1) no known events lead up to the failure. 2) when heading to work in the morning one day, I had difficulty inserting the key into the ignition. Once I got the key in the ignition, it would not unlock. I could not start my car and could not get to work 3) we had to pay $70 to have the vehicle towed to the nearest ford dealership in buffalo, mn. We then had to pay them to drill out ignition cylinder and remove it. Then they built new cylinder and installed it. Costing me $350. I understand also, from the ford roadside assistance (that had just expired) that this is also a very common problem for ford focus'.
2000 Ford Focus electrical complaints
Page 18 of 46: complaints 491 to 520 of 1,343, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Key would not work in ignition - car had to be towed to dealership to replace the lock assembly and tumbler.
Key would not work in ignition - car had to be towed to dealership to replace lock assembly and tumbler.
I have a 2000 ford focus. The ignition switch has locked. Key will not turn. No warning to impending failure. Car had to be towed to a ford service center for repair.
Purchased a used 2000 ford focus from a reputable lincoln-mercury dealer for my son. (hiis first car). After driving the car approximately 100 miles, when trying to turn the engine off, the ignition key will not come out. The car has to sit for 20-30 minutes before you can take the key out. After researching the problem, ford motor company has known for an extended period of time that they have manufactured faulty ignition cylinders on this make and model. While the dealer has offered to work out the problem, the fact remains that a recall needs to be issued to alleviate this problem on behalf of consumers.
This is the 2nd time that the ignition has gone out on my 2000 ford focus. When the key was put in it wwas hard to turn on. This went on for about a week and then the key would not go into the ignition at all. Therefore you are stranded where ever you are. Car has to be towed.
Dt: contact stated for the second time in little over a year the ignition switch will not turn. While on the highway and stopping at a rest stop could not restart vehicle. Contact felt this was a safety issue. She noticed a problem with this in 2-04 and a in 6-05. She had the switch replaced both times. Dealer acknowledged that this was a problem with the ford focus, and that ford recently developed a different kind of switch. She contacted ford to see if there was a recall, and there was no recall.
Ignition switch has to be replaced for the second time.the first one was covered by warrenty.the second one isn't.
2000 ford focus ignition key cylinder had to be drilled out and replaced.***no answer required***.*mr the consumer experienced the same problem for a second time. The ignition fell apart and became lodged in the steering column.
My focus 2000 is in the shop due to a broken ignition cylinder. This is obviously a huge common problem and should be recalled.I could have been left stranded in the middle of the night in a dark parking lot. Car had to be towed.
I just purchased a ford focus se station wagon from a private party. The car is in pristine shape with only 54,000 miles on it. There's just one slight problem.... The key doesn't turn in the ignition. This problem has been recorded a number of times.(see complaint section of this web site) why no recalls??????
Ig nition on a 200 ford focus locked up. Ignition and steering wheel will not turn. Aparently this is a common problem with this car. Upon completing a web search for possible repair options I saw hundreds of complaints for the exact same problem. I'm calling to have the vehicle towed to the dealer where I will undoubtedly be raped and pillaged over a ford md that they are unwilling ackowledge or honor.
2000 ford focus steering and ignition locked. My son who is 17 yrs old was stranded and had to call us because the steering and ignition was locked.
I have a 2000 ford focus. I have had the ignition key cylinder lock leaving me unable to get the key into the ignition or turn the key to start the car. Ford is well aware of the problem, as the service technician at my local ford dealer told me. With this being a known problem, ford still wants over $300 to fix a the problem. If this is a known defect, why is the consumer the one that has to pay for the problem???
I have had my focus for five years, I am 1 month away from paying it off. Initially after I bought the car, there were a few major issues that were fixed under the warranty. Example- wheel bearings, breaks, etc. Otherwise my car has had few problems outside of normal wear and tear. On friday, july 15, 2005 I had a difficult time getting my key to go in the ignition. But it went in, and started okay. On tuesday, july 19, 2005, I was unable to turn the key in the ignition, it was stuck. It was also difficult to get the key out of the ignition. I had to have the car towed to the dealership to be repaired. The driver of the tow truck asked me if the ignition was stuck. I told him yes, and he told me that was the usual problem whenever he had to tow a ford focus. Marshall brothers lincoln mercury informed me it was the ignition cylinder that broke. I looked online, and there is an entire discussion board dedicated to this specific problem. Http://www.autoforumz.com/ford-focus-ignition-locks-ftopict32011.html
I own a 2000 ford focus zts and the key will not turn in the ignition. According to multiple postings on the web this is a constant problem for ford focus owners
Ignition will not work properly on 2000 focus se, need to replace ignition tumbler assembly
My wife was leaving work at night alone. She got in our 2000 ford focus and tried to start it. The key wouldnt turn. I guess it is an ignition cylinder failure. If my wife was in danger of her life or hurt she would not have been able to get anywhere. I am outraged that this is not a recall
I put my key in the ignition and it will not turn.
Dt: the vehicle had to be towed into the ford dealership july 2nd, 2005. The vehicle will not start due to the ignition. The service mechanic said ford was well aware of the problem.
Dt: on sunday the owner's wife made a right hand turn off of mentor onto hart street. The engine shut off like the key had been turned off and the engine burst into flames. The vehicle was towed to classic ford but has not been looked at by the insurance company yet. The cause of the fire has not been determined. Both the fire and police departments were at the scene. The entire front of the vehicle has complete fire damage. There were no other vehicles involved. Prior to the fire there were no problems with the vehicle. The vehicle owner feels the fire was the result of a faulty electrical system.
2000-2001 ford focus wagon - ignition cylinder failure. Was in a very hot parking lot and key would go in but not turn. This is a reoccuring problem with all focus models.
I arrived home on saturday morning, parked in the drive midway, took the key out and went into the house. Later in the afternoon, I tried with no success to move the car all the way up into the drive. The ignition would not turn. I moved the wheel, which was lock, back and forth and even tried yanking it. It would not move. I called my friend to come and look at it. He was unable to move it and couldn't figure out why it had locked. There is no release on the vehicle, so I couldn't even move the steering wheel. Every thing is locked in place. We pushed the car manually up into the driveway where it has been sitting with the windows down for 3 days. I looked into getting it fixed and found several websites with hundreds of complaints about this problem. The dealership I called for service said it would be roughly around $280 to fix but couldn't quote until the car had been in for inspection. I am really upset with ford for not recalling this item years ago. It is such a small fix for them but costs us alot. Then when you get the reimbursement for you recall, they try to eliminate the labor costs, but isn't that part of the recall. My last reimbursement was much less than I actually paid for the service.
Ignition cylinder failed. Had to have replaced. Have two such vehicles and experienced failure on both. Quite costly.
Ignition switch failure. Could not remove or turn key. Had to have cylinder replaced in both vehicles that we own. Quite costly and very inconvenient.
Had my oil changed. Drove to wal-mart. I smelled somthing burning, stoped and looked under the hood didnt see anything, thought maybe some spilt oil was burning. Went inside wal-mart and returned to car and started it and began to drive home. Car stalled and some guys yelled at me to get out of the car. I got out saw flames comming out of the wheel wells opened the hood and put out fire and pushed my car off the road.
Dt: 2000 ford focus lx, ignition froze. Problem occurred before. This was the second time that consumer had the ignition cylinder replaced. The first time was on may 26, 2004. This problem gradually became worse. At first the ignition was a little hard to turn. Within a week the consumer could not even turn the key in the ignition. The second time this occurred it included the same circumstances. There were no known other problems with this vehicle.
Dt: this morning when leaving for work consumer put key in ignition and ignition would not turning over and the engine would not start. The consumer tried to move steering wheel back and forth as this has worked twice before when this occurred. However, the steering wheel locked up along with the ignition. Consumer had to have vehicle towed to a local dealership. The dealer informed consumer that the entire ignition would have to be replaced, and offered no explanation as to why this occurred. Vehicle is currently at dealership awaiting repairs.
Hi, on saturday evening (june 18, 2005) I drove my 2000 ford focus zts to edgerton confort inn in wisconsin with my wife and 6 months old child without any problems. On father's day morning (june 19, 2005) ready to enjoy breakfast with family and friends I was not able to turn on the car. The ignition key would only go in half-way and wouldn't do anything plus steering wheel was locked as well, eventhouth I didn't lock it the night before. I spent about an hour with friends trying different approaches to release the steering wheel without success. The closest town I could find a ford service center was in janesville, wi and on a sunday (father's day) I couldn't resolve much. I had to spent another extra night in the hotel to be able to resolve the next day. Not a fun thing when you have a young child with you and not able to do much without a car. On monday, june 20, 2005, I got in contact with gordie boucher ford service center to arrange towing service. That cost me $73.50 to get my car from the hotel parking lot to the service center. At the service center I was told that my problem was a known problem by them, that it wasn't the 1st. Time they see it happend to focus cars and that will cost me 3 hours of labor + part. (labor: 279.83; part: 98.47 = $378.30+tax) hotel/towing/ford service total was close to $500 the damaged part was the ignition tumbler which they had to drill out, rekey the new tumbler and replace it. Old parts stayed at service center. This is apparently a known problem and I would like to voice my complaint with you because this should be taken care by a recall from ford motor company. Also, you can read more about this from other owners on edmund's website: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/[email protected]@.eea50dc/0 please advice and thank you for your proving this venue to us, consumers. From illinois, edgardo munoz
The ignition lock cylinder failed on my ford focus (2000 model). The steering wheel locked up and I was unable to turn the key to start the car. I had to have the car towed to the dealer where they replaced the defective part for an "improved ignition lock cylinder kit" for a cost of $456. Clearly, the original part was defective. I read dozens of other complaints about the same problem for other ford focus drivers. Many had to replace the ignition lock cylinder multiple times. Ford should pay for these repairs.
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