Someone tried to steal my truck by jamming a screwdriver in the ignition, and it looks like they busted the transceiver according to the way the theft light flashes. So now I'm trying to find out what to do next. After reading through here, it looks like I'm going to have to get the truck towed to a dealer and have everything reprogrammed, is that right? Do I have any other options? It's a Mazda B2300, but should any Ford dealer be able to handle it? That would save me significantly on the tow mileage.

Any guesses as to what kind of sticker shock I'll be in for? I didn't plan to invest much when I bought this thing, trying to see where I throw in the towel.

 

you should be able to just replace the transceiver and be on your way, that just sends the key ID to the PCM where they are stored

 

+1 ^^^

Transceiver is just a 4-wire powered antenna, its not "matched" to the system, no reprogramming would be needed if it needs to be swapped out, for sure

You can swap it out yourself by removing the steering column's "clam shell" covers, there is a 4-wire plug for it where column meets the dash

The transceiver comes with 4-wire lead attached, there will be a part number label on transceiver, if not just look up your YEAR, same transceiver will be used on several years and models

 

Sorry I didn't thank you guys for the tips earlier, but thank you from me and my wallet!

I finally cracked everything open and got the transceiver off, ordering a replacement today. I'm an extreme amateur, but if I took it off, then hopefully I can put it back on too.