Volkswagen SA

The original key of the vehicle was accidentally placed on the bumper of one of our other vehicles and lost in an unknown place on the way. When the original spare key was used to attempt starting the vehicle an error message was given on the dashboard. I contacted the local VW dealership, Autohaus Centurion and explained the situation. They informed me to have the vehicle towed to their workshop. I did so on January 28, 2021. After numerous calls (from me to the dealership and Customer Care) the agent from the Volkswagen SA Customer service centre called me to inform me that the solution for the problem is that a new ECU will have to be installed and a new key ordered. This option is unacceptable to me for the following reason: • The vehicle’s ECU was in perfectly good working order whilst being used with the lost key. • The spare key is the original one issued by Volkswagen and has been kept safe with the hope that should an unforeseen event like this take place, that the key will be in working order. An innovative and respectable vehicle manufacturer such as VW in my expectation should have the expertise and know-how to solve this minor issue rather than pushing the cost and trauma of the situation down on the “small” customer. VW informed me that they will share the costs. I still feel that if they have to knowledge to build safety measures into the vehicles, they should have the knowledge to override the safety measures when needed. It is the 3rd of March 2021 and my vehicle is still in the Autohaus Centurion dealership with no acceptable solution.