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My wife and mom went to the dealership today to get remote start installed on their F-150's (bad decision not to do it from the factory). Both trucks had it installed, and it starts the truck fine, but the problem is as soon as they put the key in the ignition to turn it to "Run", the truck shuts off and they have to restart it. The tech says thats "Normal", and it's because of the "My Key" feature.
Neither of the trucks have had any of the keys set up to be "My Keys", all are exactly how they are from the factory. Something doesn't seem right.....anybody know if the tech is right or is he full of it?
My 250 doesn't do that. It stays running the whole time and I have the "My Key" capability. Not sure the 150's are the same but I don't see why they wouldn't be.
I actually just finished some google searching and found that it is a "Safety Feature" for My Key. When you put the key in after remote starting it, the truck doesn't know if it is an admin key or a my key, so it shuts the truck down to make you restart it so it can tell which key it is. There's a procedure to disable this, guess I will be giving it a shot. My F-350 (same as yours), doesn't do this either...not sure why it does on the 150.
I've heard other people talk about their trucks shutting off when they open the door (after remotely starting) and that is a safety feature so that no one can just open up the door and drive off. Interesting, imo.
But, if what you say is correct, then you wouldn't have to put the key in to drive it off, right? It is already started, and if it stays running when you open the door, then you can put it in drive without iinserting the key... am I reading this right?
When remote starting, to be able to shift into gear, the key must be inserted and set to the run position. That the safety feature that I have seen on trucks equipped with Auto-Start.
I actually found a procedure online outlining how to reprogram the remote start module, and it worked like a charm. Now the truck can be started, door opened and key inserted without the truck shutting off. If the brake is pressed before the key is the run position, the truck shuts off (which makes sure somebody can't just jump in and drive off.)
It is my understanding the dealerships have been instructed by Ford NOT to reprogram the modules as they feel it could be a liability issue....
I do not know where you purchased the truck, but most dealers do not install the alarms or remote starts; they use a private source who specializes in this type of service. When I bought my last two trucks, the dealer figured the price with a Ford remote start, but the contractor installed it. I also had a problem, as when the door opened the motor stopped. Took it back and the installer took about one minute to correct it. I don't think the dealer would be liable if they did not do the actual install...
I do not know where you purchased the truck, but most dealers do not install the alarms or remote starts; they use a private source who specializes in this type of service. When I bought my last two trucks, the dealer figured the price with a Ford remote start, but the contractor installed it. I also had a problem, as when the door opened the motor stopped. Took it back and the installer took about one minute to correct it. I don't think the dealer would be liable if they did not do the actual install...
We had them installed by the actual dealer. He told us that it was because of the "My Key" and there was nothing he could do about it. I did some googling and found a few people saying the dealers aren't allowed to disable the feature as directed by Ford. Either way, it's fixed now, and I'm happy!
Mine was $240 installed. Well worth it in the winter; leave the heat on, and start it first thing in the morning. After a few minutes the windshield is cleared, and the heater is doing it's job!