Car Will Not Start problems of the 2000 Ford Focus - part 1

With key in the ignition the key will not turn, thus the car will not start. We had to walk a mile home last night because the car wouldn't start. We have discovered it will be 150 to 250 to have a locksmith look at the problem and upwards of 450 for the dealership. It's the week before christmas and we are poor and can not afford 450 to replace a possible defect.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact stated that the engine would not start when the ignition was turned. In addition, the steering column locked. He struck the key with a hammer until the engine was able to start. The vehicle was not taken to the dealer for diagnostic testing. Through research, the contact found numerous complaints regarding the same issue. The failure has occurred almost daily ever since the vehicle was purchased. The current and failure mileages were 98,000.

1-2. Ignition on my Ford Focus has locked up; apparently this is a widespread problem that almost every Focus owner has. The key cannot be turned, so the car will not start, leaving me stranded wherever my car happens to be. Since I drive back and forth to school several times a year (a 4 hour drive) this leaves the potential to be stranded in backcountry indiana at all hours of the night, with no way to start my car and no one I know nearby to pick me up. 3. I will be replacing the ignition cylinder to correct this problem. However, since all Ford Focus 2000-2003 ignition cylinders are defective and have this same problem, it is very likely to happen again, and instead of being stranded at a friend's apartment, I might be stranded much farther from home.

2000 Ford Focus. Key would not turn in the ignition. Car would not start. I had to be towed and had to have it fixed. 598. 00, including the 125. Tow charge.

2000 Ford Focus- the ignition locked up, the car cannot be started, the steering wheel is locked and it cannot be put into gear. After looking on the internet, it is apparent that this is a wide spread problem with this year, make and model and Ford is ignoring this and letting their customers pay for an obvious manufacturer defect.

2000 Ford Focus ignition key stuck. Vehicle will not start.

1. There were two instances over the past 3 years where my car wouldn't start initially and it took 15 minutes to finally be able to turn the key. 2. I stopped at a gas station to fill up my car which is a 2000 Ford Focus zx3. I had may 7 year old daughter with me and when we went to leave my ignition locked up. After an hour I had to call someone to come get my daughter as it was 9pm and she had school in the morning. I had someone else come by to see if they could fix it but that was to no avail. Finally after about 3 hours total I had to call a for a tow back to my house as the steering wheel was locked up and I could not even roll the car out of the way because I couldn't turn the wheel to get around the gas pumps. I searched online to see about a recall due to this cars history and to my amazement I found web forum after web forum of complaints about this issue. All you have to do is search the web for "Ford Focus ignition lock" and you'll see what I mean. This is definitely an issue and can be potentially very dangerous. Being stuck and unable to put your car in neutral and move it to the left or right and out of the way, being stuck in extreme weather conditions. . . Possibly with a child or even just being stuck for hours at a time. I read on instance were a women wasn't able to get towed for 6 hours and read another example of a man who had rented a Focus only to have it lock up while at a rest area on the highway. It appears that Ford is simply ignoring this fault and it's costing people $400-$500 every occurrence. Some people have had to pay to have it replaced 3 times or more. Please look into this and try to do something about it. It has been a serious issue. 3. I have get the car towed to a dealer to pay the $400 to have it fixed and hope it doesn't happen again or I can find a locksmith who can come to my house, drill out the ignition and replace it which is cheaper than the dealership but not by much.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. He stated the key would only tunr three quarters of the way when inserted into the ignition. In addition, he has sometime he has to shift the vehicle into neutral to turn the igniting. As a result, the vehicle would not start immediately. The failure and current mileages were 94,000.

The first time I couldn't get the key into the ignition. Then after 30 minutes I got it to go in. Then when I parked, I couldn't get the key out. So I drove home. Had to call a locksmith to come drill out the cylinder and put a new one in--$220. This had never happened before. Even though no one was harmed by this defect on my 2000 Ford Focus with 51,000 miles on it, I was very inconvenient for me. What if I had been traveling alone at night away from the city and locksmiths and my car wouldn't start because the key wouldn't turn or go in? I would be stranded. That to me is a safety issue. A quick search online shows that there are thousands of Focus owners who have had this same problem and Ford has done nothing about it. There should be a recall.

