Sims can't make meals

Hello
Make sure that there isn’t any overhead hanging items or overhead cabinets that may he causing isssues.
Try rearranging the furniture in the room and see if that helps.
Try deleting any ceiling lights in the room and have a wall light, to test to see if that helps.
If there are items placed using the moo cheat, remove them and see if that helps.
Try selling and repurchasing the stove.

If you have a basement , the sim may be trying to use the counters there but if there are items on it, this would cause it to fail. This can apply to bathrooms also. Try deleting the counters in the basement or bathroom, and test to see if that helps the issue.

Thanks for the ideas! No mods, CC, basement or moo items. Bathroom has stand alone sink. Room is one of the Maxis premade kitchens, with overhead cabinets, so that may be it, though why moving the meal to a totally clear counter would seem to be the equivalent. Unless the first fail flagged the item somehow. Will test it out. Thanks again.

I doubt it is the cabinets. Have just completed yet another test, with the fridge and counter in a totally open area, no cabinets, overhead lights, or anything else even remotely close to the test site. Instructed sim to make a meal, sim dutifully took ingredients out of fridge, began preparation, and quit about half way through, giving the tracking error as before. Directed sim to resume, and got the message again. 2 days ago at the original location did the test, got the usual results. That time sim went to fridge, got out more ingredients, and proceeded to make a salad in two stages, first half in the corner between fridge and the failed site, then took half done salad to the opposite end of the counter area and finished, again in a corner - the one between the counters and stove. In both locations there were cabinets above the site of the successful salad making. It appears that: a) there is a problem with food making now, b) the overhead cabinets are innocent. Am not amused with this latest example of something that used to work now being broken.

Just want to add here - I did not have any problems with any kitchen wall cabinets. In my case it was wall shelves the creator had used moo on to place a lot of decor - like plants and things high on the wall above the windows over the counter. Again not a wall cabinet issue - but a moo issue. There was no CC in the house or in my game, and no mods in my game. All I recall about the house was it was made right after toddlers came out - and was a toddler starter house.

As i said I no longer download houses where the moo cheat has been used period and have not had any further issues like that one since. Definitely no issues with wall cabinets of any size. Right now the only thing in my game that gives me issues is the big round 6 chair dining table from the Laundry day stuff pack. It works fine for my sims to eat at - but they won't clear the dishes from it after eating. I have to physically move the dishes from the table to the kitchen counter to get them to wash them. So the table has an issue - and that is all I see with an issue in my game at all.

ETA One other thing Oldeseadogge - in your house with the issue did you ever have a fire in you sims kitchen? I recall another instance in one of my remodelled Windenburg houses - where I have 3 grown triplet sisters living - one of my main sims sisters had set the kitchen on fire before I had added the sprinkler system to the house. My sim had managed to put the fire out and I thought I had replaced everything burnt and everything appeared fine - but i noticed for the longest time 2 of the triplets kept making faces everytime they came in the kitchen and when I instructed one of them to cook they'd never use the one free counter near the stove but would use the counter near the table in the dining room to make the food. Of course the two good cooks would - but the one lower on cooking skills sometimes would just stop making the food and go to the fridge and grab some yogurt.

After a week of this and I could not see a thing wrong - all I could think was there was soot somewhere I just wasn't seeing - as I recall that was an issue in Sims 2 and 3 - so I hired a maid, as a maid was my solution in the other games. Only this maid instead of finding and fixing the issue waved her hands like something was blocking her in front of the empty counter. I see nothing of course. But I figured it must be something - so I simply moved all the 3 counters on that wall to the middle of the floor and finally saw the issue. Some how the pan that had started the fire on the stove did not vanish when I replaced the stove - somehow it ended up on the floor under the counter the sims would not use. In build mode I could pick the pan up and placed it in the center of the floor. Then back in live mode my sim was able to place it in the trash - I put everything back where it went - and had no further issue. In fact I have never had another issue like it since.

It was like an odd glitch - but figured may as well mention that one too.

Now when ever I do get a sim start a fire - which is extremely rare - I move everything in the room just to make sure nothing glitched underneath something else - just it case. But so far that has been the only time I had that issue. I can also see why two of the sisters in that house made the bad smell face every now and then in that kitchen as well.

Hello
The issue with the round dining tables is posted in this thread on the AHQ EA site @Writin_Reg
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/OPEN-Can-t-clean-dishes-on-big-round-tables/m-p/6591722#M57207

There has been other simmers with this issue that have posted on this link thread on the AHQ EA site. You may like to also post on the thread also
https://answers.ea.com/t5/Bug-Reports/TO-ADD-Sim-can-t-cook/m-p/6717060#M61066

Thank you, Dannydanbo! Followed your procedure, though it took a while, and have gotten two consecutive completed meals with the final stage kitchen. Old one is now gone, as you suggested. There must have been something messed up in one or more counters, as initially I tried doing the new kitchen 'on the cheap' by bringing over original items, and got the problem back after good prior test stages. Got rid of them all, put in totally fresh, and all went well. Thanks again! You saved the game as well as the bacon. Procedure has been kept for future reference.

Rosemow: Thank you for the link, added my 'me too'.


Joleaco: Thank you! Every idea helps with this wacko game. Always good to have encouragement from 'down under'.

Meals never make it to the stove, only part way through the prepping.

The only time I have ever had an issue in any sims house is when I downloaded a house the creator had used the moo cheat in placing decor etc. When I removed the house and placed one of my own I had no more issues - as I never use moo in building. Oh and I did try that house a few more times - it was an adorable house - and had the same issue. Even removing all the decor in the kitchen seemed to still leave it with a lingering issue. So finally I deleted it from my library and never download any houses where moo was used.

I haven't had that issue since. That house was made for when we had gotten toddlers so early last year - I don't recall who made it though.

Never used moo in TS4, only rarely in TS2. If you ever find that house again, could always take off the floor plans, make features notes, and build your own copy using that one just as a reference.