The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. He stated that upon starting the vehicle, the key would not turn. The vehicle would not cut on and the key would not turn in the ignition switch. The vehicle was towed to his home. The dealer stated that he did not know the reason for the failure. No repairs were made to date. The current and failure mileages were under 160,000. Updated 02/03/10 updated 02/11/10.

- Plymouth, MA, USA

2000 Ford Focus key will not turn the ignition. The consumer was quoted a price of $400 to get the vehicle started to get the cylinder repaired. If the dealer found the cylinder was completely ruined, it would be an additional $300.

- Vancouver, WA, USA

My daughter was away at college when her 2000 Ford Focus would not accept the key in the ignition. She was stranded with no way to get home. A mechanic at school worked on it for an hour and got the key in and suggested leaving it in permanently until it is fixed. We got the car home, took it to a Ford dealer and they replaced the ignition cylinder for over $400. They had the parts available because they service this problem alot on Ford Focus'. our fear is that her car will suddenly shut off while driving down the dark farm roads that she has to take to her school. Some reports I have read had that happen to them with Ford Focus.

- Orland Hills, IL, USA

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.

- Payson, AZ, USA

Ford Focus ignition keylock will not turn. When inserting the key into the ignition the key will not turn at all. This is the second time this has happened to this 2000 Ford Focus SE. This is a safety issue as it may strand a driver in an undesirable location or conditions.

- Des Moines, WA, USA

2000 Ford Focus ignition is stuck in the locked position wont turn on. Stopped at a rest stop in the middle of the night in middle of now where and the temperature was in low 30's. came back to car ignition would not turn locked up. No phone service in the area and no pay phones, had to wait until the next person to stop, since was not a holiday I had to wait till morning which was 41/2 hour way when a local commuter stopped and was willing to give me a ride to nearest gas station 25 miles away. Then I had to have my car towed to a local the gas station where it was fix the next day after the part arrived. After looking online and finding out this is a recurring problem and that it is very likely to happen again since it defect has never been fixed in the ignition makes me very worried that it may happen again.

- Laingsburg, MI, USA

Yesterday afternoon my wife, daughter and I were on our way to my wife's sister house. Earlier that morning I went out and there was nothing wrong with it. I put the key in the ignition and tried to turn but it wouldn't turn. I tried turning 8 different times with 2 different original keys that came with car but still wouldn't turn. Finally on the 9th try it turned right on. We went her house for dinner but I had to leave after getting there because I forgot the dessert at home. I got into the car turned it on no problem, got home went inside came back out turned on the car no problem, went back to sister in law house was there about 3 hours went to leave will not turn. Tried and tried for about a hour turning before giving up. Sister in law has no car and lived to far away from my home to walk especially with a young child. So we had to call around for a ride. Finally returned home almost 3 hours after we first tried to leave. Now we are down to one car when we need two for both of us to get back and forth to work. I have not had anything fixed on it yet. I looked online and found out there are hundreds if not thousands of people with this same problem. There's two choices I have one is to take it to the Ford dealer and pay $500 or more for a new ignition just for it to possibly have the same thing happen again because Ford has not fixed the problem with the ignition yet or two pay $150 or more for a locksmith to come and fix it, with consequences unknown. So at the moment I don't know what to do. I could pay for a new one but it doesn't make sense if the problem with the Ford ignition hasn't been fixed by Ford, all that does is put off the problem for a year or maybe a few years just for the same problem to come back. The locksmith is cheaper but I don't know if them doing something to the ignition would damage my ignition or my security system. I think is wrong for Ford to do nothing about a problem they knew about for years.

- Windsor Locks, CT, USA

I have a 2000 Ford Focus and my key won't turn in the ignition. This is the second time this happens leaving me stranded. This is ridiculous, Ford must take action!

- Lennox, CA, USA

2000 Ford Focus. Key would not turn in the ignition. It left my 19 year old daughter stranded after work as a hostess at a restaurant. This could and has happened on two occasions. The key finally turned after nearly two hours of attempting to get it to work. We have discovered by banging on the key it helps sometimes. This is a costly repair that has been reported numerous times and other consumers say it happens repeatedly.

- Charlotte, NC, USA

Key will not turn in ignition and gets stuck.

- Babylon, NY, USA

I have a Ford Focus 2000 model and the key would not turn in the ignition. This is a common problem among Ford Focus models of 2000-2003. Due to this defect I got stuck on the highway and had to be towed. This is a serious defect and can cause serious accidents.

- Rutherford, NJ, USA

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact stated that when inserting the key into the ignition, it will not turn to start the vehicle. The vehicle has not been inspected to determine the cause of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 95000.

- Fontana, CA, USA

The contact owns a 2000 Ford Focus. The contact is unable to place the key into the ignition without force. After adding oil into the cylinder the key can be placed into the ignition normally; however, after a short time the failure recurred. The dealer stated that the ignition cylinder would have to be replaced. The vehicle has not been repaired. The manufacturer stated that the ignition cylinder would have to replaced and because there are no current recalls no compensation would be offered. The failure mileage was 90,000 and the current mileage was 109,000.

- Richland , MO, USA

Key won't turn 2000 Ford Focus.

- Greensboro, NC, USA

Ignition was working fine. Twenty minutes later, the key would go in the ignition, but would not turn. My vehicle is in process of being repaired. I found out this is a chronic problem with 2000-2004 Ford Focus. Mine is a 2000. Aggravated that Ford has not been made responsible to recall these vehicles. Not only do I have an expensive repair, I missed a day of work because I was stranded.

- Fenton, MI, USA

2000 Ford Focus - yet another failed ignition cylinder issue; the same faulty part issue that has been reported for nearly a decade now. Stranded with towing costs and large replacement cost for part known by Ford, et al, to be a defect problem...not normal wear-and-tear. In shop being replaced...concern of future stranded as part is still considered defective.

- Boise, ID, USA

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.

- Rohnert Park, CA, USA

My car was parked in my garage and I went to start it, and the key wouldn't turn in the ignition. After a few tries, it finally turned. Went to the store, parked and went in, came back out, and the same thing happened again. After 1/2 hour, it finally turned. This has been repeated about 15 times and it's beyond frustrating. The car runs fine otherwise. It's not been in any accidents, I keep it maintained, and it sits in the garage when it's not being driven. I tried to start it yesterday, and the key will not turn. I have tried numerous times today and it will not turn. I have an engagement in 2 hours and I need the car. After researching this on the internet, it seems to be a common problem in the Ford Focus, which is what I drive (2000 zts). I love this car, but this is going to be a deal breaker when I get ready to trade.

- Easley, SC, USA

I was left stranded in a parking lot with my 16 month old son after I returned to my car and the key would not turn in the ignition and I was unable to start my car. This happened without warning. When I parked my car everything was fine and I had no trouble removing the key. When I returned to my car after shopping for an hour at first I was unable to get my key into the ignition. I kept trying and was finally able to get the key in the ignition but the key would not turn and I could not start my car. My husband went to the car later to see if he could get it to work and he could not. This was the second time in 6 months that my Ford Focus has left me stranded and rather than pay for towing & repairs we decided to donate the car to charity (who would tow it for free) and buy ourselves a new car.

- Willow Grove, PA, USA

Key will not turn in ignition. Unsafe, leaves driver stranded. Intended to buy new part, but researched first, finding this is a recurring problem among Focus owners.

- Lynchburg, VA, USA