Just picked up my F250 a few days ago and it's been great up until yesterday when I hopped in to start her up and nothing. It's a brand new battery and all lights worked, but the dash was dead. I attempted in vain for an hour or so to diagnose as to why this was happening and just happened to open the door with the key in the ignition and hit the door lock button....all of a sudden the truck starts beeping and the message on the dash said "to disable alarm start vehicle". I turned the key, the dash lighted up and away I went. Does anyone know what I may have done to cause this or has it happened to you? Thanks in advance for your help. I'm thinking it's something with the key fob but not sure.

mattster

 

Hi,

Sounds like you have some issue with the Anti theft protocols between the truck and the key. The only time I have what you are describing if I do something stupid with my alarm arming button (i.e. fumbling with my keys) I will get that message.

If you have the Ford factory remote start and you accidentally turn the truck over then immediately turn it off, it will lock you out of the truck from RS for one drive cycle. The other way is to press the cycle button too many times in a row with also lock out the remote start. It will just beep at you about it.

If you purchased the truck from a dealership, I would suggest to take your issue to them. This way they can check to make sure the system is programmed correctly. Since it is Anti Theft, there could be an ECM issue.

Good luck.

 

Welcome to the forum, mattster; congrats on the new truck! As FordmanNJ suggested, getting this in front of your dealer is a good next step. How many miles are on the truck currently? Has this happened again or did it just occur once?

Crystal

 

Greetings Crystal,

This issue has only happened twice.......within the first 24 hours of ownership, so it may have been my error in pushing too many buttons...who knows. The first time it only lasted approx 10-15 seconds so I didn't really think anything of it, but the second time was more problematic as all windows were down and I couldn't even power them up to avoid the potential rain. Thankfully when I hit the door lock button with it open and the key in the ignition everything fired up as normal and it hasn't happened since. However, I only have two keys. One is the original remote "lock/unlock" FOB (no autostart) and the other just looks like a regular key.

Since the second episode, when I use the "regular" key to manually unlock the drivers door and enter the truck, I get the "start engine to disable alarm" message and the vehicle starts (both keys give the same message when manually unlocking the door) yet the plain key give a "system starting malfunction" once it starts (the FOB key does not give this message).

This truck only has 99,300 kms on it so I do have 700km of warranty left LOL, but I believe that only pertains to powertrain at this point. I will take it into a dealership and see what they can find. It sounds to me like it's just a key issue and potentially a "reprogram".....I hope. Knock on wood it hasn't happened since and I have actually tried to re-create the condition in my driveway......of course it never does it when you want it too, and will most likely happen when I'm in the middle of nowhere haha.

Mattster

 

Thanks for the quick reply, Mattster! Come back and tell us what the verdict is from the dealership. I'm assuming from your use of kilometers that you're in Canada; if so, you can give my colleagues from Ford Canada a shout if you need assistance. Here's a link to their profile: Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums - View Profile: FordServiceCA

Crystal

 

Update: So I made an appointment to have the keys reprogrammed and they kept it for two days. Apparently they had never heard of this issue happening before....??? When I picked it up the non-fob key continued to flash "system starting fault" after the truck was started. The original fob did not give that message. The tech came out and was baffled. I received a call the next day telling me there is a TSB advising that non-fob keys not be programmed into those trucks......I thought I had found every single TSB.....must have missed that one LOL. I did read a thread on here of members with identical messages when using the non-fob without issues. They told me to come back in and they would reprogram it again.

The next day the two replacement keys I ordered from Ebay arrived (identical IKT 80 bit with SA stamped on the blade) I went and had them cut and programmed them into the truck without an issue but now those two keys also flash "system starting fault". All four keys start the vehicle fine but with three of them flashing this error message it just makes me nervous.

I took the truck back in yesterday with all of the keys and they reprogrammed the truck again omitting the non-fob key. However, the two Ebay keys still flash the same "system starting fault". The service guy had no explanation other than blaming it on the "Ebay" key and somehow it must not be the same.......whatever. Rather disappointing experience from the dealer to say the least. Perhaps my next option to try is an actual "Ford" fob but I really have no interest in spending $70+ for a single key.

I may e-mail Ford of Canada, but something tells me I will get the same "well it's not an authentic Ford fob and that's probably the issue".

Frustrated.................

 

Thanks for the update, Mattster344! I suggest taking your truck to another dealer for a second opinion. You can locate dealers in your area here.

I'll take a look at this and see how to help on my end. Please send me a PM with the current odometer reading, VIN, dealer, your name, and your best daytime phone number.

Mariel