2017 Ford Explorer
Key Replacement - Save vs Dealer in Ventura County

2017 Ford Explorer Smart Key Replacement - Fast, Affordable & Professional

A woman from Corriganville came home on a red-eye, picked up her bag from baggage claim, and walked into long-term parking ready to be done with the whole trip. Her 2017 Explorer just sat there, dark. No response to the fob, no click, nothing.

She tried the fob a dozen more times. Then she realized the emergency insert blade was in her carry-on, which was in the trunk, which wouldn't open without the fob. She was fully locked out of her own car with her bags sitting on the asphalt and no good options in front of her.

She called the dealer first. Thursday was the earliest they could see her. It was Tuesday morning. A tow quote came back steep, and all that got her was a ride to a dealer who couldn't help her for two days anyway.

She called me. I was on-site in about 45 minutes.

Getting the door open without the remote took a few minutes once I found the insert blade slot under the door handle cover. Once she was in, I connected through the OBD port and checked the key programming status. Both of her fobs were still enrolled to the vehicle. Nothing had been wiped. The problem was exactly what I suspected: the two CR2025 cells in the fob had drained down far enough that the remote had no output and the car's passive entry system couldn't wake up at start.

Swapped both cells, confirmed the fob was communicating, walked every button and tested the push-button start. Everything came back clean.

She drove home before 9 a.m. No tow, no two-day wait, no Thursday appointment. She saved a good chunk compared to what that whole dealer detour would have cost her, and she was back in Corriganville in time to sleep in her own bed.

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