Is my 3rd party keyfob programmable?

I have a keyfob from ebay, exact same PN as original. I am told by the dealer that it cannot be programmed, that it muyst be ordered from the factory since it has partial programming that is VIN specific.

Any insight?

if it is a used keyfob my understanding is the remote part - i.e. to control the central locking - it can be programmed - but the immobiliser part which is required to start your car - that won't be able to be programmed again (these are one-time program only)

i do believe you may be able to buy the top half of the keyfob seperately (the section which contains the key blade and immobiliser) and retain your 3rd party remote fob

central locking coding can be done two ways -
1) remove the battery on the 3rd remote so it forgets the central locking and relearn it using the method in the manual using your second key
2) use vcds

immo coding is locksmith or dealer only

The newer key fobs have the immobilizer chip as part of the entire circuit board so you cannot buy the upper portion to get a new immo chip like in the previous generation of these keyfobs. In the older version the immo chip was a single RFID item that looked like a grain of rice. It could be removed and slipped into a new keyfob. The immo programming would then transfer to the newer keyfob. Sadly, not so with the latest keyfobs. I investigated this thoroughly.

To save a little you can order the new unprogrammed keyfob directly from an online VW dealer parts vendor (like www.1stvwparts.com or www.riversidevw.com) they will need your VIN # when purchasing and you will have to fax them some proof of ownership. Then, you can take these fobs to your local VW dealer and pay them to program. No matter what you do it is not a cheap process. But, you are investing in a more secure system that will deter theft of your vehicle.

VW did have a class action lawsuit settlement since they were sued for not having competition in the keyfob programming and the lawsuit resulted in VW providing a listing of non-VW locksmiths that have the proper hardware to program their keyfobs. you can find this listing somewhere on their website. If you are lucky, one of these locksmiths will be local to you and provide an alternative to using the VW dealer....can't say if they are cheaper or not though.

Good luck.

Wow. I just bought 6 keyfobs that have zero value. Unbelievable.

Yeah, I bought 2. This is why the keyfobs are so cheap on ebay. It is really dishonest advertizing by a lot of ebay sellers. I am sure they are aware of the limitation

schultp said:

VW did have a class action lawsuit settlement since they were sued for not having competition in the keyfob programming and the lawsuit resulted in VW providing a listing of non-VW locksmiths that have the proper hardware to program their keyfobs. .

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Confused. If the keyfob must be purchased from VW, because it is electronically VIN specific, how does a list of locksmiths provide competition?

It doesn't...but it was part of a settlement.

The instrument VW uses uses the VIN# as a key to get the necessary immo code from a secure VW server. The car must be connected to the instrument and only then will the server provide the immo security code for the necessary programming of the keyfob. No one at the dealer (or locksmith) gets any of this data...another increase in security apparently.

I was disappointed with the cost of these keyfobs but then someone made the point that this is the cost of keyfobs nowadays with all the added security that they provide. VW isn't the only manufacturer with expensive keyfobs. Apparently, some cost even more.

The locksmiths that have purchased the expensive VW instrument use the same procedure as the dealer since they are using the same instrument and connecting to the same VW server for the immo codes.

Here's the link to the pdf file listing the vw authorized locksmiths

VW Locksmith List (pdf)

Seems to be a bad file? ( can't be opened)

schultp said:

Yeah, I bought 2. This is why the keyfobs are so cheap on ebay. It is really dishonest advertizing by a lot of ebay sellers. I am sure they are aware of the limitation

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EBay buyer protection should have you covered. Just open a case.

Diesl said:

Seems to be a bad file? ( can't be opened)

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Downloads for me. It is a pdf, try saving it and then opening.

schultp said:

To save a little you can order the new unprogrammed keyfob directly from an online VW dealer parts vendor (like www.1stvwparts.com or www.riversidevw.com) they will need your VIN # when purchasing and you will have to fax them some proof of ownership. Then, you can take these fobs to your local VW dealer and pay them to program.

