| Components - Details | |
|---|---|
| NHTSA Complaint Number: 006104504 | Incident Date: Mar, 31 2006 |
| Consumer's City: LE MARS | Consumer's State: IA |
| Vehicle Transmission Type: AUTO | Manufacturers Name: Ford Motor Company |
| Model Name: FOCUS | Model Year: 2000 |
| Vehicle Involved in a Crash: No | Component's Description: Electrical system:ignition:switch |
| Vehicle Involved in a Fire: No | Persons Injured: 0 |
| Vehicle's VIN#: 1FAFP3834YW | Date added to File: May, 23 2021 |
| Date Complaint Received: May, 02 2007 | Complaint Type: IVOQ |
| Incident Reported To Police: No | Purchase Date: May, 31 2003 |
| Was Original Owner: No | Anti-lock Brakes: Yes |
| Number of Cylinders: 4 | Date of Manufacturer: - |
| Was Vehicle Towed: - | Description of the Complaints: I got into my car to go on a business call and the key, when inserted, would not turn the cylinder. after trying for some time to get the key turned, i began a search on the internet to see if there had been yet another recall on the focus (i have learned that this car has had numerous problems). i found that it was not recalled, although it certainly was a known issue. i found many accounts of this problem and many suggested remedies. i chose to use the "hammer method." this worked. it takes four hard raps with a rubber mallet on the end of the key (into the cylinder) to get it to then turn. if i take the key out, even once, the process must be repeated. i park the car with the key in the ignition, using my non-coded spare or the remote unlock to get into the car. this is a safety issue - if there were an emergency of some type or some type of personal threat and i were unable to leave quickly due to this ignition problem, where would i be? also, my car (as undesirable as i'm sure it is due to its many problems) sits at risk of being stolen - the key is easily visible in the ignition if i leave it there to avoid having to use a hammer to start the cat. i'm listing the failures as 100 - i've had to use the hammer at least that many times over the last year, but i can re-create the issue any time by simply pulling the key out. *jb |
