Grok: Personal

Narrow down sudden vertigo to likely BPPV before an ENT visit with Grok

After a workout, a swim and a massage, founder Violetta Bonenkamp had extreme vertigo and nausea, and the paramedics who came noted high blood pressure. At home, Bonenkamp gave Grok the symptoms, blood pressure readings and Apple Watch stats. Grok put benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) at the top, explained how a vertigo attack can raise blood pressure, and suggested the Dix-Hallpike test and a follow-up with an ENT specialist. The home test wasn't clear-cut and Grok sounded less sure, but the ENT confirmed BPPV and treated it, and it took two different maneuvers to get the vertigo under control.

Trace a check-engine code and a tank that won't fill to a stuck valve with Grok, and fix it for $120

Christopher Wipper's mechanic wanted $169 just to troubleshoot a check engine light. AutoZone's free OBD2 scanner gave code P0458 (purge control valve circuit low), and the car wouldn't take fuel: it backed up in the fill tube. With no YouTube videos for the problem, Wipper used Grok to troubleshoot step by step: the air drain case on top of the fill port was clear, but the canister close valve's solenoid was stuck closed. Wipper had the replacement part in hand in 20 minutes and fixed it for $120 in less than an hour.

Get final paychecks released within 30 minutes with an email citing state labor law, written with Grok

After two weeks of trying to get final paychecks from a former employer, Rolo had Grok help write an email citing Illinois labor laws and the consequences for the company. Several people at the company replied within 30 minutes to say the checks would be ready for pickup. Grok was explicit that it isn't an attorney.

Get a stalled Affirm refund moving after 2.5 months of calls with an email drafted with Grok

Rolo had been chasing a refund from Affirm for 2.5 months, with at least 5 calls averaging 20 minutes each and no result. Grok helped draft an email that cited the relevant agencies, and within an hour Affirm emailed to say the refund check was on its way.

Find a severed transmission cooler line from a roadside call with Grok, then work out a hose fix that held

Shan Newton was hauling a heavy load up a mountain when a huge cloud of white smoke appeared behind the truck and fluid leaked down the road. Knowing nothing about fixing cars, Newton described what they saw to Grok 4 by voice; it said the white smoke pointed to the transmission and where to look, and the transmission oil cooler line had completely severed. After a passer-by towed the truck 18 miles into town, the new hose wouldn't fit inside the factory-crimped metal pipe. Grok suggested a hose with a bigger inner diameter to fit over the pipe, estimated the pressure at 10–20 PSI and said metal hose clamps would be enough. The workaround worked, and Newton says the truck runs better than before.

Trace a warm fridge to a failed freezer fan and order a C$32 part with Grok

When the bottom section of their fridge warmed to about 11–14°C, the poster worked through a process of elimination with Grok, which pointed to the freezer fan and found the cheapest well-reviewed replacement (C$32.18 with taxes). The fan arrived the next day; the poster says it was indeed the problem and the fridge is working perfectly now.

Find a second YouTube Premium you've paid for unused for a year and a half with Grok

While getting Grok's help to tidy up too many old Google and YouTube accounts, X user Tesla Patriot found they had been paying for a second YouTube Premium account they weren't using for a year and a half. They stopped the $22-a-month charge, and Grok pointed them to calling Apple as the way to ask for a refund.

Fill in a GP online consultation form clearly and get seen in five minutes with Grok

When home care didn't clear up their symptoms, X user David Lermarl had Grok help write the online request form for their GP practice. They say the appointment took less than five minutes, they came away with the medicine they needed, and the doctor thought the approach was great, while noting it may not work every time.

Get a laptop that won't boot after a dead battery working again step by step with Grok

After their teenager let a Dell laptop's battery die, it stopped booting. The owner, who says they know nothing about IT, sent Grok a screenshot of each screen and asked what to do next. They worked through BIOS changes, Dell's recovery tools and repair commands, and finally booted from a Windows 11 installation USB, entered the BitLocker recovery key and got into recovery. The laptop now boots normally with all files intact. At the end, Grok wrote a summary of what was wrong, what was tried and what worked, which they posted.

Size a portable solar battery for an outdoor kitchen and pizza night with Grok

An X user asked Grok to help work out their power needs for an outdoor kitchen running off a Jackery Explorer 2000 solar battery. On the night they ran lights and hosted a pizza party with a wood-fired pizza oven, cooking six pizzas, and posted screenshots of the charge left with several lights and an Alexa still running. Their verdict: 'Grok told me right!'

