Hey guys, a buddy at work got a new 2008 F250. I've been trying to help him out a bit with a few of his questions, but I've never really dealt with the PATS stuff so I figured I'd ask in here. Is there a way to know if it is installed in his truck, other than by looking on his window sticker?

It doesn't say anything about Securilock on his window sticker, but the end of his key is a lot different than mine for my 07. He recently got the dealer to turn on the keyless entry system for his truck (I guess now it's built in and just gets turned on or off, according to if you order it with keyless entry), and got hold of some of the Ford keys with built in keyfobs. He said he was able to program the keyfob to work with his truck, but when he was doing it the PATS light on his dash lit up. Now he is afraid to try that key in the ignition because he doesn't want it to set off the PATS system. Anybody able to help?

 

Why is he concerned about "setting off" the Securilock? It's not an alarm, just a transponder that requires the appropriately coded key to allow the truck to start. If the key isn't coded right, the truck won't start, but the key that originally came with the truck will still start it. The Ford dealer can program keys for a particular Securilock equipped vehicle.


Am I misunderstanding something?

 

I wasn't sure if it permanently disabled the start until you went through some kind of reset, or if it wouldn't just start until the proper key was used. Like I said, I haven't dealt with the PATS system before, thanks though.

 

Yeah, their use of the term "disable" is probably misleading. Just think, though, of the havoc that'd be created if a start attempt with the wrong Ford key meant you needed to call a Ford tech! Not that FOMOCo hasn't had some bone-headed ideas in the past.

 

If your friend has any issues when he tries it (he probably won't) and the vehicle won't start just disconnect the battery, reset computer, and everything should be ok. I had a friend last year who had problems with a similar issue with a new Blazer. 3 different times they had went to start over 2 months and vehicle would show the alarm light on the dash for the key and it wouldn't budge.
We were out of town and it wouldn't start. I disconnect the battery reset the computer, and he drove home making sure to never turn it off. The funny thing was I asked ONSTAR initially to do a diagnosis and they couldn't because the vehicle had to be started in order for this function to be performed.