I have a ford focus 2000 wagon with only 60,000 miles on it. Within the past three weeks I have had to have it towed because I can not turn the key in the ignition. I am now waiting for it to be towed to my mechanic to fix the ignition. Looking online I have seen numerous complaints about this problem and wonder why there has not been a recall for this ignition.
2000 Ford Focus locks complaints
Page 2 of 8: complaints 11 to 40 of 201, newest first, as owners wrote them.
2000 ford focus key is locked. Tried everything possible to get it unlocked. For a while banging on the key itself helped but now nothing works!!!
The ignition has stuck on my 2000 ford focus. Had to call tow company and lock smith. Turns out to be a very common problem with this yr and make of veh.
The car was driving just fine, but when I got home and needed to go and meet my wife, the key ignition switch locked up. This is about the third or fourth time this has happened since I've owned the car. Since the car has also stalled before, it sure would be a big safety issue if you couldn't get it started in the middle of a busy intersection. This is ridiculous. Come on ford, fix this! Now I have to pay big dollars in a bad economy to get this fixed by someone else. Since the system is electronic, who knows if it somehow effects other electronics in the vehicle. On an 83 degree day, in black interior, and no way to roll down the electric windows because of being unable to turn the key, it can get quite hot, quite quickly.
Ford focus key will not turn in lock leaving me and family stranded in the heat until a locksmith comes. Happens over and over.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact stated that the rear doors would not remain closed and randomly opened while driving at any speed. The rear driver's side door stopped working first and was repaired by the contact. Currently, the failure is occurring to the rear passenger side door. Through online research, he found the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v030000 (latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch). The ford manufacturer stated that the VIN was not included in the recall; therefore, the contact would be responsible for the repairs. He believes that the vehicle should be included in the recall since the failures were identical. The failure mileage was 100,000 and current mileage was 105,000. Updated 8/10/09 *cn updated 08/13/09.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact stated that the front and rear driver's side doors would not close and the locks failed. The failure has been occurring since january of 2009. In may of 2009, the doors opened while driving approximately 5 MPH. The manufacturer and dealer stated that the VIN was not included in the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v030000 (latches/locks/linkages: doors:latch) and it would cost $100 to diagnose the vehicle. The manufacturer would not assist. The failure mileage was 125,000 and current mileage was 130,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. While driving various speeds, the rear door opens and will not remain closed. The dealer stated that there was a recall in 2005 for this failure and the vehicle should have been repaired at that time. The contact has to pay for the repair. The failure mileage was 60,000.
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.
Both doors latch and remote control don't work.
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.
Ignition switch needed to be replaced numerous times, I bought the car used aug 19, 2008 my daughter was stuck in a isolate area when the key wouldn't go in the switch. I was replaced and 2 months later the key would not come out of the switch it was replaced again.
The driver side door no longer closes unless it is locked. It cannot be unlocked with a key.
I have a 2000 ford focus. As most know, winters in the mid-west are very cold. I was out at my grandparents house in new richmond, wisconsin; picking up some boxes in the garage. They travel to arizona for the winter months so they were not home. I went to start my car and the key would not turn over in the ignition. It was completely stuck. I tried everything. I made sure it was in park, tried turning the steering wheel side to side, everything. It would not budge. I was all alone. It was freezing cold. Luckily I had my phone so I was able to call for help. I ended up having to pay 200$ to have a locksmith come out and fix it. This problem is clearly a safety hazard and ford knows it. Ford knows all the complaints from people having this exact same problem. Why should we have to pay for a problem they know exists. What if I hadn't had my phone to call for help, I would of had no way of getting inside and there is no one that lives nearby for at least a mile. Ford needs to take responsibility for this and have a recall.
When it first started it was just the passenger rear door that wouldn't open from the outside, you could however still open it if you pushed on a certain part of the door and tried to open at the same time. Now that door will not open at all from the out side at all, and the other doors are doing the same thing. The front passenger door will not latch now, you have to lock and unlock about 10 times before it will latch. I have looked at the recalls on this car before and noticed that there is a recall but unfortunately for me I don't live in the states that are affected in the recall. If I was to get this replaced on my own it will cost me about 2000.00.
Ignition barrel and steering column locking mechanism.
Tl*the contact owns a 2004 ford focus. The contact stated that the front and back doors would not latch and are being held together with a ratchet strap. While driving 20 MPH around a bend, the back doors flew open. Currently, the front doors will not open from the outside. In the event of a crash, no one would be able to open the doors from the outside. The contact received a recall notice in march of 2005. The vehicle was repaired according to the federal safety agency campaign id number 05v030000 (latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch); however, the failures persist. The dealer will not replace the latches again. The failure mileage was 176,631. Updated 10/03/08 *bf the engine stalled. A new fuel pump was installed. Updated 10/06/08.
The ignition lock cylinder jammed up on me so that I could not start the car. This is the second time it has happened. The lock cylinder had to be replaced as in the past incident.
First the back passenger door lock went out, and then the drivers door lock went out. You can not open with a key, nor the automatic locks. I took the handle off to try to manually unlock the door, and you can't. Also the air and fan just went out. It was working great, and then all of a sudden it just stopped working!
