Problems with 2000 Ford Focus ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Ignition switch has to be replaced for the second time.the first one was covered by warrenty.the second one isn't.

Purchased 2000 ford focus, vin [xxx] from croft ford on dec. 19, 2001; mileage was 12,163 (car was still under warranty); have been unable to walk since march of 2002 (mileage on car is now just over 13,000; last 200 plus miles has been put on by ford dealerships attempting to fix car). have had this car in to several ford dealerships; none of which can solve problem of engine surges; dash lights sweeping; transmission bolting; etc., etc., etc. this car is not safe to drive; i have notified ford motor company; the dealerships, etc., and feel that it should be covered under "manufacturer warranty" .. instead latest was that ford dealership wanted $500 to replace alternator and could not guaranty that would fix problem; i already paid $105; plus $110 and the same problems are happening. the car has been at the ford dealership in woodbridge, va, for over 2 weeks, which leaves my family without a car to transport me. this is not right. i told todd croft of croft ford that i needed a good, dependable, safe car because this would be the last car i ever purchased. he knew that i did not drive much at all and i feel that he sold the car (with an existing problem) to me thinking that i would never know. my daughter was the one who realized this car had a serious defect and took it to croft ford to be fixed several months ago; to date, it still is not fixed; is a danger to drive, not only to the person/occupants of the car, but to any vehicles near when the power surges occur and the transmission bolts. *jb updated 07/18/2012 *js information redacted pursuant to the freedom of information act (foia), 5 u.s.c. 552(b)(6)

Dt: caller had ignition switch replaced about a year ago and was now having the same problem again. it was hard to turn the key, and currently it wont turn at all. dealer said there was nothing they could do. manufacturer has not been contacted yet.*ak *nm

Dt: contact stated ignition locked and will not turn. this was the second time this happened. the first time it happened in 10-2000. vehicle was towed, and a new ignition was put in, and had to order another set of keys. contact continued to have the same trouble with it starting vehicle. ignition failed again. contact did not talk to a dealer, but planed to do so.. the dealer ,where contact bought the vehicle had it towed for her in 2000. she is going to have to have it towed. there were no lights that came on prior to the ignition locking. *ak a year after the vehicle was purchased the brakes and rotors had to be replaced. *nm

Purchased a used 2000 ford focus from a reputable lincoln-mercury dealer for my son. (hiis first car). after driving the car approximately 100 miles, when trying to turn the engine off, the ignition key will not come out. the car has to sit for 20-30 minutes before you can take the key out. after researching the problem, ford motor company has known for an extended period of time that they have manufactured faulty ignition cylinders on this make and model. while the dealer has offered to work out the problem, the fact remains that a recall needs to be issued to alleviate this problem on behalf of consumers. *nm

I just purchased a ford focus se station wagon from a private party. the car is in pristine shape with only 54,000 miles on it. there's just one slight problem.... the key doesn't turn in the ignition. this problem has been recorded a number of times.(see complaint section of this web site) why no recalls??????

2000 ford focus steering and ignition locked. my son who is 17 yrs old was stranded and had to call us because the steering and ignition was locked.

Ig nition on a 200 ford focus locked up. ignition and steering wheel will not turn. aparently this is a common problem with this car. upon completing a web search for possible repair options i saw hundreds of complaints for the exact same problem. i'm calling to have the vehicle towed to the dealer where i will undoubtedly be raped and pillaged over a ford md that they are unwilling ackowledge or honor.

