Car would jerk and lurch when braking. Sometimes steering wouldn’t work. Other time it works just fine like nothing is wrong. What is going on?
Any dash lights when that happens?
Loose suspension can cause a shift or jerking sensation when braking. If this is the case, that much movement means considerable wear on the suspension component and should be checked right away.
Sometimes the check engine light comes on, but after restarting the car (sometimes in the middle of the road) it works fine for the whole trip.
You need to get this car checked out for stored error codes. And good independent mechanic should be able to read the codes. So will many auto parts stores but I suspect the codes you have set are deeper than the auto parts stores can read.
Ya. Gonna go to an auto shop tomorrow with it and drop it off at my mechanic to look at. I am guessing the crankshaft sensor is bad.
If it was, the engine would stop immediately, not just jerk. But Good Luck!
One possible cause of interplay between the brakes and the engine is a ruptured diaphragm in the power brake booster system. This can cause a large engine vacuum leak. It can also cause the engine to ingest brake fluid and run poorly.