Trunk latch fails to catch 95% of the time. Trunk key fails to turn lock most of the time. This problem has existed since the car was purchased in 2000. There was no event leading to this failure. I believe the trunk lock materials are corroding just like the rear passenger doors which were recalled. The trunk lock should be recalled. This problem is clearly the result of faulty manufacturing materials. I requested dealerships perform repairs and they told me that ford headquarters has failed to issue a recall . Why? The federal safety agency should make this happen. The consequence of a failed trunk lock/latch is that the trunk door will pop open -- allowing things to fly out of the trunk and fly into on coming traffic endangering others as well as block rear window vision. This could cause fatalities to both the vehicle driver and near by vehicles. . The hubcaps have cracked and broken off in pieces during cold weather while parked (ie., the hubcaps were not struck by exogenous rocks or anything else). This is clearly the fault of substandard manufacturing materials. Ford motor company employees at headquarters have stated this to me. Ford motor company should replace the hubcaps at no charge to the customer. Exogenous materials can hit the unprotected tires, cause a blow out. It is not right to make the customer pay for substandard materials. I could take a wild guess that the wheel wells -- on my car -- replaced directly by the vice president of engineering from the warren plant -- did not look at the stress and hair line cracks he faulty wheel wells placed on the original hub cabs. It's time to finish the job! Ford motor company's employees have stated to me that the 2000 year model (the first year this vehicle was transitioned from european manufacturers) manufactured in the warren plant did not perform the necessary quality control to ensure that these materials functioned in cold weather climates.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. When the key was placed in the ignition, it would not turn at all. The vehicle was towed to the dealer and the ignition was replaced. The cause of the malfunction was unknown. Prior to the failure, the vehicle was experiencing difficulty starting and the key had to be turned several times. The trunk lock failed and needed to be replaced. The failure mileage was 70,000 and current mileage was 160,000.
On 10/23/07 I inserted key into ignition of my ford focus and immediatley the lights and gauges went haywire-vehicle failed to start. To make a long story short ,after unpluging the battery cables and going back to the stranded car the next evening, it started . 2 days later my wipers came on by themselves and would not stop until I turned the car off and restarted. On 10/31/07 while driving my daughter home, the vehicle began accelerating and deccelertaing uncontrollably. I pulled of the highway and when I opened the drivers door, the seatbelt light began blinking and making a loud ticking noise. This had happened the night prior, but I thought maybe the button was depressed. My dome lights make a screeching noise and blink on and off. This is a serious problem that needs to be looked into. Whenever something like this happens I am driving home late at night and of course the dealer is not open to help me . My car is almost paid off and I will not invest more than what it is worth, which is only about $2,500.too bad I have paid about $18,000 for it. I would also like to know why I have not received recalls for the following problems: 1. 1st month after purchase, electrical system running airbags, mirrors, doors etc. Failed. 2. 37,000 miles- transmission failed 3. 42,000 miles- power door locks failed and soon after passenger doors stuck in the lock position. 4. All window tracks have failed. 5. Wheel bearings replaced. 6. Trunk latch failed 7. Ignition failed and was replaced and is going again. 8. Brought in for 1 recall (fuel filter) and still didn't correct problem with vibration and lurching. This is a vehicle that exceeds highway saftey ratings? Something will be done about this if I must hire an attorney- I am out a lot of money and no vehicle.
I am having a problem with my doors latching and closing. Sometimes I am able to open the car doors from the outside and other times I have to enter through the trunk. If I am able to enter from the outside driver or passenger door I them enter the car and close the door and it does not latch and close therefore the doors are open and not securely latched and closed and may cause harm if I am driving.
Hatch became unusually difficult to latch. The plastic inside the latch at bottom of assembly broke. Then we had to use an array of things to keep it wedged shut,yet it would still pop open while driving, things sometimes fell out, my dog was almost one. Light stayed on along w/blinking security LED, my battery is now dead and have to push start. The hatch latch has been purchased used, but now the lock has to be exchanged to fit my own key, I do not know how to do this myself, cannot afford locksmith. Part was hard to find and expensive. I have to buy the entire hatch door. I got lucky! Once!
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. When the key was turned in the ignition, the vehicle would not start and the steering wheel locked. The key that is used to start the ignition is also used for the doors. The key stopped working for the passenger side door and the trunk. The vehicle does not have power locks. The dealer stated that the ignition switch needed to be replaced, however, they did not suggest a remedy for the doors. The failure mileage was unknown and the current mileage was 17,000. Update 01-15-08. *kb updated
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact is experiencing the same failure as noted in recall number 05v030000 (latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch). However, the dealer stated that her VIN is not included in the recall. She experiences difficulty opening and closing the passenger side rear door. The failure has caused the vehicle to fail inspection. The current mileage was 104,423 and failure mileage was 100,000.
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact stated that only the front passenger side door opens. The other doors fail to open with the key or remote. The doors also fail to open when she is inside the vehicle. She stated that she is seventy-five years old and needs to be able to exit the vehicle from the front driver side. The failure has been occurring for a week. The purchase date and powertrain were unknown. The current and failure mileages were 100,000. Updated 09/05/07. 8jb
Tl*the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. The contact was unable to latch the rear doors, therefore they would automatically open without warning. Recall # 05v030000 (latches/locks/linkages:doors:latch) was found. The dealer inspected, oiled, and cleaned the latches in 2005, however, that did not prevent future failures from occurring. The manufacturer advised the contact to speak with the dealer for a resolution. The current mileage is 136,000 and failure mileage was 50,000. The consumer stated he believes the failure in the cables operating the latch, in order to fix the defect everything has to be fixed the door latch, handle, cables and door assembly. The consumer stated this will cost $500 per door which should be fixed at the manufacturer's expense. Updated 07/23/07
2000 ford focus lx, at first the key would not go into ignition and once in now is stuck in ignition. The ignition cylinder had to be replaced and original key was damaged when the dealer was identifying the problem (although I've found out it is a well known problem to ford) so everything had to be replaced.
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