2000 Ford Focus ignition switch failure. When key is inserted in ignition switch it fails to turn and car will not start.

: the contact stated the ignition locking mechanism failed to disengage from the locked position. Both keys were tried, but the vehicle could not be started. The service dealer was contacted, but the manufacturer was not.

Ignition cylinder locked solid. Car could not be started.

Ignition cylinder completely locked up without any indication that a problem was imminent. Vehicle could not be started. Had to be towed to dealer for repair. After researching, have found this appears to be a common problem in the 2000 Focus. Could be a safety issue if car is needed in an emergency, or leaves you stranded.

Stopped car, 2000 Ford Focus, to enter gas station. Came out and car would not start. . Ignition was locked up. . . Key would not turn. . . Blocking other cars. . . Had to call tow truck and tow to auto repair facility. . . This is the second time in two years that the ignition cylinder on the Ford Focus has frozen up and not allowed key to turn, costing much money both times. There should be a recall. . . Tow driver said that this happens to numerous Focus cars in the course of his business.

Put key into ignition but key will not move at all and vehicle will not start.

I bought a 2000 Ford Focus used in February 2005. On December 11, 2005 my ignition cylinder would not turn for the first time. The next day I had to be towed home because the car wouldn't start. I took it to a Ford dealership and had the ignition cylinder replaced for $283.

2000 Ford Focus ignition. Key starts to get stuck in ignition no warning ignition locks and car will not start. To fix the problem ignition gets drilled out and costs $175. 31. This seems to be a national problem with the make, model and year of this car and should be recalled.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus station wagon. The contact stated while attempting to start vehicle the key would not turn to start the vehicle. It was as if the computer was not reading the key. The consumer contacted aaa, and they stated that this happened frequently with this type of vehicle. The consumer contacted the dealership this morning ,and they were going to inspect the vehicle to determine the cause of the problem. The manufacturer stated this was not a safety defect in the vehicle and would not issue a recall. Updated 11/29/05.

My wife had to drop off something at a friend's place out in the country. They would not be home for a couple days. She got out of the car, delivered the items, and got back in the car to start it up and come back home. We were all waiting for her to get home so we could leave for a camping trip. The key went into the ignition, but the key would not turn, car would not start - the same problem described here many times. She went to a neighbor's to call me, finally found someone that could bring her home and get me there to see what I could do(we only have one car). I could do nothing. In the morning I am going to see what I can do. This sucks because my family is all packed and ready to go camping - now this.

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.

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.

Have a 2000 Ford, Focus se. Occasionally the cars ignition will lock up. Sometimes the ignition will turn and gauges, radio will work, but car will not start. It will not make any sounds, just does not start. Having difficulty even turning ignition switch. Been in shop several times, but dealer could not find any problems until 04-19-05 when the ignition tumbler needed to be replaced. Never have seen this before on a 4-5 year old car. Not covered under any warranty. This failure very often has left me and my 3 year old sitting in the car in extreme temperatures unable to start vehicle. Currently, I am stuck with a $250 bill, that the Ford mechanic stated probably had nothing e to do with the vehicle not starting!!!.

Vehicle experienced an ignition problem. Vehicle will not start due to defective ignition cylinder.

Consumer placed the key inside of the ignition and vehicle failed to start. Consumer had the vehicle towed to dealer, and mechanic determined that the ignition switch needed to be replaced. The vehicle ignition failed twice.

Upon starting the vehicle it failed to start. The keys wouldn't turn in the ignition, and the steering wheel locked up. A lock smith informed the consumer that this was a common problem with these vehicle, and was caused by the ignition chip freezing up. He refused to replace the ignition because of past experiences. After the ignition was replaced the parts failed again because of the same failure.

