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- terryall
- Member Since: 03 Apr 2019
- Location: Whitstable
- Posts: 113
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 539
With no response from the fob it'll be difficult, I don't think it can be reprogrammed if it is indeed dead. Normally, if that had happened to me, I'd buy a cheap Ebay replacement fob and program it with the IID tool...I programmed a 3rd fob for mine as a backup spare, since Mrs Mole keeps the 2nd genuine keyfob in her handbag.
Otherwise, it'll be the expensive option of asking an indy LR dealer or main dealership who I suspect will almost certainly sting you for the price of an official replacement fob
Perhaps an indy garage who deal with Land Rovers might be able to program a cheap Ebay replacement fob for you using their software? Worth asking...
On the outside chance of it working...you can try holding the dodgy fob to the steering column next to the grooved bit, it may wake it up...
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- terryall
- Member Since: 03 Apr 2019
- Location: Whitstable
- Posts: 113
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- Narpy
- Member Since: 30 Apr 2025
- Location: Stockport
- Posts: 125
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 539
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terryall wrote:
Thanks Mole HD. I did read about the grooves on the steering column but it only appeared in one post and nowhere else I could find so In tried it with the engine running and there are no instructions that I can find.
Didn’t work but I’m nit sure how long you’re supposed to hold it there. I have an IId Tools from my Disco 3 days so may as well sell that and buy a new one. Hardly used it anyway. Not sure if you can programme keys with the IDD tool for Discovery 5s.
As for pressing the fob to the grooves on the steering column, I'm sure it's 30 seconds or less and you do it with the ignition off then press the start button with the key held to the grooves. It's more for if you have a low or dead fob battery than anything though.
If you already have the Gen3 IID tool, you can exchange it for the Gen 4 on the GAP website for around £220 if I remember rightly. You just post your old G3 to them and they'll send a new G4 out to you. That's what I did, exchanged my old Gen 3 I used on the D4 for the Gen 4 through the Gap website
I programmed a cheap Ebay fob with mine like I said (just to test the new tool out when I got it)...but I have the older Disco 4 style non UWB keyfob...according to GAP though, the Gen 4 IID tool has full function coverage on all D5 models. (as well as L663 Defenders, RR's, Baby Discos + others).
The exchange process is cheaper than selling your G3 (since it's VIN locked) and then buying a brand new G4 tool...a new Gen 4 IID will sting you around £550 quid these days...although a simple thing like reprogramming a replacement fob...there's £400 it's saved you already
Land Rover...IID tool. Should be part of the same sentence
IID tool G3-G4 upgrade
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Last edited by Mole HD on 2nd Oct 2025 4:54 pm. Edited 10 times in total -
- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 539
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Narpy wrote:
If it was me I’d make 100% sure the fob battery wasn’t the problem.
I appreciate you’ve replaced it twice but new batteries have a sticker on them that prevents contact, ask me how I know?😂
Check the circuit board too for a dodgy contact but you’ve got that remote for a reason, it’s very doubtful that a previous owner randomly obtained it and it’s also doubtful that it’s just stopped working.
Concentrate your efforts on that fob before throwing big money at the problem.👍🏻
Best advice given on this topic so far.
Never mind my rambling on about expensive IID tools...simple things first.
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- terryall
- Member Since: 03 Apr 2019
- Location: Whitstable
- Posts: 113
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 539
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I forgot to ask...was the fob working before or hadn't you used it? I've seen one or two comments around t'interwebs of folk having 2 keyfobs with the car then finding only one worked.
Squizzel had that issue when he went into the dealer to see his new car...one of the fobs didn't work. The dealer sorted it out for him I think. Might have just been a flat battery due to not ever being used...he didn't say.
I suspect in one or two of those cases that previous owners have replaced or got hold of a cheap Ebay fob but never programmed it for some reason. I can't see a dealer doing it, so I'd put it down to previous owners trading the car in saying there's 2 keys and not mentioning that only 1 actually works...
On my main key fob, the rubber buttons were all torn and tatty so I ordered a £10 replacement case from Ebay and fit the insides (and physical key) from the original fob along with a new and decent quality battery into it.
Got one of these nifty leather fob cases from Etsy as well...
Last edited by Mole HD on 2nd Oct 2025 4:04 pm. Edited 4 times in total -
- terryall
- Member Since: 03 Apr 2019
- Location: Whitstable
- Posts: 113
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- Wolfpack
- Member Since: 25 May 2019
- Location: Norfolk, UK
- Posts: 457
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- terryall
- Member Since: 03 Apr 2019
- Location: Whitstable
- Posts: 113
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- terryall
- Member Since: 03 Apr 2019
- Location: Whitstable
- Posts: 113
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- Wolfpack
- Member Since: 25 May 2019
- Location: Norfolk, UK
- Posts: 457
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- Mole HD
- Member Since: 18 Nov 2024
- Location: Orkney Islands
- Posts: 539
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terryall wrote:
Just did that and battery is good from working fob but 2nd fob is still dead.
Besides finding a clearer video on how to reactivate the fob in the case of a flat or low fob battery or the 'Smart key not recognised' message on the centre dash ...
It's not quite the same process on pre 2018 D5's without the UWB keyfob...which is why I didn't pick this up earlier... the emergency key recess under the steering column isn't there on mine for instance... yours being a 2019 model will have it.
I dug my IID tool programmed 2nd spare out of the kitchen drawer since I haven't used it in over 6 months just to test if it still worked...it works fine.
I'm afraid we're no closer to solving your dilemma, Terry. If the fob won't power up and the car doesn't register it, I'm at a loss. As I've said, I would have attempted to reprogram the dead key with the IID tool as a first course, if that didn't work, I'd just buy a cheap £20 replacement key from Ebay and program it...but that's not an option for anyone without a VIN locked Gen 4 IID tool
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- terryall
- Member Since: 03 Apr 2019
- Location: Whitstable
- Posts: 113
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