To the best of my understanding here is the real problem with the panic button not working on my 2007 Xfire as best as I can piece it together after 9 or 10 weeks. Ater a new key did not fix the problem yesterday, the service manager/owner then called two other dealerships to see if they really could program the Body Control Module (BCM) as they had told me. One of them a 5 Star dealer, told me they could do the change requested. When he talked to them as I understand him they were not able to program it any better then he could. They have the same equipment as them. Chrysler tech and engineering support had mentioned the same problem earlier to the mechanic. They (dealers) can only remove and replace the modules. This is what we have been doing for weeks. He also called two Mercedes service managers and they would not program the Body Control Module for him.

I got the distinct feeling after hearing him talk that there is now a shortage of real Crossfire certified mechanics left in the dealerships in the area. As time moves on and people change jobs and there is no replacement training for future mechanics, we are going to need to be more proactive in learning the Xfire systems. It may reach the point that self analysis may be necessary to solve complex problems.

The inop Panic button problem appears to have been caused when the car was orginally made in Germany. Somehow the panic button was switched to the off position in the programming of it the first time. This does not effect the dealers from removing and replacing modules because the communications network (CAN) and the modules are self correcting. The modules gather information from other modules and sensor polints via the CAN to program themselves. However, there is one BIG issue that may effect other cars. For 2007 cars at least Chrysler dealers are unable to change the basic program once it has been set at the factory. I do NOT know if it is true for older cars or newer cars. As you can see this may be a bigger problem then the panic button not working. It may not have gotten much press in this forum before. Perhaps other people can shed more light on this issue or assist with more capable research or insight.