Turned off engine, 15 min. later no crank, no starter. Battery was five years old so I replaced that but still no crank. All lights come on, various sounds but no starter activation. Tried other keys with no luck. Shifter is locked too, did the manual shift unlock but it won't crank in neutral either or after 'shifting around' some. The steering wheel unlocks, the shifter doesn't but the brake lights work so the switch/fuse is ok? The relay under the panel on the passenger side of the engine bay (K38?) clicks as do a number of other relays. When the ign is on the following are illuminated: ABS, Brake, BAS-ESP, Check Engine and warning triangle. I checked, there are no codes. If the shifter worked I'd guess it's a bad starter or connection at the starter but the locked shifter is confusing. Time to tow it home...

Any ideas? This sort of thing never happens at home does it?

Thanks for any and all help!

 

Is there a neutral safety switch on your car? I'd start there.

Or the brake light switch. Generally, the car must know your foot is on the brake before it allows you to shift out of park. If the switch were bad, it may not "know" your brake pedal is depressed. Doesn't explain the no-start though.

 

If it were the neutral safety switch then it should (maybe) start by putting it in neutral or 'shifting it around' a bit, that doesn't work. And the brake lights work so I'm guessing that switch is good. If it started but didn't shift I'd be pretty confident it was the neutral safety switch. But as it is????

 

The brake switch actually has two switches in it. It is possible one failed. I had a similar problem

 

UPDATE: Got the car home and put a remote starter switch on it, it starts and runs fine so the starter isn't the issue. When it is running I get ABS and BAS/ESP warning messages as well as idiot lights, including 'brake'. The shifter will not move even when running.

So what could interfere with ABS, BAS/ESP, shifter lock and starter? The 40a fuse for ABS is ok. If the transmission module (what/wherever that is) isn't powered would it keep the shifter locked and also prevent starter engagement? Could this trans module be on the same circuit/fuse as ABS or BAS/ESP?

Waybomb says there are two switches in the brake switch assy, could that foul up all this?

 

SOLVED!! Blown 10A fuse in the ECM box thing on the right side of the engine bay. Turned the wheels back and forth to reset ESP, etc. Hope the fuse doesn't blow again...