# 1999 VW Passat - Remote Locks

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-vw-passat-remote-locks/14247>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Created:** [May 20, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-vw-passat-remote-locks/14247 "2008-05-20T17:39:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![sdehekker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@sdehekker](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sdehekker)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-vw-passat-remote-locks/14247/1 "2008-05-20T17:39:26Z")

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The remote key works erratically - sometimes the remote operates all but one of the locks, and other times it is only one or two. Occasionally it does not operate any any at all. I changed the battery for the first time about one year ago, but have not tried a new one since. I thought that it might be something else.

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**Author:** ![Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/joseph_e_meehan/32/21_2.png) [@Joseph\_E\_Meehan](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Joseph_E_Meehan)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-vw-passat-remote-locks/14247/2 "2008-05-20T20:43:33Z")

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Which battery? The car battery or the remote battery? It could be, but I doubt if it is, the car battery. I also doubt if it is the remote battery since the remote does not work each lock independently. I would suspect wiring.

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**Author:** ![mrbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@mrbean](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mrbean)\
**Post date:** [May 20, 2008, 11:51pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-vw-passat-remote-locks/14247/3 "2008-05-20T23:51:02Z")

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I’ve seen this before in my friend’s '99 passat.  
In his case, it turned out to be a bad electrical connection inside the driver’s door.  
Cleaned the contacts and all was well.

You might want to have a VW dealer (or specialized VW shop) scan the central convenience computer for error codes. It will likely show some faults that will allow them to track down the problem.

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**Author:** ![sdehekker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/74df32/32.png) [@sdehekker](https://community.cartalk.com/u/sdehekker)\
**Post date:** [May 21, 2008, 1:38am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1999-vw-passat-remote-locks/14247/4 "2008-05-21T01:38:30Z")

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The remote battery. I figured that it was not likely the cause but could not understand why it worked sometimes and not others. Wiring seems like a likely cause.