NHTSA Complaint #10390413 — 2002 FORD FOCUS

TWO NIGHTS AGO I DROVE MY 2002 FORD FOCUS ZX3 TO A NEARBY BANK TO USE THE WALK-UP ATM. SINCE IT WAS AFTER BUSINESS HOURS, I PARKED ALONG A CURB, BUT NOT IN A PARKING SPACE. I USED THE ATM AND UPON RETURNING TO THE CAR, MY KEY REFUSED TO TURN IN THE IGNITION CYLINDER. IT WAS AS IF ALL OF THE SUDDEN MY KEY WAS THE WRONG KEY FOR THE VEHICLE. SINCE I WAS NOT IN A PARKING SPOT, I PUT ON MY HAZARD LIGHTS AND RAN A HALF MILE TO MY HOME TO RETREIVE MY SPARE KEY. UPON RETURNING, I FOUND THAT IT DID NOT WORK EITHER. NO MATTER WHAT I TRIED, THE KEY WOULD NOT TURN IN THE IGNITION CYLINDER. I WANTED TO GET THE CAR TO A PARKING SPACE SO I PUT THE CAR (A MANUAL TRANSMISSION) INTO NEUTRAL AND BEGAN PUSHING IT FORWARD. THE STEERING WHEEL WAS LOCKED, AND BECAUSE I COULD NOT MOVE THE KEY, I HAD TWO OPTIONS - MOVE THE CAR STRAIGHT FORWARD, OR MOVE THE CAR STRAIGHT BACK. I MOVED THE CAR FORWARD TO A SLIGHTLY BETTER SPOT, BUT COULD NOT MANEUVER IT INTO A TRUE PARKING SPOT. I CALLED FOR A TOW TRUCK SINCE THE CAR WOULD SURELY BE TOWED AT THE START OF BUSINESS HOURS THE NEXT DAY. WHEN THE TOW TRUCK OPERATOR ARRIVED HE TOLD ME HE HAD SEEN THIS PROBLEM BEFORE IN FORDS, AND SAID THAT I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE A MANUAL TRANSMISSION, OTHERWISE HE WOULD LIKELY NOT BE ABLE TO TOW IT (IT WAS A FLATBED TOW TRUCK). I HAD HIM TOW THE CAR TO A LOCAL FORD DEALERSHIP. THAT NIGHT I LOOKED UP INFORMATION ONLINE AND FOUND THAT MANY FORDS 2000-2003 HAVE HAD THIS PROBLEM - SOME PEOPLE EVEN SAID THE KEY WOULD GET STUCK IN THE IGNITION. THE NEXT DAY THE DEALERSHIP INFORMED ME THAT THERE WERE NO RECALLS ON THE KEY CYLINDER ISSUE, BUT THAT THEY WOULD FIX THE PROBLEM FOR $501.56. I SAW NO ALTERNATIVE AND HAD THEM PUT IN A NEW IGNITION CYLINDER AND ISSUE 2 NEW KEYS. THE DEALER KEPT THE OLD PARTS (OLD IGNITION CYLINDER AND KEYS). THE NEW IGNITION CYLINDER APPEARS TO BE WORKING FINE (BUT KEEP IN MIND THE OLD ONE APPEARED TO BE WORKING FINE AS WELL BEFORE MALFUNCTIONING). *TR