How to Start a Ford with a Dead Key Fob
Starting Your Ford
Ford Motor Co. vehicles employ far too many backup methods, with new variations added seemingly each year. For full- and mid-size vehicles, insert the Intelligent Access key in the backup slot, located in the center console or in or under the cup holders, depending on the model. The Escape, Focus and Fiesta models use other methods, which are addressed below.
We have over a dozen options, all shown below. Search the page for your model.
The backup slot for full- and mid-size vehicles is the same as that used for key programming. In all cases, the slots do not look at all obvious, except that they are the proper size for the Intelligent Access key.
After inserting the key into the backup slot, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. The vehicle should respond normally as long as the Intelligent Access key is in the slot.
Once the vehicle is started, the key can be removed from the backup slot, if you wish. But first, you will need to locate the slot.
First a word of caution concerning the Ford GT. Its latches are entirely electronic, the result being that, in the event of a power failure while inside the car, a back up plan is necessary. There is a strap on each pillar alongside each seat, as seen n the image to the right. Pull it to release the door.
Locating the Back-up Slot
The backup slot is located in the center console in the Taurus, Fusion, Explorer, Expedition (through 2017) and Flex. The exact location will vary somewhat. Most consoles are filled with stuff, so you may need to dig a bit.
In the Taurus, Expedition (before 2018) and Flex the Intelligent Access key slot is to the rear or the side of the console and points up. The key is slipped in vertically or horizontally depending on the slot’s shape, with the buttons facing out, as in the image shown. After inserting the key, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. If it fails to start, turn the fob so that the buttons face back and try again. Once the vehicle is started, the key can be removed from the backup slot, if you wish.
You will find a video of the process here that will help.
In the updated (2018) Expedition, the back up slot is in the front cup holder. There is a two-piece mat at the bottom, and the front piece needs to be pulled away. It is a loose fit and slips out easily. Drop the key fob into the slot with the buttons facing the back of the vehicle and start it as normal.
It may take two pushes of the button to start. Again, once the car is started, the Intelligent Access key or fob can be removed and the mat, and any cups, replaced.
New in 2019, the Transit Connect uses push button start for the first time. The back up slot is also in the cup holder. The rubber mat at the bottom of the cup holders needs to be removed and Ford recommends removing the mechanical key as well. Lay the key fob in the front cup holder with the buttons facing up and the unlock button towards the front of the vehicle. Step on the brake and start the vehicle as normal using the Start / Stop button.
The new Ranger compact pick up also uses a cup holder, the rear one. Place the key fob in the cup holder making sure that it is centered and is parallel to the brake handle, as can be seen in the image at right. The truck can then be started by stepping on the brake and using the Start / Stop button as normal.
In Explorer and Fusion models, the slot is found near the Auxiliary, USB and power ports in the center console, like the one shown. The Intelligent Access key is slipped in with the buttons facing out (in the Explorer we had, the vehicle started with the buttons facing either direction) and the key ring up.
After inserting the key, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. Once the vehicle is started, the key can be removed from the backup slot, if you wish.
We have a video for this process as well here.
The Edge back up slot is inside the center console, but actually beneath the the front of the console (right). It is difficult to see, but it can be felt as raised tray just the right size for the remote control. Slip the remote onto the tray with the buttons up and press the Start / Stop button while stepping on the brake as normal.
The 2017 Escape has a new back up location (see below for earlier Escape models), which is changed again in 2018.
In a 2017 model, place the key fob on the small tray at the front of the center console, as shown in the image to the right. Remove anything that may be placed there. Once it is in position, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual.
In the 2018 Escape, the back up slot is found in the front cup holder. The bottom is marked with radiating lines meant to indicate radio waves. Remove anything that may be in the cup holder and set the fob inside, as shown in the image at right. Once it is placed, use the Start /Stop ignition button to start the vehicle while stepping on the brake as normal.
The key fob can be removed from the back up location once the vehicle is started, if you wish.
And in 2019, the back up slot for the Escape is back at the front of the center console, beneath a mat that must be removed (right). The new Bronco, introduced in 2021, shares this location. A fob-shaped depression will be seen once the mat is removed. Place the fob on the spot with the buttons up. Once it is placed, use the Start /Stop ignition button to start the vehicle while stepping on the brake as normal.
The EcoSport, introduced in 2018, also uses a location in the front of the center console. Drop the fob into the slot with the key ring up and the buttons facing the back. After inserting the key fob, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. And again, the key fob can be removed from the backup slot once the vehicle is started, if you wish.
New in the 2015 Mustang, the 2017 Fusion, and the 2018 Expedition (as noted previously), the backup slot is hidden under one of the cup holders.
A rubber mat at the bottom of the cup holders may need to be removed (A) to expose the slot (B), as shown. Of course any cups will have to come out too! Look for a tab towards the front or the side of the mat to grab and pull (gently!)*.
*Important: If you do not find a pull tab, do not try removing the mat. Simply place the key fob in the rear cup holder and start the car as normal.
After inserting the key fob, buttons facing the back of the car, in the exposed slot, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. Once the car is started, the Intelligent Access key can be removed and the mat, and any cups, replaced.
Find another video for these models here.
The new all electric Mustang Mach E has a back up slot at the front of the center console storage area, next to the 12-volt power outlet (right). Place the remote control in the slot as shown (2) with the buttons facing up (or out).Once the remote control is in position, press the Start / Stop button while stepping on the brake to activate the high voltage battery.
