Problems with 2004 Ford Focus ELECTRICAL SYSTEM

Key will not turn in ignition. *jb

Ignition started getting hard to turn, eventually it wouldn't turn at all. leaving me stranded out of town. had to spend 350$ to have it replaced. then it happened again 9 months later. and now it's beginning again, when i take the key out it keeps beeping like i haven't. *nm

We own a 2004 ford focus zx3. it has around 50,000 miles on it. the car is primary used for commuting, 150 miles round trip each day. last week when going to leave work my husband inserted the key in the ignition but the lock would not turn. he had to slam on the key to finally get the key to turn so he could come home. it has progressively got worse and this morning the key is unable to turn at all. we've barely had the car two years. when looking online for a fix/recall notice i discovered that there are thousands of other americans who have experienced the same problem, some of them several times. at what point does ford accept the responsibility for using subpar materials and fix the thing on their tab? i am now sitting with a car in my driveway, unable to even be taken to the dealer without a tow truck. it is blocking my garage which houses our only other form of transportation. i am going to be out around $100 today for transportation costs and that doesn't even include fixing the focus. *jb

I was able to get the key in and out of the ignition but was not able to turn the wheel or the key. everything was locked. had to get the 2004 focus towed and pay 300+ dollars for repair as the warranty is up (40k + mis.) *jb

Dt*: the contact stated the starter assembly continued to fail, not allowing the key to turn or release the steering wheel from the locked position. the service dealer and manufacturer were contacted. the problem has not been resolved.

Dt: contact states daughter came home from work on 7-15-05 and she had not had any problems with the car prior to this. the next day on 7-16-05 she noticed the car had caught on fire while it was parked in the driveway. the fire had already gone out. she had the car towed to the dealership, and the mechanic said ford was coming on 7-19-05 to inspect the car. she talked to someone who had just retired from wayne assembly plant and he said they had been having a lot of problems with the fuel line coming off due to increased pressure on the ford focuses. she has never received any recall notices. she does not know where the fire originated. the car is at the clinton michigan ford dealership. *ak

Dt: contact owns a 2004 ford focus. while driving on the highway the car shut down without warning. no particular speed or circumstance. this incident happened several times on interstate. while going 70 to 75 mph. the car shut down, no battery, no lights, and it was very hard to steer. it happened at stop sign or at speeds of 35 to 45 mph .after putting vehicle in park then in neutral or park it will start back up. vehicle was taken back to dealership 3 times in the last 3 weeks. mechanic recalibrated the automatic transmission control module (pcm) ,and was told it would be okay. took it off the dealership and within 10 miles incident started happening again. flight recorder was installed on october 6, 2005 was told to push a button every time the vehicle shut off, but the problem was that there was electricity going to anything to make the flight recorder show the problem. *ak

I purchased my 2004 ford focus in april of 2004. the battery went dead in may 2005. i had the car towed to the ford dealer and the ealer replaced the battery. car was dead again july 4. the car was jumped and take to the dealer. dealer said they couldn't find a problem and charged the battery. it was dead again on july 9th. i had dealer come get the car and they said it was a bad cell in the battery and replaced the battery again. i was dead again on july 21st. had the dealer come get the car they jumped it and took it in. they charged the battery and still tell me they can't find anything wrong with the car.

Driver placed the key inside of the ignition switch and the key failed to come out of ignition. driver contacted the dealer for an appointment. *ak

I parked my car to go work one evening,and i came back and it fails to work.neither of my keys will turn the ifnition.my keys go in and out of the the ignition switch only. my car has 40k miles on it,and it needs a recall immediately.i do not have money to fix right now,so i am stranded.*ak

Instrument cluster is bad and the guages will not work. part is not available and my vehicle has been down for a month and 1 week as of right now. service manager has given part to area rep for ford, and that was a week ago. *ak

Vehicle hesitated/stalled when applying the accelerator pedal from a stop position. vehicle had been to the dealer on three separate occasions. the first time dealer replaced the coil assembly, spark plugs and spark plug wiring. within two weeks or less the problem recurred. the last two times dealer informed the consumer that they could not duplicate the problem.*ak

