Help with transmission release and park brake

[BradC]

Heya, neighbours have their sons 2019 disco sport and "mum" just shunted it hard with her Golf. It's leaking coolant badly and sounds like a bucket of bolts when trying to start. We need to get it into neutral and get the EPB off so we can push it out of the garage because the dog keeps trying to drink the coolant. There is no manual in the vehicle.

It's keyless and complaining of low battery. Can anyone help?

[BradC]

Never mind. I got in the thing and managed to get started long enough to get it into neutral and keep it there when I stopped it (don't ask me how) and then managed to get the EPB off (again, no idea how I actually did it) and we managed to push the thing out of the garage. It's probably rooted now, but that's an insurance company problem.

It might not be a write off, but the golf she rammed it with will be. It's about a foot shorter than it used to be and all the bags and pre-tensioners went off.

[BradC]

The towie managed to get it up onto the flatbed, but only by letting it idle while he pulled it up to keep it in neutral. Sounded like a baked bean tin full of bolts rattling. I hope for the sons sake they write it off.

[Mamil]

There used to be instructions in the Owner's manual how to release transmission for towing/recovery, but after 2015 JLR took it out - apparently thieves had been using it to steal cars! It's now only available to JLR partners like dealers and LR Assist. It's not a simple procedure, but the instructions are in the attached file and I'd recommend anyone with a DS to print them off and keep with the car because the average tow truck driver has no idea and can seriously damage the car trying to recover it!

178429

[BradC]

Appreciate that.

As an update, they didn't write it off but it's still sitting at the panel beaters waiting for a new front end to arrive by boat from the UK. Apparently new LR policy is all parts arrive on the slow boat and there's SFA spares in-country.