Ford F-150 (2015–2020) Spare Key in Granbury, TX — Make It Before the Lease Road

The thirteenth-generation F-150 is the most common vehicle we see in Hood County, and it is also the one most likely to be running on a single key. Call or text (817) 214-2934 and we will cut and program the second one at your truck.

Quick Answer

Yes, a mobile automotive locksmith can cut and program a spare key for a 2015–2020 Ford F-150 at your Granbury driveway, job site, or pasture gate — no dealer visit, no tow. As of August 2026, a spare bladed transponder key here generally runs $80–$185, and a spare proximity smart fob for a push-button truck $150–$350, quoted by VIN before we roll. The work takes 20 to 45 minutes on site, and the truck stays drivable the entire time.

Why This Generation Specifically

The 2015 model year is where the F-150 went to an aluminum body, and it is also roughly where the truck's key situation splits into two very different conversations depending on trim.

Bladed transponder key, keyed ignition. XL and XLT work trucks in this range commonly still turn a physical key. A transponder chip in the head authenticates to Ford's passive anti-theft system — PATS — and if it does not answer correctly the engine will start and immediately stall, or refuse to run at all, with the security indicator lit. This is the cheap version of every key conversation.

Proximity fob, push-button start. Lariat, King Ranch, Platinum, and Limited trucks moved to a smart fob detected inside the cab. There is no key slot for starting. An emergency blade hides inside the fob for door access when the fob battery dies, and the truck will accept a backup start when the fob is held in the designated location.

Knowing which one you have is the first question we ask, and you can answer it without leaving the house: look at the steering column. If there is a slot you put a key into, you are in the first category. If there is a START/STOP button, you are in the second.

What a Spare Costs in Granbury

Dealer pricing for equivalent key work commonly starts around $200–$600 and requires the truck at their service drive. Mobile locksmith pricing in this county typically lands 40–60% below dealer for the same services, and the difference is widest on the scheduled spare — the job where nobody is under pressure. The full breakdown is in our dealer cost comparison for Granbury.

The Arithmetic Nobody Runs Until It Is Too Late

Here is the entire argument for a spare, in the plainest terms we can put it.

A scheduled second key for a keyed XL is a modest one-time cost, done in your driveway, on a day you chose, with the truck perfectly drivable while we work. An all-keys-lost call on the same truck costs meaningfully more, happens on a day you did not choose, and the truck does not move until it is finished. On a proximity Lariat the gap is wider still.

The spare is not a convenience purchase. It is the cheaper version of a bill you are statistically likely to receive anyway.

And the reason F-150s in particular end up single-keyed is not carelessness — it is time. These trucks stay in service a long time. The original pair leaves the dealer together, one migrates to a spouse or a farmhand or a glovebox, a fob gets soaked, a key head cracks, and eight years later the household is running one key and has stopped noticing.

Where These Calls Actually Happen in Hood County

A truck is a truck because it goes places a car does not, which is exactly why single-key F-150s become expensive here rather than merely inconvenient.

Lease roads and pasture gates. West of Lipan and out toward Bluff Dale there are places where the nearest street number is a mile away. That is a normal call location for us and an abnormal one for a tow operator.

Boat ramps and the lake. Keys go into Lake Granbury every summer. A key that unlocked the truck at 7 AM is at the bottom of a cove by 4 PM.

Job sites. A truck that will not start at a build site near Cresson or Acton stops more than one person's day.

Hay and stock work. Seasonal work does not reschedule around a key. Neither does livestock.

None of those are places you want to discover your spare was never made. Our Hood County response-time guide covers what drive times actually look like across the county, and the honest answer is that rural addressing — not distance — is what makes an arrival late.

Testing the Spare You Think You Have

A large share of the "I have a spare somewhere" calls end with the spare being useless. Two failure modes account for nearly all of it.

It opens the doors but will not start the engine. That is an unprogrammed transponder. Somebody cut a mechanical copy at a hardware counter and nobody wrote it into the truck's PATS system. The blade is right; the chip is silent. This is extremely common and completely invisible until the day it matters.

It belongs to a vehicle you no longer own. Ford blades from adjacent years look similar enough at arm's length in a kitchen drawer.

The test takes ninety seconds and costs nothing: go outside, put the spare in the ignition, and actually start the engine. On a push-button truck, take the primary fob out of range and start the truck with the spare alone. If it starts and runs, you are covered. If it cranks and dies, you own a door key, not a spare.

Do that twice a year. Finding out on a Tuesday afternoon is a phone call. Finding out at a ramp is a tow.

What We Need From You

Spare-key work is fast when the information is ready before we arrive.

Proof of ownership. Title, registration, or insurance in your name, plus a matching photo ID. This is not paperwork theater — a locksmith who will program a key to a truck without checking who owns it will do it for the next person too. Reputable shops all check. The reasoning behind that standard is set out on our page covering what to do if you lost your car key.

