Help! Can't get inside my car! Keys won't work at all!

[white-k]

Ford Focus
Year: 2002

I bought a used Ford Focus about a week ago.
After buying it it has just been standing on my parking space unused, but now it won't open with any of my keys in any way!
Have tried both keys in both driver and passenger doors but nothing at all happens when the key is turned.
Have also tried changing battery in the key, but remote won't work either. 

So now I can't get inside the car!

(The hood can be opened manually with a key, if it matters)

Please help!
What could be wrong and how can I fix this?

[yunii]

Maybe the car battery is dead & its in double deadlock mode.but should still unlock single door .try getting in thru boot & open doors manually. Atleast you will know if in double deadlock mode or not. Open bonnet & see if battery is dead or not. Charge it up if so. These are just himts . Hope u get it sorted mate.
Yunii

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[WES180]

Does it have a boot lock barrel on the mk1 so you could climb through the car? If you can open the bonnet from the outside and put some jump leads on or a new battery you might find the remote works fine again. Sounds like your door lock is knackered and the previous owner has just been using the remote to get in to it.

[WES180]

Typed at the same time Yunii!

[yunii]

Typed at the same time Yunii!

Lol

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[white-k]

The previous owner didn't have a battery in the key so he never used the remote, only the locks in the doors.

There is a lock in the trunk as well but that doesn't work either.

My partner has now measured the battery to 12.3V.
Do we get any clues from that?

[yunii]

The previous owner didn't have a battery in the key so he never used the remote, only the locks in the doors.
There is a lock in the trunk as well but that doesn't work either.

My partner has now measured the battery to 12.3V.
Do we get any clues from that?

On idle it should be charging around or over 13v . Mine on mk2.5 focus is charging at 14.1v on idle.
Yunii

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[artscot79]

if the remote wasn't used its probably needing reprogrammed but you can't do that till you get in the car but even with a dead battery the driver door should manually unlock the battery has enough juice so either the keys work the ignition but not the locks or the locks are faulty you may need to call a locksmith out to get into the car

yunni the 12.3 v refers to the car standing no idle after a week

[JW1982]

It should be possible in all circumstances to unlock the front door locks manually. The key barrel in each door is mechanically connected to the lock. There is no electrical power needed at all to unlock the car manually.

 

I personally expect the locks and/or keys to be worn out. The focus MK1/MK1.5 has Tibbe locks and keys. Tibbe locks and keys are known to wear out relatively quick. Tibbe keys are hexagonically shaped and have 6 (or in some cases 8) surfaces that are machined to a certain angle. Each surface can be machined to 3 possible angles.

Many people only replace the keys if the locks and keys are worn out. However this is only a temporary solution. A worn lock will cause a new key to wear very fast. If the locks and keys are worn the only permanent solution will be replacing all keys and replacing or overhauling the locking barrels. The locking barrels contain a number of plates that match the angle of the angled key blade surfaces. Worn out locks can be overhauled by replacing the worn plates. The bonnet and trunk lock do not contain a full set of locking plates and are less critical for a worn key than the door and ignition locks.

[DJ_Andy_M]

As above. If the car is double locked, even with no power you should be able to use the key to open them, however if you gain access from another way i.e through a broken window, those doors won't open from the handles inside with double locking enabled.

[white-k]

Thank you for your advice fellows! Ok, so here is an update:
Today it was warmer outside -5 C (23 F), so I went out to the car and tried to unlock the doors and today it worked without problems in both doors! (spare key worked only for locking though)

So undeniably it appears to have something to do with the temperature.

I drove directly to a Ford service shop and talked to a mechanic.

They looked at my keys and said they look very worn and told me that in cold weather the locks are more sensitive to worn keys.
To change a key with remote would cost over about USD 350 which is more than I can afford!
They said with a new remote I'm likely to get into the car even if it is cold because it goes directly to the "lock-motor" (or whatever it is called in English).

I went to a common locksmith and they told me that they can copy the remote to work with my car for only USD 50. Could that really be true, or is that unlikely to work in practice for some reason?

[WES180]

Might be better if you post a pic of your key incase they are different to ours.

Here is a key for a mk1 (1999-2005?) UK Focus. The remote part can be removed from the key blade and so you can just have a new key cut and then put the old remote into it.

 

[artscot79]

a common issue you may have open the door and look at the lock you'll see 3 torque head screws undo the bottom one get some wd 40 with the straw put the straw in the now vacant hole angle it 45 degrees so slightly upwards and spray from up to down so 45 degrees upwards then straight then downwards it prevents water from freezing and sticking the locks do all doors then spray just a small spray in the lock

[white-k]

2 hours ago, WES180 said:

Might be better if you post a pic of your key incase they are different to ours.

Here is a key for a mk1 (1999-2005?) UK Focus. The remote part can be removed from the key blade and so you can just have a new key cut and then put the old remote into it.

 

That is how my key looks too, yes.

[isetta]

I note you say spare key only worked for locking. if I remember correctly any key of that shape can be used for locking. when locking it does not check the individual cuts on the key in any way. I had a Mk4 Escort (in UK) which had same type of keys and locks which were all causing problems. I changed the whole lock/key set for a set off a scrap mk3 escort that used older style locks/keys. Some minor tinkering was needed to fit them but it was worth the effort

[WES180]

16 hours ago, artscot79 said:

a common issue you may have open the door and look at the lock you'll see 3 torque head screws undo the bottom one get some wd 40 with the straw put the straw in the now vacant hole angle it 45 degrees so slightly upwards and spray from up to down so 45 degrees upwards then straight then downwards it prevents water from freezing and sticking the locks do all doors then spray just a small spray in the lock

There was a debate about this a while back. People saying the WD40 causes more harm than good as it washes away any grease. Most people were saying white lithium grease spray was more suitable. Ive used WD40 myself though to be honest and not had any problems.

[Tdci-Peter]

On 29/12/2016 at 3:15 PM, white-k said:

I went to a common locksmith and they told me that they can copy the remote to work with my car for only USD 50. Could that really be true, or is that unlikely to work in practice for some reason?

I do not see a problem with that.

Cutting a tibbe key should be simple for any competent locksmith.

Programming the remote control is done in the car, and is easy if the system is all working. Procedure is in the owners manual.

On a Mk1 Focus, it should also be possible to re-programme PATS (the immobiliser) if you have two keys that will start the car. The procedure for that is also in the user manual. I can find a link to a downloadable manual if needed.

The problem may be in the locks. If they have worn badly, then new keys may not be a good long term answer. But a working remote control would mean the locks are no longer so important.

WD40 is quite good at getting things working, but is a poor lubricant, and the job should be done properly as soon a possible after freeing it up with WD40, or it will just come back worse, in most cases.

[white-k]

Yup, I tried programming my current remote in the car (serveral times) but the current remote seems to be  dead, since nothing happens when I press any buttons still. Yes, I have changed batteries twice but to no avail.

But I ordered a new remote yesterday so hopefully that will work.

I will return when I get it in a few days and report if it works!

Thanks for the information on WD40/white lithium grease as well.

Thanks for now and Happy New Year guys! :-)

[white-k]

New remote works fine after some minor tweaks!
Those who are interested can read more here:

So finally I can get inside the car without troubles! :-D
(I will probably order a new doorkey as well soon.)

Big thanks for all your good advice! Much appreciated! :-D