Not my finest moment...

[ellenmillion]

I'm a fairly mechanically savvy person. I replaced the alternator in my last Subaru, by myself, at twenty below. I have a degree in mechanical engineering. So not, you know, the average helpless driver.

Last week, I took my car in for A Noise. A crunchy, mechanical, grinding sort of Noise. I was expecting bad news regarding something in the suspension, but it ended up being a very basic fix of swaybar links, which was swiftly done.

This week, however, I noticed More Noises. It was especially bad when I went over bumps.

Hating to be That Customer, I took it back to the shop. "It's making The Noises again," I told them.

I sat down and wrote a few hundred words while they checked it out.

Diagnoses?

MY LICENSE PLATE WAS LOOSE.

...

They tightened down the bolts for me and sent me on my way with no charge but to my ego.

Comments

[minoanmiss]

Hey, it's not really a common thing one would think of. *tries to balm your bruised ego*

[sillylilly_bird]

I'm familiar with such things as I do them fairly regularly.

[kelkyag]

I have to imagine that it's tricky to diagnose noises that only happen when the car is moving when there's only you to be both driving and poking around to see what the problem is.

[sylphon]

Had something like that a month ago, a weird noise that was getting worse, sounded kind of like when a muffler drags or something. I finally was able to pull over in a rest area (and ye gods turning in there the noise got SOOOOOO loud). My partner and I started trying to figure it out, he finally noticed there was this metal rod sticking right through the mudflap that came with the car. If the flap hadn't been there, my tire would have ben pierced. this thing was lodge in tight! We got it out and disposed of it and could blissfully return to our cars and finish the trip home. But geeze that noise!