Many problems, the radio started shorting out almost immediately. I have to replace my tires at least once a year (10,000 miles. ) at 37000 miles after the bumper to bumper ran out, my air conditioner and heater fan only worked on 4, 1, 2, and 3 did not. I took it to Ford, the diagnosis was an open circuit which cost me $409. 00. ( I think I was ripped off) last month I took a road trip and whenever I would climb steep inclines the car sputtered and eventually died. There was no indication of my car overheating. After about 5 minutes or so the car would start and continue to sputter up the hill. This made it extremely unsafe for me and my family resulting in a near collision with a truck. This week, my car wouldn't start at all, there was some corrosion on the battery terminals so I cleaned them w/a wire brush. I also noticed that the cables looked burned. The car started after we jumped it, but died after removing the cables. I have spent more money on this car than any other car I have ever owned. My last car was a Ford escort, I still have it, it is 10 years old and has well over 100000 miles on it with no problems. I have 9 payments left on my Focus and will be selling it after that.

Last Friday my 2000 Ford Focus would not start. I had to force the key into the ignition. When the key finally went into the ignition it would not turn at all. This was the second time I had this problem. The first time I was able to get the key to work after awhile. *akhowever, after 2 hours of trying to get the key to turn this time, I gave in and called a tow truck. They asked me if I was able to get the car into neutral. Until now I had not check this. To my surprise the car would not budge out of park. It was then towed to my mechanic. On Monday, the mechanic found out that my ignition switch was bad. Ford are set up so that to remove the ignition you must turn to key a quarter of a turn. Since my key would not budge they had to drill out my ignition. Since the new part came from Ford my mechanic said this may happen again. I had to pay $299. 00 to fix a problem that may happen again. After this I did an internet search and found that many people with my make and model of car are having this problem. I even spoke with the dealership where I purchased the car. The mechanic there told me he has fixed several and was surprised it had not been recalled yet.

Ignition problem. Tried to start car with key but will not start. At first, the key would not go in but finally got key in but car didn't start. My key was damaged alittle from the ignition. Since mechanics are on strike in st. Louis, maybe hard to get fixed. Called suntrup Ford and they said not covered and not recalled so I would have to pay the cost to fix.

Ignition cylinder jammed and car cannot be started. Cylinder must be replaced and tumblers removed to prevent repeat of situation in the future.

Consumer placed key inside of the ignition switch and key would not insert properly inside the switch, and vehicle failed to start. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic stated that this warranty expired.

I have a 2000 Ford Focus. It has a recurring problem where the ignition cylinder locks up and the car cannot not be started, requiring towing to the nearest Ford dealer. The ignition cylinder has had to be replaced June 2001, Feb 2003, March 2004, and now for the forth time in June 2004. This is a serious and costly problem. If one were to stall in traffic on the highway, and then could not start, the car will be locked in park and would be dangerous. Upon picking up the car this time, after putting in the key, the key got stuck and I pulled out the whole cylinder and key together. I was told I am not using my key properly! Ford know they have a problem with Focus ignitions and will not address or recognize it. In addition, the dealer is tired of dealing with this problem.

Vehicle will not start when the ignition switch is turned. Vehicle had to be towed to dealer due to malfunction of the ignition switch.

In March 2002, my 2000 Ford Focus lx had the steering wheel lock up and the ignition lock up so that I could not turn the key or start my car. It had to be towed to the dealership and they ended up having to drill out the ignition lock cylinder, rebuild it, and replace broken steering column parts. Now yesterday, may 23, 2004, the same thing occurred - steering wheel locked, key would not turn, car would not start. I had to tow it again to the same dealership, and get the parts replaced again.

While placing the key inside of the steering wheel vehicle did not start. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealer for inspection, and mechanic determined that the ignition switch needed to be replaced.

Ford Focus zx3 2000 - like hundreds of other Focus owners, I have had to have my Focus towed because the key will not fit all the way into the ignition - cost to me is $225 +$75 towing on a flat bed. There were no events leading up to this - the car just will not start. Ford refuses to cover or lower any costs, despite the fact that this is a known problem happening to numerous Focus owners. I had a Volkswagen golf for 11 years before I sold it to buy a Focus. I won't make that mistake again. Also, the fuel pump psuedo recall is another great rip off. I received a notice about possible faulty fuel pump in the 2000 Focus. When I inquired about having this problem fixed (my car is sputtering) they told me it would cost me $75 to check it out and if I can't prove it's the fuel pump that is causing the problem, I will have to pay for repairs. My car is less than 4 years old and has 16,500 miles on it. Too many recalls to even remember. Great product, customer service, Ford!.