Ford Key Replacement in Milwaukee

Ford keys for F-150, Escape, and Explorer

Ford key replacement in Milwaukee is mostly trucks and SUVs: F-150 and Super Duty pickups, Escape, Explorer, Edge, Expedition, and Ranger, plus Fusion and Focus sedans. We come to the vehicle, cut the key there, and program it to the truck or car before we leave, whether it sits in a driveway in Wauwatosa or on a job site in Waukesha.

PATS: why a cut copy will not start a Ford

Fords from the late 1990s on use PATS, the Passive Anti-Theft System. A small transponder chip in the key head answers the car every time you turn the key or press start. A key that is only cut, with no programmed chip, opens the doors, but the engine will not start, or it starts and shuts off after a second or two, and the theft light on the dash flashes. That is the sign the car does not know the key. The fix is programming, and the blade can stay as it is.

The Ford security wait

Programming a Ford key is more than plugging in. On many Ford models the car makes the programming tool wait about 10 minutes before it opens the key list, and an all keys lost job can need the wait more than once. Newer Fords, starting with the 2013 Fusion, swap the timer for a coded security step; we check which one your Ford uses before the visit. We plan the visit around it, so the whole job usually takes 15 to 60 minutes, depending on the key and the model.

Which Ford key you have

Older Fords use a plain chip key with a black plastic head. From around the 2011 model year, many F-150, Escape, Explorer, and Edge models come with a remote head key: the lock and unlock buttons sit in the head of the key, and one key does both jobs. A remote head key starts at $129. The 2012 Focus and the 2013 Escape got a remote head key with a high-security blade, and the 2013 Fusion and the 2015 F-150 moved to flip keys with a folding blade. Push-to-start smart keys, which Ford calls Intelligent Access, are on many Fusion, Edge, Explorer, Escape, and F-150 trims from the 2010s on, and start at $159 (smart keys).

Send us a photo of your key next to the year and model, and we bring the right blank and the right remote on the first trip.

F-150 and Super Duty keys for work

Ford pickups carry a lot of the work around Milwaukee, from roofing crews to snow plowing in January. A truck with one key is one lost key away from a crew that waits. A spare made today saves the cost of an all keys lost visit later (spare car key). Company trucks are made with a letter or an email from the company and a photo ID on site (fleet keys). Chevrolet and GMC trucks follow different rules, explained on the Chevrolet keys page.

When every Ford key is lost

No key at all? First we get the doors open, as on any car lockout. Next comes the blade: we decode a door lock to read its cuts, or we buy the factory key code for your VIN from Ford once the paperwork checks out. Then we program new keys and remove the lost ones from the car, so a key in someone else's pocket will not start your Ford. We make two keys on an all keys lost Ford, so you leave with a spare. All keys lost for a chip key starts at $119, and smart keys cost more (lost car keys).

Ford remotes and fobs

A Ford with a separate remote needs the remote programmed as its own step. Lost and broken fobs are programmed from $119 (key fobs). If you bought a used Ford with only one key, we can also remove keys the last owner kept (erase old keys).

For other makes, see car keys by make.