Glitches

Glitches (or bugs) are errors in a game that cause unexpected problems or behavior.

Causes


Glitches in The Sims series can be caused by any of the following: If your game will not start after installation of a new SP or EP, or you are having problems updating your game after installation of a new EP or SP, follow this link Instructions for Cummulative Manual Update from The Sims 3 official site to get help updating your game.
 * Programming errors and/or oversights in the game itself.
 * Changes caused by a patch.
 * Use of some cheats (notoriously Testingcheatsenabled and Moveobjects on).
 * Improper installation of official game updates/patches.
 * Bad mods.
 * Bad CC.
 * Hardware and driver problems: A malfunctioning computer component, a computer that does not meet minimum game requirements or even driver issues.

Severity
Many glitches are so minor that they can be ignored, even if they occur often. Some glitches, while they do not corrupt any game data, may make the game partially or completely unplayable. Examples of these include graphical errors that cause the game to not render or display correctly. The most severe glitches may corrupt saved game data or cause a CTD (Crash To Desktop). Severe glitches also include Save game errors; bugs that can prevent a game from being saved.

Below is a list of how The Sims Wiki classifies glitches for use on this page:

Glitches
Please note that glitches are sorted by severity first and expansion pack/patch notes second.

The Sims
There is a glitch which can cause the maid to get stuck in the shower while cleaning it.

Shower/tubs from Vacation and Unleashed can get stuck in a dirty state.

If someone bulldozes every house in a neighborhood, there may be save game errors and promotion (or job) stalling.

Building a certain, unusual kind of house may (or will) lead to all computer-generated artificial intelligence to grind to a halt, even if Free Will is turned on.

For an unknown reason, all Sims living in a neighborhood may be "wiped out," quite literally. Although the empty houses will still have objects inside, there will be no signs of life left (unless one creates more Sims). However, tombstones will spawn family members of families in the Family Bin instead of actual ghosts at night.

Sometimes, the rake may stick to a Sim's hand after gardening and follow him/her along all daily activities. Exiting to the neighborhoods may fix this, or you can evict that Sim and move he/she to new residential lot. However, if you save the game after the rake stuck, you may only evict him/her.

It seems that hiring the Butler and having Servo in your house may cause the Gardener to become immobile as soon as she appears on the sidewalk. The Gardener usually becomes static for a period of time before leaving.