Driver coughs up $700 to discover ‘silly’ source of car’s bizarre ‘cracking’ sound
New York City woman Alex Nevarez spent $700 for mechanics to investigate a bizarre cracking sound coming from her car's dashboard, only to discover that it was caused by a fireplace soundtrack offered on the Sounds Of Nature app.
This debacle gave a whole new meaning to “firing up the engine.”
A New York City woman spent $700 on mechanics to track down a strange cracking sound in her car — only to feel hilariously “silly” when she found the culprit herself. Her story, shared in a TikTok video that has racked up over 300,000 views, left viewers in stitches.
“I thought there was something seriously wrong with my vehicle,” Alex Nevarez told Newsweek. The mysterious “cracking noise” first appeared after a five-hour drive, sparking concern.
Nevarez, who has owned the car for five years, said a previous mechanic had warned her about signs of rodents in the engine and feared it could be a “rat’s nest,” particularly since she often parks on the street in NYC. A quick online search also suggested low coolant levels could be to blame.
Already due for a 60,000-mile checkup, she asked mechanics to investigate the noise. They couldn’t hear a thing. “They reported that they did not hear a noise and that was that,” Nevarez said — until she got the car back and decided to check again herself.
The source of the mysterious crackling? Her car’s infotainment system. Sitting in the vehicle, she realized the sound was coming from a fireplace soundtrack playing through her speakers, courtesy of the Sounds of Nature app. The recording included the full snap, crackle, and pop of burning logs — a surprisingly convincing auditory illusion.
All of this came after a $700 bill for a checkup that found… nothing mechanically wrong.
TikTok commenters related immediately. One wrote, “This is so something that would happen to me,” while others shared similar tales of misidentified car noises.
“I took my car in because I thought my windows were rolled down… they were locked. Very embarrassing and a total waste of gas,” admitted one user.
Another recalled, “We had someone bring a car in because they kept hearing a noise in the door. We took the whole door apart, looked inside, put it back together… and they still heard the noise. Turns out, it was a coin rolling back and forth.”
It seems some car mysteries really are stranger — and simpler — than they first appear.
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