Ford Focus: Extended warranty and auto-locking you out.

"Atlas Bugged" <com> wrote
 

I'm not going to comment on extended warranties, except to say that I don't
bother with them. But as to this, what do you mean by being locked out by a
"defect"? Is your door locking system malfunctioning in some way? If so,
please specify. If not, I know no way to lock yourself out except by human
error, same as every other vehicle on the market. And I certainly would
never leave a door ajar - that's just dumb, and illegal around here.

There is a simple fix for this human error, which is to take your key to the
hardware store and get them to make a copy. There won't be a chip in it so
it won't start the car but the key shaft will open the door. I keep this key
in my wallet - it is of course far slimmer than the company key with the
chip. Saves my buns at least once a year.

"Dave Gower" <ca> wrote in message
news:ca... 

I'm talking about when the car is just idling in your driveway - we were
just warming it up and clearing off the snow. Nothing illegal going on, so
don't bust me.

For years, I've been reading here of the Focus's design defect. People
start the car (like me, to warm it up,) then close the *unlocked* driver's
side door, and then the auto-locking mechanism locks them out (the car
hasn't moved, I am aware of the 5MPH autolock, which I also don't care for.)
It's not human error, it's poor design.
 

And why not get yourself a spare key *with* the chip? I discovered the
reason for this as well - it is wildly overpriced (well over $100 and only
from the dealer.) Your idea hadn't occurred to me - not bad. But it's also
a bit senseless to have an extra set of keys that's crippled.

"Atlas Bugged" <com> wrote
 

It's too big to fit comfortably in my wallet.
 

$40 Can. the last time I checked.
 

Well I don't know about you, but I've never lost keys in my 4 and a half
decades of driving, but I have many times locked the keys in the car, so a
door key is all I need, and certainly will deal with the circumstance you
describe.

As to your scenario of warming up the car in the driveway, I have seen no
evidence that the doors lock on their own at all often, but when you bought
the car it came with a spare key, don't you have that in your house?

Atlas Bugged <com> wrote:
 

"well over $100 and only from the dealer" == WRONG.

You can buy brand new key blanks with the transponder chip for $15 or
less (including shipping) on ebay (I just bought one of these myself).
Any locksmith can cut the key to match, and if you have two working
transponder keys you can program the new key into the car's computer
yourself for $0.00.

I previously bought a blank transponder key from a Ford dealer, it cost
a _lot_ less than $100, I forget exactly how much but I'm sure it was
less than $40. I know the locksmith charged me only a few bucks to cut
the key and I programmed it into the car's computer myself.

If you just want to keep an extra key in your wallet to unlock the doors
when you leave the car locked and running to warm up, not having the
bulky transponder chip head on the key is a positive bonus.

Dave Gower wrote: 
 
so, 

Over the past three years or so, I've read several reports here
of Foci auto-locking while idling in park.
 

Even if it's a human error situation, I think the Focus' power
lock switch is especially easy to accidentally bump while getting
out of the car. If it happens frequently, it's a sign of
bad design.

I love my Focus, but the door locks are not one of my favorite
things about the car.
 
I roll my driver's side window down while warming up the car.

"Dave Gower" <ca> wrote in message
news:ca... 

Correct, I'm talking about the whole enchilada, i.e., a key and a remote,
along with the necessary programing. The car came with two, and I wanted
three. The third set ran well over $100 USA, I believe it was actually over
$150 plus a trip to the dealer. Retentive a bit, I know, but that's my view
of a "spare set."
 

Good for you, but people do lose keys, and if you're not prepared, the
hassle factor is mega. It's a very individual thing. Some of us are a
little less meticulous than you, and there's also occasional thefts, and so
on. 

Good point. It was a "perfect storm." I misplaced (and lost) set number
two, and I keep set number three off-premises as an unbeatable safety
measure, just like I try to keep off-site valuable data discs and the like.
Bu8t the other location is about 60 miles from my home. So we had a bad
problem.

In sum, I've had some nasty stuff happen in my youth so I double (actually
triple) precaution important stuff. Yes, I take some of the blame.

All that said, I still maintain that Foci have a defect where they're too
aggressive about auto-locking doors. I've been reading about this for years
here, and I believe it's a defect. Could be wrong, but I don't think so.
My friend was sure the door was unlocked when the car was started for warm
up, then we couldn't get in.

"Tony Wesley" <com> wrote in message
news:googlegroups.com... 
[...] 

Lots of complaints about it in this forum over the last three years. I
could be wrong, but I'm fairly sure this defect exists in the Foci. 

Ditto, it's been a constant annoyance for me. A flaw in a car I otherwise
like very much.
 

Good idea, generally, but it was a snow/rainy situation when the problem
arose on Sunday.

Atlas Bugged wrote:

I've been reading about this for years 

Its happened to me a couple of times and to some of my friends as well.
Its a defect.

Fud