2000 Ford Focus Electrical System

THE IGNITION KEY FAILED TO TURN WHEN INSERTED INTO THE STEERING COLUMN. MY SON WAS STRANDED, ALONE WITH NO WAY TO GET HOME EXCEPT FROM MY DRIVING TO GET HIM. FORTUNATELY, HE WAS ONLY FIVE MILES AWAY FROM HOME, BUT HE COULD HAVE BEEN STRANDED MUCH FURTHER AWAY AND IN A DANGEROUS LOCATION. *TR

I GOT INTO MY CAR TO GO ON A BUSINESS CALL AND THE KEY, WHEN INSERTED, WOULD NOT TURN THE CYLINDER. AFTER TRYING FOR SOME TIME TO GET THE KEY TURNED, I BEGAN A SEARCH ON THE INTERNET TO SEE IF THERE HAD BEEN YET ANOTHER RECALL ON THE FOCUS (I HAVE LEARNED THAT THIS CAR HAS HAD NUMEROUS PROBLEMS). I FOUND THAT IT WAS NOT RECALLED, ALTHOUGH IT CERTAINLY WAS A KNOWN ISSUE. I FOUND MANY ACCOUNTS OF THIS PROBLEM AND MANY SUGGESTED REMEDIES. I CHOSE TO USE THE "HAMMER METHOD." THIS WORKED. IT TAKES FOUR HARD RAPS WITH A RUBBER MALLET ON THE END OF THE KEY (INTO THE CYLINDER) TO GET IT TO THEN TURN. IF I TAKE THE KEY OUT, EVEN ONCE, THE PROCESS MUST BE REPEATED. I PARK THE CAR WITH THE KEY IN THE IGNITION, USING MY NON-CODED SPARE OR THE REMOTE UNLOCK TO GET INTO THE CAR. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE - IF THERE WERE AN EMERGENCY OF SOME TYPE OR SOME TYPE OF PERSONAL THREAT AND I WERE UNABLE TO LEAVE QUICKLY DUE TO THIS IGNITION PROBLEM, WHERE WOULD I BE? ALSO, MY CAR (AS UNDESIRABLE AS I'M SURE IT IS DUE TO ITS MANY PROBLEMS) SITS AT RISK OF BEING STOLEN - THE KEY IS EASILY VISIBLE IN THE IGNITION IF I LEAVE IT THERE TO AVOID HAVING TO USE A HAMMER TO START THE CAT. I'M LISTING THE FAILURES AS 100 - I'VE HAD TO USE THE HAMMER AT LEAST THAT MANY TIMES OVER THE LAST YEAR, BUT I CAN RE-CREATE THE ISSUE ANY TIME BY SIMPLY PULLING THE KEY OUT. *JB

FORD FOCUS WITH IGNITION LOCK UP PROBLEMS *WRITER PLEASE NOTE FOR CUSTOMER THAT COMPLAINT IS BEING FORWARDED TO FTC.* *CC *NM

I PARKED MY CAR AND TOOK THE KEY OUT AS USUAL. WHEN I GOT BACK IN A FEW MINUTES LATER AND TRIED TO START IT THE IGNITION CYLINDER WAS INEXPLICABLY SEIZED UP. THIS LEFT ME STRANDED, IN A SNOW STORM, SEVERAL MILES FROM MY HOME LATE AT NIGHT. IN RESEARCHING THE PROBLEM I'M SEEING IT'S A COMMON PROBLEM FOR MY MODEL OF VEHICLE. IF I HAD BEEN MADE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM, AS AN OWNER, I COULD HAVE BEEN AWARE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF IT HAPPENING. *JB

IGNITION CAN NOT BE TURNED WITH KEY INSERTED. *JB

THE CAR WAS HAVING TROUBLE STARTING WE REPLACED THE BATTERY CHECKED THE CABLES HAD THE STARTER TESTED THE GUY SAID IT WAS THE NUETRALIZATION SWITCH. HE GOT BACK INTO START THE CAR AND IT LOCKED UP. IT IS NOW STILL SITTING THERE FOR THEM TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO FIX IT. *NM

IGNITION IS LOCKED UP AGAIN ON MY 200 FORD FOCUS. THIS HAS HAPPENED TWICE SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR. IT HASN'T HAPPENED IN A COUPLE OF YEARS THOUGH. SUDDENLY, IT'S HAPPENING AGAIN. *NM

