I recently bought a white 2010 Ram (Crew Cab) which was a lease return after only 14 months in service (per CarFAX) and has only 16,600 on the clock.

The problem is that I did not buy it from a Dodge dealership. Of all places, I found it at CarMax and for only $21k it seemed at the time like a very good deal. (again per CarFAX it was sold at auction)

The truck is immaculately clean and looks & smells like new. I am not having any buyer's remorse, but I'm really frustrated because there was only one FOBIK with the truck & CarMax has a written policy of only furnishing one (unless both happen to be available) - apparently they get a lot of their cars under circumstances where a key fob is missing and so given the cost of replacing one, they have a policy of not doing so.

Okay, understood. Now what are my options and what kind of cost am I potentially facing to get another fob? With 3 drivers in the family it's really a royal PITA having only one fob. I could probably get by with two.

I've been told to avoid aftermarket & eBay deals, something about some intricate programming requirements & not being able to reuse someone else's "extra" fob (that they didn't turn in with their trade). I've also been warned that whoever has the original (missing) fob could access & steal my truck unless I pay extra to have the dealer perform a full wipe & reset. What's that all about?

I've also been told I need a PIN number. Well obviously if CarMax didn't have the 2nd Fob, what do you suppose the likelihood of them being able to provide me with the original PIN? Uhuh..

So what are my options and what realistic costs am I facing?

Thanks in advance

 

About $140 at the dealer and they should program it for free if they have a decent service dept.

 

Thanks! What do you know about the full wipe & reset (for the purpose of disabling the missing FOB)?

 

Just like any car/snowmobile/etc when they program the key (they actually program the truck) They can just delete all the keys and program in the new on and your existing one. Not a big deal to do, we have it done on any used sled we buy just to make sure there are not any extra keys out there.

 

You can buy just the cheapo key on eBay for $17 shipped for 2

 

When you program the truck for keys only those present at the time of programming will let you into the truck, regardless of if it is a full wipe or whatever. When I got my remote start only the key that I had with me and the two remote start keys were programmed. My fourth key does not work to unlock the truck... still starts it though.

 

Thanks for the tip, but that's what I've been specifically warned to avoid. Two separate posters on another forum both said these do not work & were a waste of money.

I am looking for the 'real-deal' 4-button original factory fob.

To avoid any misunderstanding here, I do not need the "key" I need the "FOB" (or FOBIK as it's more correctly described). Unlocking the truck is incidental... I need to be able to start it and only the FOB will do that.

Thanks!!

 

These should be new Fobiks. Not cheap, but cheaper than the dealer, and they are new OEM

Mopar Wholesale

 

Thanks! So I purchase 1 or perhaps 2 of these but still must go to the dealer for the programming. Agreed not cheap but more in the ballpark of what I expected. I've heard all kinds of wild tales about it costing as much at $300 for a single fobik including programming, so I guess the balance depends on what kind of deal I can strike with the stealership. If they're going to nail me for an hour's labor minimum, then the $250~300 (full retail) begins to come into focus. However, I would hope they might cut me a little slack in the interest of "customer good will".

Is this something they do in the shop or can the parts dept. do it?

 

Do you have remote start? If not, it may be cheaper to get one installed at the dealer (mine was about $350) than buying 2 new fobs. With the remote start you get two fobs and they will program your old one so all three will work but only the 2 new ones will remote start.