I don't doubt you, of course, but this is surprising. Long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the key broke off in the door lock of my truck and Pop-a-Lock or someone similar was able to pull out the shank with no trouble.

I just noticed you are in Charlotte! If you need to break glass, I have a spare drivers door window you can have. No charge.

 

if you can open your hood I’d do that before attempting to charge from underneath. And for the love of god don’t break a window to get in. It’s 100% not necessary.

 

C'mon, Frank, Breaking a window could be a lot of fun, especially if you had a replacement sitting right there! How often in life do you get to break a window in a car (legally)?

 

Haha. I think you are the one that wants to break a window. Trying to live vicariously through this guy!

ive replaced one before, not hard but still a pain in the ***.

 

Alright everyone....FINALLY got around to buying the shim and the 1/4 metal rod. For future reference, I bought a 4' metal dowel and it was "just" long enough. Came in from passengers side as well which is closer to button. However, pushing the central locking switch did nothing. Battery definitely dead. Getting the inflatable shim between the door jamb was a bit tricky, but I had a set of trim panel tools which proved helpful in separating the door jamb enough to get the inflatable shim in. I didn't make the 3" and 6" bends as @Frank4 suggested because it would have made it too short. Used a large vice-grip as the handle and put a few small bends in it to get the right angle. It was bit fiddly to hit the button, but a little patience and about 10 min is all it takes. As I write this, I wonder if I could bend it enough to pull the actual door handle from the inside. Might be the last resort before breaking the window with @mln01 if its not the battery after all.

So...next step. I'm going to pop the hood like I did last time and hook up my jumper box and see if that works. Either way, new lock to be installed once I get in.

Stay tuned!!

 

UPDATE!

Should have started with popping the hood and my jumper box. Had it open and running in 5 minutes this past Saturday. But now I know how to break into my Disco WITHOUT breaking a window if I need to in the future. A quick pop with a long flathead screwdriver to the hood latch gave me quick access to the battery. Once I hooked up the jumper box, the alarm started wailing. Opened the door like I usually do, then locked it and that shut off the alarm. Opened it back up with no issue, cranked it up, and took a short spin around the 'hood. Now just need to leave battery on the trickle charger for a while and then crank up the Disco from time to time if I am not driving it.

Thanks again for all the great ideas. I am sure I'm going to find a use for that inflatable shim very soon!

 

I presume when you wrote "Opened the door like I usually do ..." you mean with a coin or something else and the power locks worked. Is that correct? (BTW, the mulch comment made me smile.)

In any case, I suggest you take the time now to remove broken key shank from the lock. I know you said that you didn't find a locksmith who would touch it when you called a few, but as I wrote earlier, a local locksmith extracted a broken key from the door lock on my truck many years ago. Just now I went on Yelp! and searched "key extraction." The listings for at least two of the locksmiths listed key extraction among their services.

If you prefer to not spend the dough for a locksmith you might try buying key extractor tools and take a crack at it yourself. There are inexpensive alternatives listed on Amazon, for example.

And if you prefer to spend no cash at all, just remove the door handle and then take the lock cylinder out of the handle to get the key out. My post linked below from a thread I started three years ago describes how to remove the cylinder from the door handle and disassemble it. It's not difficult, just tedious.

https://landroverforums.com/forum/di...e2/#post622286

One advantage of getting the key out is that you can then unlock the driver door with a key, even if the battery is dead or if the central locking system fails for any other reason. And since you're local, I'd be glad to help out.

 

@mln01 you said that one advantage of getting the key out is that I can unlock the drivers door with a key even if the battery is dead or if the central locking system fails. How come my doors wouldn't unlock then? Essentially, I have a key in the lock at all times. That is why I can open it with a slender piece of mulch or a coin (basically anything that will turn the barrel). I wonder if there is a point at which the battery is SOOOO dead that it won't even power the central locking.

The other reason I never fixed it is because that was my last key for the door, so leaving the shank in there meant I could still lock/unlock the car (with said mulch or coin). Once I take the shaft out, I have two pieces of key which in my experience is never good enough to cut a new one. I have a different key for the ignition that I replaced about two years ago.

Soooo....consider this specific thread resolved. Now to check out that thread you shared for when I buy a brand new lock and key ;-) I'll ping you if I need some local assistance on my next adventure

Best,