When your Volkswagen or any other brand car has an anti-theft system on, your car’s engine won’t start. So, you must reset the anti-theft system to start the engine.
If you are not familiar with the mechanism, don’t panic about how to reset Volkswagen anti theft system.

There are several easy ways to do that. You can,
- Work on the battery to reset the computer system
- Try out the ignition system, or
- Insert the door lock key on it from the outer side and wait.
Let’s talk about the anti-theft system and how to reset it when the engine gets stuck.
What is a Car’s Anti-Theft System?
The name shows the objective of the anti-theft system. It is a mechanism that protects your car from unauthorized access and lets the engine be off.
Generally, it is called an “Electronic Engine Immobilizer (EEI)” in a car or engine system. The EEI uses coded software to detect the right key inserted into the ignition or door lock.
If the right key is inserted, the key can “talk” to the engine electronically through the code. Otherwise, the anti-theft system will lock the car’s engine for the time being until the right key is inserted.
How Does the Anti-Theft Mechanism Work?
In Volkswagen and some other brands, the engine mechanism works in a particular way. There is a transponder in the original key. When the key is inserted, the transponder sends a code to the car’s computer system.
The code will transmit the right data to the computerized system if the original key is inserted. Then the computerized system will ignite the engine.
But, if someone uses the wrong key or even a master copy of the key, the engine will remain off. The master copy will not even work because it doesn’t have the unique code.
Excessive, illegal attempts might lock the engine even for the key that is supposed to unlock it. In this situation, you will need to experiment with a few different solutions in order to allow the engine to be started by the appropriate key.
How to Reset Volkswagen Anti Theft System?
If you have a situation where your anti-theft system turns on, and the engine is not getting started, there are some tricks you can apply. To reset the system, try the following tricks. These should work.
Trying With the Ignition System
You might enter your car and see the anti-theft system light is on. The very first thing you should try is to make the ignition system turn the light off to allow the engine to get started.
- After inserting your key, make a little turn to the right. Initially, the engine will either not react or shut off soon after being started. Keep the key in its current position for the next ten minutes.
- After some time, the anti-theft system’s light should turn off. You should be able to start the engine at this point.
Checking the Battery to Reset Car’s Computer System
You should check the battery to reset the anti-theft system. The battery might be out of charge, or unauthorized trying could deactivate the engine response for the FOB key. As a result, the anti-theft signal light flashes.
In this case, you must do your battery’s cold reboot. Follow the following process to do this.
- Unplug the battery’s positive and negative cables by tapping slightly
- Leave the cables unplugged for 15 to 20 minutes
- Reconnect them again after the time count ends. Check out the video for the hack.
This process should reset the car’s computerized system and allow the right key to start the engine. This is also the most common and effective way to reset the anti-lock system.
Try from Outside the Door
Trying out the door lock could be another solution for resetting your car’s anti-theft system. Specifically, this method works for Volkswagen, Mercedes Benz, and BMW.
The process is almost the same as the “Trying with the Ignition System.”
- Insert the car’s key in the driver-side door lock and turn it right to unlock the door
- Hold the key for seconds or up to 2 minutes.
This method sometimes helps the car to detect the original key. By the way, better solutions than this one are already discussed but you should still try one after the other until you successfully do the job.
Note: If all methods fail, you have to talk to your car’s dealer and ask for a solution from them.
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