A dad was left shaking his head at his daughter’s car decor choices after spending five hours trying to fix her car that wouldn’t start.
When Ozzy (@19ozzy83) finally did get to the root of the problem, he couldn’t help but curse and share the strange issue with other TikTokers in a post that’s garnered over 2.9 million views as of Friday.
His clip prompted other users to share similar “you’ve got to be kidding me” car repair stories in the comments section.
@19ozzy83 #fml #carsoftiktok #mechanic #pontiac #sundayfunday ♬ original sound – Ozzy1983
The clip begins with the handy Dad in question recording from the interior of his daughter’s car. It’s a Pontiac that sports a pink Hello Kitty steering wheel cover with what looks like either a matching air freshener or decal tucked away into a cubby right in front of the vehicle’s shifter.
He describes how he had a heck of a time trying to figure out what was wrong with his daughter’s vehicle, stating he had to get her vehicle towed to the house because it wouldn’t start. He says he decided to look at it on his day off.
“I just tested the starter, jumped it with a screwdriver and it starts and then dies,” he says. “So, after about four or five hours of troubleshooting and tracking down wires, it starts.” He then demonstrates by putting the key into the ignition and turning it over.
He then shows off exactly what the problem with the vehicle was, which, surprised him, to say the least.
“So you want to see what the problem was?” he says and places a little glittery ring around the ignition and then tries to start it. It doesn’t.
After he removes the little decorative piece from around the ignition the car starts.
“Are you f*cking kidding me?” he asks. “F*ck my life.”
One viewer shared their own “easy fix, dumb mistake” story involving a wrapper for a tasty treat.
“When I was 16, AC making the loudest noise , dad was not to happy when he tore the whole dash apart just to find a popTart wrapper stuck in the fan,” they wrote.
Someone else sarcastically commented on the tacky trend of bedazzling vehicles, writing, “What good is a running car if it’s not bedazzled?”
Another TikToker had to help their daughter out with car trouble, only to discover that it was the simplest of solutions.
“Drove 20 miles yesterday to look at my daughters car because it wouldn’t start…she didn’t have it in Park,” he wrote.
“My daughter called me while she was driving down the road said her blinkers wouldn’t turn off. I said those are hazards,” another social media user shared.
The biggest question on folks’ minds, however, was just how in the world did that little ring stop the Pontiac from starting in the first place. There were a lot of theories, with one person alleging the ring prevented the key from going into the ignition fully. However, Ozzy rejected this claim, stating that the key was able to turn over all the way.
Others mentioned that the ring around the ignition must’ve blocked the signal inside of the key’s security chip, which would presumably stop certain copied car keys from being able to start a vehicle.
The Daily Dot has reached out to General Motors via email and Ozzy via TikTok comment.