Problems with 2000 Ford Focus ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

My 2000 ford focus will not start. it has 34,000 miles on it. the key will go into the ignition, but will not turn the cylinder. i have tried different keys and the same happens. when i attempt to remove the keys, the ignition does not release them without force. i have done a lot of searching online and it seems to be a large ongoing problem since ford has introduced the focus. why has this not been recalled and why does ford escape responsibility for producing such a lemon vehicle with so many problems. as consumer, we buy vehicles with the good faith that the vehicle will last for decades. why is ford aloud to go without fixing every defect they have designed in the focus? *jb your job should be to send a message to automotive dealers that any vehicle like the focus lemon will not be tolerated by the american public and that manufacturers cannot hide the defects in vehicles. *jb

The vehicle stalled while driving between 30 and 50 mph. the consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership. the mechanic repaired the fuel pump once, but that did not resolve the problem. *la the cause was determined by the dealer as a faulty alternator. *sc the consumer has since traded the vehicle. *jb

Ignition cylinder froze on 2000 ford focus se requiring car to be towed to dealer to have lock cylinder replaced as the key could not be inserted into the lock. this was covered by warranty at the time. in december 2005, ignition would periodically freeze with key inserted requiring several attempts to turn the key to start the car. car was taken to dealer on january 17, 2006 and cylinder has to be replaced again at a cost of $453 since the car is now out of warranty. i've noted numerous complaints on the internet about other ford focus owners with the same problem. i called ford customer service and they would not do anything other than note the complaint. this is a safety issue if the lock fails when the car is needed in an emergency situation. since this is a recurring problem, why has ford not been required to fix the problem? *nm

Ignition lock fails without any warning. the ignition key just wont turn and the lock has to be repaired. the dealer repaired it the first time for no charge the other two repairs were on me. the paper work says that the ignition tumbler had to be drilled out and the new tumbler rekeyed and installed. at least one of these failures occurred less than a year from a previous failure. *jb

Ford focus ignition lock. three times in the past six months the ignition lock has jammed on our 3 yr. old focus with 60,000 plus miles. the last time was day before yesterday. eventually we have always managed to start the car, but only after many, many minutes. once my wife would have been stranded at work alone after an evening shift, and once we would have had to have our son drive 150 miles to get us. obviously there are circumstances where being stranded would be dangerous as well as extremely inconvenient. we are now having the ignition lock replaced at a cost of well over $200. from looking at the internet, it is obvious that this is a known problem. we feel that ford should be required to correct it.*ak

My 2000 ford focus will not permit me to turn the key in the ignition. this problem occurs frequently on the 2000 and 2001 focus, as noted at: http://www.autowhiz.com/netscape/boards/showmessages.php?id=1275. since these cars are widely purchased for young adults to use, ford should recall and replace these cylinders. *jb

We own a 2000 ford focus 4dr lx. on 2/18/2004 and again on 6/20/2004, we put a key in the ignition, and it would not turn at all. we tried everyting, including jiggling the steering wheel. the first time, we had three keys for the car and found that one worked, but the others didn't. it was under an extended warranty (not ford's), which covered replacement of the entire ignition assembly. it is now in the shop again, 4 months later, under a parts warranty (less than 1 year/ 12,000 miles since the last time). there is absolutely no warning that this is about to happen. this time, we were out of town on a holiday sunday (fathers' day), no rental cars available anywhere, no place to stay. neither key worked (had two). we had it towed back to the dealership that worked on it the last time. it is there now. a tow truck driver said he sees this often/ this is a common problem, as do some of the websites listing complaints about his make/model car. this time it should be under ford's parts warranty, but we are concerned this will happen again and again. i am terrified that this will happen again and one of us will be stranded someplace and not able to get help. please investigate, and if you find that this is a chronic problem with the car, as it appears to be, please make ford recall this part and fix the problem. our car only has approximately 52,000 miles on it. we previously had problems with the front suspension and 3 major problems with the fuel system (had to be towed to the dealer 3 times). it is now outside the manufacturer's warranty, and it did not fall within the lemon law. we can't afford to replace the car now, nor should we have to, but we're going to try (but we don't know who will buy it, knowing that they could get stranded somewhere, too). thank you for your consideration.*ak

June 2003 & february 2004: ignition key would not turn ignition cylinder nor would the steering wheel unlock. ford dealer stated they have contacted the manufacturer numerous times due to this problem occuring alot and the dealer stated that the manufacturer was not concerned and would not be doing anything about this. dealership is standing behind initial repair in 2003 as starting date of 1 year warranty even though they do acknowledge that the same thing happened again in 2004. if this problem occurs again outside of the 1 year warranty with the initial fix, we will have to pay for it again. we feel this needs to be addressed and some action taken.

