2011 Ford Focus - collected in Hexham
A 2011 Ford Focus in Hexham that had been sitting on the owner's drive for a few months while life got in the way of sorting it. Described to us in good faith as a car in good general condition with a slight noise coming from the steering. When we arrived the battery was flat, our jumper pack would not shift it, and once we did get it running the steering column refused to turn at all. This is one of those electrical faults that is almost impossible to diagnose without the right kit and very easy to postpone. Here is what that turned out to be, and how the Focus went from a possible scrap buy to a proper retail buy the next day.
Key info within this case study
- 2011 Ford Focus, parked on the drive for several months while life took priority.
- Described in good faith as good general condition with a slight noise from the steering.
- On site: flat battery, jumper pack would not wake it, and once running the steering was locked solid.
- First-visit offer was a scrap figure because we could not safely drive or trailer it.
- Cause turned out to be a flat keyless-start fob battery, not a steering fault.
- Slow charge overnight plus a fresh CR2032 in the fob, the steering released first attempt.
- Second visit, retail-grade buy, seller paid more than the original scrap offer.
The call
The owner got in touch about a 2011 Ford Focus sitting on their drive in Hexham. The car had been off the road for several months because a replacement vehicle had arrived in the meantime and the Focus had slid down the to do list, which happens in plenty of households and is often how we end up being called. On paper it was a straightforward buy. Good general condition, slight noise from the steering, needs a small job before its next MOT. We took the postcode and set off.
What we actually found
When we got there the battery was flat. Our portable jumper pack would not wake the Focus up, so we hooked it up to a second car on conventional jump leads and kept the leads live the entire time we were there. When the engine finally fired, the steering was locked solid. Turned the wheel, nothing. Not heavy, not graunchy, not power assist out, just no movement at all.
In over a decade of buying cars we have seen flat batteries on cars that sit, and we have seen heavy steering on cars with a failing pump. We had not seen a wheel that flat out refused to turn once the engine was running. At that point the Focus looked like a scrap job rather than a retail buy, because we could not drive it and we could not trailer it safely without steering.
The scrap offer, and what to try overnight
We were straight with the owner. If we could not steer the car we could not move it, and it would have to be collected on scrap terms. We made a scrap offer on that basis. Before we left we talked through two things to try overnight, because we genuinely did not want to take a car on scrap money when there was a chance it was something simple. Put the Focus itself on a proper slow charge overnight rather than relying on a jump pack, and if the car had a keyless start fob, swap the cell in the fob as well.
The call the next morning
The owner rang back the next day. The culprit had been the keyless start fob. The battery inside the fob was completely flat. Because the car could not detect a valid key in range, the anti theft system was keeping the electronic steering column lock engaged on top of the normal immobiliser. A flat car battery and a flat fob battery at the same time had pushed the Focus into a state where even with a full jump running the steering would not release.
Fresh cell in the fob, slow charge finished on the main battery, and the steering released on the first attempt. The Focus was now a driveable car rather than a scrap.
Second visit, better offer
We went back the next day. Because the car had gone from a likely scrap to a driveable retail buy overnight, we paid the owner more than the original scrap offer. They got a better number, we got a car we could actually load, and the Focus came off the drive. Two trips instead of one, but the right way to handle it. We never want to take a car on a scrap price when a small fix can turn it into a retail buy the seller gets paid properly for.
If your car is doing the same thing
If a modern car with keyless start will not release the steering after a jump start, try things in this order before you call the recovery truck.
- Change the cell in the key fob, usually a CR2032, before anything else. A flat fob battery is invisible to the car and will keep the anti theft system engaged no matter what you do to the main battery.
- Put the car itself on a proper slow charge overnight. Jump packs and booster leads can start an engine but often do not put enough voltage through for the body control modules to settle into normal operation.
- If the steering still will not release once both batteries are healthy, the next step is a diagnostic scan to clear the stored fault codes in the body and steering column modules. We carry a diagnostic tool on the van for exactly this kind of call out.
Most of the time it is the fob. Modern cars are clever enough to refuse to work until they can see the right transponder, and a fob with a dead cell is invisible to them.
If your car is stuck on your drive
If you have a car that has been parked up for months, will not start, or has any kind of electrical weirdness keeping it off the road, we are happy to come out, have a proper look, and quote on the day. We buy running cars, non runners, and scrap, and we move between those categories as the facts on the ground change. Use the online valuation wizard or call 07707 440 222.
