For the record - the garage wanted to charge me for the 6 hours labour at the Jag dealer and for the broken steering, but after a bit of discussion, he agreed to drop those charges. The repair was expensive, but I think he charged me fairly.

Although - do any of you think I didn't need to replace the transmission?

 

I am so dumb!

I left out a very key piece of my story above!

After the garage replaced the transmission, and replaced the oil pan gasket, the engine was dirty from the oil leak splashing around - so they WASHED THE ENGINE!

This was the point that the problem starting the car began....

I believe they got something wet that really didn't want to be wet!

(I never thought an engine wash was a neccessary activity...)

 

There are people who say it's OK to wash the engine. Well, I know of ONE - not me, no way. Not worth the risk and most of the "dirt" (probably oil) is definitely harmless.

Your "lights" problem is likely a battery on its way out. (Especially with all the work it may have been stressed, but also it may even be the original.)

I hate to say it but your "gearbox" fault sounds like "the lurch" (google and Search here). If it's now working it may be a bit late to know that.......

Your car has over a dozen computer modules. Depending a bit which model and spec and which you count, 20 is a better estimate. Have a look at the workshop manual (ebay $6).

 

First of all... I'm one of the "bad" engine washers. Another is Rick (JoycesJag). It's one of those, to each their own... Rick and I have done it with no issue.. But I don't use a pressure washer or "steam cleaner". My point for bringing it up is that if you use basic cleaners and just regular hose pressure to wash it off you aren't subjecting the engine compartment to anything that it wasn't designed to handle. If for some reason you end up with an electrical fault, well you have discovered an issue that would crop up sooner or later anyway. Now a steam or pressure wash (or worse yet, a combination of both) subjects the electrical connections to conditions that they weren't designed to see. But that, excuse the pun, is water under the bridge...

The extent of the repair surprised me. The ZF's are not known for valve body issues (based on your description, that is what I think he replaced). But, the "not moving" issue and shudder (driving over the ridges analogy) are more than just the "lurch". Then, the no communication error really has me baffled... More on that later..

So, you get trouble lights and restart then they are fine. Like JagV8 stated, many times that is a battery. Take a quick look in the spare tire well of the trunk.. If the battery is white with the Jaguar logo on a label, then you still have the original... Since it is an 03, bite the bullet and get a new one. Even if that isn't the cause of the problem, it's 8 years old! Then again, I traded my 05 away with the factory battery still in it...So, those factory batteries are really good..I just maintained mine by checking each cell, and topped up a couple with distilled water.. It never hiccuped.

After checking the battery, I would invest in a decent scan tool. Even if you don't do your own work it will be very helpful in making sure that the garage you use is doing what they need to do.. So, with warning lights coming on..Scan for codes..Post them here..Many times if they make no sense..One set of codes one time, another set another time, or a whole bunch that would make you think the car was going to self destruct...is usually a failing battery.

I would also visit the dealer that did some of the work on your car. Introduce yourself, and see if they are one of the nice ones. Not all dealers are bad, actually most are good. Tell them about some of the strange issues you've had. Ask them to show you what they repaired. Take a picture later and post it up here (the "jumper" part of your saga kind of scares me). But if they just replaced the wire with another re-pinned into the connector(s) it should be perfectly fine. Usually one shorted wire leads to more, so definitely educate yourself on that..

Also, read up on here about oil using a search... And you'll see why no one has answered that one...LOL

 

Sounds like they replaced the TCM (almost certainly a very expensive mistake). Then couldn't program (flash) it (hardly surprising, it needs a jag-specific tool like IDS).

 

Yea, JagV8, the more I think about it, the more I think you're right...

I really think he needs to have a dealer go over it with him. Show him what may be a concern...

Man I hope he didn't have major electrical work done because of a failing battery..

 

I think they "fixed" the lurch by changing the TCM then found they couldn't program the new one.

But I think the new electrical issues are not that. They could be to do with the engine washing but are more likely due to a failing battery.

 

But he found the forum and should be well on the way to recovery!

2003, sorry about what you had to go through with the xmsn. I'm sure that was frustrating.

How are those IMT o-rings looking? Rick (and the rest of us) convince you to go get your fingers greasy yet?

 

First off - Thanks again to all of you for all your great info.

Second - Bad on me for not finding this forum BEFORE!

As far as what the garage did - yes he replaced the TCM and then had to have the car towed to the dealer to get it programmed. I was a little taken back by that given the experience the garage SHOULD have had.

When I was there the 1st time, he was working on 2 Jaguars, 2 Porsches, 3 Mercedes, a BMW and a Land Rover. He definitely gets a good crowd.
Being an official ZF authorized dealer in biz for over 30 years - I thought he would have known that he would have had to reprogram the TCM and that he did not have the exclusive Jaguar tool.

To update you all, I have not had any problems with the car since December. - No lights, no lurching, the car rides great just like when I first got it. I was recounting the epic story since someone asked - I only hope I didn't bore too many of you!