Find a water heater's failing check valve after other checks with Grok

After flushing the water heater, cleaning filters and checking error codes and sensors, the poster wasn't sure what to check next and asked Grok, which said that model has a check valve that often fails. Pulling it out solved the problem; the poster says it was an $8 part and saved $800 in repairs.

Find the one 24-hour pharmacy on the way home from an emergency vet with Grok

Leaving an emergency vet late at night with their dog, the poster couldn't find a 24-hour pharmacy through regular searches. They told Grok where they were and where they needed to go, and it found the one 24-hour pharmacy reasonably within their journey.

Get 30% off an annual Paramount+ subscription by cancelling through chat on Grok's advice

Grok told the poster not to cancel Paramount+ through the website but to use the call or chat option, where they might be offered 30–50% off to stay. The poster did, and says it worked: they got 30% off their annual subscription.

Get a $60 wrong-zone parking ticket swapped for a paid session with a Grok-drafted second appeal

The poster accidentally paid for the wrong parking zone in the ParkMobile app and got a ticket, and the city rejected their first appeal. Grok drafted an email for a second attempt, and the city let them book a new parking session in place of the $60 ticket.

Explain a 4th-grade area-model multiplication problem so a parent can help, with Grok

A teacher and dad shared a prompt for parents stuck on new homework methods: ask Grok to break down 3426 × 5 using area models and partial products, with activities. The post lists the activities Grok suggested, including a sticky-note breakdown, a quick area-model sketch with colour-coding, and a 'Break It Down Race' to practise splitting numbers by place value.

Understand a Texas Credit by Exam and get an eight-week study plan for a sixth grader with Grok

When their sixth grader's teacher signed them up for a Credit by Exam that would let them skip 7th and 8th grade math, the poster, who had never heard of it, asked Grok. It explained the process and acceptance statistics for Texas, made a week-by-week study schedule for the next eight weeks, and listed YouTube tutorials and books geared to the test.

Smoke a spatchcocked Thanksgiving turkey with a two-step temperature guide from Grok

The poster spatchcocked the turkey, dry-brined it with salt and pepper two days ahead, buttered it, then smoked it following a two-step temperature guide from Grok. They say it was their most delicious Thanksgiving turkey yet, and think the guide is what made the difference.

Fix check-engine lights on three vehicles by asking ChatGPT and Grok what forums say about the codes

The poster reads codes with a scanner, then runs them through Google, ChatGPT and Grok, asking for the most likely causes based on online forums and reviews, and works through each likely fix with YouTube. They say the top-ranked fix has been right each time, and that they've fixed check-engine lights on three vehicles this way in two months: a Toyota 4.7 and Ford 6.0 and 7.3 engines.

Plan wine pairings and a course-by-course sheet for a dinner party with Grok

Hosting a private dinner party the next day, a poster says Grok helped with the wine pairings and created a summary sheet for each course, giving the wine, information about it and why it works with the dish.

Tame a 200K-unread Gmail inbox with filters Grok wrote

With over 200K unread messages, mostly junk, a long-time Gmail user asked Grok to help sort auto-generated email into keep-as-important, News or Promos, and unsubscribe or spam. The user applied the filters manually using Grok's search criteria, which were easy to verify, and three days later says the inbox shows only email from real people and messages tagged important.

Turn fridge photos into dinner recipes with Grok

For the past few meals, a poster has sent Grok photos of what's in their fridge plus a list of what else they have, and says it came back with great recipes; the latest used an ingredient they'd never cooked with and was far tastier than their usual baked potato with butter.

Get a $3,200 overpayment back from the wrong credit card company with replies drafted by Grok

After sending a $3,200 payment to the wrong credit card company, the poster requested a refund and got automated replies saying a check would be mailed within 7 days if approved, though they wanted a digital transfer. They asked Grok how to handle it and it wrote the replies; after several back-and-forths they got the money back.

Replace a car sensor with Grok's help (it pointed the wrong way for 40 minutes)

A driver replacing a sensor to clear a check engine light says Grok led them astray for 40 minutes; they had to use Google to find where the sensor was. Once they found it the job was easy, and the light went off. The poster's conclusion: AI is not good at fixing cars.

Stop water hammer by setting pressure-reducing valves correctly with Grok's help

A licensed plumber says Grok helped them set their Watts LF150A valves properly, finally ending the severe water hammer in their house whenever the washing machine's solenoid shut off.