Car Quirks = Personality?

[amonkie]

Ever car is different, we all know that. But what is something about your car that is unique, and not neccessarily a sign it's about to fall apart the next mile?

For my Olds I've had forever until recently, the car would rattle after I hit so many RPMS. Turned dash inside out numerous times to try and find the culprit. Car ran fine, so never had any problems in the engine to troubleshoot. Turns out there were a couple loose screws that had worn down the threading in the holes for the rubber lining for the doors. Never got around to replacing them as they still did their job. It was hilarious to see the looks on people's faces though when they got in my car for the first time and then heard the rattling

[MSD]

I have the smell of the Colombian chicken casserole that I still can't quite shampoo out of the rug in the back.

[yakimushi]

Hmmm...

Loose portions of soft top... each makes a different noise at different speeds.

My car has been rained in many times so its always got a bit of "wet carpet funk" funkiness.

Can't open the hood unless I wedge something in the joint pushing the hood against the latch.

Steering wheel is off center, if you held the wheel at dead center you'd veer off to the right.

If you click the left blinker down all the way it doesn't work, but you can hold it in half and it works. But if you click the right blinker to full it stays and works, but if you try to just hold it at half, it doesn't work.

My car has TOO much character.

[JStrider]

whenever i hit around 2500 rpms theres a range in there that makes something in the back roof area of my explorer rattle/squeek... ive tried jamming paper in various cracks and havnt been able to find anything that silences it...

and the passenger door handle is a "trick" handle... if ya lift it the normal height it just moves up... you have to lift it all the way to the max to get it to open the door... i once tried to take off the door cover to see if i could figure out the problem... but i gave up... couldnt get the inside cover off...

[westothemax]

Well when I had a car, in order to get into the driverside back door you had to pull the handle push the door in and then pull the door out.

Three days after I got the car, I found out that the engine leaked oil and the oil lamp was not working. Ugh.

[wakelagger]

My grandpa was talking about how his friend had a 40's Ford that whenever he turned the steering wheel right a 1/2 turn, the horn honked.
Go figure.

[irseg]

Originally posted by yakimushi
If you click the left blinker down all the way it doesn't work, but you can hold it in half and it works. But if you click the right blinker to full it stays and works, but if you try to just hold it at half, it doesn't work.

Is it a Ford product by any chance? My Lincoln intermittently does the same exact thing, only switch around right & left.

[kalashnikov]

My mom's Subaru that I drive when I am back home has a very bizarre ac temp switch/lever. You can slide it horizontally, left is cold, right is hot. There is also a fan control dial, 0 through 4. When the fan is set at 2 or higher, you can set the temperature lever at any place, say the far right (on a cold winter day). But once you turn the fan off, or at least below 2, the lever will slide to the middle. It is very creepy.

[Confederate]

Originally posted by wakelagger
My grandpa was talking about how his friend had a 40's Ford that whenever he turned the steering wheel right a 1/2 turn, the horn honked.
Go figure.

My old jeep Cherokee did the same thing. found out that the horn plate (where you pressed to honk it) was loose, but it was annoying driving around a high school parking lot honking at everyone.

[Redlemon]

My buddy had a speedometer that would spin, rather than point to the speed. The faster you go, the faster the rotation. Not very useful, since at 20 MPH it became a blur.

[yakimushi]

Originally posted by irseg
Is it a Ford product by any chance? My Lincoln intermittently does the same exact thing, only switch around right & left.

Nope, its a Geo (Geo = Chevy).

[Scorps]

Well in my van at high speeds like 80+ the Low vents whistle like crazy...so I just turn the radio, but just try and talk to the person next to you. Then at low RPM when in first gear(auto trans) it makes a weird but cool sound(might just be the shift kit).

but the sliding door hinge I guess it is(bar at the top that holds the door up) rattles sometimes. When on a dirt road the whole dash rattles like crazy. Then well the driver door leaks a little(still raining can't fix it), My rear leaf spring rubber mounts will not stop squeaking no matter how much lube you put on them, and last when I got my subs pounding my sun roof plastic molding rattles

Not bad for 21 years old

[phathom]

My 92 passat used to have a problem with the horn where when driving straight, or turning, or not even touching it would randomly honk. finally got it fixed, but got flipped off, cut off, honked at, and almost ran off the road from people with road rage so many times that week that I HAD to get it fixed. It also had a problem with the climate control that I never got fixed. It wouldnt turn on the fan unless you wedged the dial between 3 and 4 and then it would turn on to level 3 and if you moved it a little bit more, but not so much that it would slip all the way to 4, it would blow #4 power. Finally looked at it, and saw it was sparking and shorting out whenever that happened, cuz the connector was worn or something. Car got totaled so don't have it anymore. Now got a 85 accord and to lock or unlock the drivers door you have to pull on the handle (inside and out) and to unlock the rear passenger door you have to hold something to keep the door lock plunger from hitting the top so it will unlock. also my passenger window won't roll down all the way. so far every car has character, but not as much as a hyundai i bought that had no problems to start, then would only go in reverse after about a week. now that is TOO much character

[ibis]

My tuck has lots of "personality".

First off, my locks are pretty messed up. I had 3 friends in highschool whos keys would open my doors.

Not a big deal... but they all knew that my ignition switch was messed up. You don't even need a key, just turn the little "tabs" where the key goes in.

Needless to say, my truck had a habit of switching parking lots.

