[Vwdiesel] Key battery?

[William J Toensing]

I don't what kind of anti theft key system VW uses but I had the ignition switch go out on my 2001 Ford Focus ZX3 5 speed.  Ford would have charged me around $500 to fix it if I had the car towed into the dealer. The local towing company refused to tow the car as I had installed a trailer hitch & under the bumper rear fog lights. Europeans know what rear fog lights are but most Americans don't. In response, I went to the yellow pages & found a locksmith who was familiar with Ford Focus ignition lock replacement who would come out to my place. He replaced the ignition switch keyed to my origional key & made me an aditional key for under $150. He said the key had a transponder build into the key which does not have a battery but somehow receives power to operate when it is put into the ignition switch. There was also a special procedure he had to follow to make the new key work. A blank key duplicated in a hardware store will open the door, trunk & will physically then on the ignition switch BUT the car won't start. I know, I tried it.
I am sharing this info with you since I didn't know this info before I called the locksmith. I suspect VW may have a similar system. I would suggest you check with your local locksmith before going further & also, please share your results with the rest of us.