WheelMates Puzzle Solutions: Keypads, Rebus, Cogs, Levers

This page collects the puzzles people have actually asked about since launch, with the answer that worked for them and where it came from. It is not a list of every switch in the house.

The lines-and-dots keypad (3x3 grid)

The question (Steam, Sept 1): “how do I work out the lines and dots puzzle? I used someone’s screenshot for the first but I’m stuck on the second.”

The rule (answered on the same thread by another player, and matched by a second thread): the pictures on the wall tell you which buttons on the 3x3 pad to press.

• A full line means the whole row (three buttons).
• A dot means one button at that position.
• The pictures form an equation: work through it left to right, pressing each step on the pad in order. Do not try to press the final state directly.

Because it is a rule rather than a fixed answer, the second and third keypads are solved the same way as the first even though the pictures change. If the pad does not accept an input, you have probably pressed a row where a single dot was meant.

The “through the wasteland” rebus

The question (Steam, Sept 1, six replies): a rebus “similar to the numbers of May” on the level called through the wasteland; the player had tried every combination on the input panel.

What the replies agree on:

• It has nothing to do with May or a date. You enter the formula on the wall into the pad exactly as written.
• Same language as above: a straight line means three dots in a row, and you add or subtract the dot pictures from each other to get the final pattern.
• One solver’s worked example for the first panel: make all buttons green, then turn the left and right upper corners red.

A Discord user posted the full solutions; we have not reproduced them because we have not verified them frame by frame. If you have a screenshot, send it in and we will add the worked answer.

The acid bath with two cogs (Garage)

The situation (two Steam bug reports, Sept 1 to 2): right after unlocking the Magnetic Grabber, two cogs have to be placed around an acid bath. One pair lost a cog past the steam trap, dropped the other in the acid hoping it would respawn, and were locked out: no cogs, steam trap active, doors behind it locked, reload did not help.

Status: Firevolt replied on Sept 2: “We’re aware of it and already working on a fix. We’re hoping to release a patch soon.”

Until the patch:

• Carry one cog at a time and keep the magnet toggled on until the cog is over solid floor.
• Do not drop anything into the acid to “reset” it; nothing respawns there yet.
• If the steam trap blocks a cog, try grabbing from the other car’s side before giving up; the magnet works through some gaps.
• If both cogs are gone, the only known recovery is an earlier save state, which the game does not expose. Report it in the pinned Steam bug thread with your game version (bottom-left of the main menu).

The Neuro-Void keypad

The situation (Steam, Sept 2): stuck at a keypad in the Neuro-Void, unable to determine the numbers, and unsure whether the Magnetic Grabber should already be unlocked. The report is unanswered as of this writing.

What we can say: the Magnetic Grabber is found in the Garage, and 34.2% of owners had it on Sept 2 versus 11.5% who had completed Neuro-Void: Fragments, so the intended order is Garage first. If you reached the keypad straight from the Hallway rift, go and do the Garage. If you have the magnet and are still stuck, the keypad is probably the lines-and-dots language above.

Paired levers (Kitchen onward)

Both cars latch a lever with the Grapple (D-pad up to aim, left bumper to fire) and drive backwards at the same time. If one lever moves and the other does not, one player is pulling the trigger instead of reversing. Count in with the horn.

The lift cart (Hallway)

The cart cannot move while it is raised. Lower it, then push it. One car rides, one drives; the driver only presses what the rider calls. To aim the Grapple at something below the cart, lower the cart a notch so the rider can fire level. Full sequence in the Hallway walkthrough.

The two-station crane (Garage)

One console owns forward and back, the other owns up and down. Nothing happens if one player mashes both. The magnet-held piece is lowered onto its partner piece, pulled, then released. Say “up”, “down”, “stop”, and do nothing between calls.

Synced pads and “reach the highlighted zones”

Two zones means two cars at the same time, not one car visiting twice. If a door closes when one of you leaves, that is a hold-and-go puzzle: one car stays.

Something blue you cannot use

A blue magnet icon, a metal wall, a target on the far side of a gap: a gadget gate. Note the room and come back with the right tool from the gadgets page.