Consumer would be unable to turn the key inside the ignition switch. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak consumer adds ignition is stuck when attempting to start vehicle. Both rear doors will not open due to vehicle not starting. Clock spring and steering lock assembly were replaced.
2000 Ford Focus steering complaints
Page 3 of 7: complaints 41 to 70 of 168, newest first, as owners wrote them.
Dt: consumer states that steering wheel locks up, which causes the key not to turn in the ignition. The consumer has to work with the steering wheel to get key to turn. Consumer has taken vehicle to service department, and the technician stated that vehicle has an anti-theft system, and that is why it is having steering problems.
Car worked fine through the day; put key into ignition and it won't turn. (seems this is a common problem for ford focus cars...(that's what aaa told me and it's verified in letters on internet.
Without warning the ignition locked up and would not turn. Tow truck fee $75 ,ford repair bill $406.41. I purchased this car used in 2001. I have talked to the original owner and this part has already been replaced. However ford will not cover the parts failure because it occured with a different owner.
Bought vehicle with a bad fuel pump. Dealer replaced it in july 2003. Steering column would not work, and dealer replaced it on march 19 2205. Middle of april 2005 steering column failed again. Will not replace it because it was not under warranty. Also , the hatchback door latches are not working properly
Fatality vehicle fire, dec. 8 2004. My husband is the original owner of a 2000 ford focus, subject to numerous service visits to bill brown ford, livonia mi for: ignition, steering column, wheel bearing, brake, rear window control, seat belt &trunk latches, overhead light and engine light. The vacuum line & fuel pump & valve assembly were replaced 2/03, followed by stalling. In 6/03, A/C compressor & manifold line replaced. Fuel line & pump failure in 8/03, resulted in gasoline spill on residential street minutes after parking. Bogging followed repairs, PCM reprogrammed & leaking pvc tube replaced 1/04. Fuel pump again replaced. In 8/04, our 24 year old son took ownership of this problematic car. We are uncertain as to whether vehicle malfunction caused a 35 MPH collision with a fire hydrant. An immediate engine explosion and fuel fed fire trapped my son and his passenger. Described by police as a relatively minor crash which would not be expected to claim lives, the subsequent unexplained engine fire claimed two young lives. A malfunctioning driver's airbag was also detected. This incident was originally reported to the federal safety agency by my husband (#10104088). I am supplying these additional facts for your clarification. Please correct your posting of "0" injuries as there were 2 fatalities. Please take effective action to save lives, as these trouble plagued vehicles seem to become more lethal as they age. Confirmation of receipt of this information is requested. *nm *sc
The ignition on my 2000 ford focus is locking up to the point where I cannot turn my key. The car has 47,000 miles on it. I was stranded for 20 mins the other night trying to get the key to turn. Spend up to 1 to 2 minutes now each time I get in my car reinserting the key until it finally turns. I have also tried my spare key, which is brand new, with same results. From what I have read, this is a common problem, and probably only a matter of time until I have to replace the ignition switch.
My steering wheel locks and will not budge on my 2000 ford focus.
I am having problems with the ignition in my 2000 ford focus zx3 not turning over, apprently after research and 300.00 later, it is a defect in the tumbler.
For the past week, I have had trouble turning the key in the ignition. It's as if the ignition is locked, along with the steering wheel. I had been able to move the key back and forth and have been successful in getting the key to turn (actually turn so the car could start). Today, however, no amount of 'jimmying' did the trick. The ignition was locked and the key would simply not turn - at all (even after I tapped the key into the ignition with my palm as I turned the key as recommended by a ford service mechanic). Subsequently, I had to have the car towed to the town and country ford in portland, or so they could replace the entire ignition cylinder. This is costing me around $290!. I have read other similar complaints, and the tow truck driver - who also owns a ford focus zx3 - has been having similar problems. Despite this, ford has not 'recalled' this faulty ignition cylinder and I feel this requires further investigation and, at the least, compensation by ford.
I own a 2000 ford focus that has had the same problem happen to it again. Approx. 2 years ago we had to have the entire steering column replaced because the mechanism had locked and would not allow us to turn the key. It has happened again and there is nothing we can do to get the key to turn in the ignition. This is ridiculous and we think that there should be a recall or something designated to assist with this problem. A 2000 model should not have this many problems with its steering mechanisms. Info below is appropriate to latest incident.
Steering column ignition lock. Key inserted and won't come out, can't turn key - no steering, no power.
My mom drove my 2000 ford focus to the shop to have the brakes done. She had no problem inserting the key into the ignition and starting the car. I have never had any problems with ignition sticking or key not turning. When auto mech came out to move the car, the key could not be inserted all the way into the keyhole and would not turn. 2 mechs and my mom tried get to the ignition to unlock. We then called courtesy ford & were told this is a known problem w/ focus' & we would have to replace the ignition lock. This cost was est at $260. If this is a "known problem with the 2000 ford, why are we having to pay for repairs?
The vehicle's steering wheel came off twice while driving. *nm campaign id number : 02v289000. The consumer stated that she was almost killed three times while driving this vehicle. Transmission failed three times. The vehicle had been in an accident and the information was not given at time of purchase.
I bought a used ford focus 2000 in july 2002, since then the steering wheel locked a lot of times. I cannot start the car and haved to towed to dealership and replace the lock cylinder twice. This problem seems to be repeat every year or so. The lastest incident was yesterday. Since the warranty was over, I have to pay by myself to replace the lock cylinder. I am wondering why ford doesn't let customer know this problem and provide life-time warranty.
