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Get '03 Beetle Out of Theft Mode

1391 Views 1 Reply 2 Participants Last post by  Lhonk, 
E
I believe my Beetle is in theft mode because I took it to get the oil changed and the technician tried to use the wrong key (the door key with no programmed chip) to start the car several times. Now when I try to start the car with the correct (programmed) key, the car starts for a moment then shuts down. I've heard that disconnecting the battery and shorting out the terminals should "reboot" the car and resolve the problem - but I'm not sure if I want to do this or not. Will that work? How can I get my car out of this mode?

Thanks!
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L
If you see the immobilizer light on the dashboard when the engine shuts off you're tripping the immobilizer. You short the cables together, not the terminals. You don't want to short out the battery. Both cables should be disconnected from the battery.

IMHO, I would just disconnect the negative side and step on the brakes to drain any charge.
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