Please post if your ignition has locked!

[cjmartinyzx3]

second one locked up on me wednesday, well it didnt lock up on me but i couldnt remove the key. called my parts guy at the dealer and gave him my vin, he worked his magic and got me a new cylinder that night.

all fixed now, got the redesign so i should be set forever.

[SinisterGrin]

First post here but got a cd silver 04 zx5 (32,000 miles) with a couple minor mods but nothing major yet. Yesterday went to get in my vroom and sure enough key goes in but won't turn. Had to have the car towed to the dealership, they say its 300 bucks, so of course I call ford customer service at 800-392-3673 and tell them and the lady was nice but pretty much said tough s***t. As far as I'm concerned Ford can eat it, I hope they get nailed with a lawsuit. They said they weren't going to make it a recall because they said there was no commonality in any of the faulty ignitions. I told her it was simple, it doesn't work, they are just avoiding paying money out for it when its just going to come around and hurt them later. I feel like I got bent over by ford. The car only has 32,000 miles on it! You've got to be kidding me! go here and sign the petition!-------------> http://www.petitiononline.com/FocusIC/petition.html

[GapBoyPCS]

Originally Posted by SinisterGrin

First post here but got a cd silver 04 zx5 (32,000 miles) with a couple minor mods but nothing major yet. Yesterday went to get in my vroom and sure enough key goes in but won't turn. Had to have the car towed to the dealership, they say its 300 bucks, so of course I call ford customer service at 800-392-3673 and tell them and the lady was nice but pretty much said tough s***t. As far as I'm concerned Ford can eat it, I hope they get nailed with a lawsuit. They said they weren't going to make it a recall because they said there was no commonality in any of the faulty ignitions. I told her it was simple, it doesn't work, they are just avoiding paying money out for it when its just going to come around and hurt them later. I feel like I got bent over by ford. The car only has 32,000 miles on it! You've got to be kidding me! go here and sign the petition!-------------> http://www.petitiononline.com/FocusIC/petition.html

Welcome to FocalJet. In Ford's defense, you are probably out of warranty, and that's the main reason why you aren't getting any coverage. Warranty is only 3 years or 36,000 miles from the start-service date. If you car hit the road brand new anytime before three years today, you're out of luck.

Online petitions only go so far. The best (and usually most effective) is through traditional letters sent by mail or registered mail, and maybe through a class action suit. Otherwise, online stuff can get lost in the sea of information out there.

[cb400bill]

You can add me to the list of Focus owners who had their ignition lock up. 03 ZX5 with 90,000 miles.

[CatMan2]

It happened to me last night. Add me to the list. I had to get AAA to tow me to the dealership this morning. The guy called me 2 hrs later to tell me it was fixed and all I had to pay was my 50 dollar deductable because it was covered under warranty. My car is over 4 years old w/ 72,xxx miles on it. I was totally surprised by this news.

I had never been to this dealership before and I was a little leary trying to take care of this over the phone from work. The best dealership experience so far. I know that is hard to believe. BTW the new lock was a different design.

[jman89]

my ignition locked up on me a a few years back at about 45,000

[RICK2.3]

you can add me to the list...this happened to me. there is an updated part number. its not hard to remove you just need the right tools. you need a drill and a small slide hammer. you have to take the old cylinder out. then just follow the instructions on the new cylinder. just remember to install the right keys in the cylinder or else your key will not work...

[MonkeyGein]

wow so many posts. it happened to my 01 se sedan (had warranty) and now to my 07 ZX5 (no warranty). same prob, key in turns but won't come out... i was told needs new shift something. shop said they could just disconnect shift interlock and prob fixed. but, could start in any gear.... so add me to the list if there still is one.... TWICE

[Rather Ride]

Replaced the cylinder on the wife's Focus last night in 20 degree weather. The parts guy said the number has been updated 6 times already. Hopefully they figured out what is wrong!

I'll give Ford credit for making it easy to change the cylinder. Coding the cylinder took about 30 minutes the first time, but I could do it in 5 minutes the second time around.

