So my lovely wife has managed to lose our only key to our 2010 Mercury Mariner Hybrid.
We bought it used as a fixer upper in the spring with only 1 key.
We changed the code to the door keypad so I can get in it, if that will do me any good.

What options do I have at this point?
Whats the easiest and what’s the cheapest.
Thanks all.
John

 

Easiest is pay a locksmith. DIY I'd buy some new lock cylinders or maybe even junkyard ones and try to program it with forscan after erasing the old keys.

 

Thanks Shady!!
If I go the DIY route do I need to find an ignition cylinder and door locks that come with 2 keys?

Any idea what a locksmith charges for what I’m needing?

Thanks
John

 

Shady, I’ve got a call out to a locksmith and I can only imagine how much that’s going to cost. In the meantime I’ve looked into you DIY idea. I found the below pictured keys and switch on eBay. They look like my keys but don’t specify for a hybrid. Will that matter?
It’s looking like the only negative will be that I won’t have a key for the door locks. Will my keypad and the keyless entry on the eBay set work?

Finally, how complicated is the Forscan process? I’ve used it but wouldn’t call myself an expert. Have you heard of anyone on this forum doing it?

Do I run any risk of messing something up to where if the DIY goes bad that a Locksmith couldn’t fix it?
Thanks again
John

 

You might want to buy a whole steering column with a key. You can just amazon a second pats key and have it cut by Walmart. The old cylinder will be hard to remove for obvious reasons since you can't turn it. Better off having the whole thing to see how it goes together. I've seen them when looking for other parts with the key ziptied. And then there is the door, you have to look up how to get that off and get it from the same car. Maybe ebay or online junkyards would have some too since this doubtlessly happens.

Personally I'd also see how easy it is to pick the lock or buy a tool to do it since it would simplify changing the cylinder. Much easier to just order and ship 3 locks vs the whole thing.

But none of this stuff is a fast way to do it if you need your car to get to work.

Try the dealer to see if they will cut a key for you based on manufacturer data before calling locksmiths. Its going to be more than $100 no matter how you slice it. I have 3 pats keys and 1 non pats to hopefully keep something like this from happening. I'd be scared with just one key, you're one reset away from being unable to start your car.

 

Yea, that pic looks good. Hybrid or not doesn't matter. You probably won't mess it up, its just going to take up a bunch of time. For forscan its just annoying because it makes you wait so if you mess up you start over.

And yea, you have to program the remotes in too but that is just a procedure. Are door and trunk also included?

 

Unfortunately the door and trunk are not included. Would I be playing with fire by only relying on the keyless remote and the keypad that we’ve changed to our own code to get in the vehicle?
This is a spare car that we do love driving but not an emergency at the moment. We’re going on a week and I’m wondering if the HV battery will drop too low and then I’ll have even more issues to work through.

At the end of the day I would love to have 2 of the PATS keys to hopefully not have this issue again.
John

 

Not sure if it's playing with fire since you do have a door remote. But yea, you probably can get locked out if the code got erased. Cheaper to get someone to open your door than replace the ignition, however. You could also get the door locks from somewhere else and just have 2 keys like the old days.

 

I just spoke to a traveling Locksmith.
It would be $324 for them to make me a key that works with my current ignition switch and door locks. That key will also have the keyless entry buttons built in like the one that was lost.
For an additional $79 they could make a regular blank key without the buttons that will work with the current ignition and doors.
Thoughts??
Would I be better off paying the $324 for the one key and purchasing my own key fob getting it cut and programming with Forscan instead of paying $79 for just a blank.

Does $324 sound about right in todays world?

Thanks
John

 

Buy dumb key. Get chipped or remote keys on amazon. Program with forscan, profit.