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I bought my 2002 Escape in January with 89,000 miles and I received one of the OEM key. The dealer programmed a second key and both work. The other day the OEM key would go in the ignition but would not turn. After checking the shifter and shaking the steering wheel the key still would not turn. I released the tilt latch and moved the column up about ¼ inch and the key turned and the vehicle started! The column had been down for about a week!
I've had similar problems on higher mileage vehicles where the key would wear over time and sometimes require a jiggle of the steering wheel.
From somewhere else on the web...I recall a very limited number of people having issues with ignition. The two causes I recall:
1) They had another vehicle's PATS key on their keychain.
2) A very limited number of almost new vehicles had bad ignition cylinders.