After reading thelurch.com, that DEFINITELY seems to be at least part of the problem I had.

I also am beginning to think that I may have replaced the TCM for nothing, when maybe all it needed was a dealer update/reprogram.

The battery I believe is fine (I will look if it is the original - chances are though that the previous owner may have replaced it already) especially since I leave my car outside all night in -20 temperature and have never had any problems starting.

Other than the leaks and the lurch that I brought the car in to be repaired for, all the problems started AFTER the engine wash. My thoughts are that somehow water got into some of the wiring and that's what was causing some sort of intermittent short and lighting up the dash lights. I found it unusual that turning off the car and restarting it would clear the error condition. I was under the impression that at least the 'check engine' light would stay on until cleared by an OBD. After a few weeks, I guess the water finally evaporated and the car got back to normal.

As far as the dealer that worked on the car....

In Montreal we basically have 3 Jaguar/ Land Rover Dealers.

I had a 2006 Land Rover LR3 which I leased new until the lease ended October 2010, and I bought my Jag in November 2008. So I had the opportunity to deal with all 3 dealers over the last 4 years.

The dealer where we leased the car was without a doubt one of the best experiences I have ever had with a car dealer. Unfortunately, they are quite far away from where I live. I bought the car there because they were the only ones that the model we wanted in stock - sort of. I actually ended up leasing the 7-seater instead of the 5-seater and even paid less than I was supposed to pay for the 5-seater. The Land Rover was a real gas guzzler - I am glad that lease is over.

Since repairs were under warranty, I ended up bringing in the car for service to a closer dealer. The only real issue I had was that the brakes had to be changed prematurely (12,000km for the front, 15,000km for the rear) and the dealer would not consider that premature wear. I had to fight with Land Rover, and eventually got them to cover 100% of the front brakes and like 75% of the rear. The experience with the dealer was horrible - not the service part, but the owner was a real a--hole.

After the bad experience changing the front brakes, I decided to go to the 3rd LR-Jag dealer when there was the issue with the rear brakes and also had a miserable experience. They tried to charge me $130.00 (1 hour of labour) for a brake inspection - which consisted of a tech bending down and looking at the rear brakes through the mags for 1 minute with a flashlight - no putting it on a lift, no removing the tire. They did this in front of me and then tried to tell me yup, you have to change the brakes and they are not covered under warranty. And they wouldn't release my car until I paid them the $130.00. I paid and then took the issue up with the owner as well as Jaguar and Jaguar was useless. I managed to get a partial refund of what I paid - but you could be sure I will never go back to that dealer. I ended up back at the close by dealer for the rear brakes.

I am not a mechanic, but I worked with and repaired computers for 30 years so I am no technical idiot.

As I said, right now I have no issues with the car. I just hit 100,000km and I will follow the suggestions given to me here for maintenance cuz I know I am getting the straight dope.

I am gonna have to chalk up the potentially unneeded TCM replacement as an expensive lesson and I will certainly come here and search for any future issues I may have BEFORE I go to any garage!

And once again, thanks to all of you who have imparted your knowledge and wisdom - too bad I found you all too late!

 

OOPS!

Upon re-reading my last post, I said that after I went to the third dealer that Jaguar was useless - I meant that Land Rover was useless, of course.

I guess I have Jaguar on the brain!

Also, I work 7 days right now (it's my busy season) so I have not had a chance to look at the O-Rings...

Also the weather here is really crappy! and crazy! It's +1C (33F) now with freezing rain, and it will be -17C (0F) tomorrow, and then +1C (33F) on wednesday!

 

The O-rings will keep till you have time and the days are warmer. Not a car-killer.

Sorry to be the bearer of the bad news about the TCM but at least it's now OK and as you say - you're here

If you have some time, read the FAQs and old threads. You'll pick up tons of useful info. Plenty of things are DIY. (Some aren't!)

 

i had a light stream of smoke comming out of my diver side vent today, i immediately shut off the car and pop the hood and couldnt find anything.
whats going on?

 

Car details? See:

 

Yes, what JagV8 said... We need more details...Then will need you to go out and check certain things in order for us to assist you.

 

If the light stream of smoke is not from the still lit dooby you pushed into the vent prior to handing your drivers license to the kind officer...check for cam cover oil leaks. It's concievable for underhood oil/exhaust burn to be sucked up from external ventilation vent to be introduced to a/c/heat ducts, then to you.

 

hello this is my first post . i have a burning rubber smell and smoke in ac vents and engine bay. ac is only blowing cool. no condensation on ac lines either. i heard a sound like plastic against a fan now i have smoke. can someone please help

 

Do you have a fire extinguisher? :-)
You may want to share your car details, year,model,engine etc.

 

sorry my bad lol
its a 2004 x type 3.0 awd

 

Er... wrong forum!

 

do u have any advice