malfunction

Shake Shack denied charging “no tip” fees after a viral TikTok appeared to show menu prices jumping when a customer declined a gratuity, blaming the error on a kiosk malfunction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

“A fireworks malfunction did occur during last night’s post-match celebration at Angel City FC’s game vs. Orlando at BMO Stadium,” the team said in a statement to The Times.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

When Facebook went public, some investors who tried to change or cancel orders ahead of trading didn’t get confirmations because of a technology malfunction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

It did not say why the fuel switches were turned off -- whether it was the fault of a pilot, or a result of a malfunction.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

So there they are, three classic preconditions of a plane crash, the same three that set the stage for Avianca 052: a minor technical malfunction; bad weather; and a tired pilot.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Those recorded cues act as a fail-safe against technical malfunctions during the broadcast, though the orchestra aims to play everything live.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026

Apple’s successes are famous, but Mr. Pogue doesn’t steer away from discussing the dead-end products and corporate malfunctions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 6, 2026

Satellites passing through this region are exposed to elevated levels of radiation, increasing the risk of technical malfunctions, hardware damage, and even temporary outages.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 25, 2026

Orbital changes of satellites also increase the risk of collision and space weather can also play havoc with sensitive electronics on board, causing malfunctions.

From BBC ● Dec. 6, 2025

Plane crashes are much more likely to be the result of an accumulation of minor difficulties and seemingly trivial malfunctions.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

A "Walter Mitty character" who falsely claimed his luxury electric Jaguar had malfunctioned on the motorway and could not brake, forcing police to bring it to an emergency stop, has been jailed.

From BBC ● Aug. 3, 2026

Its woes hit a nadir last week when a radio communications system malfunctioned, crippling nationwide for several hours and leaving thousands of passengers stranded in trains.

From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026

But as the commander of Apollo 13 famously said when his spacecraft malfunctioned on the way to the Moon: "Houston, we've had a problem..."

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2026

One morning last April, Arenas was driving home from the gym when his Tesla Cybertruck malfunctioned, crashed into a tree and burst into flames, briefly trapping him inside.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 11, 2026

I feel this brief panic as I think, What would happen if one of those elements malfunctioned or just stopped working altogether?

From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven

The director, recently freed from a malfunctioning elevator in a pithily Andersonian incident, made a brief appearance onstage with Murray in his regal white suit.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026

I have a similar complaint, but this relates to a toilet that is malfunctioning.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 10, 2026

A "closed-loop" water cooling system, which works a bit like a car radiator and does not require regular refills, prevents them from malfunctioning.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

Although there have been some stories about cars malfunctioning and leaving passengers trapped inside.

From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026

That night, Cypriot military personnel reported a mysterious malfunctioning of their radar screens.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides