I have been stranded several times in my focus. Hoping that every time I get in my car that today is not the day. The key won't turn in the lock and after so many failed attempts, worrying about the cost of repair. The car sat for two months and killed the battery. Unfortunately the car has become such a hassle to drive. I was late to work and got a point on my super strict attendance policy. This problem has put my employment at risk. The car has also been fixed previously for the same issue by the past owner, I found out. Called the dealer where it was fixed and they told me that I was out of warranty and there was going to be an hefty cost. Why won't ford stand up, and say they put unreliable parts inside what is suppose to be a reliable car.
2000 Ford Focus electrical complaints
Page 5 of 46: complaints 101 to 130 of 1,343, newest first, as owners wrote them.
The key gets stuck in the ignition and will not turn and can not be removed. Car must be towed and ignition replaced. This is not normal wear and tear, 110000miles I have had to make this repair 6 times at $200 each time. Typically, this sort of problem should have come up only once if at all with my mileage. If ford is going to get my tax dollars, they should not build a low quality car. This car is one of the main reasons I will never buy an american car again.
I was stranded unable to put the key into the ignition of my 2000 ford focus. I s/w a ford service rep who stated ignition cylinders wear out. My car only has 86k miles and is maintained and garage kept. This is a hazard to be unable to start your car!
On 3-2-06 I was unable to start my vehicle because the key would not turn..I had to have my car towed to a mechanic where the steering column had to be removed, the ignition switch had to be removed, new ignition switch had to go to locksmith to be key coded, then a new installation switch was installed. The cost was about $300 plus towing plus inconvenience...too many of the same complaints..ford should recall problem/reimburse people who pd.
Key ignition will not turn.
1-2. Ignition on my ford focus has locked up; apparently this is a widespread problem that almost every focus owner has. The key cannot be turned, so the car will not start, leaving me stranded wherever my car happens to be. Since I drive back and forth to school several times a year (a 4 hour drive) this leaves the potential to be stranded in backcountry indiana at all hours of the night, with no way to start my car and no one I know nearby to pick me up. 3. I will be replacing the ignition cylinder to correct this problem. However, since all ford focus 2000-2003 ignition cylinders are defective and have this same problem, it is very likely to happen again, and instead of being stranded at a friend's apartment, I might be stranded much farther from home.
Yesterday, feb. 11, 2009, I came home from school, parked, and turned off my car(2000 ford focus) only to find that my key would not come out of the ignition. So in turn I just left the key there obviously and went in my house. Following day before school I try once more to remove the key, no luck, I drive to school, park, turn off car and again tried removing the key and once again no luck. Later on I car pulled with my friend in his car to work, after work he dropped me off at my car to go home. I get in my car only to find that now it wont even start. I called my friend with my cell phone that I was blessed to have and he came back so I was spared from being stranded. We hooked up the cables to jump the car and no luck what so ever, all we merely got was a nice clicking sound. The battery was dead, all because the key could not be removed from the ignition thanks to ford's selfishness and not issuing a recall. All in all my car remains in that parking lot and I am left without a car. Thank you ford.
Faulty ignition switch. The same major problem everyone else is having with the ford focuses. Ignition cylinder locked up on me without warning. Stopped to get gas and when I went to put key back into ignition it wouldn't even go in at first. I though I was in the wrong car. Finally forced key in ignition. It took me a long time but I fortunately was able to finally jiggle it free and get engine started. First warning sign was in 2006 when it temporarily gave me a problem, but now it was being a constant problem. I had done my research on the internet as well and called around to different locksmiths. I was able to drive veh to a locksmith and have a new ignition cylinder replaced. They did not have to reprogram the keys as I see ford is charging all of these people besides their ridiculous labor on their defective parts, in which they are still replacing defective parts. It cost me under $100 to have repaired with reassurance the ignition would outlast any keys that I have to the veh. Ford is pathetic for not admitting this defect and having a recall. Yes it is a safety issue!!!!!! When you never know that unsuspecting your keys lock up and won't turn the ignition.
This morning I tried to start my car to go to work and for the second time in four years the key would not turn in the ignition. I have read there are others having the same issue with the focus and yet there has been no recall and the part that was replaced last time continues to have to the same issue.
For the second time in the past two weeks the key will not turn in the ignition in my ford focus. The first time it happened it took me about 5 minutes of consistently jiggling the key and steering wheel simultaneously to get the key to turn. Since this has occurred the second time I have had no success in being able to get the ignition to budge and my car is now unable to start. I have attempted many of the suggestions found online and nothing has worked. I am reporting this per the suggestion of a discussion board.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact stated that the keys have been stuck in the ignition for over a week and cannot be removed. He went to a locksmith and they replaced the ignition at the cost of $125; however, the failure was still not corrected. He called ford customer service and was informed that nothing could be done to assist. The failure mileage was 85,000.
2000 ford focus ignition cylinder failed twice in 4yrs. This last time I was stranded in the cold, by myself at 1am. Missing work, spending money on tows, parts and labor adds up. Not to mention the danger involved with being stranded, all because your key wont turn.
Ignition switch locked up. The key would not turn in the lock. Required tow in and dealership to replace the ignition switch @ $600.
Car key won't turn ignition switch. Tried both keys. Each one is able to be put in the switch but the switch stays locked.
On the ford focus, the key won't turn in the ignition. The ignition lock needs totally replaced.
Never had any issues with the ignition but then all of a sudden my key wont turn and the wheel locks up when trying to start the car. Have not fixed it yet.
Due to a failure of the power lock actuators in a 2000 ford focus se (s/w), the passenger door and the rear passenger door have jammed door locks. The doors can not be opened any longer by key, by inside door opening handle or by the remote fob. The consequences are that the only egress from the particular car is via the 2 driver side doors, making half of the car unusable. Passengers who should enter via the functioning doors of the vehicle into the side of the vehicle with the jammed doors do not have an escape route in case of accidents that involve the functioning side of the vehicle. This is an extremely dangerous situation for any driver or passenger. An internet search for "focus jammed door" or "focus jammed door lock" returns numerous instances of the same problem, occurring on all ford focus doors including trunk/hatch. Drivers enter their vehicles through the passenger side or even through the trunk because some door locks are jammed due to failed power lock actuators, with all safety-related hazards and consequences. The jamming can occur at any time; there is no way to predict it and to take preventive measures. A repair is exorbitantly expensive due to the fact that the doors cannot be opened by key or door opening handle to gain access to and replace the power door actuator that is the cause of the jamming. Ford is neither willing to acknowledge this widespread problem nor participate in the cost of repairs, thus forcing people to take unacceptable safety risks. Because of the serious safety hazard that the jammed doors present and the unpredictability of an occurrence of the problem, a safety recall action should be initiated by the federal safety agency to force ford to make repairs free of charge.
2000 ford focus- the ignition locked up, the car cannot be started, the steering wheel is locked and it cannot be put into gear. After looking on the internet, it is apparent that this is a wide spread problem with this year, make and model and ford is ignoring this and letting their customers pay for an obvious manufacturer defect.
Ignition failure after replacing it roughly 1 year ago. 2nd ignition cylinder to be replaced in this car.
My daughter went to drop off lunch to my other daughter and the ignition locked and the key wouldn't turn. According to clarence ditlow with auto safety .org this is the number 1 reported defect in the 2000-2003 ford focus, so why isn't ford recalling this vehicle problem??? My daughter called ford customer service about this issue and the rep told her that this is a problem that has been happening and that they would probably have to recall this issue. I then called ford customer service several days later and the representative told me that there is no record of any problems relating to the key locking and not being able to drive the vehicle. I was very upset and said goodbye and went on the internet to do my research and found that this was a common problem with this vehicle. I will never buy another ford if this is the way they represent their vehicles. I then called ford back after my research and inquired why the other rep had told me that there was no record of any issues of this type with the focus. All I want is for ford to stand behind their product. Nothing my daughter sis could of prevented this issue and now ford wants me to pay for the ignition to be replaced at a cost of $400 to $500 according to research shown. Unbelievable... Please help...
There is no indication or warning to when this problem will occur--it is purely random. It has happened to my wife three times in the past year. When the key is put into the ignition, it will not turn. Thus, leaving the driver stranded. A locksmith had to be called to work on the ignition. Fortunately, this time she was stranded at church (the first time was at a shopping mall and the second at work). But, should she have been somewhere unfamiliar or isolated, this would have made her quite uncomfortable being alone.
I am writing regarding my 2000 ford focus zx3. I was left stranded in a town 50 miles from my hometown. The key went in and wouldn't turn. I had to have it towed 3 times to get it to a ford dealer ( who is the only one who could fix the problem). It cost me 380.52 to get the car fixed, in which 221 of that was just labor! But since they had to program the ignition, they were the only ones to do it. After researching the problem, I have found thousands upon thousands of complaints about this problem. Also, the tow truck drivers said they tow 2 or 3 of these a month because of this. Ford has to be aware of this problem. It is unfair that they have not at least recalled the part. As a consumer, I can safely say I have lost a lot of respect for ford. As a child I grew up a "ford fanatic", however due to the purchase of my focus and the carelessness of the company to take care of the minor problems with the car, that has changed. Ford needs to recognize this problem and do something about it. I have warned all of my friends with focuses of this problem, and they are just preparing themselves for this to happen. Something must be done about this problem! Until then, I am unsatisfied with ford's service, and product.
I have had issues with the key sticking in my ignition, but last night my key refused to start the car at all. Leaving me stranded miles from home. The tow truck driver told me that he had towed 3 ford focuses in the last 2 days with the same problem.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact was able to insert the key into the ignition, but it would not turn and start the vehicle. The failure began in 2003. She took the vehicle to the dealer and they installed a new ignition lock in the vehicle, which resolved the issue. Currently, five years later, the failure recurred. The contact believes that a recall should be issued, but the manufacturer refuses to be responsible for the defect. The vehicle is currently parked at her place of employment. The failure mileage was 37,000 and current mileage was 90,000.
Starting 2 years ago rear hatch would intermittently unlock when brake pedal was depressed. Problem was worse in cold weather. Within last two weeks, rear brake lights no longer work when brake pedal is depressed, and the rear windshield wiper no longer functions. All symptoms point to a failure in the wiring harness leading from the car body to the rear hatch lid. Online forums of focus owners document broken insulation and wires in this wiring harness. A similar problem was the target of a the federal safety agency recall of focuses from this model year, but apparently only applied to the sedans. I have an appointment with my ford dealer to repair, but without a recall I will be forced to pay out of pocket. Please investigate this issue and report a recall soon if appropriate. The brake light failure and spontaneous opening of the rear hatch while driving are serious safety hazards. Here is an example of other owners reporting this problem online: http://forums.focaljet.com/team-pit-stop/457417-all-zx3-owners-please-read-potential-safety-hazard.html.
This will be our 5th ignition replacement since purchasing this car new in 2000. The first three were covered. Since we have to pay another 500 for this one we have been making due by leaving the key in and not completely turned off by just a hair. Or on the occasion we forget and take it out we have to beat it with the back of a screwdriver to get it to engage. This has caused me to get out and leave the car in drive on several occasions since I got use to putting the car in park before removing the key I can no longer remove the key so I am distracted by digging out the clicker so I can get back into my car. This is so dangerous! My car rolled across the library parking lot and into another car. This could have been a child run over! All because of this ignition problem. I have never left my car in drive in over 32 years before this trouble! I have been stranded in relentless heat with children and freezing temps again with children. This is with out question a situation that needs to be recalled. We should not have to keep paying for a design flaw. It is not from over use or heavy key chains. There are many many days I don't even leave the house to use it. I don't stop and start the car a lot. This is a very dangerous problem and will not be taken seriously by ford.
After months of issues starting the car and the key not turning, the ignition now is completely locked. The key...both keys provided by the dealer at the time of purchase...will not turn the ignition.
In our 2000 ford focus zx3, the key will not turn in the ignition about 50% of the time, which has the potential to leave my wife or I stranded out in the cold. So far, struggling/wrestling with the key will eventually work. In reading on the web, this is a very common problem on ford focus cars, but no recall has been issued.
I went to the gas station to buy gas. After filling the tank I got in and when I tried to start the car it would not turn. Not even to the acc position. I called for a tow truck and they came and got it. I called my local ford dealer and asked them about it and they told me its becoming very common for this type of car and to repair it I would have to replace the ignition cylinder and have it programmed...
Ignition barrel and steering column locking mechanism.
VIN decoder
See the problems and recalls for an exact car
Buying a used 2000 Ford Focus?
Check the exact car before you pay: accidents, salvage or flood titles, odometer readings and previous owners.
Check its history