Q: Car hit by lightning and won't start.
Last night my car took a direct hit from lightning. It hit right above the driver side door frame. I had my foot on the brake and was waiting at a red light when my car was struck by lightning. When I was struck my car shut off and brake pedal became stiff and wouldn't move at all. Some smoke filled the air but the driver behind me said it came from the ground and not my car. I replaced the battery because it wasn't holding a charge and when I press the button to turn on my car the light come on but the engine will not start. All relays and fuses have been checked and none of them are blown. Please help.
My car has 87000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
You will need to have the vehicle towed to a dealer. I have seen many vehicles like this and in most cases, if not all, the computers in the vehicle get zapped and fried. I would recommend contacting your insurance company to see if it is a covered repair since a repair like this may reach the thousands to get fixed.
If you’d like a second opinion on this, contact a certified technician, like on from YourMechanic, who can diagnose the damage and confirm my suspicion firsthand. They’ll be able to suggest an accurate fix from there. Best of luck.
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