Dealer wants $350 to program 2 key fobs

[fresnobrianb]

Had my only key stolen during a work trip. Bought 2 OEM fobs online. Towed truck to dealer to get them programmed and was quoted $350 in labor. I can’t imagine this is more than an hours work. Thoughts?

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[Brian_B]

Yup. Sounds about right.

Doesn't mean I agree - but yeah, that's the roughly the going dealer rate for programming new fobs

If you had 2 in your possession, you could program them for free in the Bronco and only pay about $45 for the fob. But it requires 2 pre-programmed ones to do so.

 

[BigFootie]

Yup. Sounds about right.

Doesn't mean I agree - but yeah, that's the roughly the going dealer rate for programming new fobs

If you had 2 in your possession, you could program them for free in the Bronco and only pay about $45 for the fob. But it requires 2 pre-programmed ones to do so.

This ^^^^^^^^^^

 

[Ducati1098]

This really depends on location/shop. We charge an hour to do the programming. I don’t know the exact labor rate we use for key programming, but it isn’t close to $350.

 

[JHawk]

Yup. Sounds about right.

Doesn't mean I agree - but yeah, that's the roughly the going dealer rate for programming new fobs

If you had 2 in your possession, you could program them for free in the Bronco and only pay about $45 for the fob. But it requires 2 pre-programmed ones to do so.

I did this and now I have 3. If one gets lost or damaged then I can program a new one. The dealers defiantly have a racket doing this because it is about 10 minutes work for or less for an experienced tech

 

[Dog]

You're paying for the proprietary software, not the labor

 

[fresnobrianb]

You're paying for the proprietary software, not the labor

Seems like I paid for that when I bought the truck

 

[Brian_B]

Seems like I paid for that when I bought the truck

Completely off topic but i just realized:

omg my doppleganger - I'm right up the road from Fresno. Probably the same horrible dealer ><

 

[RustysBronco]

Doesn't Forscan allow users to program fobs?

 

[Ducati1098]

Doesn't Forscan allow users to program fobs?

Not anymore. All key programming requires FMC login credentials.

 

[Ducati1098]

Seems like I paid for that when I bought the truck

FDRS software licenses and VCM’s weren’t included in your purchase

 

[etmccaus86]

Not anymore. All key programming requires FMC login credentials.

If I understand correctly, it also requires an extra level of credentials issued OUTSIDE of FMC to qualified locksmith/ dealer organizations.

Little old me can program keypads all day long with a compatible tool and a $50 weekend pass to FDRS just fine, but if I want to program fobs? That also requires a license from USCAR or some similar organization and that ain't cheap.

 

[DEC]

This really depends on location/shop. We charge an hour to do the programming. I don’t know the exact labor rate we use for key programming, but it isn’t close to $350.

It’s been 30+ years since I’ve worked at the dealer (Jaguar) but everything had a book labor amount to do everything. Is it that sideways now? Yeah, we changed customer pay an extra 25% vs warranty, so there is that I suppose.

 

[Ducati1098]

It’s been 30+ years since I’ve worked at the dealer (Jaguar) but everything had a book labor amount to do everything. Is it that sideways now? Yeah, we changed customer pay an extra 25% vs warranty, so there is that I suppose.

Yeah everything still has a “book” labor time. But there’s a ton of different places to get labor times from now. All are usually relatively close though.
The general rule of thumb now days (at least for most ford dealerships) is warranty +50% for customer pay work.

 

[RagnarKon]

And people told me I was 100% crazy and wrong when I said in my accessories video that programming costs $300-$350…

- - -

Anyway… @fresnobrianb try a licensed locksmith.

Many locksmiths stay away from vehicles because the cost to obtain the equipment and necessary access is too high compared to the amount of work it brings in for them. But some locksmiths will do car programming.

But also don’t be surprised if you don’t find anyone. Only one out of the 8 locksmiths within 100 miles of me will program cars. And even if you do find one, I doubt many will be willing to wonder into a dealer parking lot and program a vehicle for you.

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