2007 Nissan Altima not starting when pressing brake?

I have a 2007 Nissan Altima with about 27,000 miles and it has recently developed a starting problem. After depressing the brake the car does not start, dash lights come and the brake locks down making it very very difficult to press again for additional attempts to start the vehicle. I have contact the dealer once about the issue but instead of getting istance I received a very condescending instruction on how to start a car (because I have only had the car for 2 years I might not have figured that out yet). The problem is intermittent so I would like to hear what other people have done to address the issue before I expose myself to another demonstration on how to start a car.