WAS STRANDED WITH BABY WHEN UNABLE TO INSERT KEY INTO IGNITION AND START VEHICLE (2000 FORD FOCUS) WHICH LOCKSMITH TELLS ME IS COMMON DEFECT IN THIS MAKE AND MODEL. IGNITION SWITCH REPLACED WITH COST OF $180. *JB

KEY WON'T GO INTO IGNITION ALL THE WAY AND WILL NOT ALLOW ME TO TURN MY CAR ON. CONTACTED FORD AND THEY ARE AWARE OF THE PROBLEM BUT IT IS NOT A SAFETY HAZARD SO IT IS NOT UNDER A RECALL YET. SO I WILL NOW HAVE TO HAVE MY CAR TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP AND FIXED OUT OF MY POCKET. *NM

THIS PAST WEEKEND MY IGNITION CYLINDER FAILED IN MY 2000 FORD FOCUS. RESEARCHING THE TOPIC ONLINE REVEALED THAT THIS IS A WIDESPREAD PROBLEM THAT FORD CHOOSES TO IGNORE, THEREFORE THEY SHOULD BE FORCED TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE. *NM

THE CAR HAS 32000 MILES AFTER 6 YEARS. IN DECEMBER 2006 THE IGNITION FAILED CATASTROPHICALLY AND WITHOUT WARNING. I COULD NOT INSERT THE KEY. I CALLED THE DEALER AND WAS TOLD THAT THE CAR WOULD HAVE TO BE TOWED AND THAT MY EXTENDED WARRANTY HAD EXPIRED. I WAS ABLE THE RESTART THE CAR, BUT IT FAILED AGAIN ON DECEMBER 11, 2006, STRANDING ME. I HAD THE CAR TOWED AND THE MECHANIC INFORMED ME THAT THIS PROBLEM IS COMMON ON THIS MODEL, TO THE EXTEND THAT FORD KEEPS THE REQUISITE PARTS IN STOCK. HE ATTRIBUTED IT TO A DESIGN FAULT. MY CONCERN IS THAT IF THIS PROBLEM INDEED IS COMMON A DRIVER COULD BE STRANDED AND HELPLESS IN A DANGEROUS SITUATION, WITH SERIOUS RISK TO SAFETY AND POSSIBLY LIFE. IF THE MECHANIC'S OPINION THAT THERE IS A DESIGN FAULT IS CORRECT, FORD SHOULD RECALL THE CAR. *JB

KEY LOCKING UP IN IGNITION. CAR ONLY HAS 50,000 MILES. $500 REPAIR BILL PLUS TOWING CHARGE AND LEFT ME STRANDED IN SNOW STORM. *NM

2000 FORD FOCUS IGNITION LOCKS, PREVENTING THE CAR FROM BEING STARTED. *NM

THE KEY IN MY 2000 FORD FOCUS WILL NOT TURN. MY CAR IS USELESS. AFTER MONTHS OF IT BEING DIFFICULT AND HAVING TO USE FORCE IT FINALLY WON'T TURN AT ALL. FORTUNATELY I AM AT HOME AND NOT STRANDED. SOUNDS LIKE THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH THESE CARS. I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS ISN'T A RECALL ISSUE. INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING. SOUNDS LIKE I EITHER PAY A LOCKSMITH $150 OR FORD $400 TO FIX IT. *JB

THE IGNITION SWITCH ON MY 2000 FORD FOCUS, TEND TO STICK AND YOU CANNOT REMOVE THE KEY WITHOUT JERKING HARD ON THE KEY TO REMOVE . NOW THE KEY IS STUCK IN THE SWITCH AND WILL NOT TURN ON. IT STRANDED ME 5 MILES FROM HOME. *NM

