So, long story short, I made the mistake of keeping my keys in my pocket today during work. At some point during a relatively short foot chase, I believe I lost my keys in the bowels of inner city Madison.

I've checked all the vehicles I used at work, walked all my possible routes, scoured the inside of the department with the help of two coworkers, emptied my locker, duty bag etc... and my keys are nowhere to be found.


Stopped at the local dealer and they said it would be about $350 all said and done for a new key I understand it has lock/unlocking capabilities, but for Christ's sake it's 2017 and it isn't made of crystals like a Bentley or something. This is not new or unique technology, this sounds like scam. I got 2 new chipped/coded/cut keys for a 2001 Porsche 911 for $175 last year...

Are there any alternatives available to us? Even if it was a blank, old fashioned turn-to-open-the-door key I would be fine with that as a back up.


The new remote start fob is $42, which seems reasonable..

 

Think there would be any issue with buying one of these, having it cut/programmed? I can't imagine cutting would be any more than your average car key, $10-15, and even if they fleeced me and charged $50 to sync it with my truck I'd still be saving a pretty penny..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-OEM-FORD...pYtZRB&vxp=mtr

http://www.ebay.com/itm/OEM-2015-201...3D282428269563

 

I wanted a spare, the local locksmith said he could not get the software to program the key and getting the key blank was difficult. The dealer quoted about the same price -- $205 for the key + $99 to program the key.

The locksmith also said the key is "laser cut," meaning he can't simply cut a key like he can with old-fashioned car or door keys.

 

Seems insane for a widely mass produced vehicle to have such an expensive replacement part, especially one as simple as a ********* key...

I guess I don't know much about laser cutting, but I guess even if I buy one from the ebay listings above for $50, that saves me enough and will work as a back up..

 

I'm guessing you're a police officer and if you are you are know why Ford made the keys hard to duplicate. I'm guessing the machine that cuts them are custom for Ford keys and only dealers have them. The best selling vehicles are the most wanted by thieves for their parts. With that said I have to agree about the price dealers charge for the keys. Especially what they charge for programming, $99 for a couple of minutes of time.

But you have to think that the dealer probably had to pay Ford thousands of dollars for the machine that cuts those new style flip keys while Ford transitions to more keyless cars. They have to make money too.

 

I guess I understand the actual cutting of the key can be expensive (lasers and all), I guess I was just expending such a widely mass produced part to in the $75-85 range out the door. You'd think programming it to work with each individual truck would be one of the better deterrents to theft, and like you said, it probably takes them longer to walk the key back to the programmer than it does to program the key itself. $100 for that "labor" is asinine.

And yes, I'm an LEO, and the Chief laughed out loud when I asked if I could bill the city for my lost key

 

To be clear, we are talking about a key with a chip and transmitter? The $300-400 range is quite common if you have keyless access. $150 or more without keyless because they still have chips. Helps keep your car from getting stolen. (Not PREVENTS, just helps.) I paid $150 for my son's simple 2013 Honda Civic LX when I lost his key. There is a little bit of dealers and the manufacturer charging enough to create a nice profit every time an owner does something silly, but there's also quite a bit of this-is-what-this-stuff-costs. And it's probably not the kind of thing where a dealer from the other coast has these parts on ebay on the cheap because you need it programmed.

 

It's the one pictured above, the 3 button one. I still need to hit the unlock button to get in the vehicle, not sure if that's the "keyless" option or not?

 

not sure about the key price, but at the canadian dealer i work at its 0.5hr to cut and program a key. and yes bybthe time you bring the truck into the bay, hook up the computer, have a key cut, then program it. your not making any extra time and usually loose time as a tech doing it.

 

oh and if you loose your keys the dealer can look up the key cut code by vin for i believe 2005 and up