Well it's happened.

[ArunAlec]

How do you get a surf key made up for an older van (mine's 2015)... I assume you have to order one through a VW Commercial dealership?

I got mine from eBay.......
Post in thread 'Surf key'
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/surf-key.38469/post-479241

 

[andyinluton]

good to know it takes a while with the right tools unlike the Ford Transits that seemed to be seconds on theft videos.

You can get into a T6.1 just as quick as a transit, it’s getting in without doing damage that takes longer.

 

[Drpps]

where exactly did you leave the keys Borris !

This advert is still frequently quoted in our house when looking for things.


Along with this one whenever my parents are fussing.
"I'm 52 and a high court judge."

 

[Borris]

Well this morning I arose in a similar manner to yesterday, bleary eyed and half awake. The main diffrences today were:

1. One pint of bitter shandy consumed the previous evening instead of Chateau Laithwaite vin blanc.

2. The dog that previously kept me awake was strangely silent. I had mentioned it to the campsite owner yesterday and he said "yes, that's been annoying me as well. I have a word with Mike"!
I imagine/hope that Fido was merely confined to barracks last night and not struck off the pay roll.

3. This morning I remembered to step outside with the keys.

4. I closed the slider in the same manner. However this time I could opening it again as I aways have in the past.

So having thought that my inadvertantly pressing the lower slider lock button yesterday morn had caused it to lock, Mrs B has just told me that she pressesd the central locking button on the drivers door before alighting this morning thus ruining my scientific experiment. Back to the drawing board.

P.s The dog has just started up again!

 

[Cali Phillip]

You can get into a T6.1 just as quick as a transit, it’s getting in without doing damage that takes longer.

Was without damage, lock pick widely available.

 

[dwilk]

We were similarly locked out of our 6.1 at the Brecon campsite mid December. The AA Assist guys were confident they could quickly open the van using their specialist door picks, until they realised our van was a 6.1, and at that point VW had not issued AA with new picks (for the 6.1 locks). So the clever AA guy took about 2 hours to open the doors (reassuring I suppose).

How did it happen? 6.1 does not have the push button on the sliding door handle as T6 had.
I leave the keys inside 5-10 times a day going to the beach or shower. Actually, I cannot think about the scenario where it is possible, except for shutting the tailgate when locked the door on the keyfob...

 

[Pineweasel]

So instead we paid an extra £100 for two chipped rigid keys. As soon as you unlock the vehicle with the rigid key the alarm goes off, but silences once the rigid key is in the ignition.

It doesn’t really fit the definition of a surf key as the van can be driven with it.

Is it waterproof though? That's my definition of a surf key

 

[Amarillo]

Is it waterproof though? That's my definition of a surf key

There's no battery, so it should be waterproof.

 

[Noeleen]

Waterproof yes, but it might rust if used repeatedly in sea water.

Rinse it off after salt water, rub on a little oil of some sort occasionally

 

[Cwcltd]

How did it happen? 6.1 does not have the push button on the sliding door handle as T6 had.
I leave the keys inside 5-10 times a day going to the beach or shower. Actually, I cannot think about the scenario where it is possible, except for shutting the tailgate when locked the door on the keyfob...

We were packing the Cali up to depart from Brecon campsite, all doors were open, and both sets of keys were in the van; it started to rain so I closed the doors, with the last one being the sliding door. When that door shut the van locked completely. Our phones were in the van as well but I used my Apple Watch to call VW Assist, the AA arrived but the problem was they had not been issued with the latest picks for the 6.1, but eventually they unlocked the van. Some on this forum have suggested I might have inadvertently pressed the ‘lock’ button on the key fob and then placed the keys in the van, and I can’t discount that, however I would have hoped/thought that the van wouldn’t lock itself if keys were inside. Lesson learnt, more spare keys purchased and I am very careful where we place the keys.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

I’ve experimented with our 6.1 to get an understanding. If we lock the van using the button on the drivers door i.e. what we do before going to bed, we can exit through either front door or the sliding door. If we shut the door we’ve used to exit we can open it again without a key. All other doors remain locked. Not sure if after a period of time the ‘used’ door relocks?