I PARKED MY FORD FOCUS IN A PARKING SPACE AT A TACO BELL. THE WHEELS WERE SLIGHTLY TURNED TO THE LEFT AND THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN FORWARDS OR BACKWARDS IN THE IGNITION SO I BEGAN WIGGLING THE STEERING WHEEL BACK AND FORTH, CONTINUING TO TRY THE KEY. EVENTUALLY, I'D TURNED THE WHEEL SO FAR THAT IT STUCK IN THE LOCK POSITION, CRANKED TO ONE DIRECTION. NOTHING WORKED. A HALF HOUR PASSED. I ASSUMED THAT THE DIRECTION OF WHEELS AND THE STEERING WHEEL BEING TURNED LIKE IT WAS HAD SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE IGNITION NOT WORKING. SO I JACKED UP THE FRONT END OF THE CAR TO TRY TO STRAIGHTEN MY WHEELS OUT BY HAND BUT THEY TOO WERE LOCKED AND WERE NOT GOING TO BUDGE. I CONTINUED TO TRY DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF APPLYING THE BRAKE, TRYING TO TURN THE STEERING WHEEL, ADJUSTING THE TILT OF THE STEERING WHEEL COLUMN, AND TRYING TO TURN THE KEY. I CALLED A TAXI CAB TO TAKE ME BACK TO WORK, 25 MINUTES LATE, MINUS 7 DOLLARS. AT WORK, I BEGAN TO RESEARCH THIS PROBLEM AND FOUND WEBSITES, SUCH AS CONSUMERAFFAIRS.COM/AUTOMOTIVE/FORD_FOCUS, WHERE I BEGAN TO LEARN TIPS TO GET THE KEY TO TURN AND SUGGESTIONS FOR REPAIR. I WAS ABLE TO AVOID A TOW TRUCK FEE BY USING ONE OF THE SUGGESTED QUICK FIXES, WHICH BASICALLY CONSISTS OF POUNDING THE KEY INTO THE IGNITION WITH A HAMMER, PREFERABLY A RUMMER MALLOT. FROM THAT SAME SITE, I LEARNED THAT THE PROBLEM HAS BEEN PINPOINTED TO THE GERMAN-MADE HUF LOCK THAT FORD PUTS IN THE FORD FOCUS. THE BEST SUGGESTION IS TO HAVE AN AUTOMOTIVE LOCKSMITH REPLACE IT WITH A NON-FORD OR NON-HUF PART. GOING TO A FORD DEALER IS STRONGLY DISCOURAGED. THE PART HAS NOT BEEN RECALLED SO IT COSTS THE CONSUMER. FOR ME, AROUND $400. *NM

IGNITION SWITCH FAILURE. KEY WILL NOT TURN WHEN FULLY INSERTED IN IGNITION SWITCH. *NM

KEY WOULD NOT TURN WHEN PUT IN IGNITION. HAVE READ THAT 100'S OF PEOPLE WITH MY VEHICLE ARE EXPERIENCING SAME PROBLEM, BUT FORD WILL NOT ADMIT WRONGDOING. *NM

FORD FOCUS 2000 IGNITION BROKE CAUSING MY KEY NOT TO GO IN RIGHT AND NOT TO TURN. I WAS FORCED TO CALL A LOCK SMITH AND HAVE THE LOCK REPLACED.

MY FORD FOCUS IGNITION SWITCH WONT TURN. I STOPPED IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DESSERT ABOUT 400 MILES FROM HOME TO FILL THE GAS. I HAD TO PAY $140 THE TOW TRUCK TO GET TO THE NEAREST VILLAGE, AND $400 FOR A NEW IGNITION SWITCH AND NIGHT AT A CHEAP HOTEL ($60) I HAVE READ A LOT ABOUT THESE KIND OF CRAPPY CARS HAVING THE EXACTLY SAME PROBLEM. PLEASE CALL IT A RECALL :(. *NM

I OWN A 2000 FORD FOCUS. FOR ABOUT 18 MONTHS I HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING A FUSE BLOWING WHICH RUNS MY BRAKE LIGHTS. I CONTINUE TO REPLACE THE FUSE, BUT NOW IT WON'T HOLD ANYMORE. THERE IS A RECALL #02313: DECK LID WIRE HARNESS FATIGUE, BUT MY VIN DIDN'T GET RECALLED. MY CAR IS EXPERIENCING THESE RECALL 'SYMPTOMS' AND SHOULD BE COVERED! *JB