[srr37]

Hi, a locksmith here.. the bad locks are called sidebar locks- we replace them with a non sidebar style. I thought the dealers did also but with all these posts, I guess not.
If it wont turn by tapping on the key - I use the tool that breaks the face off the lock -to remove the sidebar but sometimes I have to drill also to remove material to get at the sidebar. Drilling out the sidebar also would work.
If you have someone replace the lock just make sure it is the NON sidebar lock.

[cpalmer]

my ignition locked up as well. put me on the list. my ignition has been doin this for about 4 months. i never took the key out becouse it would not turn when i put it back in. i used to be able to hit it a few times and it would turn but now it finnaly stopped working. pretty pissed off

[skateman1990]

mine is messing up now and has become stuck twice..somehow i was unable to unstick it but add me to the list..should i even bother getting the part and changing it myself or is it too much of a hassle?

[dsgrey]

00 Focus had it's first lock changed back in the summer of 2008. Bought a new one cheap from an individual locksmith, he set the tumblers, I drilled out the old one and it worked fine afterwards. Most locksmiths wouldn't sell me just the part but this guy would - he does all the work for the area Ford dealers and keeps this specific cylinder in stock.

[jman89]

When mine went out the locksmith came out and replaced my ignition tumbler with one from a freestyle or escape can't remember which one (whatever one has a bunch of interchangable parts) Haven't had a problem since. The locksmith said they were pieces of junk and he would never replace a focus tumbler with an OEM one and that he has done many of them.

[Dfocusin]

I have had 4 of them replaced. 3 on my black ZX3 and one on my ZTW.

[jggreen]

yes, I am a victim of a locked ignition as well. Ford has gotta step up and do the right thing.RECALL

[PepperBlue]

I just bought my 2003 Focus last month. This is seriously making me regret purchasing it. And to think with so many hits on this same subject, that Ford has not admitted to there being a national issue with this??? Wow. Ford has lost a lot of respect in my eyes. Is there a class action yet??? If so, please let me know!

[MNiceGuy]

Add me to the list. Had the ignition lock up twice on my girlfriends '03 with 80,000 miles. Luckily a ton of WD-40 and some patience allowed it to work again both times.

[moyaspilot]

Yeah we had the key stuck in the ignition problem. Our warranty had expired 1 week earlier. The problem it seems was the sensor in the gear shift, the car thought the shifter was in drive , once the sensor was replaced all was well except, all told, close to seven hundred for repairs! We still love our focus though.

[iStepFresh]

Put me on the list... I'm pissed.

Mine locked up a while ago and hasn't been able to move since. What happened was that I called my neighbor to try to fix it because I thought it was going to be a quick fix. He didn't know what he was doing (idk how he works at a garage) so he messed up my whole steering column. The car has been sitting in front of my house for 3 weeks because of it. Ford wanted to charge $1100 for the column (without including rekeying the car). I got it done on the side for $200. But right after that, the car wont crank. I think I need to have the car reset now. This is some bull...

[uujjj]

i have a new problem. the ignition cylinder hasn't locked up, but it won't turn all the way. basically, i can turn the key to the accessory position, but not far enough to reach the start position. i took out the cylinder (didn't need to drill since i can turn it to the accessory position) and checked it out and it only lets the key turn through about 90 degrees. anyone know if this is caused by the same flaw?

[ZX3x]

Add me to the list of "happy customers" with a bad ignition switch, D'oh. It wouldnt turn, i got it out and blasted it with carb cleaner, compressed air, then wd-40. It turns now but after reading up on the problem, Im affraid to remove the key. Because it might no go back in. Doing a search is how I found the forum's here.

[hester_mofet]

Yep, me too. Happened in the middle of a road trip a few years back, less than 50,000 miles old at the time. Luckily the place I stopped to get gas (where the cylinder froze) was only a few miles from a Ford dealership. Should've known better than to turn the key all the way off when I got gas cause it had been sticking for a few days before...

[theindustrialist]

Add me to the list. Stupid Ford.

[SOHCTUNER]

put me on that list that happened to me when i went to my girlfriends school came out after visiting her and ignition had locked. mine costed 383 dollars to get it fixed. happened to me about 2 moths ago i believe. also my ruber part around the key wasent put back in either had about 115 miles on mine.