# Metal Rod underneath - Toyota Corolla 2015

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** corolla, toyota\
**Created:** [January 6, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335 "2023-01-06T02:27:12Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 13\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sadguru.vizio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@sadguru.vizio](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sadguru.vizio)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 2:27am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/1 "2023-01-06T02:27:12Z")

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Today while driving suddenly i heard a metal scratching sound on the road, i stopped the car and looked then I found that there was 2 feet metal rod dangling. Now what I am not sure is, if this rod belongs to the car or roadside debris got stuck into my car bottom. That rod came out when i just moved a bit … i cant see anything to fix it as well. Any help/pointers will appreciate.

 ![WhatsApp Image 2023-01-05 at 21.29.07](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/6/7/67a2c9ade404b167417084dc1efde74ac337bbca.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![NYBo](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nybo/32/17281_2.png) [@NYBo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/NYBo)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 2:46am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/2 "2023-01-06T02:46:39Z")

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That does not look like a car part.

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**Author:** ![sadguru.vizio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@sadguru.vizio](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sadguru.vizio)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 2:48am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/3 "2023-01-06T02:48:52Z")

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![WhatsApp Image 2023-01-05 at 20.38.37](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/6/f/6fa4b557d21f671bed9d95b1bb79c4736031995a.jpeg)  
it got stuck in the middle of my car … this picture is side view picture … when i moved with hand it came out.

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**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/4 "2023-01-06T03:03:51Z")

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Looks more like a lawn mower part than a car part. What happens a lot is you hit stuff with the front wheel, particularly on the side of the shoulder, then the front tire throws it to the rear or the rear tire. Nice that both ends were looped anyway.

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**Author:** ![Renegade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Renegade](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Renegade)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 4:11am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/5 "2023-01-06T04:11:08Z")

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Agree with others that said it does not look like a car part.

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**Author:** ![George\_San\_Jose1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e5b9ba/32.png) [@George\_San\_Jose1](https://community.cartalk.com/u/George_San_Jose1)\
**Post date:** [January 6, 2023, 11:21pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/6 "2023-01-06T23:21:52Z")

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Has anyone complained about getting static shocks getting into and out of the car? If so, that might have been an attempt at a solution. The idea is, car develops a charge as tires roll along the ground, losing or gaining electrons along the way… The extra charge gets put back into the ground by that rod so you don’t get shocked when you get out. The rod (wire) is initially configured so one end slightly rubs on the road surface; but this method usually doesn’t work at solving the shock issue so I’m guessing somebody just bent the rod up so it wasn’t in the way.

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**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 12:24am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/7 "2023-01-07T00:24:21Z")

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Gas trucks used a chain dragging or looked like leather strap. If it was a used car maybe a cat theft deter ant by an idiot.

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**Author:** ![texases](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/texases/32/862_2.png) [@texases](https://community.cartalk.com/u/texases)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 2:10am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/8 "2023-01-07T02:10:28Z")

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Another interesting idea, George, but I really doubt this was a static dragging rod bent out of the way.

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**Author:** ![Nevada\_545](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/nevada_545/32/41232_2.png) [@Nevada\_545](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Nevada_545)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 3:19am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/9 "2023-01-07T03:19:59Z")

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> [@bing](#):
>
> Gas trucks used a chain dragging or looked like leather strap.

I have seen trailer safety chains dragging on the road, an interesting sight at night.  
A fuel truck dragging a chain on the pavement sounds like a fantastic idea.

![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/original/3X/c/0/c0e330a14f3f45f3efd932346a310f6bd7595a51.jpeg)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 4:21am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/10 "2023-01-07T04:21:25Z")

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Maybe brass but you can get the straps fo $10 on Amazon. I think trucks use a grounding wire now.

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**Author:** ![oldtimer-11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e79b87/32.png) [@oldtimer-11](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldtimer-11)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 8:36am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/11 "2023-01-07T08:36:54Z")

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Grounding to what? the only ground that counts for static electricity is to earth.

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**Author:** ![bing](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/bing/32/4619_2.png) [@bing](https://community.cartalk.com/u/bing)\
**Post date:** [January 7, 2023, 10:45pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/12 "2023-01-07T22:45:58Z")

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Interesting if you get beyone the automatic chain paragraphs. Gee I guess I really did see chains and straps dragging from trucks when I was a kid.

> **[Why Do Some Trucks Have Chains Dragging Along the Road?](https://www.motorbiscuit.com/why-do-some-trucks-have-chains-dragging-along-the-road/)**
>
> Certain large trucks drag chains down the road. It may sound absurd, but there's actually some forethought to this choice.

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**Author:** ![TwinTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8baadc/32.png) [@TwinTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/TwinTurbo)\
**Post date:** [January 8, 2023, 1:31pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/metal-rod-underneath-toyota-corolla-2015/188335/13 "2023-01-08T13:31:02Z")

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Yeah, they were common when I was a kid too. There was a lot of concern about fuel trucks and static buildup going down the road but that has since been disproven as a risk.

However, they must use a bonding wire to ground when transferring flammable liquids to/from the truck. Static can build up from driving down the road as well as when the fluid is passing through the hose. There are special materials to minimize the triboelectric effect but they are far too expensive to use in fuel trucks when a simple grounding wire will work and has some visual feedback from the circuitry monitoring it.

I still see Electric Company trucks with lifts that have grounding straps hanging down. The carbon black in the tires is not sufficient to ensure the truck frame will be safe if the bucket comes near or touches a line.
