Steering Anti-theft Device problems of the 2000 Ford Focus

Anti-theft steering wheel locked and car won't start - 2nd time.

The 2000 Focus has had many problems with the steering wheel locking. We put the key in and it wont turn. We have been stranded many times and this is costing us al ot of money to have a lock smith fix it, as welll as having it towed and the hassles of trying to get home when it happens in another town(twice). This needs to be fixed by Ford- I see it happens alot with others who own this car.

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. On may 27, 2007, the steering wheel detached from the column while driving 35 mph. The failure occurred without warning. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic. The purchase date and engine size was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 130,000.

Steering column and ignition locked up for the second time on 2000 Ford Focus. Left stranded and had to tow vehicle again.

Ford 2000 Focus ignition locked, aaa said this is a huge problem with Focus and no recalls.

I have been having problems with the key and ignition in my 2000 Ford Focus for over 6 months now. The key once inserted into the ignition will not turn the lock, which has resulted in leaving me stranded several times, once in below freezing weather with an infant. Upon research online trying to determine what the problem is I am finding this is an extremely common occurrence, and have been subsequently told by two mechanics that it is a defect in the ignition construction that Ford refused to recall. I have had to have the ignition cylinder replace and re-keyed at a cost of over $400.

The contact stated when trying to start vehicle the steering column locked. She had the vehicle towed to a mechanic the first time this happened . Currently, the vehicle experienced the same problem while parked. The repairs will be at contact's expense.

The ignition interlock failed on my 2000 Ford Focus. The key would not go into the ignition, so the steering wheel would not unlock and I could not turn the wheels so that when it was towed ($80) out of the parking space it almost hit another car. They had to drag it up onto the flat bed of the truck. The tow truck driver said that he alone tows one Focus per week due to this problem. I live in a large town and cannot tell me that there are not hundreds of reports of this problem. I was quoted the repair cost of $260 instantly when I called the dealer, how often does that happen. I can see why Ford does not recall this item, it is too much of a money machine!! how many thousands of repair have to be made before they recall this?.

My steering wheel locks and will not budge on my 2000 Ford Focus.

For the past week, I have had trouble turning the key in the ignition. It's as if the ignition is locked, along with the steering wheel. I had been able to move the key back and forth and have been successful in getting the key to turn (actually turn so the car could start). Today, however, no amount of 'jimmying' did the trick. The ignition was locked and the key would simply not turn - at all (even after I tapped the key into the ignition with my palm as I turned the key as recommended by a Ford service mechanic). Subsequently, I had to have the car towed to the town and country Ford in portland, or so they could replace the entire ignition cylinder. This is costing me around $290!. I have read other similar complaints, and the tow truck driver - who also owns a Ford Focus zx3 - has been having similar problems. Despite this, Ford has not 'recalled' this faulty ignition cylinder and I feel this requires further investigation and, at the least, compensation by Ford.

I own a 2000 Ford Focus that has had the same problem happen to it again. Approx. 2 years ago we had to have the entire steering column replaced because the mechanism had locked and would not allow us to turn the key. It has happened again and there is nothing we can do to get the key to turn in the ignition. This is ridiculous and we think that there should be a recall or something designated to assist with this problem. A 2000 model should not have this many problems with its steering mechanisms. Info below is appropriate to latest incident.

Steering column ignition lock. Key inserted and won't come out, can't turn key - no steering, no power.

My mom drove my 2000 Ford Focus to the shop to have the brakes done. She had no problem inserting the key into the ignition and starting the car. I have never had any problems with ignition sticking or key not turning. When auto mech came out to move the car, the key could not be inserted all the way into the keyhole and would not turn. 2 mechs and my mom tried get to the ignition to unlock. We then called courtesy Ford & were told this is a known problem w/ Focus' & we would have to replace the ignition lock. This cost was est at $260. If this is a "known problem with the 2000 Ford, why are we having to pay for repairs?.

I bought a used Ford Focus 2000 in July 2002, since then the steering wheel locked a lot of times. I cannot start the car and haved to towed to dealership and replace the lock cylinder twice. This problem seems to be repeat every year or so. The lastest incident was yesterday. Since the warranty was over, I have to pay by myself to replace the lock cylinder. I am wondering why Ford doesn't let customer know this problem and provide life-time warranty.

