Please post if your ignition has locked!

[nick_li2]

This problem happened to me today. Mine is 2003, with only about 24,000 miles on it, and just out of warranty for 8 months. I paid money to tow the car back to my home. Fortunately I searched online and came across this forum. I am going to try hitting the key with palm tomorrow to see if it works. This seems to be a really common problem. I am curious if Ford is going to recall or someone to suit Ford.

By the way, thanks in advance to j20000 and other fellows for instructions.

[furryferret7888]

.

[danager]

I had my ignition lock up a few months ago, 200 Focus. I called the dealer, and they quoted almost 350.00, plus the tow. I then called the local locksmith and they were significantly cheeper. I had the cover off the column, and have removed an ignition switch in the past...so I knew this would require the key to turn, or the removal would be a brutal assault on the column. Knowing the locksmith would prefer not to do this, I asked a few more questions. He said, to get the key to turn, they put the key in the ignition, and tap it in with a hammer, and can then turn it. As it turned out, the "tap" had to be quite hard, but it worked. I was able to drive the car to the lock smith, and they used the same trick to turn the key, and remove the cylinder. cost me 155.00 I hope this saves somebody a tow bill, and maybe prevents them from being stranded.

[MY20ZX3]

I've had this happen to me in December of '06, 3,000 miles after the warranty expired, I was pissed. But Ford offered to pay for half, so I only paid about $178 for a new one.

[timethy]

Happened to me FIVE times, around once every year. Only stranded on road once thankfully. Dealer fixed it four times under warranty, it finally started happening again early this year (I knew the warning signs this time and was ready!!) I called up several mobile locksmiths and finally got hold of one who has heard about this issue, he brought a NON-FORD lock cylinder, replaced it my driveway in under an hour, and he guarantees me it will never fail again. $200, best money ever spent on this car. Also he told me my key lands were wearing out uneven, maybe the factory locks cause this and its the real reason they fail?

[SVTRallyFocus]

Mine locked up about 8 months ago. Almost 3 bills to fix.

[d cruit]

Mine locks every now and then,if i keep sticking my key in and out it usually works but what a pain in the butt,put me on the list(2000 se spi)

[jonnyq]

Mine just did it today for the first time. It's a 2003 SVT with 66k miles. The part that really pisses me off is that I picked it up from the dealership yesterday after it had to have an Idle Controller replaced. That cost me $400 and now this!!

[LemonGT]

Originally Posted by d cruit

Mine locks every now and then,if i keep sticking my key in and out it usually works but what a pain in the butt,put me on the list(2000 se spi)

Get that fixed while you can. It's easy to remove it when the key works, but after it locks you have to drill.

[okiefocus]

First, a big thank you to this site. It saved me $200+ dollars. My 02 focus' ignition locked up 4 days ago. After reading most posts on here, I feel somewhat fortunate. My car has 119,000 miles on it, and this is the first ignition cylinder trouble. Ford dealer quoted $350 plus tow. I called several locksmiths with no luck and tried several parts stores with no luck as well. All signs pointed back to the evil empire dealership. I removed the cylinder myself and reluctantly purchased the part from the dealership - $140.00. I received two quotes on setting the tumblers from the same dealership. One was for $141.00; the other was for approximately $70.00. No explanation for the difference other than it came from two different service technicians. I was told it would take the ford technician close to 1.5hrs to set the tumblers. I tried one more locksmith and hit the jackpot. He set the tumblers in less than 15 minutes and it cost me $12.50. He also told me that he could have ordered the part for me for $42.00. Amazing........

[DeadParade]

my ignition locked up once
randomly after i dropped my keys.
for about 2 weeks id have to mess around with the wheel and try and turn the key for it to unlock
would take about 30mins to an hour to finally get it free
but then suddenly this issue stopped happening
its bin fine ever since
not sure what happend

[Ceighmey]

I can't believe I stumbled upon this website, and just in time! I had my 01 Focus ignition lock up on me at lunch today and had to call roadside assistance to tow it to the local Ford dealership. In the meantime my wife googled the problem on line and came across this forum. After reading, I called a local locksmith who will fix the problem for me for $100 The dealership wanted $425...

Thanks Everyone!

[azsewagon]

Mine locked up about a month ago. I applied aslightly more barbaric remedy. I was able to finally turn the key after an hour or so of fiddling, pounding and dismantling the covers on the steering column. So I removed the ignition lock and ripped out the tumblers then reinstalled the lock. Any key will turn the lock, but if anyone wants to steal it good luck to them. This was just the beginning of a string of problems that started just after the end of my extended warranty. I am still trying to sort them out!

[Focus_wrc07]

I had this happen to my old Zetec around 70k-80k miles a few years back. I could put the key in, but it wouldn't turn. Sometimes it would finally go after piddling with the steering wheel, and everything.

Finally, one night after getting off of work, the darn thing decided to not work at all. I had to wait an hour to be picked up in the freezing cold, get the car towed, and everything. It cost me $200-250 for everything.

It had to be drilled out, but another fault in my ignition is that the tooth in the tumblers was bent. Don't ask me how it got bent, becaues I don't know. When you buy a new cylinder rebuild kit, it comes with 10 different teeth, and you have to find the corresponding numbered tooth. Mine was bent on the number, and was a PITA to get right.

I no longer have this car though. R.I.P. I got hit by a Hyundai Elantra, and I'm currently driving a '07 ZX3.

Good luck to everyone else with this problem.

[tsvb]

Just happened to me today. UGH. 2000 Ford Focus wagon with standard transmission. I can get the key in but it will not turn. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

[Moses]

Happened to me last night on my wifes 05 ***** ZX whatever it is...
The key will turn and start the car but no chance on getting the key out !

Hello Carmax, goodbye ***** !!