 

[Borris]

I once locked myself out of my car leaving the keys in the ignition. I had got into the habit of pressing the knob down on the drivers door before slamming it. I discovered this when I was called out to attend a fire in the early hours of one morning. The car in question was my fire service wireless car. Not having time to mess about I broke the smallest window on the car and gained entry. The window in question was the quarter light in the back door.

The next morning I reported this random act of vandalism to the transport section. They said "Why did they have to pick that window? It's the most difficult and expensive to replace".

 

[Drpps]

I had a Citroen BX with central locking. If you tried to press down the lock button with the door open it would lock all the doors then unlock itself once it realised the door was still open to prevent you locking yourself out. Unfortunately there was a second or so’s delay between the lock unlock.
This led to an unfortunate experience when I dropped a friend off one day. I got out of the car with the engine running and shut the drivers door. He instinctively pushed the lock button on the passenger door and shut it swiftly. The car locked and I was locked out with the keys in the ignition and the engine running!
Fortunately the security was as rudimentary as the central locking and after about 10 minutes we found one of his house keys also unlocked the car door.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

My surf key is hanging from a hook in our previous campsite shower block. I’m feeling very vulnerable.

Name of campsite and your reg number please

 

[DM]

As to the cause, I believe that I must have inadvertantly knocked the lower lock button down on the slider when alighting.

I find that if you you pull the inside handle to unlock and then open the sliding door very gently (which you do in the night so as not to disturb others) it often unlocks and opens but does not fully disengage the button. Then when closed from outside the door locks! This is absolutely repeatable. Fortunately it’s only happened when Mrs DM has been in the van and I have had to wake her up to get back in.

Like others - I am cautious about leaving a key attached to the van (or inside) in case it invalidates insurance.

 

[Borris]

I find that if you you pull the inside handle to unlock and then open the sliding door very gently (which you do in the night so as not to disturb others) it often unlocks and opens but does not fully disengage the button. Then when closed from outside the door locks! This is absolutely repeatable. Fortunately it’s only happened when Mrs DM has been in the van and I have had to wake her up to get back in.

Like others - I am cautious about leaving a key attached to the van (or inside) in case it invalidates insurance.

I'll have have to take a look at that in the morning. I'm still not confident that I understand fully how the wretched system works.

 

[Amarillo]

I'll have have to take a look at that in the morning. I'm still not confident that I understand fully how the wretched system works.

It happened to me in exactly the way @DM described. Up early in the morning for a comfort break, not wanting to wake anyone up, and click clunk.

If we hadn’t been wild camping I’d have woken the whole campsite trying to awake my sleeping beauty to regain entry to our van.

I should have just slammed.

 

[Borris]

It happened to me in exactly the way @DM described. Up early in the morning for a comfort break, not wanting to wake anyone up, and click clunk.

If we hadn’t been wild camping I’d have woken the whole campsite trying to awake my sleeping beauty to regain entry to our van.

I should have just slammed.

Yes, I too just clicked it shut.

 

[dwilk]

Yes, I too just clicked it shut.

But we're not talking about T6.1, right?
I don't seem to have the push button on the sliding door handle anymore.

 

[DM]

But we're not talking about T6.1, right?
I don't seem to have the push button on the sliding door handle anymore.

So on a 6.1 - how do you relock the sliding door from the inside?

 

[dwilk]

Maybe I wasn't specific. Please check the attached photo.

 

[Borris]

But we're not talking about T6.1, right?
I don't seem to have the push button on the sliding door handle anymore.

No, T6. I'm not sure what happens on a T6-1.

 

[andyinluton]

Theres a child lock button for the sliding door on the drivers door by the mirror controls. Far safer as you can control when the door is openable easily. That only controls whether it can be opened from the inside.

 

[s2bear]

There's no battery, so it should be waterproof.

I’ve been in the sea with mine and it works.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[dwilk]

Theres a child lock button for the sliding door on the drivers door by the mirror controls. Far safer as you can control when the door is openable easily. That only controls whether it can be opened from the inside.
View attachment 80084

This works only when driving I suppose. When locking the car (in a camp mode, nevertheless) the button lights up briefly but pressing it does not seem to affect how the sliding door works.