[cmcrawford]

Hi All, wondering if somebody can help me out? My 2003 Golf started acting up with starting problems (starts, then dies). I had it towed to the dealer and they told me it's apparently an immobilzer issue with a fix of replacing a reader coil and 2 wires overlay to the ECM (?) for $1100 which may or may not fix the problem.

Is there a way to bypass this immobilizer or something that anyone knows of that WILL fix the problem?

I'm new to this, so bare with me. Thanks.

 

[David A. McDow]

Hi All, wondering if somebody can help me out? My 2003 Golf started acting up with starting problems (starts, then dies). I had it towed to the dealer and they told me it's apparently an immobilzer issue with a fix of replacing a reader coil and 2 wires overlay to the ECM (?) for $1100 which may or may not fix the problem.

Is there a way to bypass this immobilizer or something that anyone knows of that WILL fix the problem?

I'm new to this, so bare with me. Thanks.

The dealer's mechanics for these vehicles are mainly trained for more current models. The dealer has no idea what's going on with your car and they're just taking the stab which will end up just taking your money. The dealer's mechanics are no better than a local shop's mechanics. The problem with a local shop is they may not be very honest (just like the dealer).
Since you have one of these vehicles, you're going to have to decide if you want to learn how to work on it yourself. If you're not willing/capable, then you'll spend a lot of money to the point where it won't be economically feasible for you to keep it up. These cars are 20 plus years old.
I bought mine about 5 years ago and after a month or two I had a brake issue. I took it to a local VW guru and it cost me $900. I paid $2,200 for the car.
At that point I decided I'm either going to sell it, or I'm going to learn how to work on it.
There are many online resources for these vehicles, that you can become a pretty good YouTube mechanic. You have to be willing to invest some money/time to work on them; they're not like an American-made vehicle. The Germans are... not America by any stretch.
First thing you should do is buy Ross-Tech's VCDS cable. That is what most of the local VW shop mechanics use for diagnosis (and all of us shade-tree mechanics). Once you have that and you perform the scan, you'll have a much better idea of what's going on with that car.
In the meantime, here's a YouTube video from one of the more trusted resources out there:

. His YouTube channel has a ton of great information about these Mk4s.

 

[Werdna]

check the dash harness grounds at bottom of A-pillar are not corroded. Take them off, clean them and try again with a charged battery.

 

[Werdna]

 

[udraft]

If it was working previously you may want to try some dumb stuff.
Disconnect the battery and touch the cable ends to each other.
and/or
Leave the ignition on for an hour or 2.

 

[vern.zimm]

Try the other tricks first, if nothing works: KermaTDI immo delete Need to send them your ECU, but they turned it around in a day and the car was down for a total of 3 days (I probably paid twice their cost on fast shipping, but it's my only car).

 

[Dodoma]

Have you fixed the problem?

 

[David A. McDow]

Try the other tricks first, if nothing works: KermaTDI immo delete Need to send them your ECU, but they turned it around in a day and the car was down for a total of 3 days (I probably paid twice their cost on fast shipping, but it's my only car).

Is your immo light blinking when the car is running? I've seen "immo deletes", but the blinking light would make me crazy. Just curious if their delete includes deleting the flashing light.

 

[vern.zimm]

Is your immo light blinking when the car is running? I've seen "immo deletes", but the blinking light would make me crazy. Just curious if their delete includes deleting the flashing light.

Yes, light blinks because the actual immobilizer module is in the console. The delete just makes the ECU ignore the console. I think the fix there is a piece of electrical tape, or desolder the LED if you want to be thorough. I haven't tried that though.

 

[David A. McDow]

Thanks for this info. I think I want to try what Richard did in the video and install a new immobilizer capsule in the key and and program it to the ignition coil before I try the immo delete. Thankfully, I'm not there... yet... I'm just preparing...
That flashing light would not work for me

 

[vern.zimm]

That flashing light would not work for me

I currently have two flashing and two steady... you don't notice them after a while 😂