KeyFob RKE Programming Procedure: Volkswagen Beetle 1998-2004
Volkswagen Beetle 1998-2004 KeyFob Remote Keyless Entry Programming Procedure
Re-initializing Procedure (01-04 vehicles only)
Note. If battery is replaced inside key fob or if key fob buttons are operated repeatedly whilst vehicle is out of range and central locking / alarm system becomes inoperative, carry out the following reinitializing procedure.
- Press either the “Lock” or “Unlock” button on the key fob
- Within the next 60 seconds: Manually “Unlock” driver’s side door
- Key fob is re-initialized.
- Confirm operation of key fob by locking and unlocking vehicle using key fob buttons.
- Repeat above procedure to re-initialize any remaining key fobs.
About Volkswagen Beetle
The original 25 hp Beetle was designed for a top speed around 100 km/h (62 mph), which would be a viable cruising speed on the Reichsautobahn system. As Autobahn speeds increased in the postwar years, its output was boosted to 36, then 40 hp, the configuration that lasted through 1966 and became the “classic” Volkswagen motor. The Beetle gave rise to multiple variants: mainly the 1950 Type 2 ‘Bus’, the 1955 Karmann Ghia, as well as the 1961 Type 3 ‘Ponton’ and the 1968 Type 4 (411/412) family cars, ultimately forming the basis of an entirely rear-engined VW product range. The Beetle marked a significant trend, led by Volkswagen, and then by Fiat and Renault, whereby the rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout increased from 2.6 percent of continental Western Europe’s car production in 1946 to 26.6 percent in 1956.In 1959 even General Motors launched an air-cooled, rear-engined car, the Chevrolet Corvair—which even shared the Beetle’s flat engine and swing axle architecture.
Over time, front-wheel drive, and frequently hatchback-bodied cars would come to dominate the European small-car market. In 1974, Volkswagen’s own front-wheel drive Golf hatchback succeeded the Beetle. In 1994, Volkswagen unveiled the Concept One, a “retro”-themed concept car with a resemblance to the original Beetle, and in 1998 introduced the “New Beetle“, built on the contemporary Golf platform with styling recalling the original Type 1. It remained in production through 2010, and was succeeded in 2011 by the Beetle (A5), the last variant of the Beetle, which was also more reminiscent of the original Beetle. Production ceased altogether by 2019.
In the 1999 Car of the Century competition, to determine the world’s most influential car in the 20th century, the Type 1 came fourth, after the Ford Model T, the Mini, and the Citroën DS. (Source Wiki)
