[LobstahRed]

2015 Lat.
So I bought a new key fob for my car so I can have 2. I'll be able to start it with one then lock it while it warms up. I live in interior Alaska where it gets to -40° at night. Can’t get an auto start since it’s a stick.

Story time:
Bought and paid for it in October through dealership. It was shipped and finally arrived last week.
Went to get it programmed to my car today. Now the WHOLE POINT OF THIS WAS SO ID HAVE 2 KEYS! When they programmed my new key, it unprogrammed my old key(which was still working perfectly fine up until this point)
My old key cannot be programmed back to my car. Apparently the keys have to bought in pairs!!!! They did not tell me this when I bought the 2nd one.
So now I still only have 1 key! I basically replaced a perfectly good one for no reason. They said I'll have to buy another new one if I want my car to have 2 keys. My question is, is this really a thing? Can my original key not get programmed back to my car?

 

[Nev]

They forgot to have both keys present when adding the new one.
So they have removed the old key.
Amateurs.
Their problem.

 

[BLKTHINJAPAN]

Still trying to understand why you would need to keys to start it and lock it?
I can leave my 2016 Trailhawk running and lock it with the fob as long as its not inside the vehicle.
But it looks like Nev is correct they should have had both keys present when programming.

 

[LobstahRed]

Still trying to understand why you would need to keys to start it and lock it? I can leave my 2016 Trailhawk running and lock it with the fob as long as its not inside the vehicle. But it looks like Nev is correct they should have had both keys present when programming.

It’s not a push button or have auto start.

 

[Marek K]

My old key cannot be programmed back to my car. Apparently the keys have to bought in pairs!!!! They did not tell me this when I bought the 2nd one.

No, the keys don't have to be bought in pairs. People lose one key all the time, and have get a new one and have it reprogrammed -- along with the existing old key.

According to my 2021 Owner's Manual, it's true that "[o]nce a key fob is programmed to a vehicle, it cannot be repurposed and reprogrammed to another vehicle." Maybe that's what the dealer is thinking of. But that wasn't the case with you.

Yes, different vehicle, but I've got a 2009 VW for which I lost one of the keys (physical blade key, but with remote and immobilizer chip). Got a new fob and blade through VW, and they programmed it and reprogrammed the other old one for an hour's labor. They said I could bring in the key that I'd lost any time and have it reprogrammed too to match the other two. (Of course, I found it the next day; but never got it reprogrammed.)

Also from my 2021 Owner's Manual: "When having the Sentry Key Immobilizer system serviced, bring all vehicle keys with you to an authorized dealer." The dealer certainly should have asked you whether you have another key.

Whether that original key can be reprogrammed or not (and I'm sure it can), I'd say the dealer owes it to you to fix this at their expense.

 

[Ops]

get the service manager involved