Originally Posted by Weasel

I think the whole programming thing varies heavily on year and software integration level. Programming tells modules the guidelines to operate under. (most modules come pre-programmed) Encoding tells it what other modules are there to work with and stored the vehicle VIN to it, personalized the module to YOUR particular setup.

I would consider the next time the vehicle is at the dealer for anything (service, etc.) try to get them to encode it for you for 0.5 hour labor.