[danager]

I had my ignition lock up a few months ago, 200 Focus. I called the dealer, and they quoted almost 350.00, plus the tow. I then called the local locksmith and they were significantly cheeper. I had the cover off the column, and have removed an ignition switch in the past...so I knew this would require the key to turn, or the removal would be a brutal assault on the column. Knowing the locksmith would prefer not to do this, I asked a few more questions. He said, to get the key to turn, they put the key in the ignition, and tap it in with a hammer, and can then turn it. As it turned out, the "tap" had to be quite hard, but it worked. I was able to drive the car to the lock smith, and they used the same trick to turn the key, and remove the cylinder. cost me 155.00 I hope this saves somebody a tow bill, and maybe prevents them from being stranded.