2014 at 14:09

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did all the C5 have adjustable height?

My citroen won't start > 1234567890-- 08/19/2014 at 14:11

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No, just the higher end models.

Chuck 2(O=[][]=O)2 > macanamera 08/19/2014 at 14:12

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YOU WIN

404usernotfound > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:14

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My first car was a 1998 Caviler 4 door. I was out at a friends house when it started snowing, and because of my midnight curfew, I had to drive back in the snow before the roads were properly plowed. I had never really driven in the snow like this before, but because I was a teen, I knew exactly how to properly drive in the snow. I made it all the way to the top of my neighborhood, exactly half a mile from home, before I made a mistake. While turning into my neighborhood, I was going just fast enough to understeer directly into the curb, ruining the front passenger side wheel and suspension. I limped the car the half mile home, dreading what my parents would say. They were actualy pretty nice, and didn't freak out to much. The car was fixed and back on the road in less than a week, and the only thing left damaged, other than my wallet, was my ego. Inexperenced driving in the snow, that was my biggest mistake.

Big Bubba Ray > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 08/19/2014 at 14:15

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I've done that in my dad's Suburban countless times. The transmission is fried haha

mr_gofast > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:16

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asked a cop to marry me when i was drunk...she said no :(

Inline6jdmturbo > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:17

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The first time in my parents new 2014 odyssey by myself (big diffrence my dads a driver for the MTA its like boot camp for safe driving when im with him in the car) I didn't know how low the car was compared to the old 2002 . So as I came into my churches parking lot with moderate speed to drop my younger siblings for basketball or some churchy stuff I scraped the front bumper entering the somewhat steep parking lot entrance. It was so bad that the noise alerted a family friend who was doing mom stuff in her parked car on the other side of the lot. Thankfully it was the underside of the bumper, she didn't tell my parents, its been 3 months and I'm going back to school but she does smile and give me this look of "I'm gonna" tell every time she sees me.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > Big Bubba Ray 08/19/2014 at 14:17

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Those damn column shifters they used were so vague. There no defined slots for R, N, or D. It just kinda moves around.

Saracen > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:18

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When changing my oil, I misjudged with how much velocity the oil would flow out of the pan and didn't put the drain tray in the right spot. Yep, oil all over the garage floor, and I couldn't move the car. There was a lot of cursing during cleanup.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > 404usernotfound 08/19/2014 at 14:18

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My street rarely gets plowed, its a smallish side street that gets neglected frequently. We hosted a breakfast my high school swim team right in the middle of the winter. My street was essentially a sheet of ice, unsurprisingly it ended up badly. I nearly crashed my Mom's brand new explorer, a Subaru spun out and was nearly hit by a Civic, and an old Continental ended up in a ditch. Good times...

Klaus Schmoll > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:21

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http://www.fahrzeugbilder.de/1024/ein-iveco…

A couple of years ago, my dad was moving house, so he rented a 7,5 ton truck like in the picture. It's the biggest you can drive with an older drivers license for cars in Germany (thanks to the EU this was lowered to 3,5 tons, but it doesn't affect me). After we loaded it up, we hit the road. At some point we needed fuel, so we stopped at a petrol station and went looking for a filler flap or something similar. On the key ring was a small key that opened a tank of some sorts roght behind the cabin. We filled it up (wouldn't take much, but hey, what did we know about these things?), paid and started the engine. BAAAAAAAAAAAM. We had filled the oil pan and engine with diesel. Within seconds we were standing in a huuuuuge black puddle. Engine was toast.

duurtlang > My citroen won't start 08/19/2014 at 14:21

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It was standard on the first gen though.

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:22

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I kept a 1997 monte carlo LS running for 5 years.

KB Garage > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:22

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Got off my bike without putting the kickstand down. Pretty much have to own it at that point.

