why is my pcm programmed to a different VIN# than my car?

Asked by GuruX8XC4 Jul 01, 2020 at 05:38 PM about the 2017 Ford Explorer Limited

Question type: General

My car is at a ford dealer to have a rack & Pinion replaced for $2500 and when
they went to program my PCM they noticed it was originally programmed to a
different VIN# than my car?  How does that happen and why would that be
done?  Did my rack and pinion really need to be replaced or was it that my
PCM was programmed to the wrong VIN# that was the problem?

2 Answers

GuruX8XC4 answered 4 years ago

They only told me yesterday they had discovered that it had been programmed with the wrong VIN# and they were trying to figure out what and how it happened. Today they said they were going to order me a new PCM and that it would be covered under the warranty. I ask them if they thought something fraudulent had happened and they said they didn't think so, that maybe whoever had programmed it must have keyed in the wrong VIN# by mistake. I do not believe that. When I bought my car last December it only had 36k miles on it and it has 42k now when I looked at the carfax report it doesn't show any repair that involved the PCM so that means it would have been programmed at the factory with the wrong VIN# according to the dealer. I am not buying that for one second. Something is not right, I just don't know what.

Mark helpful

F_O_R answered 4 years ago

If the VIN is one digit off you know it was an honest mistake.

1 people found this helpful.
Mark helpful

Your Answer:

Related Questions

Explorer

Looking for a Used Explorer in your area?

CarGurus has 2,091 nationwide Explorer listings starting at $3,995.

Postal Code:

Shortcuts

Search Ford Explorer Questions

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    OJ
    Reputation
    31,100
  • #2
    TransAm77
    Reputation
    7,890
  • #3
    Gene Arnett
    Reputation
    7,340
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Ford F-150
309 Great Deals out of 13,933 listings starting at $1,712
Used Ford Expedition
19 Great Deals out of 825 listings starting at $7,888
Used Chevrolet Tahoe
14 Great Deals out of 896 listings starting at $12,900
Used Jeep Grand Cherokee
109 Great Deals out of 3,136 listings starting at $3,995
Used Dodge Durango
55 Great Deals out of 2,218 listings starting at $5,500
Used Chevrolet Traverse
38 Great Deals out of 552 listings starting at $3,995
Used Honda Pilot
36 Great Deals out of 1,300 listings starting at $2,995
Used Toyota Highlander
26 Great Deals out of 777 listings starting at $6,500
Used Ford Edge
88 Great Deals out of 2,066 listings starting at $2,950
Used Toyota 4Runner
19 Great Deals out of 300 listings starting at $10,800
Used GMC Acadia
23 Great Deals out of 579 listings starting at $4,495
Used Ford Escape
118 Great Deals out of 4,934 listings starting at $2,795
Used GMC Yukon
16 Great Deals out of 902 listings starting at $4,555
Used Chevrolet Silverado 1500
195 Great Deals out of 5,877 listings starting at $2,975
Used Ford Mustang
58 Great Deals out of 1,366 listings starting at $4,995

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.