Car maintenance can be less straightforward for those who are not experienced in taking care of their vehicles. Because it can be both time-consuming and expensive, some drivers may look for shortcuts when it comes to regular maintenance, like oil changes.
One driver on TikTok is advising against looking for such shortcuts, as a shortcut that was suggested to her actually resulted in her car going up in flames.
In a trending video on the platform, Alexis (@alexisproddy) says her grandfather told her that she could top off her car’s engine oil every once in a while, as opposed to getting a complete oil change.
Get your f*cking oil changed,” she says in the video, while showing a photo of car burnt to a crisp on the highway. “That is my car. I was a hazard on Google Maps that day. That was my 2008 Nissan Sentra. I called it the AlexisMobile, and I loved her with my whole heart, but I don’t know sh*t about cars.”
Alexis then explains how she followed her grandfather’s advice. “My grandpa drives trucks for a living and he told me that if I couldn’t get an oil change, I could just top it off,” she says. “So what did I do? I topped it off. I opened the little oil thing, I put a funnel inside, and I poured some oil in that b*tch.”
Eventually, the car exploded while she was driving on a freeway. She advises against foregoing regular oil changes because of this experience.
“It worked for a while, until it didn’t,” she says. “One day, my car spontaneously combusted on the freeway, and it exploded. Not like a cute little explosion, like a f*cking 21 Jump Street-style explosion—tires popping, glass blowing everywhere. It was a windy day. That car went up in flames in less than three minutes, and it was one of the most traumatizing things I’ve ever had to witness.”
She ends the clip by reiterating her urge to other drivers: “Please get your oil changed. Do not be like me. I’m a bimbo and I don’t know how to drive. Also, I had one sticker on the entire car, on the trunk, and it said, ‘Warning: Corrosive.’ Like, I knew that b*tch was toxic.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Alexis via Instagram direct message regarding the video.
Choosing not to change the oil in a car engine may cause the mechanisms inside to corrode, or grind against each other, increasing the possibility of an engine fire, according to MEL Magazine.
Some viewers were stunned that Alexis chose not to get oil changes regularly, as they are a basic aspect of car maintenance and relatively accessible.
“You can literally get an oil change at a drive through?” one commenter wrote.
“The fact that this many people don’t know about oil changes makes me question any hope I had for society,” another said.
“I just don’t understand how this happens to adults, they literally give a manual that tells when to do everything for your car, you can also download it,” a third added.
@alexisproddy i drive a bmw now. you don’t have to say it. I KNOW AND I’LL HANDLE IT #greenscreen #lasvegas #fyp #foryoupage #pov #whatilearned #highschool #adulting #fail #explode #carexplosion ♬ original sound – alexis!
Others took the video as a sign that they should get their oil changed.
“I’m due for my oil to change, this tiktok was a clear sign,” one commented.
“Oil change tmrw 8:00A.M. Sharp,” another said.
“This reminded me I need an oil change soon,” a further user shared.
