Q: Wheel locked, brake pedal wont go down, shift wont move and ignition wont turn?

asked by on November 24, 2016

Wheel locked, brake pedal wont go down, shift wont move and ignition wont turn? What could this be? Just happened with no warning.

My car has 270000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.

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Hello. You are likely experiencing an engine failure of some type. Do not let this scare you at first. All of these systems that are failing depend on the engine functioning correctly in order to do their job. Without vacuum you will have a hard brake pedal. Without pressure to the power steering system you will not have assisted steering and it may feel like the wheel is locked. The ignition will also depend on having an electrical connection for the sensors to work correctly. Did you notice this when you went to start the vehicle, or did this happen when you were driving? If you discovered this when you went to start the vehicle, check the battery and ground connection first. If this happened while driving then you will need to find the reason your vehicle stalled.

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