Nearly every car has an odd problem that owners at some point need to deal with, even electric cars. Some stop the car from running, others create minor inconveniences. Either way, these weird car problems can get frustrating. Luckily each one has a solution, and most of these fixes aren’t expensive.

SN95 Mustang Problems

The Mustang from the mid-90s up until the mid-2000s has a lot of baggage, but two problems stand out. Early 2000s models had a unique problem, where after a while of sitting in the sun, the door window motor would seize. Owners figured out the motor got too hot, so they would park their car in the shade. Eventually, the motor would free up, and the window could operate again. The culprit is likely the window reset circuit breaker, located in the engine bay.

The second problem was with the SN95’s Modular V8, which it got in 1996 and kept until 2010. Early on in this motor’s life, owners would experience spark plugs popping out of the cylinder banks. The issue was that the spark plug threads weren’t tapped deep enough. Ford ended up selling Heli-Coil kits to help owners fix this bizarre problem.

Misaligned Tesla panels

It’s no secret that Teslas have fallen prey to a unique problem of their own. Owners report sizable gaps in the interior of the car, according to MotorTrend, some with the center console. Owners have lost vital paperwork to the area underneath the center console and must tear apart the interior to get them back. Thankfully there are do-it-yourself guides online for how to rectify this oversight with certain parts of the car. However, gaps between the panels of a Tesla aren’t news. Many owners have complained about this for years.

Another Mustang foible

Some cars have problems throughout their lifetimes, and the Mustang is such a car. As it turns out, any prospective buyer looking at a Mustang with an MT-82 manual transmission should proceed with caution. For a few years, they had problems with the shifter linkage, where the bolts holding it in place could back out without much fuss. Ford has approached these problems throughout the years, and slowly patched it to the point where it’s a solid shifter setup. By 2014 many problems with the linkage were ironed out. It’s still one of the best Mustangs to buy used.

Unruly W210 Mercedes-Benz Problems

Unfortunately, even Mercedes-Benz can’t escape the occasional pitfalls of mediocre design. Its W210 chassis, which is the E-Class from 1996-2003, suffers from a few odd and expensive problems. Specifically with the E55 AMG, every couple of years the engine will crank but not start. Replacing the fuel filter fixes the issue, and luckily this is an easy and cheap fix.

Another problem the AMG faces is warped front disc brakes. Some owners have had to replace their front disc brake rotors every six months or so, regardless of their driving style. The cause could come down to brake cooling, or as with the G-Class in later years, the lug nuts could be torqued too tight, and unevenly. The golden rule is 110 lb-ft of torque for the G-Class. Replacing warped rotors on an AMG is unfortunately an expensive proposition. 

While these problems aren’t detrimental to the car’s health (warped rotors aside), they are annoying and can potentially damage other parts of the car. Even with these problems, these cars are great in their own way, so it’s worth taking care of these little issues.