I have a 2011 Subaru Legacy Wagon with push-button starting.  On the whole this works pretty well, but a couple of times it hasn't started.  The most recent was on Friday night.  Sitting in the drivers seat with the remote in my pocket (as normal), and when I pushed the button - nothing.  The dash lit up, the stereo came on.  But the engine didn't turn over.  I tried a variety of things - turning off the stereo, holding the remote right next to the start button, but none of that worked.  I ended up calling the AA, and while I waited for them to arrive I googled to see if there was anything else I could try.  By some strange fluke, my 4-year old daughter from the back suggested I try wiggling the wheel (which happened to be something I found suggested on a forum I was googling), and that worked.  The steering wheel lock was activated, but jiggling the wheel while pushing the start button worked (what made that worse was my probably condescending Dad comment that it wouldn't work, and then having to contend with Miss Four's smugness when it did.  That'll teach me...)

Now this is weird (putting aside the somehow prescient solution offered up by my daughter).  The steering wheel lock is often activated yet it's never prevented the car from starting before.  I even tested it the next day, wiggling the wheel until the lock activated, and then trying to start the car, leaving the wheel alone (it did, no problems).  So I'm at a loss to explain what happened here, and why this "fix" worked.  Are there any clever people here who can explain why jiggling the wheel when it's locked will miraculously help the car to start?