I have had my focus for five years, i am 1 month away from paying it off. initially after i bought the car, there were a few major issues that were fixed under the warranty. example- wheel bearings, breaks, etc. otherwise my car has had few problems outside of normal wear and tear. on friday, july 15, 2005 i had a difficult time getting my key to go in the ignition. but it went in, and started okay. on tuesday, july 19, 2005, i was unable to turn the key in the ignition, it was stuck. it was also difficult to get the key out of the ignition. i had to have the car towed to the dealership to be repaired. the driver of the tow truck asked me if the ignition was stuck. i told him yes, and he told me that was the usual problem whenever he had to tow a ford focus. marshall brothers lincoln mercury informed me it was the ignition cylinder that broke. i looked online, and there is an entire discussion board dedicated to this specific problem. http://www.autoforumz.com/ford-focus-ignition-locks-ftopict32011.html

Ignition will not work properly on 2000 focus se, need to replace ignition tumbler assembly

I own a 2000 ford focus zts and the key will not turn in the ignition. according to multiple postings on the web this is a constant problem for ford focus owners

For no apparent reason while driving home from work, my car battery light came on, then stalled, smoke began emanating form under the hood, then the car went up in flames. i'm very lucky i was not injured. the car was totaled. this car has been nothing but problems since i bought it. *jb

I put my key in the ignition and it will not turn.

My wife was leaving work at night alone. she got in our 2000 ford focus and tried to start it. the key wouldnt turn. i guess it is an ignition cylinder failure. if my wife was in danger of her life or hurt she would not have been able to get anywhere. i am outraged that this is not a recall

2000-2001 ford focus wagon - ignition cylinder failure. was in a very hot parking lot and key would go in but not turn. this is a reoccuring problem with all focus models.

Dt: on sunday the owner's wife made a right hand turn off of mentor onto hart street. the engine shut off like the key had been turned off and the engine burst into flames. the vehicle was towed to classic ford but has not been looked at by the insurance company yet. the cause of the fire has not been determined. both the fire and police departments were at the scene. the entire front of the vehicle has complete fire damage. there were no other vehicles involved. prior to the fire there were no problems with the vehicle. the vehicle owner feels the fire was the result of a faulty electrical system. *nm

I arrived home on saturday morning, parked in the drive midway, took the key out and went into the house. later in the afternoon, i tried with no success to move the car all the way up into the drive. the ignition would not turn. i moved the wheel, which was lock, back and forth and even tried yanking it. it would not move. i called my friend to come and look at it. he was unable to move it and couldn't figure out why it had locked. there is no release on the vehicle, so i couldn't even move the steering wheel. every thing is locked in place. we pushed the car manually up into the driveway where it has been sitting with the windows down for 3 days. i looked into getting it fixed and found several websites with hundreds of complaints about this problem. the dealership i called for service said it would be roughly around $280 to fix but couldn't quote until the car had been in for inspection. i am really upset with ford for not recalling this item years ago. it is such a small fix for them but costs us alot. then when you get the reimbursement for you recall, they try to eliminate the labor costs, but isn't that part of the recall. my last reimbursement was much less than i actually paid for the service.

Dt: this morning when leaving for work consumer put key in ignition and ignition would not turning over and the engine would not start. the consumer tried to move steering wheel back and forth as this has worked twice before when this occurred. however, the steering wheel locked up along with the ignition. consumer had to have vehicle towed to a local dealership. the dealer informed consumer that the entire ignition would have to be replaced, and offered no explanation as to why this occurred. vehicle is currently at dealership awaiting repairs. *ak

Dt: the vehicle had to be towed into the ford dealership july 2nd, 2005. the vehicle will not start due to the ignition. the service mechanic said ford was well aware of the problem. *jb

I purchased a ford focus 2000 from john thorton on thorton road in lithia springs on or about 7/2005. i also traded in my lexus 1991 vehicle which i had just fixed up for 2000.00 and plus the dealer asked for a down payment of 1200.00 which i gave, and i requested them to add a warranty which they did not in the contract. the vehicle was white and black inside. i drove smooth for about 4 months until one day as i was driving the vehicle cut off. i had the brakes redone, and some other work. i took the vehicle back to the dealer and they worked on it and charged me some more. until i realized the mechanic called me name for pick up and he stated to me thinking i was another person, my vehicle is ready and it had 3 recalls on it in the past. i assume he meant me, and come to realize it was my car he was speaking about. every since then, my car would cut off at stop lights and while i was driving. i was told by the dealer mechanic it has a short wire that can cause a fire and there is nothing they can do. i placed the car in ch 7 in bankruptcy in 10/05 and he no transportation except by bus and cab. ford dealer in lithia springs, ga 30122 sold me a car with 3 recalls as part of the car's history. i don't know what else it involved. *tr

