Unable to turn key in the ignition. Had occurred sporadically leading up to the date when it was then unable to be used at all, leaving family stranded. Had to have vehicle towed to dealership to have ignition replaced. Subsequent research revealed this is a common failure problem with this vehicle.
2003 Ford Focus electrical complaints
Page 6 of 19: complaints 131 to 160 of 522, newest first, as owners wrote them.
I own a 2003 ford focus. We cannot get the key to turn in the ignition and has left me stranded numerous times. I have read this is a problem with many ford focus owners. This has been going on for a year on and off. I find this to be offensive that it has not been issued as a recall when I see the numbers of people having this very same problem. Clearly it is a design flaw in the ignition.
2003 ford focus. Went to drive the car got in put the key in the ignition and it won't turn. This is the second time it has happened. 3/4/10, the first time, it "finally", after about 10 minutes turned after putting the key in and out of the ignition. The second time on 3/5/10, it just wouldn't turn. The car is sitting, will have to call a lock smith to get it fixed.
Ignition key will not turn, and vehicle can not be started, removing key and inserting again and again would allow it to start this happened every time. Now it will not turn at all.
2003 ford focus zx5--key won't turn in the ignition, so can't start car. Steering wheel locked up and no amount of cranking, jiggling, etc., would allow me to turn the key in the ignition and start the car. Was an intermittent problem for about two months, then tonight I couldn't get the car started at all; neither could a kind stranger; neither could my husband. Snowing and cold. I had to leave the car in a grocery store parking lot overnight and hope it will be unharmed in the morning. Will probably have to have car towed to a dealership. Could have been worse: two weeks ago I was 120 miles from home for three days and would have been terribly stranded. I understand that ford will replace this defective part (ignition switch) with the same switch, which will also be defective, and that I can look forward to getting stranded again when the key will not turn in the ignition switch again. Cost will be between $350 and $400, plus time away from teaching school (not a good idea and frowned upon by administration). The $350-$400 will only buy me another faulty ignition switch. This is potentially a life-threatening situation. Others have been stranded in freezing, snowy weather nowhere near a repair shop, in extreme heat with small children in the car, in unsafe neighborhoods at night (see http://www.fordproblems.com/focus/key-wont-turn-in-the-ignition.shtml complaints). Ford should fix this problem at no cost through a recall and installation of a reliable ignition switch.
I am a woman who was left sitting when my ignition locked up and the key would not turn in my 2003 ford focus. I called triple a and had the vehicle towed to the dealer for repairs at a cost of $278.00 I have since discovered that this is a problem that apparently has not been fixed by ford and could easily happen again. Of course, this would result in another large amount of out of pocket expense for a neglecting act of ford. It seems to be a common expensive problem that should have a recall. It's a dangerous thing for anyone to be left sitting without a functioning vehicle, let alone a woman by herself.
2003 ford focus ignition. We tried 3 keys and the ignition will not turn. We did a little research and this seems to be a very common problem. Over 116 so for that have submitted such complaints about this vehicle. Recall necessary!!!!!
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. The contact attempted to start the ignition. However, the engine failed to start. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic for diagnostic testing. The failure was contributed to the security system; pass security switch. The repair part was ordered. The vehicle has not been repaired due to the unavailability of the part. The contact had concern of the safety issue involved. The failure mileage was 132,000.
I have a 2003 ford focus sedan and the ignition locked up one day and wouldn't start. It wasn't the steering column locking and I had to call aaa thinking I'd need to get towed. The aaa guy actually told me this was a very common ford problem and that I was lucky I wasn't stranded too far. I was finally able to start the car by hitting the key with a small tool to "unlock" the ignition. I've tried leaving the key in the ignition to prevent the problem happening again, which makes me feel unsafe, but the problem occurs every time I take the key out and made me worried about being stranded or paying towing costs. I finally took the car to the ford dealer and it is going to cost me almost $500 to get the ignition replaced.
I'm unable to turn the key in the ignition switch, which left me stranded at work after 5:00pm at night. When this happens, the car becomes inoperable until repairs are made. This did happen to me once before around 09/2009. I had my car towed to a locksmith and they were able to fix it. They told me this was a known issue with my car. I looked this issue up online and there are thousands of people who are having the same issue with the ford focus. This issue should be rectified by ford through a recall. I called ford customer service and they said all we can do at this point is log your call. Because of this issue I've been stranded twice in the pm. This is a safety issue that should be rectified by ford.
My 2003 ford focus with only 40,000 miles on it would not start. Apparently the ignition has a defect leaving me stranded at work. As a soldier there are many people that rely on me to be at a certain place at a certain time. This is a safety issue and should be recalled. Apparently the defect is widely reported for ford focus years 2000 to 2003. It could cost me dearly if I was stranded in weather, a remote location without a cell phone, or if my baby was sick and needed to be rushed to the er.
To whom it may concern,recently I was stranded on the road late at night when the ignition switch on my 2003 ford focus failed to turn over. I later found out this is an all too common problem with the ford focus. As a female stranded alone this could have LED dire consequences! Now I find that the ford dealership wants to charge me some$500 to repair the switch..to be put in jeopardy then charged an obscene amount for their design flaw is outrageous. Please help.