While driving vehicle stalled. driver was able to restart vehicle, and drove it to the dealer for inspection. however, mechanic was not able to resolve the problem. *ak

It was difficult for the consumer to turn key in the ignition switch. on numerous occasions consumer was unable to start the vehicle. the dealership was notified, but was unable to resolve the problem. *ak problems with vehicle tires/ tires have cuts in tread.*mr

Consumer stated ignition switch was defective. consumer indicated that the previous owner had the ignition switch replaced once. when the key was placed in the ignition and turned nothing happened. *ak

1. really hard to turn key and sometimes hard to put key inside the ignition. 2. failure of the ignition switch lets you sit wherever you are 3. replace of ignition switch. *jb

Ignition lock cylander jammed, inserted key, cannot turn key. had to replace lock cylander. this is the second such incident in six months.*ak

Ford focus 2000 ignition locks for the 15th time. i went to dealer and they charged me $450 to fix my well known problem. people from the dealer told me that it is common that people bring their ford focus to repair the ignition. i would not recomend buying car from ford. i had a ford escort once that i had to replace the computer because i went on reverse for more than 150 yards. it seems like i never learn.*ak

The key would turn to the off position and the car wouldn't shut off. they replaced the ignition cylinder, but since it was fixed in february of 2004 it has since done the same things 2 more times. these 2 times, however, the car would turn off, but i couldn't get the key to go to the off position and i couldn't get the key out of the ignition. i took it to the dealership 2 times after they replaced the ignition cylinder (once in november 2004 and once in december 2004). they said they can't do anything about it because it won't duplicate the problem when i have it at the dealership. after i drive it there the key comes out of the ignition. it was fine all summer, and it seems to just do this in cold weather. however, i have also experienced that my radio is staying on after the car is turned off, and my seat belt light and and warning buzzer also don't work when i have this ignition problem.*ak

I tried to start my car and the key would not turn. the ignition was locked. i tried several times and it would not turn. i read on a ford focus forum online that several other focus owners have experienced this same problem and one tow truck driver hit the key in the ignition to get it started. i had to result to doing the same and it worked. the other problem now is that my key is now stuck in the ignition and will not come out. the dealer wants to charge $380+ and this is outrageous! there are thousands of complaints about this ignition lock problem. my concern is that this problem could have happened anywhere. thank goodness it happened at home close to internet resources. otherwise, i would have been stranded somewhere with 3 young children and no means of starting my car.*ak

Ignition switch failure. *jb

I was unable to insert the key into the ignition and therefore unable to start the vehicle. neither of the two key i had would work. according to my limited web research, this is not an uncommon occurrence for ford focus owners. unfortunately, no recall currently addresses this exceptionally inconvenient $400-$500 repair.

Speed control switch for heating and air conditioning fan broke and needed to be replaced.

While driving the dash light began to flicker then the vehicle shut down suddenly while in gear. *nm campaign id number : 00v411000. the consumer was told that the power cable to the battery was the result of the problem. campaign id number : 02v288000. the consumer was told by the service department that this is a problem because the vehicle could explode. the warranty company turned the consumer down stating that the problem was not part of the warranty. the key gets stuck in the vehicles ignition and would not come out. the doors would not close properly and remained open while the vehicle was in gear. when the tire was removed the consumer noticed that the wheel was missing a lug nut. campaign id number : 00v303000 the air vent did not stay open when the a/c was on high. the brakes howled like a wounded dog from the time of purchase. pads and rotors needed to be replaced. *tc