The odd thing was is my keys never worked on their cars...

... I could go on and on...

[Scorps]

Originally posted by ibis
My tuck has lots of "personality".

First off, my locks are pretty messed up. I had 3 friends in highschool whos keys would open my doors.

Not a big deal... but they all knew that my ignition switch was messed up. You don't even need a key, just turn the little "tabs" where the key goes in.

Needless to say, my truck had a habit of switching parking lots.

The odd thing was is my keys never worked on their cars...

... I could go on and on...

My van has somewhat the same problem as your truck did with the ignition switch but I need the key to turn the switch but after it is int he on postion the key slids right out no problem

[ibis]

That's actually kinda cool. If you have to run in somewhere real quick you can lock the doors and take the keys with you while the car's still on.

[Scorps]

Originally posted by ibis
That's actually kinda cool. If you have to run in somewhere real quick you can lock the doors and take the keys with you while the car's still on.

ya worls the best in the winter...go out side start it(make sure it stays running) then come back inside to stay warm

[jaco]

my car is an 88', whenever i turn on my lights my tach. and volt. either jump to max or drop to nothing.

[Scorps]

Originally posted by jaco
my car is an 88', whenever i turn on my lights my tach. and volt. either jump to max or drop to nothing.

LOL just a small power problem there.

[wakelagger]

I just remembered another quirk.
My friend owns a late 90's jetta with the standard german electrical problems.
One day, he was driving along the highway in the rain, when his car alarm went off as if the security system detected an intruder. The lights go apeshit and his horn blasts away. It was so noticeable and loud, that he said cars were pulling over to the side of the road thinking he was an ambulance or a police car in a hurry. Eventually he pulls over, to find that the car's security system locked itself to prevent the non-existent break-in. So, he was locked in his berserk jetta on the side of the road in a rainstorm.
It made me laugh for a long time.

[Scorps]

Originally posted by wakelagger
I just remembered another quirk.
My friend owns a late 90's jetta with the standard german electrical problems.
One day, he was driving along the highway in the rain, when his car alarm went off as if the security system detected an intruder. The lights go apeshit and his horn blasts away. It was so noticeable and loud, that he said cars were pulling over to the side of the road thinking he was an ambulance or a police car in a hurry. Eventually he pulls over, to find that the car's security system locked itself to prevent the non-existent break-in. So, he was locked in his berserk jetta on the side of the road in a rainstorm.
It made me laugh for a long time.

LOL I saw a guy driving down the street and his alarm was going off.....that made me laugh!

[JStrider]

Originally posted by Pain Train
LOL I saw a guy driving down the street and his alarm was going off.....that made me laugh!

what if it wasn't his alarm... or his car...

[Scorps]

Originally posted by JStrider
what if it wasn't his alarm... or his car...

Still funny!

[irseg]

My Mark VIII has a factory alarm. I was driving in extremely rainy, humid weather once. Water collected in the blower casing faster than it could drain out, causing it to overflow onto the alarm module located just below, short it out, and set it off while I was driving down the road.

I was able to disable it in about 3 minutes by pressing in 2 tabs to drop the glove box down, feeling around for which box was clicking (from the relays that flash the lights and honk the horn), and pulling out 2 connectors. This didn't keep the car from starting, didn't disable the keyless entry, or anything else besides deactivating the alarm. Not exactly the most secure car alarm I've ever seen!

[Cadwiz]

I had a '71 Buick that had a trick trunk. You had to turn the key all the way to the right, turn it back to the left half-way, then all the way back to the right. Also, all the lights would go out when I drove over 65 mph. As soon as I slowed down, they would come back on. Never did figure that one out.

[Scorps]

Originally posted by Cadwiz
I had a '71 Buick that had a trick trunk. You had to turn the key all the way to the right, turn it back to the left half-way, then all the way back to the right. Also, all the lights would go out when I drove over 65 mph. As soon as I slowed down, they would come back on. Never did figure that one out.

That light thing is wierd, never heard of a car doing that ever before.

[etla]

My Powerwagon's locks are strange. The driver's side can only be locked with a key though you can unlock it from the inside. Which is actaully a good thing for a truck that has been known to take me hundreds of kilometres for the nearest phone. The passenger side can't be locked with a key, you have to lock it from inside.

[irseg]

Originally posted by etla
My Powerwagon's locks are strange. The driver's side can only be locked with a key though you can unlock it from the inside. Which is actaully a good thing for a truck that has been known to take me hundreds of kilometres for the nearest phone. The passenger side can't be locked with a key, you have to lock it from inside.

My dad had an old Dodge truck of some sort. I remember you had to either lock it with a key from the outside, or lock it from the inside but then pull on the door handle while closing the door. If you didn't pull the handle, it would unlock itself as the door shut. I think it was supposed to help keep you from locking your keys inside (if you remembered to pull the handle you remembered to grab your keys, I suppose ). But it was mainly just an annoyance. Maybe your truck's locks are set up the same way?

[Cadwiz]

I think it may have been some sort of short in the harness. The "electrics" on that car were very primative.

[Glava]

I think car "quirks" are flaws created by faulty design an/or age, and as such, don't constitute a "personality". If I ever get a car, I would prefer that it be personality-less, and instead work properly.

[Cedar]

When I put my car in reverse, I have to count to three before I take my foot off the brake, otherwise I get a horrible thunking noise and the car feels like it's been rear ended. It's been doing this for years, and I don't know why.