Who gave you a quote of $800?
Our shop charges $500 remote start kit installed, parts and labor, plus tax.
Some members here said they paid $450 at their local dealer.

A WIN module replacement on 08-10 Minivan is only 1.8 hr on flat rate manual.

But you are right about you CAN'T have only 1 car key. having 2+ car key will save you a lot of frustration in the future.

 

Question for 2009 caravan. If I misplace a key and get a new one programmed at a dealer. What happens to the misplaced one? If I find it will it still work or would I need all three re programed?

 

it will remain programed, unless you ask your dealer to erase it. I believe Chrysler product can hold up to 8 keys in it's memory.

There are 2 options on the Dealer Scanner.
"program additional key" and "Erase all keys".

 

Ok thanks. That helps a lot. I figured it would automatically stop working. I guess not. How do they pogram the new one without erasing the one I still have?

 

Old keys would not be erased unless the technician choose the "erase all keys" function on the computer. So just tell them not to erase the keys.

 

Good to hear about the $450 to $500 total bills. As info, I found several situations thru web searches where owners paid $700 to $850 to replace WIN to correct an intermittent crank/start problem. But I'm guessing the two key words here inflating the costs are "intermittent" and "problem", not "replace WIN" or "remote start". I seldom see shop bills with 0 hrs for diagnosis, but that is your premise when installing a remote start kit hoping to correct a problem. How many owners are going to walk into a shop and ask them to replace the WIN to get the flat rate fee with no extras? I may become the first lol. The OP probably already paid plenty for diagnosis and reprogramming efforts "with no results so far", so his total bill for a replacement WIN will far exceed $500 too. I agree the problem is finally narrowed down to finicky WIN and one beat up fobik. This recommendation you made for remote start is surely ideal. It's similarly possible though that $400 of the $800 total cost I quoted was labor for fruitless troubleshooting or possibly even replacing some parts (like fobiks) that did not fix the issue. However the posters did not mention other parts being included in the bills. The best techs can't easily fix intermittent problems that can't be replicated or witnessed. Even if error codes are logged there's some guesswork or assumptions involved.

I also found a fellow who paid to replace WIN to correct an intermittent trouble and later found out his Denso starter solenoid was marginal. A few other's had dealers replace starters and continued to experience intermittent crank issue. I bet they all paid over $800 and they may still be experiencing issues. Believe me, I'm not following their lead lol.

 

Thanks for info! This sure is a lot nicer than some other systems where all key remotes need rounded up and reprogrammed every time a new key remote is added.

 

I guess I work at one of those stupid dealer who only charge $50 diagnostic fee. And if there is some weird electrical problem that will involve taking a lot of things apart, we charge more.

But as for intermittent issue, Only god knows what's wrong with it when it happens. Sometimes you just have to spend money on the process of elimination. There are few things common on these cars, Key, WIN module, TIPM, starter, and Park Neutral switch in the trans. Unless we can see it happen, it is almost impossible to fix.

I mean, Boeing still don't exactly know why their battery catch on fire on the 787, and they have the top engineers and scientist looking at the machine. I think all they did was widen the battery cell space and put a fire proof case on the battery.

I had the same problem with a water leak issue in my house, I tried to reseal a bunch of stuff on the roof, no fix. So I decided get a contractor to replace the entire roof. And it still leak.
I end up just installing some new huge gutters around my house, and it seem ok now.

 

I agree. That's obviously why WIN troubles cost $800 to fix while jobs to install a remote start kit cost $300 less. The difference is one job involves time-consuming troubleshooting to prove which part is faulty and the other job only involves kit retrofit.

We are lucky you are here to provide guidance. Today's cars are complex. The OP probably already has costs mounting and his WIN is still bad.

The preliminary diagnostic, paper estimate and associated fee for this job serves no useful purpose for the reasons you outlined. Scope slip makes it invalid so it just adds extra work and cost. That said, dealers aren't stupid for charging a fee to estimate and techs need to get paid for it. If the customer walks, the tech needs paid for the service rendered. Unfortunately most customers want the written guesstimate thinking it somehow protects them. In my experience, the preliminary diagnostic encourages highballing to protect the shop.

I took my mother in law's 10yo garage queen with 27K mi to a dealer for a leaky water pump and the diagnostic test said it also needed the intake pulled for all new gaskets plus 4 hoses. Cost was doubled with these adders to protect the dealer. A TSB was out there for premature intake gasket failures....but not at 27K mi and grandmas driving behaviors lol. She's not at 100K mi or drag racing or pulling a trailer. I argued for a pump only and they refused. They said they don't do water pumps without the intake gaskets. I paid the diagnostic fee then left and did the job myself 5 yrs ago. It only needed a pump. Now I drive the car and it isn't babied. The intake gaskets only fail when idiots run the coolant low.