Stasha, this is exactly what happens in my pcar. I believe the lack of remote functionality means the alarm doesn't truly turn off, leaving the unlock button "inactive."
I called a few indy's, they said it sounds like I will need to have the keys re-programmed. They stated dealership is the only place this can be done.

 

Not true, some of the better Indy's will have their own PST2 or PIWIS programmer. The ones that usually work on 993's and older models may not as it wouldn't be worth the investment to them.

 

Same happened to me. New circuit board for the key got it fixed. Not cheap.

 

Yup! My Indy here in DFW can do key programming. I'd rather give them my money than a dealership.

 

Thanks, I'll call a few more indy's before settling for the dealer. Any recommendations in Atlanta? I've things like the motor mounts and serpentine belt myself, so I have yet to take it to a shop for anything (knock on wood).

 

I can't believe you like the fact that the ignition switch charges the key battery. I hate the whole remote thing on any car. I still live in a world where it was better to have simple stuff like a regular key with no battery that just opens the door lock. I have to admit that all the hi tech stuff seduces and amazes me at the same time and I like it when it works but the day will come when I hate it. If the engine in my car doesn't eventually get floating cylinder sleeves or one of the other ailments than the computer or wiring will finally fail. The old cars worked fine without the weird problems we have now. However the old cars were hot and slow and steered hard and nobody wants that anymore. You guys can probably tell that I'm 73 years old and us old guys always remember the good old days, but I still love my hi tech to me 996.

 

Yah, but thank Gawd we don't have points to adjust EVERY DARN WEEKEND anymore.
And thankee for fuel injection,
And remember in the 60s when American cars thought disc brakes were an unproven factor,
And single master cylinder brakes,
And non-syncro 1st gears,
and unheated rear windows
and no AC cars ---- wait a minute, that's a Porsche!

 

... I kept reading and reading and reading and could get what I wanted to find out, so here it goes.

If you do a simple battery replacement on your keyfob, do you need to reprogram it? Cuz that would be a biatch!

 

No as the serial number is still programmed into the immobilizer and the serial number never gets wiped from the fob, even if you take out the battery.

 

Grazi Mile Alpi!

 

I purchased new key heads online, and SD Porsche dinged me just $75 to program both fobs to work with the 996.

 

A quick visit to my local Porsche dealer and all is fixed. They were unable to re-program my keys without the original code "996-XXX-XXX-XX" so I had to buy a new keyhead ($200) and have it re-programmed ($71). Not the cheapest solution, but certainly nice to have remote lock/unlock back. The dealer has my key code on file if the key ever needs to be re-programmed again.

 

Nice. At least you got it working. What I did after my keyhead replacement was to file away my serial tag in my filing cabinet next to my title but also take a pic of it and send it up to "the cloud" like google picasa or even just emailing it to yourself to have on file. A good backup.