History Main / FakingEngineTrouble

* In the first ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie, Bumblebee (who is the car) fakes engines problems to try and bring Sam and Mikaela together.

** In the same book, the Manticoran Admiralty arranges for the dockyard giving HMS ''Warlock'' to declare that the ship's Warshawksi Sails are in need of an overhaul and therefore need to be taken apart and meticulously looked over as a way of keeping ''Warlock'' (and more importantly, her CO, who is senior to Honor) from returning to Basilisk.

'''Spock''': Mr. Scott, if we return to spacedock as ordered, the assassins will surely find a way to dispose of their incriminating footwear, and we will ''never'' see the Captain or Dr. [=McCoy=] alive '''again'''. \\

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'': PlayedWith in the episode "Phantasms"; Admiral Nakamura begins to suspect Picard is pulling this since he's supposed to be at the annual admirals banquet, and has been ducking it for years, but the ''Enterprise'' [[SubvertedTrope really is having trouble]] with a new warp core which still has a few bugs to work out, literally. Picard is in no hurry to have it fixed but as the delays mount up, Nakamura finally offers/threatens to have them towed in. Picard firmly states that they will [[DefiedTrope resolve the issue and arrive on schedule]]. [[spoiler: Ultimately they miss the banquet. And Picard's just fine with that.]]

* ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': In the aftermath of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon's assassination while traveling under escort by the ''Enterprise'', Starfleet Command orders the ''Enterprise'' to return to Spacedock, but the assassins and evidence of their crime are still somewhere on board. To keep the culprits from escaping or cleanly destroying evidence, the crew keep coming up with reasons not to return, at one point telling Starfleet Command that the ''Enterprise'''s [[FasterThanLightTravel warp drive]] is malfunctioning.
* In the first ''Film/{{Transformers}}'' movie, Bumblebee (who is the car) fakes engines problems to try and bring Sam and Mikaela together.
* ''Film/{{Thunderball}}''. After Film/JamesBond rescues Domino from drowning, he fakes engine trouble on his boat so he can ask her to take him to an appointment in her boat (and get to know her better).
* In ''Film/TheTrumanShow'', there is a scene where Truman tries to leave the town on a bus. However, the driver crunches the gear box to make the excuse that the bus is not working, so Truman cannot leave town.

* In ''Film/HeartAndSouls'', the trolley bus driver fakes engine trouble as a way of delaying looking for the missing souls, so they will have time to complete their unfinished business. It should be noted that the being he is attempting to fool with this ploy is God.

* ''Film/YoungLadyChatterleyII'', the Count pretends his car has broken down so that Lady Chatterley will give him a lift and he can begin his seduction of her.

* In ''Film/DriveACrookedRoad'', Barbara does this twice as part of her plan to ensnare Eddie into Steve's scheme. First, she visits his garage pretending to have a blocked carburettor so she can meet him and begin to insinuate herself into his life. The second time, she calls up claiming that her car will not start so he will have to come out to her apartment to fix it.
* ''Film/TheHighwaymen'': The plan to finally stop Bonnie and Clyde requires enlisting the help of the father of one of their associates to park his truck on the only route to his house where they're staying, and fake a flat tire so that the pair will stop to help, providing the perfect opportunity for Hamer and his men to apprehend them. They do fall for the trap, but [[MultipleGunshotDeath they're not willing to go quietly]].

* ''The Magazine/{{MAD}} Make Out Book'' details several ways to make the old 'out of gas' routine a more surefire way of scoring.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheMagicSchoolBus'': When Carlos needed some more time to perfect his music instrument, Ms Frizzle overheated the bus's engine to buy some. It's unclear if she actually overheated it or if she just said it was given the bus winked at her as she was checking it.

->'''Uhura''': Mr. Spock, Starfleet is screaming for us to return to port.\\
'''Scotty''': (barging in) Who fired tha--?!\\
'''Spock''': (interrupting) Ah, Mr. Scott, I understand you're having difficulty with the warp drive. How much time do you require for repair? \\
'''Scotty''': There's nothing wrong with the bloody thing...!\\
'''Spock''': (looming over Scotty) Mr. Scott, if we return to spacedock as ordered, the assassins will surely find a way to dispose of their incriminating footwear, and we will ''never'' see the Captain or Dr. [=McCoy=] alive '''again'''. \\
'''Scotty''': (cottoning on) ...Could take weeks, sir.\\

'''Scotty''': ...Could take weeks, sir.\\

* ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': In the aftermath of Klingon Chancellor Gorkon's assassination while traveling under the ''Enterprise'''s escort, Starfleet Command orders the ''Enterprise'' to return to Spacedock, but the assassins and evidence of their crime are still somewhere on board. To keep the culprits from escaping or cleanly destroying evidence, the crew keep coming up with reasons not to return, at one point telling Starfleet Command that the ''Enterprise'''s [[FasterThanLightTravel warp drive]] is malfunctioning.

* ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': Starfleet orders the ''Enterprise'' to return to Spacedock, but Chancellor Gorkon's assassins and evidence of their crime are still somewhere on board. To keep the culprits from escaping or cleanly destroying evidence, the crew keep coming up with reasons not to return, at one point telling Starfleet Command that the ''Enterprise'''s [[FasterThanLightTravel warp drive]] is malfunctioning.

!Examples

* In ''Film/TheCannonballRun'', Mad Dog and Batman tell a motorcycle cop that their brakes have failed so he wil clear a path for them and they don't have to slow down. A few seconds later, they discover their brakes actually have failed as they are speeding towards a railway crossing with a train on it.

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* Used in ''The White Riders'' by Monica Edwards: The villain, a CorruptCorporateExecutive, suspects the teenage heroes are sabotaging his project to build a holiday camp. So he takes them out in his car, which then breaks down, stranding them where they can't do any harm. Or rather, as the youngsters soon realise, the car had been modified so he could simulate a breakdown at will.

* The first scene of ''[[Literature/XWingSeries Wraith Squadron]]'' features a TIE Interceptor pulling a WoundedGazelleGambit via fake engine damage.
* ''Literature/HonorHarrington'': In ''on Basilisk Station'', before HMS ''Fearless'' arrived at Basilisk, the Havenite freighter ''Sirius'' arrived and parked in orbit, claiming it was waiting for replacement parts for its Warshawski Sails. [[spoiler:It's actually a Havenite Q-ship, a warship disguised as a freighter, and it's monitoring the situation as a prelude to a Havenite invasion of the Basilisk system.]]

* ''Series/SeaQuestDSV''. One episode had ''seaQuest'' getting caught in Macronesian waters, and Captain Hudson giving the excuse they were having engine trouble, and the Macs offer to "escort" them to port. Hudson accepts, and orders his helmsman to take an erratic course with variations in speed until he can find a way to make a break.
* ''Series/MagnumPI''. In "Home From the Sea", Rick takes one of his girlfriends out on a boat for the 4th of July. Later, he tells her one of the engines is out so they can't make it home through the reef in the dark and will have to wait until morning, and he intends to make the most of it...until he starts to get the feeling that Magnum's in trouble and starts up both engines without a problem. She just rolls her eyes at that.
* ''Series/OnceUponATime:'' After their father, a mechanic, refuses to care for them, Emma must drive Eva and Nicholas to Boston where they will enter the foster care system. As they leave Storybrooke, Emma fakes engine trouble as an excuse to call their father out for one final chance to change his mind.

* ''Series/{{Bewitched}}''. In "My Grandson, the Warlock," Maurice takes the Tates' baby, Jonathan, mistaken him for Samantha's newborn; when Darrin picks the Tates up at the airport from their vacation, Samantha and Endora have him stall for time while they try to locate Maurice, and among the many different stalls Darrin pulls is engine trouble.

* ''Series/DoctorWho'' has this happen in "The Daleks." The Doctor wants to explore the city on the planet they just landed on while his companions want to leave. He pretends a part is damaged in order to force a trip to the city.
* ''Series/TheGreatestAmericanHero'': In a number of episodes Bill would fake car trouble as a cover while Ralph goes into a situation inside the building.

* ''Series/{{Cannon}}'': In "Stone, Cold Dead", the killer does this: killing the engine on the boat and telling the girl he was giving a ride that 'the fuel pump died'. When the girl resists his romantic advances, she suffers DeathByFallingOver and becomes the VictimOfTheWeek.

-->''Daniel'': "Aw shit, no more gas."
-->''Hitchhiker'': "No more gas again, huh?"

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra''. After the Earth Queen dismisses Team Avatar, Asami says they can't leave just yet since the airship had a malfunction in one of its engines, and won't be flight worthy until the morning. This gives them the night to search for Kai, who had been forcibly recruited for the Earth Queen's army.

* ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': Starfleet orders the ''Enterprise'' to return to Spacedock, but since Chancellor Gorkon's assassins are on board. To keep the culprits from escaping or cleanly destroying evidence, the crew keep coming up with reasons not to return, at one point telling Starfleet Command the [[FasterThanLightTravel warp drive]] is malfunctioning.

* ''Film/StarTrekVITheUndiscoveredCountry'': Starfleet orders the ''Enterprise'' to return to Spacedock, but since Chancellor Gorkon's assassins are on board, to keep them from escaping or destroy evidence, the crew keep coming up with reasons not to return, at one point telling Starfleet Command the [[FasterThanLightTravel warp drive]] is malfunctioning.