Car won't move (moving now, investigating cause)
 

Hi friends at FT86. This is my first ever post here but i'm utterly disappointed as it's about some problem with my car and not something fancy :(

Coming to the issue, it's office time and I started the car, warmed it asusual until it drops under 1k, put it in 1st and the car won't move. Put it in reverse, won't move. All i feel it does is, the real wheels making a scary clicking sound slightly trying to move(an inch maybe) and it just won't move. The car is all stock and has only 4k miles on. I am doubting it's a faulty handbrake? or rear brakes/rotors? or clutch?(no chance it won't get burned so easily under my driving style) or transmission?(I really hope not!!)

What could be wrong guys?? I'm sitting in the parking garage, waiting for roadside assistance. I will be towing it to dealer now.

little something about self:

RWD+stick driver all my life.

Dhanya!! (Thanks in Sanskrit)

Do the revs go up when you try to move or just sort of bog down?

No lights on the dash?

Have you tried pulling away in 2nd gear?

The revs go up, engine-tranny combo sounds like it should, normal.

Yes, I tried. I can put it in a gear and try too hard by slowly releasing the clutch- but i fear the scary clicks from rear wheels might break something.

No lights on dash.

If you're on a flat surface, put the car in neutral and get out and see if you can push it. Seems like the parking brakes are stuck on or something.

If your revs go up and you aren't bogging but still not moving then it could be a clutch issue, transmission or differential issue since power is just not getting to the wheels.

You can power through a stuck parking brake and the revs would not go up as you would start to bog.

My two cents is on a bad shifter linkage. It sounds like it's not actually engaging the gears.

Subbed. Interested to see what's wrong.

Yep, that is in the realm of possibility. The clicking could be the tranny just barely engaged.

I tried, it didn't move. i doubt the parking brakes too.

Correcting myself- I apologise. The rev's are bogging, the higher i rev it the harder it tries to turn the wheels and i can hear clicks from rear wheels. When i stop revving, the car gives a jerk. So power is reaching rear wheels.

Correct.

call a tow truck and bring it to the dealer.

All was ok when you parked it?

This may sound dumb but I don't know where you are: It isn't frozen down is it? This happened to me last week and I just had to rock it to get it loose. The ice did make a popping noise while I was trying to break free.

It just arrived, I was waiting for a couple hrs.

check axles/cv joints, or possible rear end.

Chicago, but it's garage parked anyway. No ice on it. Yesterday was a little warm here, so took it to a wash(automatic, touchless) n detailed it myself. Drove back home and parked it.

May be the automatic wash might have messed up with the rotors/brakes??

If it has sat since you washed it something may be frozen up yes.

Jack it up and see if you can turn the wheels

Wrecker is there so they may figure it out.

I suspected you are right and it was frozen to the ground.
Trying to jack it up would have revealed this when it "popped" loose.

Now he gets to pay a wrecker for nothing (my guess).

Scared me for about 20 seconds when it happened the other day. Put in reverse and wouldn't budge. I am not as timid though and rocked it a few times and it broke free.
Have actually had cars freeze to the ground so solid that I broke the tire bead trying to get them free.

It has happened to me too, but when it "broke loose" it took part of the pavement with it.
Thought I had a flat because I had to drive for a minute or two with a patch of asphalt going flop, flop, flop...

The car is moving now.

This is what happened: The wrecker tried to pull the car backwards- won't move. The tension in the chains pulling the car was like, it's going to break away and bang on the rear windshield. He raised the rear end a little and put it on the flat-bed and pulled, then i noticed that the left rear tire just screeches but doesn't turn. It screeched all the way till the front tires were almost on the flat bed, and i hear a strangely loud thud from the rear left wheel well(like a hammer on a rotor) and the wheel turned. I asked him to put it back on the ground, then I went for a spin. Now, I feel the brakes are super quick like never before without even depressing the brake pedal half way in and it makes screeching sounds from the wheel well driving around. It's a weird feeling i've experienced before in my friend's Dodge Neon, when the rear brake pads broke and got stuck in the drums. I will be driving it to dealer for inspection shortly.

Also, paid nothing to wrecker. It's all under warranty.

Me too, terribly disconcerting isn't it. Thankfully I didn't break the bead before it broke loose.

NYC has had a string of wintry weather recently and last week they started enforcing on side parking again and towing cars parked where they're not supposed to be. I watched a wrecker literally rip a Smart car rear axle right off. He hooked up to the front and both back tires were frozen up to the wheels. It didn't move easily so he went to rock it and the whole rear end separated from the car! The driver laughed and drove away dragging the thing down the street and left the whole rear end assembly and wheels sitting there. I was about to take a pic but a cop was standing there telling people to "move along" so I did. If it's still there when I go back to work on Wednesday I'll be sure to get a picture and post it.

You just know the Cali and Texas guys are thinking we are joking right now!

https://lizmillikin.files.wordpress..../windchill.png

Our tow truck drivers in Chicago are still doing cleanup from last week's massive snowfall; add to the fact you're in a pkg garage, makes for a challenging situation to get a driver out in the standard 60 min ETA average...so hopefully the few hour wait was okay :)

You might be joking, but I'm having a laugh riot over here:

http://i.imgur.com/WttPFra.png

I always get a chuckle when you guys post a pic and say "it rained today guess I have to wash it again"!

Keep us updated!

So, got into the car to drive to the dealer an hour after the wrecker left. Started it, put it in gear and bam - it won't move again(frustrated to the peaks at this point). This time I gathered some courage(from this thread) and rocked it even harder than before(I honestly didn't like doing that :(), the clicks became squeaks and tire started to spin. Backed it up and drove straight to dealer 20miles away. They inspected it, spinned it and came back with the expected response "No issues, you're good to go". They also tell me that I should've left it on the flat-bed, so they could replicate the issue but since I drove it to them, they cannot replicate it to find out the cause. I bought their BS(maybe true) and came back home. Ultimately convincing myself that it could be the "frozen to the ground" issue like you suggested. But trust me, it felt much more serious than that to me.

Next time ask them if you can leave it there cause it does it after sitting for a while.

Sounds like a potential brake issue from your earlier post (right after the flat bed let it back down). Possible that the 20 miles drive changed whatever was happening and the dealership really couldn't find anything.

Sounds like a potential brake issue from your earlier post (right after the flat bed let it back down). Possible that the 20 miles drive changed whatever was happening and the dealership really couldn't find anything.

FWIW, twice I've had the rear brakes frozen (hand-brake not used in the garage) after sitting for a while (weeks+) in the garage. Possibly the front, come to think of it. Both times, on the trip home prior to parking, the weather was kind enough to slather the car in snow and slush and who knows what ugly concoction as a result of the crews spewing countermeasures around the roads to deal with the weather.

It pops loose with a bang (the one time I almost went into the edge of the garage door! I pull in so I can't pull straight out so my wife has more room, since she drives regularly and I do not...) It emits a horrid screeching noise for a little bit. Clears up after a bit of a drive, and no troubles. The fact the car was pushing straight is why I wonder if I had the fronts freeze up too.

I'm in Chicago... alley access (or lack of access, what with the ice lump now parked in front of my spot... guess I'm not driving any time soon! Yes, the battery is on a tender...)

I should add, I also had a similar issue on my Neons when they were parked for a little while. Rear discs stuck to pads - I assume rust filled the gap between pads and disc to cause the issue - at least, that's how it looked. The first time I had an issue it was the e-brake, which is when I learned not to park with it! I had to do a full rebuild.