SEAT LEON (2001) 1.9Tdi Central locking

[SEATconvert]

Hi - just found this site. My wife has a 2001 Leon 1.9tdi 5 door hatch, and I have been well impressed with it since we bought it about a year ago, and use any excuse to jump out of my Alhambra 1.9Tdi (good for hols and our big family!) and into the Leon. When we first had it the remote central locking worked intermittently and after a while gave up completely. The car only has one keyhole (in the drivers door) which can be very inconvenient when your hands are full or some one has parked too close on your r.h.side. The central locking works fine using the key manually but now refuses to work at all remotely. A dealer has quoted about £120+ fitting +VAT for a new unit (is it called a transponder?) behind the fusebox? Sounds v.expensive! Any suggestions or discount suppliers please?

[Sam]

Stupid question first - you have checked the batteries in the key-fob?

With that out of the way, if you're 100% sure that's where the problem lies then try contacting Martyn or Alan at www.vagparts.com and mentioning this site.

If you're not 100% find someone local with a VAG-COM and get them to do a quick scan of your car's ECU, that should show where the fault lies. Again I presume the dealership has done this already, so forgive stupid question number two.

I hated SEAT until my wife picked one as her car too

[SEATconvert]

Hi - thanks for your post. I should have said that I did try new batteries in the keyfob and then went through the 2 - key trick of recoding the key to the car - that didn't work. I don't know if the following provides a clue but when the remote was working intermittently (before it gave up completely) it usually only worked for a few minutes after switching the engine off, ie, when it had been on a run and was still hot. So you could get out of the car and (sometimes) lock it with the remote, come back an hour later and have to use the key manually in the lock to get in.

[shooey88]

the computer chip in the key is called the transponder btw....unless the garage has confused u

known issues with the convenience unit under the dash can be replaced on golfs when problems with remote locking not working. but imagine thats more expensive with 120 pound

so i will guess ur just getting a new key coded?