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ignition locked up

57K views 70 replies 39 participants last post by  Remy.mannie 
#1 ·
hi, i have a ford focus zx3 2dr zetec. The keys for some reason just dont turn at all. My mom used to have problems turning it, but now we cant get it at all. and it has just been sitting there in the driveway for a week. lol, its 5spd by the way..any ideas on how to fix this or whatnot?
 
#29 ·
grrr... mine just locked up and made me late for work two days ago... haven't been able to start the car since, called the dealer, pricks want to charge ~$200 to fix it.. yeah right.
so, guess i'm the next one in line to join the DIY IC club.
gotta wait until i get paid next week before i can hit up b16 for one... so i'll probably just tear the tumblers out today and run without a lock for a while.
I never thought i'd have to steal my own car... until i bought a ford. :/
 
#35 ·
cool... finished with my drilling.
now i can start my car with a screw driver.. ghetto fabulous [thumb]

i couldn't figure out how to get the cylinder out though... that little hole on the top, you have to push a screw driver in there right?
i jammed all manner of devices in there (with the *key* in accessory, on, off) and nothing would make it budge..

eh well... no biggie, won't need to figure that out until i can afford to replace it.
least now i can actually get to work.
 
#36 ·
First, I had a pair of Vise grips clamped on the outter ring of the IC.
Then I used an allen wrench. I shoved the small end into the little hole as the IC was in the accessory position then press in on the back of the allen wrench with my thumb.
You should feel it go in. Then pulled the IC out using the vise grips.

About being able to turn the IC.
Sometimes after the IC locks up, you can get it to turn once more if you're lucky.
This would make your job easier to pull the IC out instead of the drilling method.

As I stated in those instructions, the IC MUST be in the accessory position in order to be pulled out/removed even if you can push in the little button.
 
#37 ·
ahh... yeah, once i actually got in there and looked at things i got a much better idea of what you were talking about.
heh, interesting side note to this:

*the setting: 9am, warm summer morning, a blue focus is parked on a busy street 2 blocks from the police station... not in a driveway or a garage*
Focus Interior: a guy in sun glasses and a raddy T-Shirt is drilling out the ignition
many people walk by, drive by, ride bikes by in the 30 min of intense drilling...

not 1 person even took a second glance.
americans are so leze fair.

I didn't have any problems with the whole drilling proceidure though... the Skill drill bit set that I have and ye'ol firestorm 18v cordless drill ate through the lock pretty easily.
Heh, had a few wtf? moments when smoke started to come out the key hole... first time i've gotten those bits hot enough to burn stuff. ;)
 
#39 ·
I have just spent $348 to replace key ignition problem at my dealer. I am so pissed it's not a recall. Although it seems like my keys are aftermarket cuz it doesn't have that Ford oval ingraving but who knows. If the problem reoccurs, I am going leave the car in a bad neigborhood with the key in the ignition.
 
#40 ·
same problem, my stering wheel locked and could not move my car for more than a week. finally one of my friend s said to try some wd40. so i did and it worked the key turned and the car started. now i carry a bottle of wd40 with me all the time.
 
#41 ·
"now i carry a bottle of wd40 with me all the time."

You might want to consider replacing the lock cylinder before it quits working with the WD-40. If you get it stuck to where you cannot turn the cylinder, even with the WD-40, and need to have it drilled-out, it will be much more costly. A preventative replacement might be wise before you have a total failure at an inopportune time/place and need a tow to get it fixed.

This is a known weak-spot in the Focus and it sounds as if your cylinder is on its way to total failure at some point in the future.
 
#43 ·
praise to b16sir1991

If you have a locked up ignition cylinder b16sir1991 can definitely hook you up with what you need.

I got EVERYTHING I needed to fix my car for $65/shipped. - It was a life saver, and I installed everything in less than 10 minutes.

Definitely go through Mike, don't get ripped off paying $300 at the dealer.

-Brad
 
#44 ·
Pay atttention to B16! There are many, many people on this list that will vouch for him. Look at his buy/sell/trade rating - I'll bet that a large number of those ratings are for IC's.
One of the threads on here shows a pic of the new cylinder style and the old cylinder style. It turns our I had the old style and I changed mine out as a precautionary measure. The guys that drilled can tell you it's no fun, if you can still turn the key it's all of about a 20 minute job (max) to swap the cylinder out.
 
#45 ·
....Tierd

Hey guys, what a frustrating week it has been... first I had my front coil springs snap on me, costing me $345.00 to have replaced, later finding out that they are covered for repair at no charge at a ford dealership, although I didnt have the springs replaced there, so I got screwed... Suddenly 1 freaking day after I get the springs replaced my ignition cylinder siezes and locks up... Now after hours of researching and arguments with ford customer "service" on the phone I find that there are two options of solution to this ongoing problem...
1) Pay $656.43 at ford to have a new cylinder put in so that the problem will be resolved for a short period of time (In understanding that many people have had the same issue reoccur time and time again...), leaving me with the option of just leaving the key in the ignition permanently...
2) Drilling out my cylinder and having no tumblers, leaving my car accesable to any street thug with a screwdriver...
Or 3) Leaving my car unlocked in forest lawn with the key in the ignition, until my car is stolen so that I can claim insurance and be done with the whole mind(uck of woundering what my ford is going to pull tommorrow...

Right now it seems as option 1 and 2 will just eventually lead to my car being stolen which revolves back to option 3, I might as well do it now... BUT in the mean time, do me a favour and sign the petetion to get ford to recognize that this is an issue they should be resolving for their customers!

http://www.petitiononline.com/FocusIC/petition.html
 
#46 ·
Hey guys, what a frustrating week it has been... first I had my front coil springs snap on me, costing me $345.00 to have replaced, later finding out that they are covered for repair at no charge at a ford dealership, although I didnt have the springs replaced there, so I got screwed... Suddenly 1 freaking day after I get the springs replaced my ignition cylinder siezes and locks up... Now after hours of researching and arguments with ford customer "service" on the phone I find that there are two options of solution to this ongoing problem...
1) Pay $656.43 at ford to have a new cylinder put in so that the problem will be resolved for a short period of time (In understanding that many people have had the same issue reoccur time and time again...), leaving me with the option of just leaving the key in the ignition permanently...
2) Drilling out my cylinder and having no tumblers, leaving my car accesable to any street thug with a screwdriver...
Or 3) Leaving my car unlocked in forest lawn with the key in the ignition, until my car is stolen so that I can claim insurance and be done with the whole mind(uck of woundering what my ford is going to pull tommorrow...

Right now it seems as option 1 and 2 will just eventually lead to my car being stolen which revolves back to option 3, I might as well do it now... BUT in the mean time, do me a favour and sign the petetion to get ford to recognize that this is an issue they should be resolving for their customers!

http://www.petitiononline.com/FocusIC/petition.html
 
#47 ·
hello everyone, i've done a search about this problem with the ignition cylinder but I havent seen anything about the buying the cylinder at auto zone. I have a 2002 focus that is having this ignition problem and i've done the wd 40 thing quite a few times but now it's about to the point of complete failure. My question is could I buy this part http://www.autozone.com/R,APP389862...partType,00190/shopping/partProductDetail.htm from autozone and install this in my car without problems. I realize that i would have to original key to unlock the doors and the new key that comes with the new cylinder. I didnt see anything about anyone buying this part so I wasnt sure if it can be used or if maybe auto zone just started stocking them. Thanks in advance.
 
#48 ·
I've had my ignition cylinder lock on my 3 times, with my 2003 Focus.
This happened again yesterday... I opened my car door to plug in my seat-belt harness to get rid of the air-bag light. The car was making that chime sound, and it annoyed my girl-friend who then removed the key, but left the tip of the key in to just stop the chime.

I got back in the car, and yea, my ignition cylinder was locked. I was calm, even though my girlfriend was like "OMG, i ruined your car... Sorry...". I told her not to freak out, and that I would just give the car some of time... After 4-5 Minutes of removing the key, and inserting, and just kinda making micro-movements with the key... It eventually gave in with moderate force (not extreme force)... and then a tad more force, and it turned over completely.

The previous 1 time the ignition locked... I did the above technique.
the 2nd time it locked, I gave up and used the spare key, and with the above technique... It worked.... Just gotta have faith some-times. (unless it's totally jacked up....)

Also, you don't want to use WD-40... Graphite spray lubricant is best.
 
#49 ·
To everyone who is having a nearly locked up keyswitch, do yourself a huge favor and replace it with the new style switch. b16sir1991 on this board works at Hilbish Ford and will ship you a new switch for under 100 bucks. Or go to your Ford dealer and pick one up locally. It takes about 30 minutes to replace. If it locks up for good, you will have to tow the car and have the switch drilled out, which adds up to hundreds of dollars.
 
#50 ·
Locked Ignition

newer cars all have this problem not just ford focus yes even toyota's there is a simple repair. on most ignitions the tumblers are stuck in the up position thats why the key will still go in. take a box wrench and tap on the metal of the ignition switch. this should free the tumblers to the down position may have to do this more then once need to vibrate the tumblers down. try key to turn once free coat key with graphate. auto stores carry this item.back to the cause of this ignition switch is every time keys are in pocket or purse they collect lent and dirt. hope this will help anybody using this forum
 
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