NHTSA Complaint #10168667 — 2000 FORD FOCUS

2000 FORD FOCUS IGNITION SWITCH PROBLEM (~48,000 MILES). FOR THE 2ND TIME SINCE WE PURCHASED THE CAR, THE IGNITION SWITCH HAS FAILED. THE FIRST TIME IT FAILED, WE COULD NOT TURN THE KEY TO START THE CAR AND COULD NOT REMOVE THE KEY. THIS TIME WHEN IT FAILED, THE SWITCH FROZE IN THE ON POSITION, AND WE WERE NOT ABLE TO SHUT THE CAR OFF. SINCE IT IS AN AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION, WE WERE NOT EVEN ABLE TO "KILL" THE ENGINE. IT HAPPENED AT NIGHT, BUT FORTUNATELY, WE WERE ABLE TO FIND AN OPEN SERVICE STATION... THEY WERE ABLE STOP THE ENGINE BY PULLING SPARK PLUG WIRES. NOT BEING ABLE TO SHUT OFF THE ENGINE SURE SEEMS A SAFETY ISSUE TO ME. I UNDERSTAND MANY OTHER PEOPLE ARE HAVING REPEATED PROBLEMS WITH IGNITION SWITCHES ON FORD FOCUS MODELS. THIS SWITCH IS CURRENTLY BEING REPLACED AGAIN FOR A COST OF ~$300.00. CAN ANYTHING BE DONE TO FORCE FORD TO RECTIFY THIS PROBLEM? *NM