I own a 2004 ford focus zts, purchased new in june, 2004. since purchase, i have had the horn replaced twice,meaning the car has it's 3rd horn. the problem appears to be water entry into the horn itself, possibly shorting out the device. the water could be from a car wash, or from water entry while driving in rain. this is a safety defect, in that i have no idea whether the horn works or not until i attempt to use it. this could be a major issue if i need to warn someone of my presence.*jb

Type of automobile is a 2004 ford focus. on several occasionsx ignition locks up and cannot start car. i have researched the internet and found this is a common problem in the ford focus dating back to the 2000 model and yet ford has done nothing to correct the problem. this could be a dangerous problem for a mother with children if she were to travel at night and when returning to the car could not start her engine. it is not covered by insurance for repair or under warranty if expired and it is a manufacturing defect on the part of ford and the consumer should not be responsible for repairs that after researching has been evident since the release of the ford focus. it is time that ford did something about this instead of leaving it up to the consumer to repair. *ak

The ignition switch and steering column was locked. the owner will contact manufacturer.

My horn stop working a little after i got the car back in 04. ford has put about 5 new horns in still nothing. it works for a bit, then out of no were it stops. then around 34,000 mi my car was in the shop for 33 days. at the time no one told me that my car was a lemon if its in the shop for that long under 36,000 mi then its a lemon. then at 58,000 my engine starts to make a noise. so i take it to ford, yep it needs a new engine, so they put a new one in there. well at 67,00 guess what, my ignition has locked up, so now i'm screwed. i can barley make my payments and now i can't even drive my car.....again.*cn

2000 ford focus zx3: the tumblers of the ignition are jammed. the key has a rough time going into the mechanism and often gets stuck on the way in or out. once in, the ignition will not turn at all. the car now has to be towed to be worked on. *jb

Consumer placed the key inside of the ignition switch and it failed to turn the vehicle on. consumer had to hit the ignition switch hard in order for the key to come out. consumer contacted the dealer for inspection and appointment.*ak

Steering wheel locked up, can't start car. had to take a hammer and pound key to get started, as a tow truck operator told me all these ford focuss are doing this. *ak

While placing the key inside the ignition switch ignition failed to start up the vehicle, and the key failed to be removed from the ignition. consumer took vehicle to dealer for inspection, and mechanic stated this vehicle was not on recall, and the warranty expired. consumer had to pay for parts and labor. *ak

I have a 2004 ford focus zts. the car is only 4 years old and the locking cylinder won't turn anymore when the key is in the ignition. this car is far too new to be having a problem like this. *tr

Car stalls without notice. sent daughter to emergency room one time. stalls 2 different ways, while driving and sometimes when coming to a stop. total loss of control happens. has been in shop many, many times and they can't figure out problem. started when car was 7 months old. also, clutch prematurely went out. has been replaced 2 or 3 times. (car has 26,000 miles currently). also, thermostat has gone out many, many times- daughter has driven most of winter with no heat. *nm

Consumer was unable to start vehicle. it was towed to the dealer, who replaced the ignition lock and cylinder.*ak

Car was purchased new in 4-04 at 4800 miles brakes groved, dealer said no problem; rotors cut & new pad at 10,000 and at 12000 grinding is back, also a flopping rubbing noise in front right which i think is because the rotor were cut too far and now there is too much play between pads and rotor, also electrical problems, lights, dash icons, door locks go on and off even without a key. gem module & battery replaced but instrument cluster does not work and is on national backorder. no speedometer, no odometer, gas gauge etc. while driving, door locks lock and unlock at will, dash occassionaly flashed on for 15 seconds and then goes out again. agency thinks it's the instrument cluster but because they can't get one to replace it, we can't be sure. the computer was kicking out codes for equipment that isn't even on the vehicle. dealer says never saw this problem before.

Lock cylinder will not operate to start car. key will not turn. i purchased car used with 24161 miles as used with balance of new car warrentey. first happened at 30810 miles , 35500 miles,40211 miles, and at 42152 miles. the car is unusable when this happens. *jb

Electrical system failed to illuminate properly. the interior and exterior lights failed. this caused poor visibility for the driver. *ak

Ignition cylinder / lock seized and prevented vehicle from starting.*ak

While driving vehicle stalled. consumer drove the vehicle to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic did not resolve the problem. *ak

On the alternator plug there is three wires one wire broke off by itself and it has left the battery light on all the time i don't feel i should have to go and get the new plug for the alternator if it is defective as well. *nm