How to tell if I have PATS?

richie9mt

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I'm reading my owners manual, and it says "...if so equipped"...How do I tell??? There's no On/Off switch that I can find. I do have the flashing red 'lock' icon in my tach pod, but there's no way to tell if it's armed or not, or even equipped... :(

My two keys are just thin black plastic blobs attached to an ordinary looking keyshaft. No visible chip, no battery. The separate fob has buttons and a battery, but no special 'Anti-Theft' button.

Do all 2006 Mustangs have PATS???key.jpg
 
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Juice

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You have pats. Flashing icon confirms.
Pats by definition is Passive, as long as the sensor around the ignition recognizes a stored key, it lets the car start. If you cut a blank key, the car will not start with that new key until it is added to the stored keys.
 

richie9mt

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You have pats. Flashing icon confirms.
Pats by definition is Passive, as long as the sensor around the ignition recognizes a stored key, it lets the car start. If you cut a blank key, the car will not start with that new key until it is added to the stored keys.

Thanks for confirming this! The Owners Manual is confusing as it says in several places "...if so equipped", making it sound like an accessory that must be ordered from the factory.

I'm third owner but I didn't get a build sheet or window sticker with the other owners documentation I received. So I don't really know if some of my cars features are standard or optional. :(
 

Juice

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Ah, the confusing lawyer speak in documentation! lol
 

Gladams

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I think you can also check by rolling down your windows and locking your car. Wait a few minutes and lean your body into the window and see if the alarm sounds. That would be passive vs just anti-theft. Thanks.
 

richie9mt

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I think you can also check by rolling down your windows and locking your car. Wait a few minutes and lean your body into the window and see if the alarm sounds. That would be passive vs just anti-theft. Thanks.

I think I'd better save that test until I can find out how to turn off the alarm...any alarm...quickly...

Wal-Mart parking lot isn't the best place to test vehicle anti-theft systems...
 

JimC

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PATS isn't part of the theft alarm system and not every model has the anti-theft alarm, but does have PATS for the key. So if his car doesn't have the anti-theft system then locking it and reaching in the window won't do anything. All 2006 Mustangs have PATS keys.

The PATS is a separate system that won't let a key that doesn't have the embedded chip start the car. I had one for my 2006 that had no chip that I kept in the console just in case I locked the key in the trunk again (convertible so no way to lower the rear seat to get into the trunk and 2006 didn't have a trunk release button in the car).
 

richie9mt

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All 2006 Mustangs have PATS keys.
The PATS is a separate system that won't let a key that doesn't have the embedded chip start the car.

Thanks for clearing that up! I tried Googling as well as my manual, but none of them was as clear as your description! :)
 

Ret

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So, when you lock your car with your remote and it "chirps" is that a theft alarm or just PATS?
 

JimC

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So, when you lock your car with your remote and it "chirps" is that a theft alarm or just PATS?
The chirp is the theft alarm.

Not related to PATS.

Your key has a chip embedded in it. The PATS sees the chip signal when you insert the key, and allows you to start the car. No chip, or the wrong code from the key chip, and the car won't start.

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk
 

richie9mt

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Your key has a chip embedded in it. The PATS sees the chip signal when you insert the key, and allows you to start the car. No chip, or the wrong code from the key chip, and the car won't start.

While researching PATS via Google/YouTube, I stumbled across this video. It is hilarious, not only because I can almost smell the pot, but because it is so simple that any doper can do it.

"How to dissable your ford veichles pats system in walmart parking lot"


I watched a couple of other videos on 'bypassing' the Ford PATS, and they were all mostly similar. But without the grass. :D

My local key shop offered to cut me a key in case I got locked out of my Mustang for a small charge (under $10), but if I wanted it coded, it would cost over a hundred.

I'm thinking that a spare key to get me back in, even if it didn't start the car, would be well worth the ~$10. But zip-tying my spare coded key under the dash might work also.

Anybody tried this???

And yes, it is unsettling to know my Mustang could get stolen in the Wal-Mart parking lot, but if they want it, they'll get it regardless. :(
 

Ret

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Thanks, JimC, for the clarification. As, to the key itself I think (not positive) that I read in the Owner's Manual a few years ago that you could program the key yourself. I didn't see that until after paying the Ford Dealer $80 to program a key. It wasn't a deal of go in and 15, 20 minutes later your key was ready. Had to leave the key and something about a complicated number of steps that took time.... I just viewed the complicated number of steps on the Utube that Richie9MT furnished.
 

JimC

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You can only program a key if you already have 2 working keys by the way. That prevents a valet from adding a key.
 

richie9mt

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OK, I actually did what thjs guy in this video did. I got a non-chip Ford key (R78P) cut from my coded Mustang key. Cost more than the $1.50 but still much less than $10. Works great in my drivers door; trunk needs jiggling but eventually opens. I tried it in ignition, it's a no-go. Cool. I'll buy a Hide-A-Key magnetic keybox and stick it under my bumper for the next time I lock my jacket in the trunk.

But thinking about this video again, why is this guy 'bypassing' his PATS when he has the coded key right there??? Zip-tying it up under the dash??? Why not stick it in the ignition and start the car! Why bother with a non-coded key when the original has to be in the keylock and stuck nearby??? This is hilarious!!! The perfect solution to a non-existent problem!!! :)

I gotta check out this guys other videos! I need a good laugh! ;)
 

yote0

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The "chirp" is actually only a confirmation that you have pressed the lock button and the doors are actually locked.
 

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