I purchased a 2000 ford focus from carmax in miami fl during the last weefk of january. immediately after the purchase i experienced many problems. i have been in and out of the dealership and have been given the run-around. i lost 12 hours of work, been late and been left stranded by the ford twice. i have had about a dozen loaners and am currently still in one (4months later). i am paying for a car that i do not have and as a result i do not want it anymore. i want something else.i no longer wish to do business with carmax and want them to purchase the car back from me. however i am not upside down and do not feel that is fair since i have only had the car about 14 days since i bought it. i need help!*ak

The key would not turn after pulling it out of ignition. it was below zero that day. it was night time and i was stranded several miles from my home. i called home to have the spare sent along with a ride and the spare would not work either. i had to leave my car where it was for 2 days until i could pay a locksmith to put in a new ignition switch (keyed and installed). *jb

Ignition switch would not operate, leaving me stranded. there was no way to repair the vehicle on site, so it had to be towed to a ford dealer. total cost to repair was $214.02 plus $45.50 for towing. *ak

On an extremely cold day i was unable to turn the key in the ignition of my 2000 ford focus zts. i had to contact roadside assistance and wait for a tow truck to bring my vehicle to the dealer. the dealer in turn replaced the faulty ignition lock cylinder.*ak

Ignition lock has broken twice, stranding me and requiring a tow to the dealer and over $300 in repair costs.a search of the web shows that this is a very common failure on 2000 and 2001 ford focus.*ak

1/25/04 parked at meter in stamford ct, key wouldn't come out of ignition. got it out, then wouldn't go back in. 20 minutes of sweating/swearing, got key back in. had to leave it in the ignition (dangerous) until 2/12/04. car to dillon ford, who replaced key cylinder for $210. mileage 76,489. i saved broken ignition switch, if you want it. replacement was a ford motorcraftco. ignition switch sw-5997 xs4z-11582-aa. january 2005 broke again! broadway auto replaced key ignition lock cylinder again for $250.00. mileage 96,000. they gave me a copy of "ignition switch lock cylinder: all technical service bulletins, interior- ignition lock cylinder hard to turn. posted 09/16/02. article no. 02-18-2 2000 ford focus l4-121 2.0l sohc vin p sfi copyright 2004 alldata 8.30 "use lock cylinder repair kit (xs4z-11582-aa)" this is the same cylinder that broke in my first replacement. i saved broken cylinder. both cylinders have the code s 38 kb on barrel. ford's aware of the problem, i.e., technical bulletin. ford's using the same inferior part to replace the defective key cylinder, making over $200 each time. nhts complaint site has 291 complaints electrical system: ignition switch; 277 complaints electrical system,ignition; 4 complaints electrical system anti-theft controller; 2 complaints electrical system: starter assemby. numerous complaints "automotive talk.net" 114 complaints topic: 2000 ford focus ignition lock cylinder. this is dangerous, highly proiftable for ford motor company. ford should reimburse for the over $500 spent so far on this problem.*ak

Ignition switch failed. key would only advance halfway. finally able to insert key, but could not turn to unlock steering column.*ak

Ingition stuck. key will not go in fully. steering wheel locked. the rarely used spare key doesn't work either. dealer expects to have to replace cylinder. *ak

I have had numerous problems with the ignition not wanting to turn with the 2 keys i have. 1 is original, the other was made by the dealer i purchased the car from. it appears to be an issue with the ignition key cylinder. searching for information i have found numerous references to this problem, and there are over 150 current complaints that when searched for this part are returned on this site.* cb

Ignition locked up and would not allow key to turn. paid through my extended warranty to have it repaired. they installed a new key cylinder and now the new one is locking up. the local ford dealer heber springs ford said that ford is aware of the problem but there were not enough compaints yet to warrant a recall on the item.*ak

Ignition switch locked without warning. *ak

2000 ford focus zx3. 111,000 miles. could not get key to go into ignition smoothly. when i finally did, it would not turn. finally got started and had dealer repair. dealer replaced ignition lock. service advisor said this was a frequent problem with this model and suggested i contact ford. same night, new lock also failed. dealer had to replace a second time. ford customer relationship center said they could not help me recover repair expense. internet searches clearly identify this as a known problem by ford with numerous complaints and failures as early as 10 to 15 thousand miles. ford should reimburse customers for this known defect just as they did with the fuel pump on this same model. *la