[Fordowner]

Its happened to my 2000 ZX3 this weekend. 2nd time. My nephew has it at college in Lynchburg VA, he did WD40 and the wack on the key while in and it got it to turn. Thanks you guys!

Problem is I guess its going to happen again and this time its not covered, I might order it from SVT (mentioned earlier in the thread, they are 95 with coding) but not sure my nephew can change it so hopefully it doesn't happen again.

However I'm very interested in the notion of just taking out the tumblers. It would still need the key for the chip. Any more details on that fix? Heck at this point i don't really care if it needs a key, can always lock the doors.

Alternatively are there any good locksmiths or people in Lynchburg VA?

[ripagiga06]

mine happened about a year ago. i have AAA and they sent out a locksmith who made a copy of my key. he just put the key in the ignition and hammered(kind of like a hard tap) at the end of the key a couple of times, by hammering the end of the key it moves the tumblers into place which allows the ignition to turn.

once you have the extra key in there you can't take it out at all. to start the car just hold your original keys black part with the chip up against the made key in the ignition when you turn and it will start. by holding it up the chip sensor goes though the made key so the car thinks its an original key.

sometimes when ever i get my car fix they pull out the key in the ignition even though i tell them not to. if the made key is pulled out the ignition just place it back in and hammer the end a couple of times then it should work.

since i have AAA+ the locksmith did everything for free cause it was under $60 of service.

i would do this rather then going to ford and getting a new one. the reason why they break is that the metal in the ignition is really weak like the door latch metal(the reason why they break). so when you get the replacement from ford its the same metal again and then its only a matter of time.

my car is now having the alternator wire problem. going to try to fix it this week. then selling or trading it in.

[aaalok]

Plzz add me to the list aswell...my 2000 Ford Focus is down 74k on it :'(

[revamp]

Happened to my girlfriend's car last week. Managed to get her key in and turned with some white lithium grease and some tapping. She drove it and left the key in it until the weekend when the new keyed cylinder from FORDSVTPARTS (Thanks, Steve) came in and I prepared to do battle.

Well, you have to take the key out to remove the bottom plastic shroud on the steering column. You have to remove the plastic to release the cylinder. Slid the key out, removed the shroud, slid the key back in and NO TURN.

Damn, I'm thinking, ah well I'll just fiddle with it like i did earlier in the week and get it to go. No dice. No lube, no spray, no tapping, pounding, or pleading would get the sucker to budge. After over an hour of messing with it and a couple of hours of daylight left in the day, I hauled out the drill.

I drilled a 1/8" pilot hole in the center of the cylinder to a depth of around 30mm. Then, I drilled using a 3/8" cobalt bit in 5-10mm segments to a depth of 34mm (how far the key goes in the ignition). Clean the bored hole frequently as you're drilling and test the ability to turn the ignition w/ a screwdriver. When you can turn the cylinder, you're golden.

I laid newspaper down in the footwell and had no cleanup afterwards in regards to shavings.

[CarFreak597]

This happened to me with about 50k on my 2000 SE it sucked had to get it towed and then was out of a car for a few days

[jasonh32388]

OMG!!!!!!!! THIS HAPPENED TO ME TOO EVERYONE!!! I AGREE ABOUT A RECALL THIS BLOWS!!!!! one day over this summer i went to start my car and the key only went HALF way in and no matter what i did the key wouldnt go in... so i ended up taking a hammer and smackin the key in... .. ever since then i could get it in.. but it feels rough... key never slid in smoothly again.. and its harder to get the key out and in now... smthin got damaged.. a small piece of metal in the ignition... not gonna replace it till i got money or it completly goes..

[Link]

Well mine went out sunday before christmas. it got locked so the key wouldnt even turn. I drilled it out myself, SLOWLY, and eventually it was able to come out. I bought a new one for $75 at autozone and it came with 2 keys. Now im driving around with no ignition because i have to get the keys reprogrammed which at most dealerships is around $95 for 2 keys (Dallas) but i did manage to find 2 dealerships that will do both for $45.

other than the hasle, the process to replace it was fairly painless even tho i had to drill it out. hopefully this new one will last until i get rid of the car.

[Thomas504]

T'was the night before christmas, and I was trying to get some last minute shopping done, when I was stranded in a parking lot due to my ignition being locked. Did I mention I was in the chicago area (freezing weather)? The ignition started sticking about a week and a half earlier, but I learned that if I smack the key a few times with my hand, it would free up. It did however begin to stop locking about three days before the day it locked for good. I wish I found this forum earlier, it would have saved me a lot of time and money, as I would have changed the ignition before it locked and I had to drill it out to remove it. Thankfully I did discover this forum in time to discover that it would be a waste of time and money to go to the Ford dealer to have this fixed. I was able to get a replacement ignition that comes with two keys at autozone for about $90.00 after tax. I spent about 15 to 20 minutes making it work with my existing keys by removing two tumblers (I will later get the keys that came with it programed so I can use them as spares). The new one is made by a company called "Locksmart". I will post later if I find this one to be as defective as the original. Needless to say, like most others who posted here, I am extremely P*!@*# about this, even more so after finding that this is a very common and reoccuring problem that Ford refuses to own up to. Along with other problems with this and other new Fords that my I and my family have purchased now and in the past, I (and other family and friends) don't think we will be purchasing any more new Fords. I hate to say it, but it seems that foreign is the way to go. Everyone I know that has made the transition from domestic to foreign states that they could not be happier with their decision.

[zray]

2003 SVT Focus with 98,000 miles. Not too many other problems considering how much the car is thrashed.

I've got the extended warranty so the locked switch is "only" costing $100.

I had no idea this problem was so widespread. Anyone have info on the class action lawsuit regarding the locked switch issue?


Z. Ray
'03 Focus
'66 GT-350