Which Volkswagen Key Do You Have? 13 Key Shapes and the Cover for Each
Vietiki Key Specialists
Volkswagen Has More Than One Key
Park two Volkswagens side by side and their keys can have almost nothing in common: one with a blade that swings out of the body, one with a polished chrome head, one a glossy black wedge with no blade at all. We make covers for 13 Volkswagen key shapes, and because each cover is cut to one body, a cover made for one will not sit right on another.
You don't need a model year or a manual to find yours. Everything you need is on the key itself, and every photo below shows the original key without a cover.
Three Questions to Find Your Key
- Does a metal blade fold out when you press the silver button? Then it's a folding key. VW's own manual describes a release button that unfolds the key bit, and you fold it back by pressing that button and pushing the blade in until it clicks. Start with the folding keys below.
- No blade? Count the buttons. Three is the usual layout. Four means a red running-man panic button (on a folding key) or two small sliding-door icons (on a chrome-top key). Five means the remote-start and alarm key.
- Look at the finish. A polished chrome head, a glossy black wedge with a thin chrome rim, or a round VW emblem on the face: those clues split the keyless keys into families.
Find Your Volkswagen Key
Folding keys: a blade swings out of the body
Five of the 13 shapes fold. Several look alike in a photo, so use the details in each card, and send us a picture of your key if two seem to match.
Flip Key 3-Button
A black, finely speckled body with a round silver blade-release button in the top-left corner and a chrome-tipped base. Three separate rounded buttons (lock, boot, unlock) and a small LED dot beside the top-right.
The cover has a round cutout around the release button, so the blade still swings out freely.
Alcantara
Shield Flip Key 3-Button
Almost a twin of the Flip Key above: same silver release button, same chrome base. The face is smoother and plainer, the shoulders a little squarer, and the buttons sit in thin boxed frames.
This pair is easy to confuse, so hold your key next to both photos before choosing. Each cover is cut for one body only.
Suede · Alcantara
Geometric Flip Key 3-Button
A sharper-edged folding key with a smooth, glossy body, a silver release button in the top-left corner, three buttons set in one bordered panel, and a chrome-tipped base.
It shares its layout with the two keys above, so look at the outline and the single bordered button panel to tell them apart.
Alcantara
Rectangular 3-Button (Type A and B)
Two older folding keys with straight sides, pictured side by side. Type A (left) is the slimmer one. Type B (right) is wider, with a visible seam running across the body just above the middle button.
One listing covers both. Choose A or B from the dropdown on the product page, which notes that Type B is the keyless-go version.
Suede · Alcantara · Carbon
Rectangular Panic (4-Button)
A folding key with four buttons: lock on top, boot and a red running-man panic button side by side in the middle row, unlock below. Silver release button top-left, chrome loop at the base.
Each button is embossed separately on the cover, which helps stop the panic button being pressed by accident in a pocket.
AlcantaraKeyless keys with chrome and metal trim
No blade in sight: these stay in your pocket. VW calls its keyless locking and starting system Keyless Access.
Chrome Top 3-Button
A polished chrome head cut at a diagonal against a black, soft-touch body. Three large buttons (lock, boot, unlock) and a chrome loop at the base.
The keyless key of the MQB era, for example the Passat B8. Skoda and Cupra keys use the same body, so see our Skoda and Cupra collections too.
Suede · Alcantara
4-Button Sliding Door
The same chrome-topped body as the key above, but with four buttons: lock on top, two small sliding-door icons (left and right) in the middle, unlock below.
Made for VW vans and people-carriers with power sliding doors. The cover embosses the two door buttons separately, so each press stays distinct.
Alcantara
Chrome Base 3-Button
A wide, flat, older-style keyless key: black body, three silver buttons, and a chunky chrome end cap with the metal loop.
Often found on the Passat. The cover is cut around the long body and the metal base, so the buttons keep their click.
Alcantara
Shield-Style 3-Button
A symmetrical, rounded-rectangle black key with no blade and no chrome head. Three buttons are stacked in a recessed panel outlined in silver, and the outline runs down into a silver ring loop at the base.
Not to be confused with the Shield Flip Key above: this one does not fold.