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I pointed this out when I was looking for a new keyfob, but http://www.vwpartsdept.com/ has them cheaper than the two sites you listed. Just a few bucks though.

Just need to do a search for "Transmitter" and you'll find the device you need.

Diesl said:

Seems to be a bad file? ( can't be opened)

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Here's VW's main page that has all the relevant PDF's
http://www.vw.com/en/owners/parts-and-accessories/parts/smart_key_replacementinformation.html

Does anyone know the max number of keys that can exist on the 2012 immo system and any given time? One source suggested it might be 4.

Also, what is a valet key? How is it different?

Masterpersonal said:

Does anyone know the max number of keys that can exist on the 2012 immo system and any given time? One source suggested it might be 4.

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A 2012 should support up to 8 keys. I think it has a Gen4 immobilizer. If you pair more than that number, the key that has not been used in the longest period of time is dropped.

Source: http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Immobilizer

I remember reading something that Gen5 is on Audi's, but not on the current VWs

Masterpersonal said:

Also, what is a valet key? How is it different?

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It's a key that can only be used to start the car and unlock the driver's door using the hidden keyhole. It does not have the remote part that allows you to unlock or lock the doors remotely and it cannot unlock the glove box.

There are two electronic parts to a key fob. First it the IMMO RFID chip, this part must be paired to the instrument by a dealer or a locksmith with special equipment. This is the difficult part. The second part of the key fob is the remote control to unlock and lock your doors. This part of the key fob can be programmed with VCDS. What many people do is to buy a cheap eBay key fob and then remove the IMMO RFID chip from their old key fob and install it into the new (eBay) one, then they just program the remote part with VCDS and everything works. This last trick is (of course) impossible if you have lost your original key fob.

Masterpersonal said:

Does anyone know the max number of keys that can exist on the 2012 immo system and any given time? One source suggested it might be 4.

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I believe you are correct, at least for Mk5 and above. I am not certain about older VWs.

Masterpersonal said:

Also, what is a valet key? How is it different?

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A valet key has an IMMO RFDI chip but no remote door opening. Also the valet key is cut slightly different from the regular key in that it will usually only work in the driver's door and the ignition switch. It will not open the trunk or the glove compartment (if it is locked). This is so the parking valet can't get to the stuff you have stashed in the trunk.

Have Fun!

Don

JSWTDI09 said:

What many people do is to buy a cheap eBay key fob and then remove the IMMO RFID chip from their old key fob and install it into the new (eBay) one, then they just program the remote part with VCDS and everything works. This last trick is (of course) impossible if you have lost your original key fob.

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It's also impossible to do on the newer keyfobs because the remote and the RFID parts are on the same circuit board. You can't mix and match like you could with the older keyfobs.

But you can at least remove the blade portion. You need a thin punch to remove a pin that holds the blade to the remote. So if you damage the electronics, but the cut blade is still good, then you don't need to have a new blade cut, which has to be done with a special cutter and they will charge you for that use.

JSWTDI09 said:

I believe you are correct, at least for Mk5 and above. I am not certain about older VWs.

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I did point out in my last post that the max number is 8 according to Ross Tech's documentation.

Thanks for all the replies, one last question. Is there any dealer programmable features I should ask for, or consider? Or is that all vcds?

There isn't any thing that VCDS will add to your keyfobs ability.

hotpocketdeath said:

It's a key that can only be used to start the car and unlock the driver's door using the hidden keyhole. It does not have the remote part that allows you to unlock or lock the doors remotely and it cannot unlock the glove box.

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where is the hidden key hole?? my 2010 has no hole on the handle...

fdizz said:

where is the hidden key hole?? my 2010 has no hole on the handle...

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The part of the doorhandle that doesn't move when you open the door is actually a cap that can be removed and the keyhole is there.

hotpocketdeath said:

The part of the doorhandle that doesn't move when you open the door is actually a cap that can be removed and the keyhole is there.

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Thanks bud, owned the beast for 3 years and never knew about this.. would have save me a locksmith bill. I remember sitting there thinking *** good is this spare key, there is no lock hole on the handle. Haha.