2000 Passat Alarm, Remote, Battery unfortunate combo

So the battery is dead in my girlfriends 2000 Passat. I tell her no big deal, I'll go get a new battery. Take the old on with me for the core return, get the new battery install it and now the keyless entry from the remote won't work. But wait it gets worse, unlocking th door with the key doesn't disable the alarm system (a common problem apparently http://www.taligentx.com/passat/maintenance/doorlockmechanism/) Well according to the manual you can reprogram the keyless entry if you have two keys, and when she bought the car they only gave her one key. Unfortunate combination huh? I should have either hooked the battery cables up to a charger when I took the old on out, or waited to bring the core in until after I installed the other battery. I guess too much time without a battery and the computer forgets the remote. Now I need to go see the dealer to get a second key and get the remote reprogrammed to the car. At least she'll get a second key out of it.

you do not need to buy a second key.
find a VW shop that has VAG -Com they can reprogram the key to the car with no problem.
good luck

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http://www.vortexautomotive.com

Any way to disengage the alarm so it will drive and I can bring it to them? Thanks for the tip.

That is very strange as when you use the key either in the door or in the ignition the alarm should shut off.
there must be somthing else going on. did you check your conection at the Battery make sure all are on and tight .

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http://www.vortexautomotive.com

Well the horn and alarm work fine, radio, power lock, power windows etc. I will double check the terminals.

yea let me know what you find out

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http://www.vortexautomotive.com

Alright, brought it into my local VW dealer service dept. I told them that the door mechanism that disables the alarm was broken and I didn't want to fix that. All I wanted was to get a second key (just incase in the future) and to make the keyless entry remote work again so I could disable the alarm.

Few hours later they call me and say that the door mechanism is broken and needs to be replaced for $370. I said I didn't want to I just wanted a second key and to fix the keyless remote. They said that even if they did, the keyless remote wouldn't disable the alarm. I told them that before I put in the new car battery the keyless remote worked and it disabled the alarm despite the door lock not disabling it. They said they are 99% sure that I was incorrect and that the keyless remote wouldn't work. They also told me that they had $44 diagnostic time to determine the door lock mechanism was faulty. (which I told them)

5:00 they call and say it's all set. I go pick it up, total is $95 for a new key (without remote) and the diagnostic time for door mechanism. They said this car key doesn't use immobilizer so they didn't have to program it. Walk outside and the keyless remote doesn't work. They tell me that because the door mechanism is broken the keyless remote won't work. To drive it, open the truck to disable the alarm, start the car, close the trunk.

I get home, open the manual to the keyless remote reprogram section. Follow the directions which involves placing one key in ignition and the other in the door and now my keyless entry remote works again. And the keyless entry enables and disables the alarm. Except now since they opened the door up to diagnose it for me, the drivers door lock doesn't go up and down every time.

For only $95 VW diagnosed a problem I already diagnosed, cut a key, broke a lock mechanism even more, didn't listen to me, and didn't fix my keyless remote. Oh and I got the tip about the trunk disabling the alarm.

I am having a similar problem with my remote. I recently had some work done on my Passat which did NOT involve disconnecting the battery. But when I got my car back it seemed that the remote batteries had died. I bought some new ones & installed them and the alarm immediately started going off. The only way to turn it off was to get out of the car I put the key in the lock & turn. This was only a temporary fix as it only turned off the alarm for a brief time. Other than screwing with the alarm system, the remote wasn't doing anything else--as in---it wasn't working! I don't have another key either. I need to bring it in for a recall, so I guess I'll have to have them check it out. I was trying to avoid this, as the dealer's always charge a ridiculous amount!