Drove to the store, turned the car off but the key was stuck in the ignition.
2002 Ford Focus electrical complaints
Page 4 of 10: complaints 71 to 100 of 277, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I had come back to my 2002 ford focus se, put the ignition key into the ignition switch & the switch would not turn. I had to pay $45.00 to have my car towed to a garage. The mechanic charged me $400.00 to replace the whole upper part of the steering column & redo the ignition switch that came on it.
Faulty ignition cylinder lock, fails without warning. I had it replaced 12/15/07 and it is now defective again on 4/6/09. I had it fixed last time for $200, but it can cost up to $400. How this isn't a safety issue is beyond me. Then again the pinto's exploding gas tank wasn't deemed a "safety issue" by ford, either.
2002 ignition locks up with key left in it. The failure occurs everytime I drive the vehicle. I am going to have to hire a locksmith and pay over $400.00.
The key does not turn in the ignition so the car won't start. My teenage daughter drives this vehicle which can be very dangerous if it occurs in an remote area especially on a cold day/night such as tonight. Fortunately, the car is in our driveway but it was pure luck that it happened there instead of somewhere else that could have left her stranded indefinitely in sub-freezing temperatures or in a secluded area.
I own a 2002 ford focus and my ignition has locked up and I have to leave my key in the ignition or it will lock up. I am presently searching for a mechanic or locksmith who can help in fixing this problem.
Upon insertion of the key into the ignition, the ignition switch fails to allow the key to turn, the steering wheel will not unlock, if it is locked. "tapping" the key into the ignition will allow the car to start and the steering wheel to unlock. Cursory internet searches reveal that this is a very common problem for owners of this make and model. Some owners report having had the switch replaced 4 to 5 times at the dealership with the same results. This indicates that ford has made no effort to correct the problem, even at the cost of the owner.
The key ignition locks up and will not turn. There have been several complaints online. This should be considered a manufactured problem. The lock will not recognize the key and turn. I am stuck.
My 2002 ford focus ignition is locking up with the key inside. Constantly occuring. I'm going to research repair costs but have heard its very expensive and I thought since there were many complaints with this, maybe there would be a recall.
It was 11 o'clock at night in freezing weather when I had gotten into my car that had been sitting all day.(which I had started with ease 13 hours before) the key would not turn in the ignition. I tried turn the key back and forth for an hour before my boyfriend's mom came to pick me up at 1:00 in the morning. If she wouldn't have been there for me I would have had to walk 10 miles in dangerous cold to get home, because I didn't have any money on me for a cab. I paid $450 to tow the car 4 miles to the closest dealership and replace the ignition cylinder. The part is under a one year warranty. Since december 20, 2008, my ignition cylinder has not been working properly with my key. I insert the key and I have to wiggle the key to turn, insert, and remove it from the ignition. I will be visiting the dealership where I had it replaced last year this week. At least this time it showed signs of malfunction probability. This should be considered a safety issue. If someone is driving the car and it stalls on a railroad track (or any other hazardous location) and cannot restart or move the car because the ignition won't turn. There could be deadly consequences for the driver, passengers, and others close by.
The key would not turn in the ignition. I had to hit the side of the steering column then try and turn the key again. This no longer works and I have to hit the key in to the ignition further for it to turn. I am going to ford this week to get it fixed if it does not cost a fortune, but had to wait to get it fixed until my break from school.
Key is stuck in the ignition. It happened suddenly, with no prior warning of impending problems.
I own a 2002 ford focus. I replaced the ignition on 1/16/07 when I had 51,910 miles. I now have $80,000 miles and the ignition is locking up again. I was stranded at work and my 18 year old son is now using the car and I don't want him getting stranded in flint michigan. Ford motor company is aware of this problem.
The key would not turn in the ignition at all. A locksmith was called out to see if he could fix the problem. He told me that this happens very frequently ford focuses.
Ford focus 2002 - ignition failure. Happened three times. The third time was stranded in the cold weather with 9 month old baby until I could get help. My husband was able to start the car and I drove it to the dealer. It cost 350 to get fixed. I don't feel an ignition should break and then be replaced with a poorly manufactured ignition. I have read thousands of complaints online about this. This is a problem and ford should issue a recall.
