OIC. With my other cars, I generally I get 1 beep when locking and 2 beeps when unlocking which led me to believe that everything was fine, except that I wasn't always getting the single beep. I haven't even noticed the lights flashing at all. So, I guess there is a problem of some kind. Thankfully it doesn't interfere w/normal operation of the car.

Sounds like something only a dealer can properly diagnose/fix but I'm taking it into my indie shop (the same one that services my BMW & MB) for an oil/filter change and a general inspection in a couple of days and will ask him to check it out and tell me if he thinks it's something he can address. If not, I'm just going to let it go for now.

OBTW, I now remember that when I was buying the car, the sales person had a problem raising the roof to prove that it was operating properly. He apparently kept pushing the button on the key which (according to him) activated the alarm system which prevented the roof from operating but he really was NOT familiar w/the operation of the car and I didn't trust everything he said.

Is this something that you're familiar w/that may be related to this beep/double beep issue? So far, the roof goes up and down fine when I turn on the key and start the car.

I am still planning to buy a 2nd key which will require me to take it into a dealer get it programmed and if/when I do that I can ask them to check the operation of the key/alarm system to see if they can quickly diagnose what's going on but, unless it's an operational problem w/the car (which prevents me from opening/closing the doors/roof and starting the car), I'm not inclined to spend a lot of time/$ to fix it.

 

The problem we have is without a clear signal the alarm is set we don't know the doors are locked and vehicle secure against theft. A few times after being parked all day I come up to the car and the door is unlocked! This is because the remote range is pretty short (both new key and new battery in old key), there is no clear signal to say vehicle was or was not locked, and I walked away mistakenly thinking the vehicle was secure.

Yes please show your indie and the dealer how when you remote lock your vehicle it doesn't flash as per p.22 in the owner's manual. They will have no doubt there is a fault and if they can quickly diagnose it great, if not myself or someone on this forum will eventually figure it out. My clues right now are intermittent horn and intermittent key unlock driver's door and alarm immediately goes off when I should have 10 seconds to put key in ignition and turn.

Transiting cabrio top on a 2002 requires handbrake to be set and moving less than 3 mph. So I can click handbrake to first setting and creep up our driveway and close the top at the same time, rather than waiting until parked. There is a mod (and I think standard in later years) that will allow us to transit top while driving up to 35 mph. There may be a mode of operation with the remote where the button is pushed a number of times or held down and all windows and top open, I have seen that in other vehicles and never used it.

 

Ok, I just read part of the manual for my 2000 C4 pertaining to the operation of the Central Locking System and the alarm (pgs 20-22) and did a basic function test of the system using the key.

Here's what I found:

1) The doors do not lock automatically as they "should" either after driving a certain speed or after the car is turned off but the doors can be programmed NOT to lock automatically, so I don't know if this is a problem or not pg 22.
2) The doors can be locked w/a single press of the key and the alarm is activated as indicated by the flashing red light on the dash. During this test, the car did not beep when I pressed the key just once. See #7 below.
3) The doors can be unlocked w//another single press of the key. The alarm is deactivated (the flashing red light goes off) and the car beeps twice; the manual that a fault is indicated w/a double beep while locking (not unlocking) on pg 21.
4) The light for the Central Locking Switch (CLS) on the dash goes on when the car is started and stays on until the car is turned off; the light should go on when used to lock the car and go off when used to unlock the car per pg 21.
5) The CLS switch will lock and unlock the car,even though the switch light is always on. The doors cannot be opened from outside when locked and a double pull of the door handle inside is required to open the door per pg 20
6) When the car is locked w/the CLS switched and the door is then unlocked either w/the switch or by double pulling the inside door lever, the car will double beep; just like it does when unlocked w/the key.
7) The emergency flashers do not flash twice upon locking or once upon unlocking per pg 21.
8) The single beep I've heard may be due to pressing the key twice while locking the car; doing this is supposed continuously illuminate the flashers for about 2 secs and result in single beep per pg 21. No continuous light seen, just the single beep.
9) The roof works when the engine is on and the car is parked. Actually is roof is balking a bit but that's another issue. I would never try to open/close the roof while moving. So, that's not an issue for me.

These are all of my observations about the key & CLS that I can recall right now.

Obviously, there's a problem and I'm thinking this is something I should just talk w/the dealer about it. My indie shop does not specialize in Porsches (mainly BMW/MBs) and I don't think he'd be able to deal w/it. So, no point wasting time/$ asking him to look at it. There is a Porsche specialist shop (Kahlers in Dublin, CA) that might be able to deal w/it but Kahler's is no closer to me than my local dealer.

Also, since ONLY the dealer can program the 2nd key I want and I have to go to them for that anyway, it would save time just going to them to deal w/both the key and the locking system issues which are obviously connected. So, I'm going to cancel going to my local shop and just let the dealer diagnose the problem. Will update this report as info becomes available.

 

Many locksmiths can replicate the laser cut portion of the Porsche, but they can't replicate the encoding on the RFID pill. Don't waste you money buying used keys on eBay. If I'm not mistaken the RFID component in the keys are passive, but rely on the RF signal from the car to "energize" the component in order for it to communicate the proper rolling code to the ECU. It's kind of a simple, brilliant little device that's hard to beat. You'd have to be a serious computer hacker/thief to beat it. Therefore, my best advice is to contact the dealership and get a backup keyfob and have them make you a valet key. Valet keys are cheap, but the full keyfob/laser cut key assembly will cost you between $400 - $500.

 

There is very little choice except to pay the stealer. In my case, they really stole from me. It was $900 when all is said and done for one key.

 

Went to a different Porsche dealer in my area today and got good news about the key.

This dealer quoted me "only" $130.16 for a key cut to my VIN and only $24.25 for the remote fob for the key. Total of $154.41 (plus tax) for 1 key or 308.82 (plus tax) for 2 . The other Porsche dealer I went to quoted me $383 for just 1 cut key and remote fob. WTF!!!???

This pricing is comparable to Sunset Porsche in Oregon which provides discounted pricing for parts online. On top of that a Service Advisor at the same shop that I went to today said that they "only" charge $187 to program a key and will NOT charge me extra to program 2 keys at the same time!!!

So, it'll cost less than $500 to buy/program 2 keys w/this dealer compared to $500+ for just 1 key w/the other dealer. What's up w/that? The dealers are only about 30 miles apart and about the same distance from me each way.

On the other hand, the BAD NEWS was that it would cost $210 to just "diagnose" the problem w/my Alarm/Central Locking System and there's no way to know how much it'll cost to fix until they figure out what the problem is. They won't sell me a key til I get the new reg for the car, which won't be for at least 2-4 weeks and I'll be on travel for a couple weeks during that time.

So, it'll have to wait til I get back.

 

That is certainly not Carlsen Porsche

 

Walnut Creek.