UK-POLOS.NET - THE VW Polo Forum

my son recently picked up a 2011 Polo

nice little car but its seemingly a low spec one, its his first car.

anyway, it has two keys that are flat (Fig.18 in the vehicle key section in the manual),these have no battery just a little RFID capsule in them. i think they are called 'transponder key' the previous owner says they've neve had a remote fob for it, it doesn't have that option.

so my questions are:

1) is it possible that some basic polos don't have remote locking?
2) more importantly the second key was never really used and kept as a spare, when i use it, it says NO KEY. and wont open the windows or start the car but unlocks the doors and enabled the ignition. The other key works just fine. the manual says about re-syncing the remote but nothing about just the basic key itself. none of the guide i've found seem to mention this type of key being a problem.do these keys lose their sync over time or has someone likely had a spare key made and it's never worked ever?

i have VCDS (my car is an audi) will this help?

Yes some polos didnt come with central locking, some came with central locking via cobra alarm system.

Your other key probably doesnt have an Immo transponder chip in it.
If your BCM is the one that supports Central locking than you would just need a blank remote key.

A 2005 still in our family from new came with two keys, both operate central but not remote locking (and ignition) , only difference in keys is one has a little button battery in it powering a little light, second key only used very infrequently but no problems in 15 years.

I took them both apart, they are the same, both have a little RFID capsule inside them, no batteries.

i'm starting to think the 'spare' key is one a previous owner had made, and its never been mated with the immobiliser. i've also noticed that all the 're-sync' methods are to sync the central locking, not the immobiliser/key sync.

i'll have a look at the BCM and see what type it is.

I don't think that these cars ever had a "key counter" built in to them like probably your Audi, if you are lucky, a previous owner could have lost the key that was fitted with a light, and so started using the basic key, but wisely ordered in a new basic key cut to a photo of the remaining key, now if that new key is a genuine VW key, there could be part numbers on the body revealed when you take the battery cover off, you could either get a Timpsons to clone the extra key from the other one, or go down the route of handing that car and all the keys into a VW dealership for them to delete all the keys and add back in the two keys that you now have.

VCDS by itself can not program immob chips.

Edit:- I'd be very surprised if VW ever fitted compatible modules to cars that did not get fitted with remote central locking.

They do have key immo counter ( 6 places )
Cars that had cobra alarm have BCM that has central locking / because cobra remote locking. But have disabled remote locking ( coding) and 0 transponders matched to the BCM

Cobra systems (now branded as Vodaphone) will have always been an aftermarket fitting possibly by a VW dealership.

I think that in UK the OP's spec of car will not have any central locking functionality.

Edit:- or if it has central locking functionality, it would also have an internal lock/unlock button?