Went to start car to go to work and key would not turn the ignition on. Had to have the whole tumbler assembly repaired at a cost of just under $400.

- Akron, OH, USA

The contact owns a 2004 Ford Focus. The contact stated that at any given time, the ignition locks up. As a result, she is unable to open the windows, doors, start the vehicle, or operate the vehicle in any capacity. Ford advised her to shake the vehicle and move the steering wheel back and forth. Ford also advised her husband to take a mallard and strike the ignition in an attempt to release the key. If none of those solutions worked, the contact was informed to bring the vehicle to the dealer because the part is probably defective. The contact heeded Ford's instructions, but the failure still occurred. The manufacturer stated that they are aware of the issue, however, the plateau of concern is not great enough to issue a recall. The dealer stated that the cost to repair the vehicle is $432 and that the part is definitely defective. The VIN and engine size were unknown. The current mileage is 58,000 and failure mileage was 55,000.

- Newark, DE, USA

I purchased a 2004 svt Focus 10/06. In 12/06, the coil pack went bad, they fixed the vehicle under warranty. On 3/9/07 as I was leaving a friends house, the same symptoms happened to me as this past December, then went away very quickly. I made the decision to drive my vehicle home and call the dealership. I never made it home. About a 1/4 mile from my friends house, the vehicle began to shake and shutter very violently. I pulled over quickly and smoke started to come from under the hood. I lifted the hood and the coil pack that had been replaced was glowing red and shooting sparks and began to not only catch itself on fire, but started setting all the cables and other things on fire.at the same time the clutch also exploded and blew through the bellhousing. Which there is a tsb issued by Ford on. Also, at this time, the vehicle was still trying to run all on its own, and the keys were in my pocket. I am unsure of the exact cause of the fire, but it was not done by anything that I was doing or had done to the vehicle. It currently has 35,900 miles on it and is still under warranty. Side note, after the whole incident with the coil pack back in December, I just recently decided to pull up the history on my vehicle from Ford's database. In December I was brought into the office at the dealership and almost blamed for abuse of the coil because it was so destroyed. Yet, when I looked up my history it says that all that was replaced was a connector on the coil, not the coil itself. So, the coil was never actually replaced, but I was almost being blamed for destroying my coil. I am still fighting to get my vehicle fixed under warranty and being treated very poorly. I am a mechanic by trade and I'm being talked to and treated like a 5 year old anytime I try to get answers. They are still not taking responsiblity for the mechanical/electrical failure of their vehicle that they claimed to fix.

- Birmingham, MI, USA

On October 26, 2006 at 8:00 am I tried to start my vehicle and the ignition key would not turn. I called the Ford dealership and the service person said it sounded like an ignition lock and he said he was familiar with the repair. I was informed that they had no towing service. Due to the fact that the dealership was approximately 12 miles away, I instead had it towed to a garage down the road. The garage installed a new lock cylinder. I was late for work and had to bum a ride to pick my car up after work. The garage charged me for 2 and 1/2 hours of work, the towing and the part, the total being $308.62. All this on a car only 2 and 1/2 years old. After the repair was done I called the Ford dealership and they refused to pay for the repair, even though the car was still under warranty, because I did not bring it to them. I wrote to Ford headquarters and they again refused to pay for it.

- Penn Yan, NY, USA