Note also that the Mach E can be started with a smart phone app and/or a passcode inputted on the touch screen if the key fob or phone is not recognized. The car will request the code.
Push Button Start is new to the Ford Pick-up line in 2015, first with the F-150, and it has two back-up start options. If the shifter is on the steering column, look inside the center console to the rear for the slot. Note that there are two console storage areas. The one needed and shown is beneath the center bench seat.
Insert the Intelligent Access key with the buttons facing to the back and the key ring up. Then use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. Once the vehicle is started, the key can be removed from the backup slot, if you wish.
If the shifter is on the center console, the slot will be under the rubber mat in front of the shifter. Remove the mat and insert the Intelligent Access key with the buttons facing up.
After inserting the key, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. Once the vehicle is started, the key can be removed from the backup slot, if you wish.
In 2017, trucks with the shifter on the center console have the back up slot moved to one of the cup holders. Through 2020, the front cup holder is used, but it is moved to the rear cup holder starting in 2021. Remove the mat at the bottom (see image) by pulling the tab and stand the key fob up in the slot, buttons forward. Then press the Start / Stop button while stepping on the brake as normal.
There is also a video of the process here.
In the F-250 or larger truck, the slot is located beneath the tray to the left of the cup holders in the center console. Remove the tray and the cover from the center console. The slot, which is in the shape of the key fob, or Intelligent Access key, will be exposed.
Place the fob in the slot with the buttons facing up and use the Start / Stop button to start the vehicle as normal. Again, the key fob can be removed after starting.
The compact Focus has five variations alone, with the Escape and C-Max sharing two of them and the Fiesta sharing one. The fifth Focus variation belongs to 2016 models only. All are located on the right side of the steering column near the windshield wiper lever. And see below for Fiesta and Focus models built after 2020 and not sold in North America.
First, look for either a radiating symbol printed on the column like the image to the left or for a round cover, shown to the right. These locations are where communications from the Intelligent Access key are picked up by the vehicle.
If you see the transmitter symbol, which may have a key or tower in between the radiating lines, and you have a three button Intelligent Access key, slip the key into a small slot beneath the symbol, as shown.
After inserting the key, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. Once the vehicle is started, the key can be removed from the backup slot, if you wish.
If you have a five button Intelligent Access key, place the key against the transmitter symbol, as shown in the image, and start the vehicle. The vehicle will recognize the key, even if the key’s battery is dead. Use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual.
If you see a cover, like the one shown above, there are two options. If a small slot or notch is visible, as seen in the image, pry off the cover using the mechanical key and insert the Intelligent Access key, as shown.
After inserting the key, use the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal to start your vehicle as usual. Once the vehicle is started, the key can be removed from the backup slot, if you wish.
If the covering does not have a slot or notch to pry off the cover, which will include Fiesta models, simply hold the Intelligent Access key against the cover, similar to the five-button process shown above and as shown here, and start your vehicle using the Start / Stop ignition button and brake pedal as usual. The vehicle will recognize the key, even if the key’s battery is dead.
In 2016 and going forward, Ford made a change in the Focus. The back-up slot will be found at the bottom of the center console. It will appear as a depression in the floor of the console in roughly the shape of the key fob.
With the console open, you’ll need to remove the storage tray, as shown, and everything stored beneath in it!
Place the key fob flat on the symbol at the bottom of the console storage compartment with the buttons facing up.
With the fob or intelligent key in this back up location, the car can be started using the Start / Stop button and stepping on the brake as normal.
Fiesta and Focus models built after 2020 feature a small storage area in front of the shift lever on the center console. The area’s rubber mat must be removed, much like the pick up trucks with center console shifters seen earlier. There is even the mark of a key with lines radiating from it to point out the location (top arrow). Place the fob as shown (lower arrow) with the buttons up. Step on the brake and start the car using the Start / Stop ignition button as normal.
Finally, if you happen to have the GT model, the back up location is a storage tray at the front of the center console beneath its rubber mat, like the Fiesta and Focus above. Lift the mat and place the key fob with the buttons up, as shown in the image. Step on the brake and start the car using the Start / Stop ignition button as normal.
The key fob can be removed and the mat replaced after the starting the car, if you wish.
Note: If you have made an attempt to start any of these vehicles without success, there may be residual pressure in the brake system and a new warning light may appear (left) or text message to Step on the Brake. Press the brake pedal very, very hard when trying to start the vehicle again to be sure that the release switch behind the pedal is engaged. Or wait a few minutes and try again.
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Remember that only proper service and repair procedures will ensure the safe and reliable operation of your car. In addition, proper safety procedures and precautions, such as the use of safety goggles, the right tools and the equipment should be followed at all times to eliminate the possibility of personal injury or improper service which could damage the vehicle or compromise its safety.
These posts are for information sharing purposes only, and should not be used in lieu of an OEM service manual or factory authorized service procedure. We are not in the auto repair business nor do we publish automotive service manuals. Nothing we include on these pages and posts has been reviewed, approved or authorized by any vehicle manufacturer.
Technology is always changing and what is current and accurate today may be literally out-of-date and inaccurate tomorrow. And when it comes to the current state of flux in the auto industry, nothing is more true.
The author has 25 years of automotive experience and has assembled the most extensive collection of symbols and warning lights anywhere (over 1,000!) and can help you open and start any keyless start car with a dead key fob battery. BA, St. Joseph’s College, ME: MS, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, NY