Klaus Schmoll > CalzoneGolem 08/19/2014 at 14:24

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The PT was your biggest mistake? Not the cobalt?

camaroboy68ss > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:24

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Three years ago I pulled my 68 Camaro out for its first show of the year, which happened to be on my birthday, took off for the show with my grandpa in my 33 ford pickup (it was still his at the time). 3/4 of the way there my car begins its wired electrical problem that ended up taking 2 years and a whole lot of new parts to figure out, that's another story, so I pull over and its on a hill so set the brake (car is a 4 spd) to check over the car. My grandpa says it fine and just takes off. I get in a hurry and fire up and launch completely forgetting about the e brake. I went 3 miles before I smelled something and saw smoke. I immediately pull over and think the car is going to burn up. My grandpa is pissed at this point figured out what I did and starts laughing after hopping in the car and driving it around the parking lot to cool the brakes. I have yet to live that down whenever I take it out. After the show I ended doing a complete brake job on the rear just because I ate up the shoes, burnt the paint off the drum but luckily didnt hurt them.

404usernotfound > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:28

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Last winter I was at the movies with that same friend, and it had snowed about 3 inches by the time the movie was over. Nothing had been plowed yet. I drove us home in my Infiniti I35 (fwd), and watched so many get stuck or almost spin off the road. I switched to or Subaru outback to get my friend all the way home, and had to stop to help 2 seporate cars that slid off the road and got stuck.

CAR_IS_MI > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:29

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Oh boy, I have quite a list...

My first car when I started driving was a manual, and I had it parked in my dads garage overnight becasue we had been doing some maintenance. It was winter, so in the morning I went out to start the car and let it warm up. Well my father had put in in first with the ebrake up as well. I never ever left it in gear, so I started it, took my foot off the clutch and BAM! Slammed it into my dads 1970 Honda 50 trail he had since he was a kid. Bent the handlebars and cracked some lights (luckily). Could have been much worse had the ebrake not been on. That's how I learned always to verify the car is in neutral before letting off the clutch.

There was also the time pulling into my neighborhood that my clutch line blew out. I was able to coast into my driveway, which was on a slight downhill. Pulled in, stopped, and got out pissed off as hell thinking I blew out the output shaft on the trans (known issue) and didn't realize I forgot to put the parking brake on... The car rolled into the garage... The garage which had a closed door... Again, thanks to stopping not to far from the door and the fact that the slope on the driveway was minimal, it only hit the door at maybe 2 mph, so no damage to the car and only a small easily fixed dent in the door.

I have more, but I'll save them

CAR_IS_MI > CalzoneGolem 08/19/2014 at 14:35

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Bought a PT Cruiser.

You win.

crowmolly > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:38

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Buying a project car in fresh primer without using my Spot-Rot.

That's Forrest Gump mooning the president levels of stupidity.

CalzoneGolem > Klaus Schmoll 08/19/2014 at 14:39

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In the automotive sense the Cobalt was full of win. Got a good deal it was in great shape and it was a manual. In a relationship sense it was full of fail.

n54 & s38 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:40

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Started backing out of the garage in my WRX with my driver's side door open. Only realized it as the car door gently bumped the side of the garage door. Got lucky that I didn't reverse quickly and either tear the door off or fuck up my garage. Definitely a "goddamn weed" moment.

PetarVN, GLI Guy, now with stupid power > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:42

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First time driving in downtown Seattle. It's rainy, my mom's getting on my case, and I had about 4 hors of sleep that night. I'm headed for the UW library to pick up a copy of a book for my paper on "the socio-political status of Russians in Kazakhstan between 1989 and today" (yes, that is a paper my 10th grade English teacher thought would be relevant to write)

Anyway, as I get to the University district of Seattle, I realize that there is no parking anywhere! after driving around for a bit, I FINALLY see a spot, and I gun it to get there, just as I'm about to pull in, the prius in front of me slams on his brakes, thus leaving me no room to back in to the parallel parking spot. I sharply turn right and slam in to the curb. To my luck, I only blew the tire but still, I blew the tire. I ended up replacing it in the pouring rain, and then paying $400 to have both of my mom's front tires replaced. still embarrassed about that...