Alcantara · Leather
Oval 3-Button Smart Key
A black oval body with three silver-toned button pads and a chrome end section that holds a round VW emblem. A small LED dot sits at the top.
The cover has a window that frames the emblem and protects the chrome around it.
Alcantara · Leather
Tapered Smart Key
A teardrop body in black with chrome rails curving down both sides. Three buttons (lock, an SUV-style hatch icon, unlock) sit above a round VW emblem set into the black face.
The emblem sits in the face, not in a chrome end cap, which is the quickest way to tell it from the Oval key above.
Alcantara · LeatherThe glossy wedge keys
The newest design: a piano-black body with a thin chrome rim and no blade, and the buttons grouped on one side.
Asymmetrical Style
A glossy piano-black wedge with a thin chrome rim. Three buttons (lock, boot, unlock) are stacked on the right half of the face, and the left side tapers down to a chrome ring loop.
The key of the Golf 8 and the ID. models. Skoda and Cupra use the same body, so see our Skoda and Cupra collections too. Piano black picks up fine scratches from coins and other keys, and a cover keeps it clean.
Suede · Alcantara · Leather · Carbon
Asymmetrical Alarm Style
The same black wedge, but with five buttons: a remote-start button (a circular arrow marked ×2) and a red running-man alarm icon on the left, and lock, boot and unlock stacked on the right.
Count the buttons before you order the standard Asymmetrical cover. The two extra buttons need their own markings, and this cover is stamped with all five positions.
AlcantaraThen Choose the Material
Once the shape is settled, the rest is feel, protection and price. Not every material is cut for every key, so check the grid below the first table.
| Material | Price | Feel | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suede | €29 | Soft, velvety | 4 |
| Alcantara | €39 | Matte, grippy, motorsport feel | 9 to 11, depending on the key |
| Leather | €39 | Smooth, ages with a patina | 3 |
| Carbon | €59 | Rigid two-piece shell | Black, red or silver |
Which materials come in your shape
| Key shape | Suede | Alcantara | Leather | Carbon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flip Key 3-Button | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Shield Flip Key 3-Button | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Geometric Flip Key 3-Button | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Rectangular 3-Button (A and B) | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ |
| Rectangular Panic | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Chrome Top 3-Button | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| 4-Button Sliding Door | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Chrome Base 3-Button | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Shield-Style 3-Button | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Oval 3-Button Smart Key | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Tapered Smart Key | — | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Asymmetrical Style | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Asymmetrical Alarm Style | — | ✓ | — | — |
Leather also comes as a Custom-Fit Series with five key-type options (A to E); the product page shows which is which.
Carbon is conductive, so a key fully sealed in thick carbon can lose range. Our carbon covers are a two-piece shell with open cutouts around the key, and in our testing keyless entry and remote locking work at normal range. If your Volkswagen has a leather interior, our Alcantara vs Leather comparison goes deeper on the trade-offs, our care guide covers keeping Alcantara looking new, and The Ultimate Guide to Car Key Fob Covers covers every material in detail.
Good to Know Before You Order
- A cover won't get in the way of Keyless Access. On keyless models you slide a hand behind the door handle to unlock (twice opens every door) and press the brake and the start button to drive, as VW's Tiguan guide describes. Our soft covers are thin and non-metallic, with the buttons marked on top, so locking, unlocking and keyless entry work as normal.
- Know your battery. Most VW keys use a CR2032 coin cell (the Golf 8 key does) and some use a CR2025, so read the number on the old cell. VW's manual warns that button cells are dangerous if swallowed, and VW recommends having the battery changed at a retailer because the key may need to be re-synchronised afterwards.
- A flat key battery won't strand you. Keyless keys hide a small mechanical emergency blade for the driver's door, and on Keyless Access cars you can still start the engine by holding the key at the marked spot, which is by the start button or on the steering column depending on the model. Your owner's manual shows the exact place.
- Same model, different key. Trim, year and market change which key a Volkswagen ships with, so go by the key in your hand rather than the model name.
- If you lose a key. In the UK, VW says only the registered owner can order a replacement, and coding it wipes the key memory, so bring every key you want to keep. See VW UK's key FAQ.
More Key Guides
Driving something else? We have identification guides for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Porsche keys too.
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13 Volkswagen key shapes, four materials, from €29.
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