Brake froze; could not stop car

Hi Canellita, oh girl what an experience... so how did you go about it if you did not allow that stranger to help you? did the mechanic man came and that helped get out from there? How long did it take you to be over with it? So how are you now? i hope you're home safe and feeling relax this time!

haha, you are getting more like Mommaj! One minute, you have frozen ants in the refrigerator, now the car has frozen brake! What's next? I guess you have enough real life material to write ghost stories. Come to think of it, I guess Mommaj has released all her writing ghosts to haunt you. No wonder she has no mood to write, and you have all the weird things happening. Better catch all those naughty ghosts and hand them back to Mommaj. Ask her to get a better cage to hold the ghosts, otherwise they run out again.

Hi, well, that all went from bad to worse very quickly, but if you just had a little knowledge before you went to turn that key, about what would happen as soon as you did. Terminology, if the incorrect words are used to describe something, an incorrect picture of the situation will be conceived. You mention the brakes just locked up. This means they grabbed the wheels and the wheels are no longer turning. I think you meant to say that they failed to operate at all. Mongrel weather is almpost impossible to cope with, when you loose it, it is usually lost altogether. Vehicle control I mean, ice, slush, etc. Taking your hands off the wheel whilst in motion is illegal, to the person that admitted that after loosing control for whatever reason, you are leaving yourself open to liability saying that. e.g. I lost control and slid into a parked car. 12 feet before the parked car, was dry road, had the driver been on control at the last moment, a collision could have been avoided, but their eyes were covered instead. But in reality, what's the point after you hit black ice. You're liability, to whatever happens. The steering wheel lock, these lock when you turn the ignition off. You have to move the steering wheel left or right to enable the ignition key to turn once locked, unless you pulled up straight in the driveway. The brakes failing, modern cars have brake boosters, a large squat drum attached to the firewall in front of the driver in the engine bay. When you turn off the engine, the brake booster stops working, you still actually have brakes, but you have to push very hard. One of those things every driver should be aware about their car. In Australia, we term driving without the engine running, ANGEL GEAR, you can understand why. It works OK in an old car without a brake booster or steering lock, but new cars can be deadly in that respect. I would think most people think they have NO brakes when the booster fails, they just don't know. See if you can find out that YOUR car does actually have brakes after a booster fail, test the no boost brakes while angelling it down a slight slope, on your own property. You know it works that way. I do not know of any car that looses brakes totally when a booster fails. Your Mr Mechanic should be able to say. I am guessing that you haven't ever done that before, and when it went all pear shaped it spun you out, a lot. Primary cause for concern with modern vehicles and doing this is not the brakes failing, but the steering lock coming on. Events that occured. 1. Engine conked out. 2. Driver turned off ignition by twisting key. 3. Steering lock comes on. 4. Brake booster stops due to no engine. 5. Driver really freaks out now. 6. Car crashes. Did I get it right? Situations like this are just the worst, things go bad, then they quickly get worse, with no time for the mind to catch up or make sense of what is happening. Planes crash when these things happen. Advice, never turn off the ignition key whilst in motion in a modern car, EVER.

Woe! That was a bit scarey. The important thing in these situations is to remain calm and think, which you clearly did. I am not a very mechanical person and in any emergency like this, I would call the RAA. It kind of scars me a bit that my 16 year old daughter is learning to drive. What if she got involved in a situation likle yours, would she stay calm and know what to do?

Oh my goodness me! I would have been scared stiff and would have lost my wits and would not have been able to control it at all so well done to you! I am scared stiff of driving in the snow or ice and don't use my car AT ALL once the freezing weather sets in. I know I am useless and scared so I'm sure I would be a danger to others. Friends and family jnow I react like this and as soon as it starts snowing they start phoning and organising lifts for me to my workplace. I feel such an idiot but better safe than sorry surely

I haven't started to drive yet, but am scared of things like that happening. I think I could control the car, and all to a certain extent, but you bet as soon as it stopped I'd be calling hubby if not his father to come to the rescue!

hi canellita wow that must have been really frightening when your brake locked up, and the steering wheel too. many years ago Iwas just a kid and my dad had bought a new plymouth. we were on as side hill when the brake locked then the steering wheel. due to the kindness of a stranger my dad was able to get us towed down the hill to the nearest service station where fortunately my dad was known by the owner. we were all scared and at that time I must have been about fifteen.oh and we had no cell phones yet either. but the passerby did help us out. I am glad you did not get hurt or your car get any real damage save the tire of course.

...Hi Canellita, That is such a scary account. I am glad you were able to come out of the situation alright. When I read the first part of your discussion, I thought to myself, if you can think at the actual time, that I would turn the key off, but reading further, your key did not even work. I don't know if you can even think what else to do at that point, so I guess staying in your seat belt and praying is the best thing. Again, glad you are safe, take care.

Hello Canellita, Im glad you're doing allright. Usually when the motor stalls, you cant use the power brake or power steering. So thats probably why you couldnt steer or brake. There might be a way to get the brake or steering to work but I dont know. Best thing to do next time is to leave the car where it stalls and make sure you're out of danger and call someone to come pick you up or fix the car.