Continuity mistake: In the scene where the Terminator is nude in the biker bar, one biker stabs him. The Terminator then grabs the knife with his left hand and twists the biker's arm. Then the Terminator uses his right hand to hold the biker's arm down on the pool table while still holding on to the knife with his left. Immediately in the next shot, the Terminator right arm is in the air with the knife in his right hand and stabs the biker. (00:08:05)
Revealing mistake: When the tanker truck (liquid nitrogen) is sliding along the ground the sparks can be seen not to be coming from directly under the tanker but ejecting from small canisters slightly higher up the vehicle. (02:02:55)
Visible crew/equipment: After the T-1000, disguised as Janelle, impales Todd, it hangs up the phone and pulls the blade out of Todd's head. As he slumps forward away from the cupboard and drops out of frame, you can see the retracting-blade rig that was attached to the right side of his head, creating the illusion that the blade was pulled through his head. Frame-by-frame helps on this one - it's visible for the last 3 frames before he disappears, just past his chin. (00:41:25)
Continuity mistake: In the hospital scene where Arnie is rescuing Sarah, he throws a black man against a glass wall. In the next shot the man is sliding down the wall and he's now white. (00:55:20)
Continuity mistake: When the Terminator pulls John off the dirt bike during the drainage ditch chase, the dirt bike falls onto its left side and the gas tank is about to be crushed by the tow truck. The next shot from another angle shows the dirt bike laying on its right side, with the rear tire the first thing to be crushed under the truck. (00:37:30)
Continuity mistake: When Sarah Connor hits the guy with the broom handle in a bid to escape, after the first hit, we see a close-up shot of him on the ground clutching his face. In the background we see her swing back and start bringing it down again. We then cut to a wider shot, and she repeats the motion. (00:52:40)
Revealing mistake: In the scene where Sarah opens the skin and endo skull of the Terminator, you have a shot where you see the reflection of the Terminator, Sarah and John in the mirror. When the camera takes a shot from the back of the Terminator, you see the back of a puppet on which the real Sarah is performing the operation. In the reflection you see no camera, the real Terminator, and doubles of Sarah and John. Especially the moment Sarah puts down the screw driver, the reflecting screw driver is put down a fraction later than Sarah's. (01:07:09)
Visible crew/equipment: A camera and the lower half of the crew are reflected in the T-1000's sunglasses as it cruises through the fires in front of the Cyberdyne Building. (01:58:05)
Suggested correction: Checked for this many times and have never spotted what was described here. Perhaps a screenshot would help.
Continuity mistake: When the T-800 and Connors are leaving the hospital in the car driving backwards, the car jumps off a grassy embankment and lands hard on the asphalt, knocking the rear bumper loose to a hanging position. A few shots later the bumper is back on snug again. (01:04:50)
Continuity mistake: At the Galleria, the T-1000 fires rounds into the Terminator's back, but the damage to his jacket disappears when he is thrown through the window. (Director James Cameron said the scripting of this sequence at the time of filming was different). (00:32:10 - 00:32:55)
Other mistake: When the T-1000 walks through the bars at the mental clinic, he gets his handgun stuck in the bars for a few seconds before removing it. In the close-up shot we can see the gun is stuck. But in the wide shot that precedes it, his gun isn't stuck at all. Actor Robert Patrick (T-1000) unconvincingly has his arm wrapped around the bar to make it look like his gun is stuck. (01:02:00)
Revealing mistake: After the Terminator uses John Connor's switchblade to remove the skin on his forearm, the wires controlling the Terminator's prosthetic arm are visible underneath his shirt, at the top right of his torso. (01:37:00)
Continuity mistake: In the desert when John says "bad example", he turns round and his hair has changed. It goes from in his eyes to neat and by the side of his face. (01:12:30)
Factual error: When the Terminator and John are replacing the starter on the Ford Bronco, the Terminator is removing/installing the starter bolts vertically. However, all Ford starters are held in by bolts that run horizontally.
Revealing mistake: Special Edition. The biggest giveaway about the false mirror in the 'chip removal' scene is that John's 'reflection' has his back to the mirror when Sarah is drilling, whereas the real John is standing side-on to it. Also notice that John nervously looks at the camera in this shot. (01:11:50)
Visible crew/equipment: After the SWAT team flee the Cyberdyne office once they realise it's going to blow, the Terminator, Sarah and John get inside an elevator. When the door closes, the camera can be seen reflected on it. (01:57:30)
Character mistake: Sarah Connor breaks Dr. Silberman's arm while informing him, "There are 215 bones in the human body. That's one." There are 206 bones in the human body.
Continuity mistake: The gas that the Terminator shoots at the SWAT members while inside the foyer of the Cyberdyne building, is nowhere near the front door when compared to when the Terminator exits the building. The Terminator has to walk through a gas haze as he opens the front door. (01:59:45)
Continuity mistake: Immediately after the Terminator shoots the gate guard at the mental institute, there is blood on the guard shack wall. A few seconds later, the blood has vanished. (00:57:30)
Continuity mistake: When in the desert after resetting the switch, the Terminator breaks a car window with some glass still there. Camera does an instant cut, and the broken glass has changed. (01:13:25)