2000 ford focus. radio started turning itself on and off about 3 months ago. a/c started doing same this about 1 month ago (on same panel on dash). now a/c will not work at all, but radio continues to turn itself on and off whether car is running or not. *nm

Rear deck lid brake light incredibly sensitive to vibration with push in bulbs. just closing trunk causes brake light to fail. dealer claims this is not a recall. *nm

My 2000 ford focus would not start on 6/29/05 so i had it towed to town & country ford on 6/30/05. prior to the tow truck leaving, i checked the lights, horn, etc to make sure all worked before ford worked on the car. they did. when they service man johnny gardner called me that afternoon to tell me what was wrong with the vehicle he stated " the ground scrap wire , and ignition switch need to be repaired" i told him that was impossible about the ignition switch when i had it repaired 1 month earlier. johnny then changed the story stating " just the ground scrap wire needs to be repaired". i had them fix that part and went to pick up the car. while driving down the street a car swerved into my lane and when i went to blow my horn it did not work. i slowed down and my brakes made a hard grinding noise. i immediately called town & country ford asking them why was my car horn not working, and the brakes were making a grinding noise. they replied " i could bring the car back and pay to have it fixed". i took the car to an independent auto repair shop who stated the horn could not be fixed because someone unhooked the componets under the hood, and to fix it ford can only get the parts. they also told me that the axle on my right brake wheel was split. prior to taking this car to town & country ford i had no brake problems. i was told by town & country ford to check my replace the relay switch to the horn. i did and the headlights, interior lights, and windshield wipers do not work. the car will not go in reverse. my car was fine prior to town & country ford's work. *jb

I own a 2000 ford focus. my ignition locked. initally, my key would only go in half way, but would not turn. after finally getting my key in, it still would not turn. i have researched this exact indicent, and i have found this to be a common fairlure. there are over 150 postings on automotivetalk.net alone. i paid $65 to have the car towed and $310 to have it fixed at the dealer. clearly, this is a defective part, but ford has done nothing to compensate the out of pocket costs to the owners.

Dt: contact states the key will not turn to start the ignition. vehicle had to be towed, and the service dealer had to drill the ignition cylinder lock, install a new key cylinder, and remake keys to fit into this new key cylinder.*ak

This will be the second time i've had to replace the ingnition switch after a failure. it locks up/breaks and the key will not turn. the repair again is costing me $300 for something i feel should be recalled. it was not covered under my extended warranty when i was at 40k miles. i'm out of warranty now at 60k miles 2 years later. i have found so many other complaints on the internet in various places to know this problem is widespread. several employees at my dealership and tow truck drivers are even aware of it and admit that it's a big problem. this time my dealership is using a different part that *should* not have the same problem. i am patiently waiting for a recall to happen and to be reimbursed for these repairs. if it's a matter of ford not feeling that it is a "safety" issue, i would strongly disagree. i live in a dangerous city where i can be stranded with this problem at any given moment. luckily this time i was only out shopping locally during the day. ford has lost me as a customer unless they can show good faith and fix this problem for everyone.

The ignition lock cylinder failed on my ford focus (2000 model). the steering wheel locked up and i was unable to turn the key to start the car. i had to have the car towed to the dealer where they replaced the defective part for an "improved ignition lock cylinder kit" for a cost of $456. clearly, the original part was defective. i read dozens of other complaints about the same problem for other ford focus drivers. many had to replace the ignition lock cylinder multiple times. ford should pay for these repairs.

The consumer had numerous repairs performed on her 2000 ford focus. *jb recall campaign#02v288000 & 00v411000. repairs that have taken place within one year: 14 new tires because of a problem with the wheels, engine, transmission jerking, re-wired, battery, overheating and muffler. *sc

Had my oil changed. drove to wal-mart. i smelled somthing burning, stoped and looked under the hood didnt see anything, thought maybe some spilt oil was burning. went inside wal-mart and returned to car and started it and began to drive home. car stalled and some guys yelled at me to get out of the car. i got out saw flames comming out of the wheel wells opened the hood and put out fire and pushed my car off the road.

Dt: contact stated for the second time in little over a year the ignition switch will not turn. while on the highway and stopping at a rest stop could not restart vehicle. contact felt this was a safety issue. she noticed a problem with this in 2-04 and a in 6-05. she had the switch replaced both times. dealer acknowledged that this was a problem with the ford focus, and that ford recently developed a different kind of switch. she contacted ford to see if there was a recall, and there was no recall.*ak

Dt:contact states when she puts the key in the ignition it will not move.. she has reported the problem to the dealership. this has been happened since 2000, and it has gotten worse. . it just locks up and contact can't turn the ignition. it sometimes takes up to 5 minutes to get the ignition to turn over. *ak

We had occasional difficulty inserting the key into our 2000 ford focus, and then one day we were completely unable to get the key in. we have a key that is rarely used and that doesn't work either. we are stuck and will have to call a tow truck to take our car to the shop. my husband missed a day of work and we don't know yet how much this whole thing will cost us. i want to know why there is not a recall on this since it is obviously a problem for ford focus cars.

Hi, on saturday evening (june 18, 2005) i drove my 2000 ford focus zts to edgerton confort inn in wisconsin with my wife and 6 months old child without any problems. on father's day morning (june 19, 2005) ready to enjoy breakfast with family and friends i was not able to turn on the car. the ignition key would only go in half-way and wouldn't do anything plus steering wheel was locked as well, eventhouth i didn't lock it the night before. i spent about an hour with friends trying different approaches to release the steering wheel without success. the closest town i could find a ford service center was in janesville, wi and on a sunday (father's day) i couldn't resolve much. i had to spent another extra night in the hotel to be able to resolve the next day. not a fun thing when you have a young child with you and not able to do much without a car. on monday, june 20, 2005, i got in contact with gordie boucher ford service center to arrange towing service. that cost me $73.50 to get my car from the hotel parking lot to the service center. at the service center i was told that my problem was a known problem by them, that it wasn't the 1st. time they see it happend to focus cars and that will cost me 3 hours of labor + part. (labor: 279.83; part: 98.47 = $378.30+tax) hotel/towing/ford service total was close to $500 the damaged part was the ignition tumbler which they had to drill out, rekey the new tumbler and replace it. old parts stayed at service center. this is apparently a known problem and i would like to voice my complaint with you because this should be taken care by a recall from ford motor company. also, you can read more about this from other owners on edmund's website: http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/[email protected]@.eea50dc/0 please advice and thank you for your proving this venue to us, consumers. from illinois, edgardo munoz

I am a college student and i have a 2000 ford focus. the steering wheel is locking and i can't start the car. my mother, father, boyfriend and i have tried over and over turning the key and the steering wheel but it does not work. this is the third time this has happened and my car is no longer under warranty. this is a major problem with the ford focus and somthing needs to be done, the car needs to be recalled. this is very unsafe, and the dealerships are not much of any help. pleaseeeeeeeeeee help

Dt: the contact owns a 2000 ford focus. the problem with the vehicle is that once consumer sticks the key into the ignition the key would get stuck and would not turn. after numerous attempts it would eventually start before, but now it will not start at all. *ak

This is the 2nd time that the ignition has gone out on my 2000 ford focus. when the key was put in it wwas hard to turn on. this went on for about a week and then the key would not go into the ignition at all. therefore you are stranded where ever you are. car has to be towed. *jb

Dt: the consumer owns a 2000 ford focus. the ignition locks up. from what she has seen this is a common problem for the ford focus. the dealership stated that there were three other vehicles that they are fixing for the same problem. the manufacturer stated that there was no other complaints. *jb

Ignition failure, can not remove or turn key

Dt: consumer stated ignition lock broke/froze. key would not go in ignition, sometimes it would go half way in, and sometimes all the way in. but even when it went all the way in ignition would not turn. vehicle was sitting in driveway when this happened. there were previous problems with ignition. but consumer was eventually be able to get ignition to work. this happened several times over the last two or three years. had no problem in the last year until now. vehicle was serviced regularly.*ak

The ignition "froze" so that i could not turn the car on and the steering wheel was locked. i have since read many complaints about this failure.

Yesterday, all of a sudden my key did not want to turn the ignition to start the car. a couple of times i was able to get it started by playing with it and then when i needed the car a couple of minutes later it would not work. i am now finding alot of complaints on the internet in relation to ford focus 2000-2003 models have bad ignitions and subjects having to have the ignition replaced multiple times and ford not recalling them. websites: www.automotivetalk.net and www.edmunds.com, etc. i am a single mom, with only the ford focus to drive and i can't afford to be stalled out somewhere with my young child, because ford has decided not to fix a constant problem.

Key stuck in ignition, after repeatedly jiggling key, could turn on electrical, but could not turn on engine. finally could remove key with difficulty, but electrical stayed on even with key removed. tried repeatedly for more than an hour and a half, but could not turn engine on. had to have car towed to mechanic for repair. this same problem occurred once before in may 2002. at that time (2002) the key cylinder was replaced and the ignition cylinder was recoded under warranty by ford dealership.

My car was driving/starting just fine until one night i tried to start my car and the ignitioon and steering wheel locked up and wouldn't turn. i had to have it towed to a dealership. they replaced the ignition cylinder in my car which cost about $300.

Was getting ready to drive home. put my key in the ignition, and the key would not turn. tried for two hours to turn the key, but no luck. i had to wait an additional 2 hours to get a ride home, with my car still in the parking lot. called ford dealership. told them my problem,and they knew without me telling them, the make and model of my car. they then referred me to a lock smith, who had to come out and replace it.

My ford focus 2000 zx3 was working fine. when i went to drive home from work the key jammed in the ignition. i could not get the key to turn. i tried and tried but it would not turn. i had to get my wife to pick me up. i tried it the next day, still jammed. i read on the internet that this is a common problem with ford focus models. i called the dealership and was told $350- $650 to replace it. very expensive i thought. i called aaa, they sent a lock smith and it cost me $185. not only is this a problem that should be added to the 12 already listed recall items on this model but the price at the ford dealer was well inflated!!!! i would like to see this item added to the recall list as it is a manufacturing default. i would also like to be rembursed for the locksmith charge.

2000 ford focus ignition switch is jammed. key will go in but will not turn. found many complaints about this problem on other internet sites. cost to repair 200 to 400 dollars according to these reports. found a web article published in 2002 on how to fix the problem - http://www.motorage.com/motorage/data/articlestandard/motorage/472002/38913/article.pdf my car is still in the driveway where the problem occured. emailed ford as i have been a long time ford buyer and have never had problem with an ignition switch - no response as of this date.

2000 ford focus with z-tech engine caught fire drivers side battery compartment/wire harness

Over a period of time my key was sticking in the ignition more frequently. it then got to the point that i couldnt get the key all the way in unless i messed around with the steering wheel for a while. once i got the key in there was no guarantee that it would turn so i could start the car. i eventually ended up leaving my key in the ignition and covering up the steering wheel before i got out of my car. i have two kids, i can not afford to get stuck anywhere.i took my car to a repair shop where the mechanic proceeded to tell me that this was the 9th ford focus that he had repaired that month for the same problem. "a consumer had just picked one up this morning as a matter of fact", he said.so i had the problem corrected, he had to replace a part that was in the ignition. he had told me that the piece was like a puzzle and that when these cars were made the manufacturer had put the wrong size in. i do not have the old part, the repair center kept it.

Ignition failed on 2000 ford focus also turn cancel signal 3 times under warranty and broken again out of warranty the ignition failed 3000 miles after warranty expired. the turn cancel during and after. i have 1 relative and 1 friend that has had the same thing happen. *nm

1: one incident of inserting key into ignition 2: total lock up of ignition,no injury loss of money to fix the problem 3: replace ignition, ignition drilled and new one instsalled, have old part.