404usernotfound > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 14:46

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I almost forgot my (and my dads) biggest mistake. Back before my Infiniti i35 was mine, it was my dads. I allways helped with maintence, including checking the fluids. Checking the oil was allways weird though, because even after puting more oil in, no oil showed up on the dipstick. My dad decided it was a problem with the dipstick, instead of the engine or anything else. We came to that conclusion becuase even after geting an oil change, it was like this. The car had also started to make a ticking noise, that just wouldnt go away. about Two years ago, after topping up the oil, we discovered that the dipstick did work, and the car was buring oil and was constantly a few quarts of oil low. 3o,000 miles later the car still ticks, but despite our best efforts is still running strong.

Klaus Schmoll > CalzoneGolem 08/19/2014 at 14:47

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The question is, which one is more important.

CalzoneGolem > Klaus Schmoll 08/19/2014 at 14:54

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wife > cars

uofime > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 08/19/2014 at 15:14

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why would you even want to do that?

Kanaric > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 15:16

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Had tires installed at Big O tire and they offered me a discount on an oil change.... the lazy in me said "SURE!" and they ended up opening the cap or taking off the oil filter or something when it was pressurized covering my entire engine bay in oil. Later it turns out it also fucked up my MAF which I had to rigorously clean and all sorts of shit failed right after especially my AC and cooling.

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > uofime 08/19/2014 at 15:30

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RPMs drop, uses less gas.

uofime > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 08/19/2014 at 15:43

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yeah that's a terrible idea as you found out (guessing you don't do that anymore)

Logansteno: Bought a VW? > uofime 08/19/2014 at 15:43

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Nope, still do. I'm just a little more careful.

uofime > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 08/19/2014 at 15:49

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I mean you drive a van (no?) you're getting terrible mileage. do you really think doing that will help appreciably?

revrseat70 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 15:53

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I have two:

I used to own an IS300 (mine was supercharged with LSD, RWD) in Minnesota. And I lived on a side street that was a low priority for plows. So I just got used to Oppo every single turn I took, didn't matter what speed. Well in an IS300 the trac off button is right next to the seat heater. So I went out to warm up the car and turned of traction control instead of turning on the bun burner. So I went to take the first turn and the rear swung out hard, I caught it, but then it swung completely the other way, caught it, and then it went hard the other way and finally and gracefully I slid into a snow mound like 100 yards from my original turn. It didn't take too long to get out because it was such a slow moving experience.

This was counteracted by the most amazing RWD experience in Minnesota like a month later. I entered an intersection to turn left and hit black ice. I did a 450 degree spin and went on my way as originally intended. It was a "Deal With It" moment, but I was only calm on the outside.

The second was recently. I park on a completely flat surface everywhere I go because I live in Texas now. So the only times I have ever gotten my cars back from someone else servicing or modifying them is maybe once a year on average. And it never fails, I let out the clutch after starting it and immediately stall. If I ever put it in gear I always remember, but I NEVER check to see if someone else does religiously. Which is always the most embarrassing situations for it to happen in. So I try to be super patient when I get in a car I haven't just gotten out of and remember to check that it's in neutral.

Leadfoot866 > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 16:07

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Owning a 1999 Chevy Cavalier with the 2.2L arthritis and 3-speed auto...

...apart from that, it would have to be mixing up the pedals in said Cavalier and driving it into a brick wall. Damage was minimal, though. Only took some paint off the front bumper.

wkiernan > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 17:33

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I sold my '67 SAAB Monte Carlo.

Tohru > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 17:53

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Driving while pissed off.

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1037x685q90…

https://imagizer.imageshack.us/v2/1022x685q90…

RickyD > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/19/2014 at 19:12

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Purchased a used Jaguar

Fuel_of_Satan > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 08/20/2014 at 06:16

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If the van is fuel injected you're using more fuel by putting it in neutral rather than letting it roll in gear. Certainly not less in any case unless it's carbed.

Fuel_of_Satan > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/20/2014 at 06:32

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Having been a mechanic and worked on cars all day, every day, for a few years my list of mistakes is longer than I care to remember.

