KEY REPLACEMENT

[adawalli]

really thankful I found this thread - I actually threw away that tag this morning because I was tired of the tags on the fob - and then I thought to search here how to cut new keys and realized the terrible mistake I nearly made

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[NJBob]

About leaving the fob in the car. In wealthy areas of NJ theives drive around and have some kind of device that can tell if the fob is left in the car. Makes for an easy steal. Mostly high end cars are targeted.

 

[Greg_in_GA]

A few things;

1) I don't know about the Maverick since I do not have one yet but on some cars there is also a code that you have to enter into the car stereo to reactivate it if the power is lost, like when a battery is replaced. This is to disable the radio if it is stolen.

2) I email the key code to myself(and radio code if there is one) so that I will have it if I lose a key and need a replacement when I am 500+ miles away from home, or if I lose the tag with the number on it.

3) In normal times when you negotiate for a car price I try to get additional keys included. This costs the dealership very little but it can be expensive to order keys later. I got a total of four keys with my last car.

I know I will be breaking all security "rules" including those in the manual; however, I plan to leave a key in the vehicle (Lariat) and use the exterior keypad to lock and enter my vehicle. With the push button start, I hope to never deal with a key again. I am tired of fishing for a key or looking for it if I do not put it on my key hanger by the exterior door to my house. If someone wants to break into my vehicle, I presume they can figure out how to steal it anyway. If I make it easy for them, maybe the vehicle will be in better shape when recovered.

I should add I live in a very low crime area. If I go somewhere where I am concerned, I will take the key out of the vehicle

A problem with this is that if you leave a key a key in the car and the car is stolen then your car insurance will not cover you because you did not take reasonable care to secure the car.

This could be even a bigger problem than you might think since if some teenager takes your car for a joyride and hurts someone then you may be sued for being responsible and your insurance company may try to get out of covering you since you left a key in the car.

If your car is stolen when you file a claim you will be expected to be able to show them that you still have all the keys.

If you do not have all the keys then you will need to have a very good explanation about why you do not have them.

 

[Saul T Knutz]

Key code:

We followed the owner's manual instructions to delete that code and set our own easy to remember code.

These two messages back to back may confuse some people. The white tag "30xxx" is your key code, it's 5 digits, you should have gotten it when you took delivery of your Mav, regardless of trim level. Every new car that comes with physical keys comes with this code. Store it somewhere safe and a place you can remember where it is (you can also store the code in your phone in the notes section or contacts section as well). NewBern is probably referring to the door keypad code, it comes on a plastic card that is usually located in your owner's manual. That code also used to be in another location in the vehicle, sometimes in the glovebox, sometimes in the trunk, sometimes somewhere else,lol. Owners can change the factory code to a number they can remember, and also have more than one code (a guest code if you will). This feature comes in handy for those doing Turo as you can assign a temp code, lock the key in the car, and when the rental is completed, erase that code and program another for the next rental. Depending on whether you're a scholar or a scoundrel, when you sell the Mav (or any Ford product with a keypad), you can leave the working keypad code in the car for the next owner, or not and possibly have access to that vehicle should you spot it out in the wild. IIRC, there is a way the dealer can reset that code should you buy a used Ford vehicle that didn't come with the door keypad code

 

[mmarkster]

I know I will be breaking all security "rules" including those in the manual; however, I plan to leave a key in the vehicle (Lariat) and use the exterior keypad to lock and enter my vehicle. With the push button start, I hope to never deal with a key again. I am tired of fishing for a key or looking for it if I do not put it on my key hanger by the exterior door to my house. If someone wants to break into my vehicle, I presume they can figure out how to steal it anyway. If I make it easy for them, maybe the vehicle will be in better shape when recovered.

I should add I live in a very low crime area. If I go somewhere where I am concerned, I will take the key out of the vehicle

Many cars with fobs automatically unlock the doors when all the doors are closed with the key still inside.


Don't forget your key fob battery discharges over time so be sure you know where it is when it is time to replace it.

 

[Decayed]

You absolutely CAN leave your fob/transmitter in the truck, and then lock and unlock the driver's door with the keypad. We do it.

Yep. I locked my keys in the car and got back in that way.

 

[Gpp]

Maybe i missed this but my dealer told me ford could make the keys just using your vin number.

 

[93nighthawk]

Maybe i missed this but my dealer told me ford could make the keys just using your vin number.

Yes, with a copy of your drivers license and proof of ownership (along with look up fee) where if you have your key code it is a lot faster and easier without all the paperwork. And Ford only keeps the key code for 10 model years, after that you would need to go to a lock smith.

 

[TKranbuhl]

Bought a blank spare for backup. Took it to 3 different key cutters and they all looked at me like I had 3 heads. They all said it took a laser cutter, which none of them had. One guy said if a small mistake is made in the cut, it could lock down your truck. Then it's towed back to the dealer for a fix. I'm sending back the blank and hope I never lose one of the original keys.

 

[HeyBales]

Bought a blank spare for backup. Took it to 3 different key cutters and they all looked at me like I had 3 heads. They all said it took a laser cutter, which none of them had. One guy said if a small mistake is made in the cut, it could lock down your truck. Then it's towed back to the dealer for a fix. I'm sending back the blank and hope I never lose one of the original keys.

Too useful - keep checking.

Also - unless 25/26MY added something - these trucks are too cheap for the security level of locking down the truck because the wrong key was used to open door.
Which doesn't make sense really.

I'm thinking of the number of people I've been with walk up to car in a lot and attempt to open the wrong car door because they thought fob didn't work - wrong car!

I know I've seen a couple posts where drivers had badly cut keys that did not open door.
There was NO lockdown that occurred. They tried their original key to confirm it did work - locksmith just got the cut wrong.

 

[Quest]

Bought a blank spare for backup. Took it to 3 different key cutters and they all looked at me like I had 3 heads. They all said it took a laser cutter, which none of them had. One guy said if a small mistake is made in the cut, it could lock down your truck. Then it's towed back to the dealer for a fix. I'm sending back the blank and hope I never lose one of the original keys.

Its called a side mill cut, high volume dealers usually have the machine
Its about 10K but pays off with volume as Ford Rotunda charges large for cut keys
It will also trace a key
Kind of like an enhanced mini CNC machine

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