The VIN. Driver's door jamb, or the base of the windshield on the driver's side. The VIN is how we know which key your truck actually takes rather than which one the internet thinks it takes.

Trim and start type. "Push button" or "key in the column" answers most of it.

A location we can find. A dropped map pin beats a rural route address every time. Send it while you still have signal.

Symptoms That Are Not Actually a Key Problem

Not every no-start on a 2015–2020 F-150 is the key, and we would rather say so before you spend money.

Crank, immediate stall, security light

That is PATS refusing the key — a genuine key or immobilizer conversation, and the one we solve.

Fob unlocks the doors but the truck will not start

Two separate systems. Remote entry proves the fob battery and radio side are alive and says nothing about immobilizer authentication.

Push-button truck starts only when the fob is held in the backup position

That is the designed fallback for a weak fob battery, and it is good news — the truck is healthy, the fob's transmitter or coin cell is not. Replace the battery first.

Nothing at all when you press the button

Check the basics before calling anyone. A dead truck battery presents very convincingly as a key failure.

The key turns but the engine cranks slowly or not at all

Starting system, not security. A key we make will not fix it, and we will tell you that rather than sell you one.

The Honest Boundary

Two limits we state up front. First, the newest Ford builds tighten security access by model year, so anything outside the 2015–2020 window gets a VIN check before we commit to a firm number. Second, if the immobilizer module itself has failed rather than simply lost its key data, that is a different scope of work and occasionally belongs at a dealer. A shop that quotes any truck, any year, sight unseen is guessing with your money.

For deeper module-level work, our immobilizer programming page explains what that involves, and push-button specifics live on the push-to-start key page.

Where to Keep the Spare

Having a spare and having a useful spare are different things, and the difference is where it lives.

Not in the truck. A spare inside the vehicle solves nothing on the day the vehicle is locked and solves nothing on the day the vehicle is stolen. It is the most common storage choice and the least useful one.

Not on the same ring. Two keys on one ring are one key with a backup that shares its fate.

At the house, in a fixed place. Not a drawer that gets reorganized. A hook, a labeled hanger, somewhere a spouse can describe over the phone to somebody standing at a gate twenty miles away.

Or with a second person. On a working truck this is often the best answer — the spare lives with whoever is not driving it that day.

A magnetic case is a compromise, not a plan. If you use one, it should not be in the first three places anyone would check, and you should know that it makes theft easier in exchange for making lockouts easier. Some owners accept that trade on a ranch truck that never leaves the property. It is a defensible choice as long as it is a deliberate one.

One more thing worth doing when the second key is made: write the key type and the VIN somewhere you will still have access to if the truck is not in front of you. When you eventually need a third key, or a family member calls about it from out of town, that note saves a trip to the vehicle just to read a number.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a locksmith program an F-150 spare key, or does it have to be the Ford dealer? A locksmith can do it. Independent automotive locksmiths cut and program Ford keys routinely, with security data access through the NASTF Vehicle Security Professional program. There is no Ford dealer inside Granbury, so the mobile route also saves the drive.

How much is a spare key for a 2015–2020 F-150 in Granbury? As of August 2026, a bladed transponder spare generally runs $80–$185 and a proximity smart fob $150–$350, quoted by VIN before dispatch. The figure does not change when we arrive.

How long does it take? Typically 20 to 45 minutes on site, plus drive time across the county. The truck stays drivable throughout.

My spare unlocks the doors but will not start the truck. Is it broken? It was never programmed. Someone cut the mechanical blade without writing the transponder into the truck's PATS system. We can program it in place — bring it out when we come.

Do I need to bring the truck anywhere? No. We work at your driveway, job site, pasture gate, or the ramp. Mobile service is the whole point in a county this spread out.

What do I need to have ready? Proof of ownership in your name, a matching photo ID, the VIN, and whether the truck is push-button or keyed. That is the entire list.

Is it cheaper to make the spare now or wait? Now, by a wide margin. A scheduled spare is a fraction of an all-keys-lost call on the same truck, and it happens on a day of your choosing with the truck still drivable.

Get the Second Key Made

If your F-150 is down to one key, call or text (817) 214-2934 with the VIN, model year, and whether it is push-button or keyed. Serving Granbury, Acton, DeCordova, Pecan Plantation, Tolar, Lipan, Cresson, Nemo, Bluff Dale, Glen Rose, and 25 miles out. Weekdays 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM, Saturdays 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, with 24/7 emergency availability. You can also request service through our contact page, see Ford key replacement in Granbury, or read about spare and duplicate keys.

Sources

• National Automotive Service Task Force — Vehicle Security Professional Program
• Texas Department of Public Safety — Private Security Program
• Associated Locksmiths of America
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration — Vehicle Theft Prevention
• National Insurance Crime Bureau
• Federal Trade Commission — How to Find a Good Auto Repair Shop