Ignition switch lock up of my 2000 ford focus sw. *cb

While placing key inside of the ignition key will not turn. vehicle was towed to the dealer for analysis, and mechanic noticed that the ignition switch needed to be replaced due to a worn out part.*ak

While driving 65 mph vehicle stalled. consumer restarted vehicle, and drove it to the dealer. the mechanic noticed that wires and spark plugs needed to be replaced due to worn out parts.*ak

Ignition locked up, will not turn. *ak

When vehicle is turned off then restarted it fails to start because the keys wouldn't turn the ignition. this is an ongoing problem. the manufacturer is aware of the problem, and has redesigned this part in the later model vehicles. the ignition switch has been replaced twice at$300.00.*ak

Ignition switch has seized three times each time replaced by dealerships. never warrantied. please not the quantity of these failures. due to the pats system, most mechanics will not touch it.

The ignition switch did not allow the insertion of the key. consumer took the vehicle to a mechanic, who found that ignition was defective. *ak

Ford focus 2000 zx3 ignition lock cylinder became jammed unexpectedly. key enters lock but lock will not release, and so car will not start. results in stranded motorist with no warning signs beforehand, hence safety issue. requires either tow to repair shop or site visit from locksmith. many references to this problem on the web, and every dealer or locksmith i contacted had seen this problem multiple times.*ak

While driving 65 mph vehicle stalled. driver had the vehicle towed to the dealer for analysis, and mechanic could not resolve the problem.*ak

The "securikey" ignition cylinder is subject to repeated failures. initially the ignition will not turn until the steering wheel is "wiggled." then after a time, the unit fails completely. this does pose a problem when attempting to restart the vehicle after a "panic stop," where the engine stall/stops. especially un-nerving in traffice. 1st failure 9/30/2001 at 18,990 miles. lock cylinder was replaced. 2nd complete failure 1/9/2004 at 49,400 miles. currently the vehicle is experiencing the same problems and i am returning it to the ford service shop for another repair. the manager of the same shop stated that this is a common problem with this model year, 2000 ford focus, but that one replacement usually fixes the problem. i suspect there are no return visits since the prudent consumer would probably dump the vehicle in favor of a more reliable auto.*ak

The ignition cylinder on my 2000 ford focus zx3 is a source of constant headaches. this is not a new problem to me...i've had my ignition cylinder replaced 4 times in 4 years on my car. it is always the same problem, and ford knows about the difficulty with this part....i am not the only focus owner with this problem. this part needs to be recalled.*ak

It was hard to turn the key in the ignition switch, and the consumer was unable to start the vehicle. dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem. *ak the vehicle also had brake problems. *nm

Ignition locked without warning. the part was replaced, however the problem still persists. *ak

Dt: the owner had to replace the ignition switch that locked up twice in less than one year. the key and cylinder had to be drilled out, and all parts replaced. there have been a couple of times that the key would not turn, but evidently it would. then, one day the key would not turn at all, and the column had locked up. vehicle was then towed to the garage. everything has been replaced. *ak

Ignition switch overheated and malfunctioned. *ak *mr

Car would not accept key after turning off ignition. had to have towed to ford dealership. they said ignition lock broke and replaced it car only had 39000 miles on it. 284.39 cost of replacement plus towing charges. *nm

With only one month to go before we could return this piece of crap lease, out goes the ignition switch. never have i had a car where the key wouldn't go in, it was like a joke! so now we get to stick in a bunch of money for nothing. i can't believe with all of the problems and all of the complaints that ford has done nothing about this as far as recalls go. how many people need to be put out before something is done? my husband now has to take a day off of work in order to get me to work and to get the car fixed. here i sit without a car now because it is the weekend and the dealerships are not opened. oh what a joy it is having a ford vehicle!*ak

I have been having consistent difficulties and problems with the ignition switch/ ignition lock cylinder on my 200 ford focus. sometimes the key will not go in all the way, other times it will not turn. this has caused me to be stranded several times. i went to my ford dealership and was told that they have replaced tons of them. also, this is clearly a common problem when researching it online and at various newsgroups. *la