Here's my Public Service Announcement:



Never place your keys on the plastic cowl cover (the black piece between the base of the windshield and the hood). Especially, avoid placing your keys near the depression in the cowl cover, close to the quarter panel. If you don't place the keys on the cowl cover, you're probably not needing this PSA.



I was rushing out to do an errand on Wednesday morning, placed my keys along with a bunch of papers on the cowl cover so I could run back into the house and pick up something I had forgotten. Let's just say it's not comforting to hear your keys sliding and ricocheting down the opening between the structural tube (framing the engine bay) and the driver's side front quarter panel. Luckily, I was at home, so I used the second set of keys to get where I wanted to be.



It took a computer with a webcam, a tethered flashlight, a 14 ga electrical wire with a hooked end and plenty of patience to fish the fallen keys out of a tight spot and back into my hands.



While I tried to fish the keys over a couple of days, I learned something else. You need 2 'master' keys to have the 3rd key (or replacement key) work. Without the 2 master keys, only your dealer can make another key work. Hint: get yourself a 3rd key, just in case something happens to one of the original keys. It's cheap compared to the dealer fees.



That's all. End of Public Service Announcement.

 

I dunno, sounds like a pretty secure place to store that spare key.

 

Your a better man than me, might have just left em

 

LOL...did you find any missing socks while you were down there

 

I seriously thought about doing that after a few failed attempts at getting the fallen key out of there. The thing that made me go on was the cost of getting a replacement key. If you have only one of the original keys and not both, the truck requires programming by the dealer to accept the replacement key. You can get a replacement key to work only if you have both originals (required by the truck for the do-it-yourself programming); otherwise, it's a dealer programming requirement.

So I highly advise all truck owners to get a cheap replacement key made now. You can do the programming yourself and save the $100 or so it would cost for the dealer to it.

 

It was spotless in that space. Ford even primed the steel surfaces and caulked the joints. No souvenirs from the plant was found. No "Kilroy was here" scribble on the panels either.

 

you could have just taken the plastic inner fender liner out

 

Phew!

I thought for a second maybe your keys had punctured the plastic bits on the driver's side, thereby eliminating the possibility of creating ice cubes for your drinks in the cupholders. Thank goodness.

 

Nope, it would do no good. It's all metal enclosure.