When the idle air control valve on my BMW started acting up, I had to use the lug wrench out of the tool kit in the trunk to give it a gentle whack and it would behave. Got tired of it after a few weeks and replaced it.
In Naval aviation we called it "Kinetic Recalibration"! If it still worked after dropping it on the deck, it was a pretty sure bet that it would survive a cat shot and a flight deck recovery!
In the USAF back in the early 90's we had some AT&T UNIX PC's that had a problem with the hard-drives they called "stiction". According to the Technical Order regarding the fix of this issue, you where to "lift the right front edge of the machine approximately 6" and drop it". Worked every time lol.
Stare down the cantankerous item in question, lay a five-pound hammer close by. Tap item gently with the hammer to ensure that it knows what's coming. Keep the hammer close by the item at all times.
You've gotta strike fear into vicious objects, else they'll continue to misbehave.