But, I'll share my first mistake. In Norway daytime running lights are mandatory and all cars sold new here has to turn them on automatically. This means/meant (These functions are included in the CAN-bus today I'd think) that many dealers had to install their own wiring-kits and relays supplied by the main importer to make this happen.

Before lunch I was just wrapping up such a job on a Suzuki Liana, which required us to pick apart the entire dash to hook into every light so they also turn on with the headlights. What I didn't notice was that I had set the manual in reverse for access behind the ashtray during this process.

I slump hurriedly into the drivers seat with my feet outside the car and turn the key to start it and confirm that everything works. The car launches backward and the open drivers door hits a divider on the shop floor and is now flush mounted with the front fender. The car still only has 15 km on the clock and was due to get picked up that same day.

I have never, ever, since that day never started a car without my feet planted solidly on brake and clutch-

smashthegas > Logansteno: Bought a VW? 08/20/2014 at 10:32

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Modern cars actually shut off the injectors when rolling down hill in gear. Idling in neutral uses a little bit of fuel to keep it going.

S H: now with more letters! > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/20/2014 at 17:10

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Driving across the country alone, I had a few places I wanted to camp at in mind. Being that it was in December (this past December, in fact), there was snow in a lot of the places I drove through.

In Utah, I had planned to dispersed camp in the Fish Lake National Forest. I was taking an alt route to my destination from the last time I had been there, and after following the road for about ten or so miles, I came to a half-closed gate. Being that I had no one to question me (hell, no one even knew exactly where I was, I didn't really set an exact route beforehand), I decided to go for it. What followed was another 10-15 miles of snow and ice covered roadway, after midnight, in the middle of a National Forest (in a not very populated area), with many opportunities to slide off the road.

I managed to make it most of the way before getting stuck (in a FWD hatchback). The snow was around six inches deep, but I had hit a smooth patch. I dug out a little snow, placed the floor mats under the front wheels, and rocked it back and forth until I was again on my way.

I made it to the camping area, which was, as it was snow covered, closed. Thankfully, the route was much easier after this section, and I continued down to Koosharem, where I camped for a few hours at the reservoir, before continuing on my way.

A very, very stupid decision that probably would have played out differently had I not had experience with snow and ice and kept my cool.

A hit is hard to resist and I never miss > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis 08/22/2014 at 15:13

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My dad sold me his 1997 Malibu when I finished college. I didn't check the maintenance records right away, and he didn't volunteer any information on what needed to be fixed ASAP. So when I went driving up into the mountains in a rainstorm, I didn't realize that my tires were nearly bald, and that there can be a significant difference in grip when it's wet. I took a corner at what had been a safe speed on dry pavement, spun out, and went backwards into a Jersey barrier at 50mph. Luckily, the bumper skidded up the barrier, scrubbing off a lot of the impact, so the only damage was a few busted retaining bolts and a square foot of paint scraped off.

Unluckily, I did this right in front of a cop who was ticketing another motorist for going too fast through the same corner. Whoops. It cost 50 bucks in paint and supplies to fix the bumper, plus $65 for the reckless driving ticket...and $480 to send someone out to clean my paint off the damn barrier.

A hit is hard to resist and I never miss > S H: now with more letters! 08/22/2014 at 15:33

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I did something similar while exploring mountain roads one afternoon. I came to a crossroads between forest service and county roads where the signage wasn't particularly clear. I thought I was heading up a forest service road that would lead to a park, and from there I could drop back down onto the highway. The road was cut into the side of a steep hill (steep enough to be difficult to climb on foot), and the further I went, the narrower and more deeply rutted it got. When I realized things weren't going to get better, I had to continue another half mile before I found a place just wide enough to jimmy my car around so I could escape.

When I got home, I looked up my route on Google Earth. Turns out, I wasn't on a road. I was on an abandoned 4x4 track.

Sadly, that's not the last time I did that. Managed to impress some ATVers going up an old logging road because my co-worker gave me bad directions to his favorite hooning road...apparently they'd never seen a land yacht get that far up into the mountains before.