Problematic Key, Intermittent Use, No Spare, Went to get Spare, Now No Keys Work!

[donraj86]

Hi all,

I have recently got my Golf 1.4 Tsi 2012. Got it on the notion that it was stolen off a forecourt before being found with no damage just a missing stereo.

Turns out there was damage to the nearside chassis, no idea how it was not a write off as the leg is bent but it needs a new flitch. That's not the reason for this post as you can tell from my title.

I dropped the one and only key I had and something tripped which disallowed me to start the car. The immobiliser would kick in and the engine would cut out.

Randomly started working again so I decided to get a spare from VW about £170 all in, same as an auto locksmith.

Went in to get the key which needed programming along with my old key. New codes or something.

But apparently this failed, rendering both keys useless.

Now VW are trying to tell me that the car needs a new immobiliser at £650 + vat and then that may not work and it may also need a new ECU bringing the cost in thousands of £££'s.

I don't know what to do, they are saying that its not covered under the warranty even though its a 62 plate as the car has been involved in an accident and they cannot get the car started whatsoever without first getting the new immobiliser.

I am very disappointed and unhappy, worried would be an understatement, it has been stuck in there for the last couple of days while I am waiting for a manager to call me.

I just wanted some advice as I have been searching and scouring but cannot find any luck. I cannot see why an accident would affect their ability to code the keys.

They have told me there is no reset ability nor no rollback type programs, they have followed there procedure to program the keys.

:/

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

[c4a5er]

Try to read up on VW warranty t+c's, plenty of cars have accidents during the warranty period but that shouldn't mean other areas of the car aren't covered. I assume the immobiliser and electrics have suffered no physical damage.

[james_tiger_woo]

Something not right here about the key:

My B6 Passat had its key stolen from a VW dealership while they had it and they replaced that lost key, gave me another and coded it to the car (they said that they had changed all the locks, but I'm not convinced) - They also reprogrammed the ECU so it would work. So form that perspective, a new ECU sounds excessive for a faulty key.

If we assume that VW supplied the key and they did the coding of this to the immobiliser and it's this that killed both the new key AND the immobiliser then I'd say that the fault is down to VW to fix as they "broke" it

As it was working when you bought it, I'd also suggest that the fault should be a warranty job at the very least.

I do, however, find it odd that you dropped the key and it stopped working - Sounds like a faulty key at the very least as I dropped my Golf key a LOT on various surfaces and not once did it fail (and I covered over 90 thousand miles).

Where did you get it from - Was it from VW themselves as an approved car? Or was it from somewhere else as a Cat D - If so, then VW might not be so willing to help if that's the case.

If VW won't help and you didn't get it from VW, I'd go back to where you got it from and ask some questions there.

Both those last points, however, assume you didn't get it from an auction or other method of buying the car where you have no comeback - Even so, you shouldn't need a new ECU and, I doubt you'll an immobiliser as these don't just break - but, again, this depends on the damage to the car when it was stolen in the first place...

[donraj86]

Try to read up on VW warranty t+c's, plenty of cars have accidents during the warranty period but that shouldn't mean other areas of the car aren't covered. I assume the immobiliser and electrics have suffered no physical damage.

I have and they keep coming back to the fact that the car has been in an accident but without further inspection they cannot tell for sure.

Something not right here about the key:

My B6 Passat had its key stolen from a VW dealership while they had it and they replaced that lost key, gave me another and coded it to the car (they said that they had changed all the locks, but I'm not convinced) - They also reprogrammed the ECU so it would work. So form that perspective, a new ECU sounds excessive for a faulty key.

If we assume that VW supplied the key and they did the coding of this to the immobiliser and it's this that killed both the new key AND the immobiliser then I'd say that the fault is down to VW to fix as they "broke" it

As it was working when you bought it, I'd also suggest that the fault should be a warranty job at the very least.

I do, however, find it odd that you dropped the key and it stopped working - Sounds like a faulty key at the very least as I dropped my Golf key a LOT on various surfaces and not once did it fail (and I covered over 90 thousand miles).

Where did you get it from - Was it from VW themselves as an approved car? Or was it from somewhere else as a Cat D - If so, then VW might not be so willing to help if that's the case.

If VW won't help and you didn't get it from VW, I'd go back to where you got it from and ask some questions there.

Both those last points, however, assume you didn't get it from an auction or other method of buying the car where you have no comeback - Even so, you shouldn't need a new ECU and, I doubt you'll an immobiliser as these don't just break - but, again, this depends on the damage to the car when it was stolen in the first place...

Hi, I bought the car of a trader who advertised online and I drove up to get it. They are a small garage really, after doing some further digging turns out they are specialists in accident repair.

I have had some contact with them and I questioned him about the accident as previously he told me it was not involved in one. And I am told that he had the car like this and sold it to me. Their garage is the 1st owner (acquired apr 2014) and I am the 2nd (I acquired the car June 2014). I think he is lying to me. I asked for a refund and I will return the car and I am waiting to hear back.


Okay the guy at VW broke it down to me in simpler terms to correct any confusion. There was a fault coming up as J285 which is an Instrument Panel fault.

He reckons that this car which has a mileage of 600 odd (I bought it at 37) has been corrupted and this instrument panel also houses the immobiliser unit.

I explained that I bought it at 37 and clocked up 500 odd miles since I had it but he is questioning the original 37.

He is not sure if the accident is what has caused this but without changing the housing, they cant tell. This is where I questioned the warranty even more so but they refuse to do anything, not even a gesture of goodwill saying they will have charged for 2 hours labor instead of 2.5.

The immobiliser is working for sure cos the car ticks over but will cut out saying key not found.

I bought the car after HPI checking and double checking, it is not a cat as it was not recorded. I found out today (Had the car recovered home) that the front of the chassis has also had some work, there was no tow eye as standard.

What a mess....

[james_tiger_woo]

Sounds very iffy - The car's been pranged and while that's not unusual, you'd expect it to be sold in reasonable condition for use, especially as it's not Cat registered.

You may have only done a few miles (500 is nothing), but that's no reason why an ECU should pack up and the car give up like it has. The supplying dealer should, under the SOG act repair the car - or at least you should give him the opportunity to.

If it was Cat registered, then there may be a case to answer here but as it has not, you'd expect the car to be in A1 condition. It isn't. It's faulty. Treat it as you would any other car that you'd have bought.

Give the trader 7 days to remedy otherwise you'll return the car for a full refund - Tell them that you want VW to run some investigations at the traders cost (do NOT pay to get a "refund" later) and then report back.

In the meantime, give trading standards a shout for more guidance. Write down, in bullet points, everything that's happened with dates and times and full details in preparation for anything you may need.

[james_tiger_woo]

The more I think about it, the more I'm sure of this:

• You were sold a working car - It wasn't registered as accident damaged so it should be as a working car and that's up to the supplying trader to fix - And for you to chase
• If it was sold as a Cat D car, then you'd expect it to have a few issues
• The VW dealer will probably wash his hands of this as the repair wasn't a VW approved repair - Or charge through the nose to sort it