My daughter has been stranded several times in her 2003 ford focus. She cannot turn the key in the ignition. The dealer is going to charge $800 to fix this common problem and we do not have that kind of money. I have researched this online and have found that many people have had this same problem. Please help.
No events to indicate a potential problem. The failure, occurring now sporadically and w/o warning, results in an inability to turn the ignition leaving us stranded for the unsafe and silly reason of being unable to turn the key. No old parts were available and close to 400 dollars later, the mechanic replaced the ignition. However, only one month after having it replaced, the ignition failed to start again (it is impossible to return the key) and alas, the problem continues.
Ignition in 2003 ford focus fails to work. Know issue with ford focus which should be a recall issue due to potential safety factors.
Tl*the contact owns a 2003 ford focus. Whenever the contact attempted to start the vehicle, the contact noticed that the ignition and steering wheel suddenly locked and could not be moved once the key was turned to the lock position. The key also could not be removed from the ignition. The dealer stated that the ignition needed to be replaced. The current and failure mileages were 60000.
My ignition will not turn on my 2003 ford focus. This is a known defect (or so I have been told by ford), yet is not on any recalls. It needs to have the complete ignition replaced -- at my own cost! Apparently the parts are poorly made and they fail.
Ford focus 2003 ignition problem. Key will not turn in ignition. Have been told no longer covered under warranty. Ignition must be replaced at a cost of over $450.00.
The ignition lock on my 2003 ford focus locks up and the key will not turn in the ignition. It started out as just sticking a little bit but working after turning the steering wheel several times. It ended with it completely locking up. I had to have the car towed to a safe place and a locksmith came out and repaired the pins in the ignition tumbler.
The ignition lock of the ford focus completely jammed/locked without warning in a questionable part of town due to substandard manufacturing. I was stranded for over 3 hours.
I went to put my key in the ignition and the key would not turn while in the ignition. This has happened me approximately 3 times. After several attempts to start my car the key finally turns and the car starts. My fear is, that I may get stuck in a bad area when traveling and will be unable to start the car.
I am an owner of a 2003 ford focus that has had ignition problems for the last 1.5 years. The key will not turn in the ignition, leaving me stranded now three times. I have called ford motor company and reported this issue to them asking them for a "good will" repair, and to no avail. I am not the only owner of a ford focus to have this problem, and wish that the federal safety agency would get involved and seek out ford motor company to force them to fix this problem and require them to reimburse the consumers that have had this repair performed. I would also like to see ford motor company forced to recall the vehicles for this problem, and fix it since this is a safety issue. I have had to leave a key in the ignition thus making it very easy for a thief to steal the vehicle. Thanks for your attention to this matter.
My wife has a 2003 ford focus. She was in town at an appointment with my daughter. When she got in her car to return home the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. She was stuck. I see numerous complaints online from people with the same issue, even a class action suit in california. My concern is what if it was late and she was stuck, at night, in the middle of no where? I had to have the car towed to the ford dealership and have it repaired for $450.
I own a 2003 ford focus zx5 that has an issue with the key turning in the ignition. At random times and locations when returning to the car, I will find that I am no longer able to turn the key in the ignition. I must work at it (longest has been an hour) to get the key to turn. This creates really big problems when you are stranded with kids at different locations and you never know when it is going to occur. From my research on the internet, many other ford focus owners have experienced the same issue and the fix has been to replace ignition switch (something about tumblers not engaging) and the ford service teams are very aware of the issue and the repairs. What I don't understand is why consumers must pay for a wide reaching manufacturer's defect.
I had taken my vehicle to the supermarket and when I returned to my vehicle the key would not turn and the steering wheel was locked. I researched this and found that the ford focus has a large amount of complaints of this same nature. I have been unable to get the steering column unlocked and will have to have the car towed for repair.
I was preparing to run some errands on a saturday, but when I went out to start my car, the steering wheel was locked and I could not get the key to turn in the ignition. After around 15 minutes of working the steering wheel I was able to get the key to turn so I could start the car. This kept happening all day off and on, until finally the next day I was out at the grocery store with my mother and when we went to go home, the key would not turn no matter how much I moved the steering wheel. After spending an hour and a half trying everything I could to start the car, I finally had to call a tow truck driver who was able to start the car. The next morning the car would not start and I had to have someone help me get it to a mechanic. The mechanic told me that I needed a new key cylinder and new keys (which have to be programmed because the keys are coded) which would cost over $300. Since this just happened out of the blue without any warning and can cause me to be stranded by not being able to start my car, I think that this is a safety issue that needs to be addressed. I tried contacting ford directly, but was basically told they could do nothing about this. From what I have read on this, it seems to be a fairly common problem with the focus (I have a 2003 ford focus zx5) and I believe something needs to be done.
The ignition switch on my ford focus wagon (2003) jammed. Ford charged me $430 to fix it, even though the part is defective and needs to be replaced in many, many vehicles.
I own a 2003 ford focus and the key would not turn in the ignition this happened to me 3 times already why is this not a recall???? It seems to be a big problem....
I was going do the interstate in my ford focus zx3 when all of the sudden I lose all power, im in the middle lane surrounded by 18 wheelers and other cars, and they have to swerve to avoid my car because the alternator went out! This car is terrible!
Key in ignition will not turn, can not start car! Will have to get it towed to ford dealer for $300+ repair. Daughter could have been stuck anywhere.
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