We all have days when we just don’t want to do anything. And by this we mean that we don’t want to wake up on time and don’t want to go to work. A lot of people turn to the internet to come up with excuses to miss work, and car problems are usually a good enough reason.
All this might sound good as an idea. But the repercussions of these actions are sometimes not worth the try, since if we miss work we could get fired. We do not condone this behavior, so don’t do it!
Luckily, whenever we go to work by car, there are many things that can go “wrong” and we could accidentally miss work, stay at home the whole day, and binge-watch shows on Netflix.
And this is why we are here to help you out and teach you some tricks on how you can miss work but with a very credible reason to back your claim!
Car Problems To Miss Work – Legit Reasons
Now let’s start and cover the most common car problems to miss work. As the article title says, we are going to give you the most credible excuses that are backed up by our long mechanical experience. So, at the end of the day, you will have excellent arguments to get out of work and get away with it.
1. I Had A Dead Battery Because Of Parasitic Loss
The first and most obvious reason to get out of work is probably a dead battery. And this can happen quite frequently. It happened to me a few times and it can be pretty annoying.
The car battery for those who don’t know is the battery that is located in the engine bay or the trunk of the car. And this battery allows the engine to start, without it, you’re not going anywhere.
So, the battery has to be in a good enough condition to supply enough power to turn around the engine in order for your car to be able to start. If the battery is low on power, the car will simply not start.
But here comes the twist, you should not only say that you have a dead battery, but a dead battery because of parasitic loss.
Parasitic loss is a situation when your battery gets drained because of an electrical short in the system or some of the accessories in the car are draining the power from the battery.
And this can happen in a lot of situations. So, it is quite a credible car problem to miss work. It’s also not something that you’ll fix in time to get to work.
2. Dead Alternator
The second most common excuse on our car problem to miss work is the dead alternator.
This is again an electrical problem that is fairly common. The alternator is the component that generates AC current and then also converts this power into DC and charges the battery.
This is a crucial component for the car engine to keep running. And this component can also fail sometimes and leave the battery without sufficient charge.
When there is no sufficient charge, understandably, there will be low power and the car will not start.
This is why this excuse is probably a much better idea compared to the empty battery since many people do not know what an alternator is and they will probably believe you.
3. My Starter Motor Or Solenoid Doesn’t Work
Another very credible excuse when it comes to the car ignition system is the problem with the starter motor and the starter solenoid.
These two components are located on top of one another and they work together. The starter motor is an electric motor that spins once you crank the car, while the solenoid is a simple coil that creates a high current so the engine has enough power to crank.
Whenever one of these two components does not work, there will be absolutely nothing, no crank at all. But the accessories inside the car will be working normally since the battery is full.
4. My Car Cranks And Doesn’t Want To Start
There is also a situation where the car cranks but simply doesn’t want to start. And behind this problem can be multiple reasons and excuses that you can make.
You can say that the spark plugs and ignition coils have failed. These components are the most important when it comes to igniting the engine.
Also, there are the camshaft and crankshaft position sensors. Whenever one of these sensors fails, there will be a situation when the car cranks and doesn’t want to start.
And also this can be caused by a bad fuel pump or a clogged fuel filter. All of these excuses cover the problem when the car cranks and doesn’t start. And you can get pretty creative with these excuses.
5. My Car Stalled While I Was Driving To Work
Another on our list of car problems to miss work are the situation when the car stalls while driving.
An engine stall can happen quite often, especially in older, unreliable cars (or newer, many of our engine reviews show that newer engines are even worse). There can also be many reasons behind this problem.
For example, if you own an older car with a carburetor, you can say that your car stalled because of a bad carburetor, and you tried to adjust it, but it didn’t work.
Another common cause for engine stall is that your serpentine belt has snapped, and the car simply stopped working. A very common problem that can often occur if you don’t look at the condition of the serpentine belt. This belt powers the alternator and helps the car create electric power.
A car can also stall because of a bad fuel pump, clogged fuel filter, dirty air filter, bad MAF sensor, a bad O2 sensor or as it is common on newer cars, even Adblue problems.
All these issues can cause an engine to stall all of a sudden. These are mostly fuel-related problems and sensor problems. The sensors simply cannot get a proper reading because they failed and the engine cannot adjust the air-to-fuel ratio. So, the engine simply stalls.
6. Coolant Leaks
Coolant leaks are another fairly common excuse for missing out on work. As you probably know, the car needs coolant in order for the engine to be properly cooled off.
So, this coolant can also leak from the car because of a bad radiator hose or a radiator hole. So, you can say something like “I was going to work and suddenly I noticed that my car was overheating. I checked what was happening, there was no coolant in the reservoir and there was a big coolant puddle under the car”.
This works pretty much all the time since coolant leaks are a pretty serious thing. They can leave you in the middle of nowhere with an overheated engine.
7. Transmission Problems
Another fairly common situation is if you drive a manual transmission car, you can say that your clutch has failed.
The clutch is the friction component that makes shifting possible. When the clutch is worn, it will start to slip and you will not be able to move the car. So, it is one clever excuse that you can make.
And if you have an automatic transmission car, you can say that your transmission overheated and stopped working properly. Or the transmission started slipping gears, and you decided that it is a much better idea to stop driving and go home than end up stranded.
Or the transmission shift solenoid simply failed, and the car refused to go into “Drive”, so you ended up stuck.
Fluid leaks are also common on automatic transmissions, and you can say that your transmission radiator started leaking fluid and stopped working, so you had to take it to a shop to get it fixed.
8. Steering Problems
When it comes to car problems to miss work, it is worth noting that there can also be steering issues.
For example, you can say that the steering was misaligned and the car was pulling to one side. So, you were scared to drive the car like that.
Also, you can note that there was a big humming sound coming from one of the wheel bearings. Or knocking sound coming from one of the axles.
These are all serious issues that if you tell them in the right way will sound pretty convincing.
9. Flat Tire & No Reserve
A flat tire is also a fairly common excuse when it comes to avoiding going to work. Although it is one of the most common excuses, your boss might find this quite suspicious.
But if you create a good story like, for example, when suddenly a huge beaver popped out from nowhere and you steered outside the road and you blew the tire. This might be a more credible story.
All in all, when it comes to creating excuses you need to be creative and also, you need to be a very good storyteller in order to be more convincing in your story.
Conclusion
Overall, there are plenty of excuses and car problems to miss work that you can make. It really depends on how good you are with words, make sure you sound “educated” and know what you’re talking about. Or better yet, don’t do this at all, just go to work.
There are some people who really know how to make an excuse and also be very convincing when they do so. This means that you should know the border between what is believable and what is science fiction. And also, to tell this story with confidence before your boss and he will definitely believe you.
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