Within a 6 day period, oct 7th through oct. 12th (2004), I experienced intermittent problems with my key getting stuck, locked, or not admitted into the key ignition entry. The failure took place, morning oct. 12th, 2004. My key was able to fully enter key ignition area, but was not able to turn the key to start the car. The consequence was I had no immediate transportation and was billed for the replacement part (cylinder lock) and labor (approx. $350. 00). The corrective action was to replace the cylinder lock with strattec part number 707592.

Ignition key will not turn, subsequently I was stranded as I could not start the car. I just bought this car 3 weeks ago, wish someone had told me that this was an issue for these vehicles. Car was bought for our daughter to use for school, we bought this vehicle for reliability now have to worry about her getting stranded somewhere.

Steering wheel locks up and key won't turn in ignition.

Key will not turn the ignition switch! this has happen several times over the course of a few years, usually fixing itself. This last time, nothing will fix it. I am checking costs now to replace the whole mechanism.

I parked my car and shut it off. When I came back to start my car I could put the key in, but not turn it. When I called Ford they new of the issue and the service manger told me the following info it it: it is designed so badly that even a perfectly new one can jam. In most lock cylinders the tumblers are pushed by springs to lock against an outer sleeve, and the key pushes them back in. With the Focus they added a locking bar as 90 degrees to the tumblers, and that is what locks the sleeve instead of the tumblers. The problem is there is no solid connection between the key and this locking bar. It is only pushed by the tiny tumbler springs, wich easily jam. So the only current permenant solution is to remove all the tumblers. But since they cannot do this, they have to replace them as they come in, but they still break after replacement at my cost of almost $500. 00. If Ford knows of this issue why do they not fix this!.

I have had the steering wheel lock and key unable to turn twice now. The first incident occurred in February 2003. The car had to be towed to the dealership and I was told the steering column had to be replaced and re-keyed. It cost $867 to fix. Even though it was "fixed", I still had to wiggle the steering wheel to get the key turned which at times took a few minutes. Now a year and a half later, the same exact thing happened. I can't get the key to turn at all. When I called the dealership, I was told the warranty expired after a year and that Ford was a "real stickler on their warranties" and I would have to pay about the same amount again. Just a note - after only a year after purchasing the car, it squeaked like crazy anytime I used the brakes. Even though the brakes were replaced, the car still squeaks.

While turning steering wheel locked and the lost steering control. Dealership was notified, but did not resolve the problem.

When pulling into a parking lot steering wheel locked up. Consumer was able to park the vehicle. Consumer had the vehicle towed to the dealership for inspection.

2000 Ford Focus key will not turn over when wheels are locked. Have to tow car to dealership.

The ignition of my 2000 Ford Focus has frozen repeatedly only to start working again several minutes later. It recently has not started working again and I am having to pay $200 to have the ignition replaced. This I dismissed as simply one of the down sides of buying a used car. However, after searching forums online and speaking with a local dealership I have found that this is a common problem with all 2000/2001 Ford Focus models. The person who came to tow my car to the dealership informed me that he responds to 10-15 calls a week due to the same exact problems with this make and year of vehicle. I was directed to the NHTSA website by one of the internet forums and was shocked to find how many defects had been sited with this particular car make/model however, this was not amoung them. This appears to be the most common problem occuring with this make/model of car as well. I just hope to never be in a situation where I need to be somewhere ASAP and my ignition suddenly decides not to turn.

Ford Focus zx3 2000, key will not go into ignition more than 1 - 2 inches and will not turn. Steering wheel is locked.

Key cylinder lock went out and caused steering wheel and the key not to be able to turn. Manufacturer and dealer will be notified of the problem.

Consumer states while driving at 15mph on flat surface and with no warning steering wheel locks up. Dealer notified.

Consumer states that steering wheel locks up, which causes the key not to turn in the ignition. The consumer has to work with the steering wheel to get key to turn. Consumer has taken vehicle to service department, and the technician stated that vehicle has an anti-theft system, and that is why it is having steering problems.

Steering wheel locks and you cannot turn the key in the ignition at all. Steering wheel, ignitions, and gearshift are all frozen. Has happened 3 times before but this is the first time that the all 3 are stuck and can't get ignition to budge.

Steering wheel continuously locks up while in use. Cause of the failure is undetermined.