VW Gamma Radio Code
The four-digit code for a Volkswagen Gamma cassette radio, from the VWZ serial number on its label.
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The four-digit code for a Volkswagen Gamma cassette radio, from the VWZ serial number on its label.
The Gamma is the cassette radio Volkswagen fitted in the late 1990s and early 2000s, one step above the Alpha and the Beta: the same family of buttons, with a cassette deck, RDS and a row of AS, SFL and SCAN keys. The name is printed on the cassette flap.
Like every VW radio of that time it locks itself whenever it loses power, typically after a battery change. The display then reads SAFE and, a few seconds later, 1000: the radio is waiting for its four-digit code. If the card with the code is gone, the serial number on the casing is all that is needed to get it back.
The serial has 14 characters and starts with VWZ, for example VWZ1Z3A1234567. It is printed above or below the barcode on the label on the top or the side of the casing. Some labels add a letter at the end; leave it out.
To read the label the radio has to come out of the dashboard. The Gamma is held by spring clips: push the flat release keys into the narrow slots at both ends of the front panel until they click, then pull the radio towards you. There is no need to unplug it.
Type the serial in the form at the top of this page, or take a photo of the label and use the Scan option. We identify the unit and show the price before you pay; the code is delivered on screen and by email.
The fourth character of the serial stands for the company that built the unit. It changes nothing about how the code is entered, but it is a quick check that you copied the right number from the label: if it starts with anything other than VWZ, it is most likely the part number.
| Serial starts with | Built by |
|---|---|
VWZ1Z… |
Blaupunkt |
VWZ2Z… |
Grundig |
VWZ4Z… |
Delphi |
VWZ7Z… |
Visteon |
VWZ8Z… |
Alpine |
VWZAZ… |
TechniSat |
VWZGZ… |
Harman |
If the code was right the radio plays straight away and keeps its code until the next time it loses power.
The Gamma allows two attempts. After the second wrong code it blocks itself for about an hour: leave it switched on with the key in the ignition until 1000 comes back. Switching it off restarts the wait.
The Alpha and the Beta were sold alongside the Gamma and are unlocked the same way, from the VWZ serial on the label. The form on this page takes their serials too.
Cassette radio with CD-changer control, the name printed on the flap. Shows 1000 while it waits for the code.
Rounded front with separate treble and bass knobs and a red key symbol. Shows SAFE when locked.
The entry model of the range, without the RDS and SCAN keys of the Gamma.
On the radio card that came with the car's papers, and often on a sticker in the service booklet. After a few owners both are usually gone, which is why the serial on the casing is the reliable way back to the code.
No list fits your radio. Every unit has its own code, and the lists passed around online are the codes of other people's radios. Trying them uses up your two attempts and sends the radio into SAFE for an hour each time.
No. The code is stored in the radio and survives any loss of power; taking the battery off is what makes the radio ask for it in the first place. The hour of waiting also only counts while the radio has power and is switched on.
That makes no difference. The code depends only on the serial number of the unit in front of you, whatever car it came from.
