Help - Stolen Key

[Ian_C]

Alright peeps - some advice please.

In a bar last night and i thought my jackect was nicked. Particularly alarming as my Audi key was in the pocket.

Went back to the bar today and much to my surprise the jacket was there, but some low life had rifled the pockets and teh key (with transponder) was gone.

What should i do here? First thoughts were go and get the car recoded an along with the spare key, which i'll do first thing tomorrow.

But in terms of getting anothger key and transponder i know that this costs around £300.

I have seen new transponders on Ebay and blank blades - is that the cheapest road to go down?

I'm not even going near my insurance, don't want to lose no claims.

 

[rickparmar]

i bet you any money the key will end up on ebay,

wait a while and see if a key pops up which is near ur area

 

[Ian_C]

Yeah Rick, already on the case and have been scouring Ebay.

So is buying a blank transponder and blank blade my cheapest option?
(Then get a dealer to recode)

 

[rickparmar]

before you buy it, ring your local audi up and see how much they will charge if you buy a blank blade, pairing the transponder to your car should be very easy

actually i wonder if your local key cutting place can cut it for you, and you will just have to learn how to pair it with the other key and car,

 

[unkle]

Just had to buy a second key for a Fabia VRS, bought the key with a blank blade brand new from Ebay for £25, not sure how much Skoda will want to cut it and program it though, infact Im not even sure where the nearest Skoda garage is....

Theres a guy who was recommended by a friend who does it for £60, Ive got his card somewhere so I'll get you his number, hes in Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leics if thats any help.

Oh and I got a Fabia VRS now.

 

[unkle]

Rang the local Skoda garage in Leicester, they quoted me about £160 to replace the key, they cant do the cutting themselves and said the keys are ordered straight from the warehouse, when I told the guy I had a key with a blank blade he said they couldnt do the cutting but they would program it to the car for the alarm for a tenner, not bad I think, what can you get from a dealer for £10 these days....

 

[julians]

cant you program a new key to car yourself?

It has instructions in the manual for the S3 on how to do it, doesnt seem very hard, and I'd begrudge paying a dealer to do it.

 

[renfrew]

cant you program a new key to car yourself?

It has instructions in the manual for the S3 on how to do it, doesnt seem very hard, and I'd begrudge paying a dealer to do it.

Indeed but isn't it much more complicated to programme the car's immobiliser circuit to recognise a new key fob, as distinct from just programming the radio alarm?

 

[julians]

Looks pretty straightforward according to my manual, unless I'm missing something here.

-Press unlock button on remote that you want to sync

- Use key to manually unlock drivers door within 30 secs

- pres the unlock or lock button.

Job done? or have I missed something key (no pun intended)?

 

[claudefrog]

if someone has the transponder to your immobiliser you might need to change the immobiliser

the process described above is for the alarm and to operate the central locking etc

 

[boblester40]

First thing you must do is tell your insurance, if your car gets nicked with the key you wont get anything , My girlfriend works for an accident management company who every week have to tell people that they are getting nothing for there cars as they did not report the key stolen , Last one was a brand new TT ouch !!!!


Regards
bob

 

[jasaudi]

The other thing to remember is most insurance companies will pay to have the keys, barrels etc replaced because it is an awful lot cheaper than the car!

 

[shineydave]

there's 2 security features in your key. the remote control for the alarm/central locking which can be programmed by pressing the unlock button and then manualy unlocking the car, very easy to do.

there's also the immobiliser transponder in the front half of the key. this has to be paired with the control module in the instruments and to do it you need Vag-Com and the security key code that should have come on a white tag attached to your spare keys. failing that some locksmiths can do it or you have to go to a dealer, i was quoted 45 squids and vat for coding 2 keys i have that don't work for some reason.

you should really take it to a dealer as he'll also remove the missing key from the immobiliser so if the key does turn up they won't be able to start the car.

 

[Ian_C]

good advice peeps thanks