This complaint is in regards to a 2002 ford focus and the failure of the ignition module from allowing my key to turn. Fortunately enough when this incident occurred I was not in a bad neighborhood or stuck out on the highway in the desert. It has occurred each time I've tried to turn the key, and it's only after significant effort and near injury to my wrist and index finger was I able to get the key to turn. I have researched online and noted many discussion boards stating the other consumers who have had this same problem. There is a petition circulating that currently has over 2800 online signatures regarding this problem. This is a very dangerous problem. It could occur in the wrong neighborhood or in the most isolated places and isn't safe for the consumer when they get stranded because of this faulty part that ford does not try to fix with proper materials.
Key locks up in the ignition and will not turn. The car would not start.
Keys wont release from ignition , replaced ignition switch and still continues to not release key, its evidently an electronic problem since when I disconnect the electrical connection to steering column the keys release.
The ignition key continued to get stuck in the steering column and refusing to turn until I'd continue to fiddle with it, sometimes for over 30 minutes. Very frustrating. The key has finally quit turning at all. The car is currently at howard's towing being repaired. The entire column is being replaced. Very expensive. Very unhappy.
I drove my car to downtown as I normally do except this time I has the company of my 3 sons. It was 4 am in the morning. I parked the car taking the key out of the ignition and exited. At about 5:15 I tried to start the car by placing the key in the ignition and trying to turn it. The key would not turn. I tried again but again the key would not turn. I called aaa and the rep asked me to try to turn the steering wheel a little and then the key, this still did not work. He called a tow truck to come out to help. Meanwhile my children and I were left to sit in the cold and wait for the tow truck driver. While waiting I pressed on the brake really hard and pulled on the steering wheel and tried the key again, luckily it worked. Spoke to the aaa rep again and cancelled the tow. I woke up this morning to try the ignition again and it stuck again so I did the same thing that seemed to work yesterday, but it did not. Fortunately I was at home this time and not on a mountain somewhere with my children. This is a scary thing to happen especially when you are with your children in a strange place. What if I were somewhere without a cell phone signal? Would we have to wait until someone happens by or walk in the cold to get a signal. This is something that should not happen to anyone.
Ignition key lock. The steering wheel of the car locks up and the key will not turn the car on. Jiggling the steering wheel column and turning the key at the same time does not work. The ignition cylinder was replaced.
I was stranded when my key was inserted into the ignition and it would not turn. This was a serious incident because I needed to be home to get my 6 year old off the bus and let him in the house. I was unable to do so and my son was extremely distraught. And then I find out this is not an isolated incident but this vehicle has a history of this. Very disappointing.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford focus. When the contact attempted to start the vehicle, the key would not turn inside the ignition. As a result, the vehicle would not start. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and they stated that the ignition needed to be replaced. The contact did not notice any differences beforehand. The current mileage was 147,000 and failure mileage was 126,000.
The ignition switch on my car will not turn over to start the car.
I have only owned this car for four months. First the oxygen sensor failed after two days. Then a month later I began having different lights come off and on with loss of power. I took it in to dealership and to ford who could never repeat the codes. I replace the battery and this stopped for a month. It is now doing the same thing again. Stalling or acting as if it will. I have to pull over and restart it several times to reset the computer to get it to drive correctly. I am frustrated because no one can find out what is wrong. This occurs intermittently but when it does it can be over 10 times a day.
Tl*the contact owns a 2002 ford focus. When the contact attempted to start the vehicle, the ignition appeared to be locked, but there was power. He attempted approximately 25 more times to start the vehicle and also disconnected the battery, but the failure persisted. The steering, transmission, and ignition switch locked. The dealer and manufacturer have not been notified. The current and failure mileages were approximately 130,000.
I have a 2002 ford focus and the keys sometimes get stuck in the ignition and or the keys are not able to turn the ignition. I feel that this is unsafe.
With no prior warning signs, key will not turn ignition. I was unable to get to work and subsequently lost $96 in wages, minus taxes. I cannot afford $200-$500 to fix something that will be replaced with the same faulty part, thus having to fix it again in the future. I searched the internet and found thousands of references to this problem, which makes me wonder why there is no recall. If so many people are having the same problem, wouldn't that indicate a faulty part, installed by ford itself. Some people report having to replace the ignition numerous times, and that ford has not redesigned this part, nor have they admitted it is faulty or offered a recall. What a disappointment to thousands of consumers, which surely will affect future ford sales. When will ford own up to this problem???
My car has frequent problems with the steering column, ignition locking which became problematic when I stalled in traffic and nearly caused a multi car accident because I could not start the car.
Failure of ignition to turn on. Programmed ford focus keys fail to turn on ignition.
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