At 77,230 the rack and pinion needed to be replaced because it was worn and about to break. Also a week or two later at 77,300 miles the engine seized while driving. The dealership thinks that a housing ring came loose and welded on the cylinder. The engine was installed, but did resolve the problem. The vehicle has been shipped to the factory for further service.
Within a 6 day period, oct 7th through oct.12th (2004), I experienced intermittent problems with my key getting stuck, locked, or not admitted into the key ignition entry. The failure took place, morning oct. 12th, 2004. My key was able to fully enter key ignition area, but was not able to turn the key to start the car. The consequence was I had no immediate transportation and was billed for the replacement part (cylinder lock) and labor (approx. $350.00). The corrective action was to replace the cylinder lock with strattec part number 707592.
In june 2004, I took my 2000 ford focus into sunset ford in westminster, california complaining about a vibration and rattle in the front end of my car. They charged me $80 and told me there was nothing wrong with my car. Again, on august 12, 2004, I took my 2000 ford focus into sunset ford complaining that the vibration and rattle were still there and getting worse. They again charged me $80 for a diagnostic and told me there was nothing wrong with my car. In the early morning on october 2, 2004, I started to slowly accelerate from a complete stop and my car for no reason at all turned sharply and struck a curb. There is now major structural damage to my car that will cost thousands of dollars to repair. I contend that this major damage was caused by fords negligence in finding the original mechanical defect that I reported to them. I also contend that the symptoms my car was exhibiting were the same as described in your the federal safety agency campaign id #02v289000.
Ignition key will not turn, subsequently I was stranded as I could not start the car. I just bought this car 3 weeks ago, wish someone had told me that this was an issue for these vehicles. Car was bought for our daughter to use for school, we bought this vehicle for reliability now have to worry about her getting stranded somewhere.
Key will not turn the ignition switch! This has happen several times over the course of a few years, usually fixing itself. This last time, nothing will fix it. I am checking costs now to replace the whole mechanism.
Steering wheel locks up and key won't turn in ignition.
Ford focus 2000 steering column locks up... Key will not turn, sterring column is locked up tight and the car is not able to start. This has happened at least five times. I have managed to start it with much frustration and time spent. Now I can not get it going at all.
I parked my car and shut it off. When I came back to start my car I could put the key in, but not turn it. When I called ford they new of the issue and the service manger told me the following info it it:*ak it is designed so badly that even a perfectly new one can jam. In most lock cylinders the tumblers are pushed by springs to lock against an outer sleeve, and the key pushes them back in. With the focus they added a locking bar as 90 degrees to the tumblers, and that is what locks the sleeve instead of the tumblers. The problem is there is no solid connection between the key and this locking bar. It is only pushed by the tiny tumbler springs, wich easily jam. So the only current permenant solution is to remove all the tumblers. But since they cannot do this, they have to replace them as they come in, but they still break after replacement at my cost of almost $500.00. If ford knows of this issue why do they not fix this!
I am out-of-state in a large city and yesterday my key would go into the ignition, but would not turn. I had to leave my car overnight in a fairly bad neighborhood. I have seen a lot of reports on this site about the same thing going wrong in the focus. I am having the car towed to a dealership today and will have to pay a holiday fee because today is a holiday and in the mean time have no form of transportation. I will have to rent a car tomorrow (the rental car places are closed for the holiday). I just went on a 4,000 mile trip, some of which went through very desolate parts of nevada--what would have happened if this would have happened then??? I had no cell reception in most of that area. If ford doesn't think this is a safety issue, they are wrong. I have already had the fuel delivery module replaced due to its failure. Luckily, it was covered under a recall. Because of the ignition problem, I will incure a towing bill, the repair bill, and a rental car fee, not to mention the huge inconvenience and stress. I expect the totally cost to be $500+. I hope that ford recalls this problem, as I do think this is a safety issue. They need to stand behind their product, and it seems as though they are not willing to do so. If they don't change their ways, I will surely never buy a ford vehicle again.
I have had the steering wheel lock and key unable to turn twice now. The first incident occurred in february 2003. The car had to be towed to the dealership and I was told the steering column had to be replaced and re-keyed. It cost $867 to fix. Even though it was "fixed", I still had to wiggle the steering wheel to get the key turned which at times took a few minutes. Now a year and a half later, the same exact thing happened. I can't get the key to turn at all. When I called the dealership, I was told the warranty expired after a year and that ford was a "real stickler on their warranties" and I would have to pay about the same amount again. Just a note - after only a year after purchasing the car, it squeaked like crazy anytime I used the brakes. Even though the brakes were replaced, the car still squeaks.
While turning steering wheel locked and the lost steering control. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.
While driving steering wheel had a lot of play, the steering is very loose, which made it hard to keep vehicle in its lane upon making a left or right turn. Also, when making left or right turns vehicle made a squeaking noise. Contacted the dealer along with the manufacturer.
The ignition was locked in place and it would not move at all. Also, steering wheel was locked. Dealerships replaced twice the ignition switch at consumer's expense.
When pulling into a parking lot steering wheel locked up. Consumer was able to park the vehicle. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership for inspection.
Steering wheel locks and you cannot turn the key in the ignition at all. Steering wheel, ignitions, and gearshift are all frozen. Has happened 3 times before but this is the first time that the all 3 are stuck and can't get ignition to budge.
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