I am asking this question for the sake of my Dad. He owns a Focus - I think its 2004 or 05 and he has been having quite a few issues with it especially the steering wheel which has been playing up and he has been told by a mechanic that the wheel could suddenly lock whilst driving along.

To me this sounds like a potential death trap as obviously if it looked whilst driving around a corner at any speed then this is going to cause a potentially fatal crash not just to him but to others too.

Surely, this can't actually happen and it would just lose its power steering? Can someone please confirm whether this could happen as I am really worried about him.

He can't afford to have the car fixed and he can't afford a new one so he is in a dilemma as he needs a car to get to work and so he insists on keeping on driving it.

would need a bit more information about the problem as all you have told us is there is an issue with the steering wheel

plus when you say steering could lock, do you mean the actual steering lock could engage or just the steering itself sieze

The steering wheel could apparently seize.

so whats actually happening?

Best I can think is that the PAS fails, and it doesnt lock, but becomes a damn site more difficult to turn, otherwise if there is a problem with the steering column / rack, if it was to collapse, the wheels could lock pointing in one direction.

If the mechanic advised that though, he could have seized the car as a danger to drive with police support, so I dont know right now how seriously his word should be taken...

need more info, is it his steering rack at fault so has gone tight and does not self centre after going around corner, or is it his steering pump so steering is very heavy and really hard to move standing still or his ignition switch so steering lock engaging when it shouldnt?