I recently purchased a used 2014 F-150 XL that came with only 1 key, was planning to order a couple spare OEM transponder keys and have them cut at Home Depot for DIY programming but just doing some research realized this is way more complicated situation than expected since I only have 1 working key, and apparently 2 functional keys are required for DIY programming,

I read several forum posts and am still unclear on exactly what I need to do to get additional high quality OEM transponder keys for the lowest cost possible that will work for starting the ignition, and also that will be used for DIY programming additional spare keys in the future,

I am ok paying $20/ea for real authentic OEM blank keys that are high quality, not wanting to buy cheap aftermarket blank keys to save a few bucks, my main goal is wanting to avoid paying hundreds of dollars for expensive dealership key programming on as many keys as possible,

*My truck is a basic XL work truck without power door locks and doesn’t include a FOB, so I’m only needing advice on transponder keys, and I don’t need any info on FOB programming,

I am having trouble finding any threads or reliable info specifically for 2014 F-150 transponder keys, so hopefully this thread will be a good resource to help other people dealing with buying/programming duplicate keys for 2014 F150’s.

Questions 1: I have read other threads about different model years that quantity 2 working “master” keys are required to program additional keys is this correct for 2014 model year? What’s the real difference between “master” keys, and duplicate keys? Is any working key that can operate the ignition considered a master key? Or is there a real difference between functional “duplicate” keys and “master” keys? What’s the full story with master vs duplicate keys on 2014 model year F-150’s?

Question 2: does anyone know, are the transponder key programming/system requirements identical for 2011-2014 F-150’s? Or are there different programming/system requirements specific to each model year?

The key I received with the truck seems to be an original OEM key, but I’m not 100% sure if this is a “master” key, it’s possible this is programmed as a duplicate key, so I don’t know if this can be used for DIY programming,

I am planning to order 3 additional OEM transponder keys so I will have 4 keys total, I would like to have all of my keys programmed as “master” keys if this is necessary to use master keys to DIY program additional duplicate keys, (it sounds like I will
need to have at least 2 master keys to DIY program additional keys, I read another post that you can have up to 6 “master” keys per vehicle)

Hoping to have 4 master keys so I can keep a primary master key for daily use + primary master spare key + additinal pair of spare master keys I will keep in a safe place so I can DIY reprogram additional keys if I ever lose my primary key and/or primary spare key, but depending on cost of programming the master keys I might opt for using a duplicate key for daily use, and keep my master keys in a safe place for programming duplicate spare keys,

Questions 3: Wanting to avoid paying $150+ for new keys at my local Ford dealer, but from what I am reading it sounds like if I want to DIY program additional spare keys, I might need to purchase 1-2 new master keys from the dealer depending on if my current key is programmed as a “master” key, is this correct?

Can you create duplicate DIY programmed keys that are master keys? Or do dealerships need to handle programming on all master keys?

Question 4: I read another post from someone that purchased blank keys online and their dealer would not program the keys, and only allowed programming new keys purchased/cut at the dealership, hopefully my local dealers will be flexible programming genuine OEM keys I purchase online and cut at Home Depot so I can save a few bucks, has anyone else had issues getting local Ford dealerships to program keys they purchased and pre-cut elsewhere?

I can order new genuine OEM blank transponder keys on Amazon for $19.95/each:
Genuine OEM Ford H92PT 5913441 164-R8040 80 Bit Transponder Key +Program https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KCY3CF8/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_FhUqCb9SC4KKC

Amazon has this key for $19.95/ea without programming, or they have an option to include onsite programming service for +$125/ea additional or $145/ea total including programming/cutting, I’m not sure if this $125 service is identical to dealership programming using the real Ford software, so I’m planning to go to a local dealership for at least 1 master key, but I might contact the amazon seller for more info if my local dealerships will not program 3rd party OEM keys or if dealership pricing is way over $150, (maybe this is a decent value on amazon for $145?)

I am also seeing identical blank keys on eBay 164-R8040 listed as genuine OEM keys for around $20/ea:

Genuine STRATTEC OEM Ford 4D63 Crypto 80 Bit Transponder Key 5913441 164-R8040 https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F26 2761221454

Question 5: Does anyone know if this is a genuine OEM key? It looks like this is the correct factory OEM part number 164-R8040, is this correct OEM part number?

I am planning to call my local Ford dealerships tomorrow to confirm if they will allow me to provide a OEM pre-cut key purchased online for them to handle programming, and will confirm cost from dealer for programming-only, and will also confirm cost for key with cutting/programming included (probably $150+/ea)

I am assuming it will be cheapest option for me to order the blank keys on amazon for $19.95/ea, have them cut at Home Depot, then have the dealership program at least 1 of these keys as a “master” key, if the original key I received with my truck is a master key instead of a duplicate key, then I will use the new “master” key programmed by the dealership with my original key to DIY program additional spare keys purchased online for $20/ea and cut at Home Depot,

Questions 6: Does this plan above sound like my best option? Has anyone had a similar situation with only having 1 original key and buying/programming/DIYprogramming multiple duplicate keys for 2014 model year F-150?

Would it make any sense to have the dealship or Amazon service program multiple “master” keys?

Question 7: How can I check to see if the key I received with my truck is a master key or duplicate key? (Does it matter for DIY programming additional spares?)

Thanks in advance for any advice you can share

You'll probably wil get much more response with a shorter post and 1-2 questions at a time.

i lost interest and gave up reading your entire post, but will add my experience.

i too, bought a used truck with only 1 key. Ford dealer wanted $200 or so for another key. I bought 2 OEM Ford, non remote, keys from eBay. I found that local lowes/Home Depot, ace, didn't/wouldn't cut the Keys because they didn't want to be liable if something didn't work. I had used Lowes before.

i got the keys cut at a lock smith shop for $4-5.

programing does take 2 working keys. But, it can also be done with ForScan, which is a pc based program that gives the user access to the vehicles on board computer via the obd port. I had a friend with this and we (he) programmed the two new keys in his driveway in less than 10 minutes. Now I gave 3 working keys.

another option is to have your current key cloned at Lowes/Home Depot/ace. But this is a clone and not a seperate master key. You still won't be able to program your own.

The link below is the type of key I ordered and we programmed.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-Keyless-E...8AAOSwWUBcLbv4

i also get two key fobs off eBay (less than $10 for both) and diy programmed into the vehicle.

Thanks 2jhanna for this great info, I did some more research on the forscan software and inexpensive adapters, looks like $30 cost for the adapter with my PC laptop and free software download on forscan.org will save me hundreds at the dealer,

I decided to give this a try after reading a forum post on successful admin/master key programming specifically on a 2014 F-150 using forscan (see link below)

Here are a couple useful posts in the forscan.org forum about programming keys:

https://forscan.org/forum/viewtopic....ogramming+keys

https://forscan.org/forum/viewtopic....ramming#p27748

Here is a link to the USB adapter I just ordered for $30 on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01F0GVBWY/ref=cm_sw_r_sms_c_api_i_Mn7qCb9BKCVZH

Here is a link to the OEM transponder keys I just ordered on eBay:

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F26 2761221454

All things said and done this should give me 3 new OEM admin keys and a new forscan system for under $100

Thanks again for the great info

Amazon

Amazon