The "service engine soon light" was on off and on for a about a week prior. Then I parked my car one evening and the following morning I could not turn my key in the ignition, it was locked, and therefore also I could not change gears to neutral or get it out of park. I found the same problem at a website here is the url: www.fordproblems.com/Focus/key-wont-turn-in-the-ignition.shtml hope this helps to make this a safety issue worthy of recall. I'm blessed this happened to me at my apartment, but what would happen were I to get stuck elsewhere. I plan to call a locksmith tonight to try and fix my problem. Thank you.

- Boise, ID, USA

We have a 2003 Ford Focus and apparently this type of vehicle has a reputation of having the ignition lock up and just wont start again. Apparently Ford dealership is aware of the problem but there is no recall on this item yet. My daughter and granddaughter have been stranded for 4 hours trying to get this fixed.

- San Angelo, TX, USA

Keys would be hard to turn in the ignition the today keys would not turn in the ignition...left stranded.

- Lockport, LA, USA

With no warning and 1000K out of the bumper to bumper warranty, the key would not turn or start the car. I had the vehicle towed to the dealership, a new ignition cylinder cost $258.44 plus tow. Consumers do not expect a car with 37K to fail on them like this. I could have been on a family outing with my son who is a diabetic. This problem has been extensively reported yet Ford has not issued a recall. Dependability or lack there of, is imperative to the safety of a vehicle.

- Fall River, MA, USA

When the car is parked, wheels turned, steering wheel locked, the ignition cylinder will not turn I.e. the key won't turn the ignition. This happened in the morning. When pushing in on the key, the key was able to turn the ignition. In the afternoon when the same situation occurred the key was not able to turn in ignition. I talked to two dealerships and they were both aware with the problem and the temporary solution. I talked to the tow truck driver and he said he as see this happen multiple times. He told me that Ford stop using this type of ignition system however, Chevrolet started using this system and he has seen the same problems occur with new Chevrolet.

- Portsmouth, VA, USA

Electrical problem that shuts down the car.

- Valley Village, CA, USA

My left tail signal light went out. When I went to change it according to the instructions in my manual I could not remove the taillight capsule from the housing. I went to coons Ford fairfax, va to see if they could change it. I was told that the electrical output of my car melted the taillights to the lens on both sides of the car. The estimated repair is $500. I got on the phone and talked to someone at Ford's main customer service line. After our conversation they gave me 15% off on my repair bill. After retrieving my car the other taillight died. Someone on Ford's assembly line did not wiring my car correctly. How is this my fault and why did I have to pay $421.20 for a mistake they made? for safety reasons I got the repairs done. I would like a full investigation of this matter. I have in my possession both broken taillights for anyone to check out.

- Hyattsville, MD, USA

- the contact stated that when driving the 2003 Ford Focus the vehicle shifted into neutral, then shifted back into drive. This would last anywhere from a few seconds to a couple of minutes. The contact stated that the dashboard lights and radio would flicker on and off, as well as the lighting system, including the headlights. The contact stated that the doors will also lock and she wasunable to exit the vehicle. When this happened she attempted to get out of the vehicle by manually hitting the unlock switch. The vehicle locks finally opened after approximately twenty minutes. The mechanic advised the contact to have electrical system reprogrammed, which was done in November 2006, but she continued to have the same problems. The vehicle stalled when exiting the interstate while driving at 45 mph. There were no warning lights before the vehicle lost power. The contact was unable to restart vehicle, and had vehicle towed to a mechanic. The mechanic informed contact he did not know why the vehicle lost power. The vehicle currently had 57000 miles. Updated 03/30/07.

- Richmond, VA, USA

The contact owns a 2003 Ford Focus. The dashboard instruments fluctuated. At times while driving, the dashboard instruments stopped working. The service dealer could not duplicate the problem.

- Lancaster, OH, USA

Brakes turn to sponges and goes to floor dealer says cannot duplicate problem and kicks it out now three more problems have arisen motor shuts off at slow U-turn speed and trans downshifts hard into low gear causing a face plant in the steering wheel, lastly the air bag light comes on and then goes off after 3 hours of driving.

- N Las Vegas, NV, USA

Tachometer in vehicle stopped working which resulted in a short. This caused the brake lights to go out. The brake lights had to be replaced 8 times since September. The solenoid in the ignition was defective and resulted in the vehicle shutting down. The vehicle was taken to a local dealer, who has replaced the solenoid. But due to the design of the vehicle he could not guarantee that this would not happen again. Consumer reported this to Ford 3 times. The alarm on the car was also not working. The alarm was not original equipment, but was something that consumer paid extra for the Ford dealership to add on vehicle. Ford will not repair or replace alarm because it was not manufactured by Ford.

- Buffalo, NY, USA

Car stalls out in cold weather only. Car was purchased on Oct. '03 first occurrence was in Jan. Of '04. Went through the dispute board and they would not grant new vehicle. Dealership and Ford engineer cannot find problem. Car was brought in on 6/6/05 with the Ford field engineer present who wanted to duplicate problem. Told him it was not possible since it was not cold outside. Problem still unresolved!

- Canton, MI, USA

While driving 4 mph, the consumer noticed smoke coming from under the hood. Suddenly, it caught on fire. The consumer was able to pull over and the fire department extinguished the fire. The vehicle was towed to a dealer for inspection. The cause has not been determined at this time.

- Tigard, OR, USA

The temperature had become colder and the accelerator would not depress without force. The problem would occur whenever the vehicle sat overnight or for several hours. The consumer would depress the accelerator until it would move downwards. The vehicle would lunge forward. It would take 4-5 depressions until the accelerator would move downward. Other problems were the brakes squealing and the vehicle suffered from not starting at times, either the panel lights would engage or the starter would grind.

- Hillsdale, NJ, USA

While driving at any speed, the vehicle stalled twice, but always started back up after a few minutes. On one occasion, the dealer replaced the starter and on the another occasion, the transmission was replaced. The starter was found faulty, the transmission was inoperative and there was a vibration while going 40 mph due to shifting, the clock display was inoperative, and the engne light stayed on.

- Temple City, CA, USA

The vehicle stalled while driving. The problem was due to a faulty power module, which was changed by the dealer.

- Frederick, MD, USA