FORD FOCUS SE IGNITION KEY SWITCH LOCK-UP. THIS IS THE SECOND TIME I HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM -- KEY WON'T TURN, STEERING WHEEL IS LOCKED, AND THE GEAR SHIFT WON'T MOVE. THE FIRST TIME, I WAS ABLE TO MANIPULATE THE KEY AND FINALLY START THE CAR. THIS TIME, IT IS SUNDAY AND I AM STRANDED. A LOCKSMITH TOLD ME THAT FORD IS THE ONLY ONE WHO HAS PARTS AND IT WILL BE A VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR. SO TOMORROW, I WILL HAVE TO RENT A CAR TO KEEP A DOCTOR'S APPOINTMENT AND HAVE THE FOCUS TOWED TO THE DEALERSHIP TO HAVE THE IGNITION REPLACED. I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS A VERY COMMON PROBLEM WITH FORD (I JUST CHECKED THE INTERNET) AND THEY REFUSE TO RECALL THESE CARS TO FIX THIS VERY DANGEROUS PROBLEM. THANKFULLY, I WAS IN A WELL-LIGHTED, SAFE AREA OF THE CITY. I SHUDDER TO THINK OF WHAT MAY HAVE HAPPENED IF I HAD BEEN STRANDED IN A HIGH-RISK AREA. THE FOUNDER OF FORD MOTOR COMPANY BUILT THE COMPANY ON REPUTATION AND HIGH STANDARDS WITH CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ALWAYS IN MIND. WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO THIS GREEDY ORGANIZATION NOW RUN BY MR. BILL FORD WHO CARES NOTHING ABOUT THE SAFETY AND QUALITY OF ITS CARS AS HIS ANCESTORS DID? RECALL THIS CAR NOW -- ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!. *JB

IGNITION LOCK FAILURE. THE FIRST ISSUE IS THAT I TRIED TO TAKE THE KEY OUT OF THE IGNITION AND THE ENTIRE IGNITION CYLINDER CAME OUT ON THE KEY. THIS HAPPENED SEVERAL TIMES RANDOMLY. THE SECOND ISSUE IS THE FAILURE FOR THE KEY TO TURN IN THE IGNITION. IT WAS INITIALLY AN INCONSISTENT PROBLEM THAT STEADILY GOT WORSE AND WORSE UNTIL FINALLY IT JUST BECAME A MATTER OF CHANCE AND A BATTLE OF PATIENCE TO GET IT STARTED. THIS STARTED HAPPENING AT 40K MILES WHICH IS RIDICULOUS. THE WORST CASE TOOK 30 MINUTES OF TWISTING, JINGLING, TURNING THE WHEEL, PUSHING THE KEY IN AND OUT AND FIDDLING WITH IT UNTIL IT FINALLY TURNED. I HAVE SINCE HAD THE CYLINDER REPLACED AND A NEW KEY MADE FOR ABOUT $250 OUT OF MY POCKET. AFTER A LITTLE RESEARCH I REALIZED THAT I AM ONE OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME PROBLEM, BUT FORD APPARENTLY FEELS THE PROBLEM DOESN'T EXIST. FORD SHOULD MAKE EACH ONE OF THEIR ENGINEERS DRIVE A FOCUS AND COUNT THE NUMBER OF DAYS THEY COME IN LATE OR MISS WORK. *JB

STEERING WHEEL, IGNITION, AND GEAR SHIFT ARE ALL LOCKED. THE KEY WILL NOT TURN IN THE IGNITION. *JB

I PURCHASED A CAR FROM MEGA MOTORS ON 10/3/06. ON 10/04/6 THE CAR CUT OFF ON ME IN THE MIDDLE OF THE EXPRESSWAY. I TOOK THE CAR TO THE SHOP AND A COMPUTER DIAGNOSTIC TEST PROVED THAT THE SENSORS ARE OUT ON THE CAR AND THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS OUT OF RANGE. I TOOK THE CAR BACK TO MEGA MOTORS ON 10/05/06 AND I ALSO PROVIDED THEM WITH A COPY OF THE DIAGNOSTIC REPORT. THE COMPANY ISN'T DOING ANYTHING TO HELP ME, ALL THEY ARE TELLING ME IS THAT THEY CAN'T FIX THE CAR BUT I CAN COME PICK IT UP. I DIDN'T HAVE THE CAR TWO DAYS BEFORE IT MESSED UP ON ME IN THE MIDDLE OF TRAFFIC. RUIZ AUTO SHOP SAID THAT THE CAR IS NO GOOD. I TRIED CALLING MEGA MOTORS AGAIN BUT THEY JUST KEEP ME ON HOLD FOR A REALLY LONG TIME. AS A PAYING CUSTOMER I FEEL LIKE I WAS IN DANGER FOR MY LIFE AND I CAN'T GET THE COMPANY TO PROVIDE ME WITH ANOTHER CAR NOR GIVE ME MY MONEY BACK, AFTER TWO DAYS OF HAVING THE CAR. I CONTACTED THE BBB AND FOUND THAT THIS COMPANY HAS HAD NINE COMPLAINTS SINCE 2003. *JB