Bolt was left furious with his performance, despite moving a step closer to a golden goodbye as he cruised through in London.
Back at the stadium where the Jamaican declared himself a "living legend" after retaining his 100m and 200m titles at the 2012 Olympics, the 30-year-old had to recover from an awful start to win his heat in 10.07 seconds.
Bolt, who is bringing the curtain down on his glittering career at these championships, was met with the customary huge cheers whenever he appeared on the big screen.
He whispered "number one" when the camera panned to him on the start line, but the shake of the head at the finish was proof he was less than happy with his run.
Bolt's start has been his chief - perhaps only - problem throughout his career, no great surprise for a sprinter who stands 6ft 5in.
"That was very bad," Bolt said.
"I stumbled coming out of the blocks. I'm not very fond of these blocks. I think these are the worst ones I've ever experienced. I have to get this start together because I can't keep doing this.
"It's shaky. When I did my warm-up it (the blocks) pushed back. It is just not what I am used to, not as sturdy or firm."
Still, he is just 4/11 with Sky Bet to win Saturday's final - the semis take place earlier that night.
He will look to pocket a 12th world title, to go with his eight Olympic crowns and an underwhelming farewell is almost unthinkable.
No one has dominated the 100m scene this year - 21-year-old American Christian Coleman leads the world rankings with 9.82s - and Bolt's bid has been further boosted by the withdrawal of perhaps his chief rival, Canada's Andre De Grasse, due to a hamstring tear.
Coleman looked impressive in qualifying in 10.01, easing down at the line, while the fastest qualifier was Bolt's compatriot Julian Forte in 9.99.
Coleman was cut into 3/1 second favourite following his run with Forte offered at 100/1.
All three Britons also qualified for the semi-finals, Reece Prescod clocking a personal best 10.03, CJ Ujah stopping the clock at 10.07 and James Dasaolu taking second behind Bolt in 10.13.
Ujah is rated the most likely to the Britons to medal - he is 10/1 to do so.
The reception for Bolt was in stark contrast to that given to two-time drug cheat Justin Gatlin, loudly booed when he was introduced to the crowd.
The 35-year-old is used to being cast as the pantomime villain, though, and cruised through his heat in 10.05, with more boos greeting him as he crossed the line.
Meanwhile, British medal hope Laura Muir eased into the semi-finals of the 1,500m.
The 24-year-old, a double European Indoor champion, finished fourth in four minutes 08.97 seconds to qualify for Saturday's semi-final.
She kept plenty in reserve and will be joined by Laura Weightman, Sarah McDonald and Jessica Judd as they all bid to reach Monday's final.
Muir told the BBC: "I wanted to get through and save as much energy as possible and I did that. I stayed out of harm's way and ran inside quite a bit. I just wanted to get into the top six.
"It feels it's been a long time coming. It's really exciting to be in the semi."
Related links
Sky Bet's latest 100m odds
Gold for Farah in London
London 2017 guide
Fast Results
Scores
Racecards 
