Cars that are used for Uber and Lyft get a lot more use than cars just used for regular commuting, so they need servicing a lot more often. With the extra mileage comes faster wear on a lot of components. The problem is when the car owners don’t maintain their cars.

It may not be the most obvious in this picture, but there is a large crack in the windshield, right around the Uber sign. If I had called for an Uber and this car showed up, I would’ve said no, because it is not a safe car. Besides the cracked windshield, it had bald tires, exhaust that was rusting out, and I could tell that the driver doesn’t wear his seatbelt. This isn’t the first car used for Uber or Lyft that I’ve seen come and go in the shop without getting safety problems fixed. I looked at the Uber website, and it says that drivers are expected to keep their cars in good shape, but what I and some of my fellow mechanics would like to see is a way to report unsafe vehicles like this one. My goal isn’t to get people in trouble, it’s to keep people safe.

New blog posts every Monday and Thursday, plus pictures throughout the week on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Watch Mechanical Malarkey on YouTube!

Mechanical Malarkey T-shirts, hats, and stickers are available to order!

-Dan