GolfGTIforum.co.uk
Model specific boards => Golf mk7 => Topic started by: Mk1Macca on 03 February 2015, 10:24
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Long story short:
The blade of my key has snapped cleanly where it would normally enter the fob.
As I'm 3 days over a years ownership VW have basically wished me luck.
Tried to start the car with the blade and a pair of pliers with the fob held next to the steering column. Car didn't turn and now displays SAFE in the MFD which I guess is the immobiliser.
The tech at the garage has no clue what to suggest and isn't even certain that the spare will now start the car.
Stuck an hour away from home :(
How do I reset the immobiliser to try again?
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Edit: Have you got a pic of the fault message? Been scouring the manual online for a while (boring meeting lol) and don't see anything like the error message you infer? Can't understand why it wouldn't work with the fob nearby.
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So, I think SAFE actually refers to the steering lock. No idea why the car wouldn't turn over, however, after taking the steering lock off, I managed to get it started.
Hopefully, I can get it started again when I need to go home later this afternoon and will gaffer tape the fob to the steering column.
It's safe to say i'll never buy another car from that dealership, which is a shame as I'd had a pretty good experience so far.
Other dealers close to Peterborough, give me a shout. I'll be looking to buy two brand new cars in a couple of years.
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Ah so it was the steering lock after all then, i felt stupid for suggesting it but glad you're going. :)
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Aren't we covered by a 2 year warranty? Doesn't this key malfunction get covered?
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The car has a three year warranty from date of first registration - cant believe they fobbed you off (no pun intended)!
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They, in not so many words, said it wasn't their problem. I can bring the key in, which they will then photo and send off to see if a replacement would be covered under warranty. The underlying assumption that I broke the key through misuse was noted.
The fact that I was nearly an hours drive to my spare didn't seem to be an issue.
The tech finally offered me a loaner car, but couldn't deliver it to me. So essentially, I had to make my own way to the dealership (which is only 10 mins from my house, where the spare is), where I could pick up a loaner car to drive back to my car with the spare key. I tried to point out the obvious floor in this plan...
I really appreciated the almost sympathetic on condescending way I was asked 'do you have any personal breakdown cover?'.
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The blade of my key has snapped cleanly where it would normally enter the fob.
Are you sure it snapped? There appears to be a small screw that attaches the blade part ofthe key to the rest of the fob. Are you sure that the screw hasn't come out?
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Good point re key construction - and getting some form of breakdown cover is a good idea too after the (mean) first year - the car is bound to suffer an issue on day 366 of ownership otherwise.... :whistle:
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Yup, it snapped.
(http://i225.photobucket.com/albums/dd303/SkydiveMacca/D6D2633F-A260-45BF-9039-B221898D4269_zpskytoq5k6.jpg) (http://s225.photobucket.com/user/SkydiveMacca/media/D6D2633F-A260-45BF-9039-B221898D4269_zpskytoq5k6.jpg.html)
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It snapped is very passive...
How did it snap? That would require some force... Did the key-snapping fairy come by? I hadn't noticed a weakness...
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I took the key out of the ignition after driving for about 50 minutes and it felt a little odd. Got out the car, locked it with the fob then went to push the blade back in to the fob.
That was when I noticed the blade was bent at the base by about 45 degrees. With very little pressure, and I really do mean very little pressure, I wondered if it would bend back, but it immediately snapped at the base.
I have no idea how it bent in the first place as it was completely fine when it went in to the ignition. It certainly didn't get knocked during the journey so it's a total mystery. Unless it was the can of Irn Bru that I drank?
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That is odd...
Irn Bru... made in Scotland fae girders? :smiley:
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Aye!
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That is odd...
Irn Bru... made in Scotland fae girders? :smiley:
Ahhem..cough.... and also in Milton Keynes :laugh:
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Go to place that can cut car keys and just get a new blade cut.... push out pin on fob, retrieve the bottom part of old key, put new blade in and push pin in again. Won't cost much.
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The car is only just a year old. No way I'm fixing this.
The key is with the dealer, which they better be replacing!
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Key doesn't break for no reason :rolleyes:
I have never seen a blade break (not even managed to do that on hire cars with frozen locks).
It's easy to spot from fracture line if it was material fault or impact fracture though.
PS: Cost of cut blade is probably less than 10£ - rather than waste time to drive to dealer twice I'd just get new blade. It'd have to be very obvious material fault for me to go and argue with dealer.
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I think its the principal involved here - the OP bought an expensive car and then felt very let down at dealers response to a small problem a year or so down the line.....
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The Golf is a nice car :) I would not call it expensive though, it's still bread and butter model not a McLaren ;)
I understand where you're coming from but I've personally never seen a key blade brake by itself, I doubt the dealer has either.
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The Golf is a nice car :) I would not call it expensive though,
At nearly 30k id call it expensive!!! Maybe not to you its not but to most others it is.
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You should have quoted the second half of that sentence as well.... it's a bog standard car, there is millions of them. Expensive cars are more rare :p
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you're still saying its not an expensive car but to most people it is.
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It is an expensive car to some people (not most as otherwise there wouldn't be this many) and I was not saying it's cheap, but not an expensive car to the dealer considering their margins. Your dealer won't replace your car if you drive it in the ditch, so why would he replace a key unless it's material fault.
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Maybe a bit of goodwill to replace it would go a long way to getting the person back. Nothing like a good dealer experience to warm the cockles of your heart :grin: :grin: