Okay so here goes, I have nowhere else to turn. I am hoping someone has some good advice on my 2000 XJ8.....


First my coolant hose blew off and found out I needed a new thermostat. 800 dollars later I was told my tranny was bad and "TracMode" warning came up on the dash. The shop cleared the codes and it came back on. A couple months later I my battery died and I boosted it, the lights were no more and my car was running over 10 MPH. I parked it to go back in and call my mechanic and when I retuned everything was back ABS, Trac Mode Off, Low coolant lights also which was weird since it was full.


Had it towed and my regular shop said those dreaed words "New Transmission" went for a second opinion and they said it was a matter of a new computer. either one is going to be thousands, not sure if I want to put that much into the Kitty.


Looking for some guidance or a similar situation....hoping is better said.

 

duran, I would tend to go after the computer first vice the tranny as the computer acting up can cause the tranny to appear bad. Also, because you are getting weird dash lights, that would lead me to think it is more an electronic issue than a mechanical/tranny issue.

With this being said, how old is the battery? I have found that Jags like a very healthy battery. You get a battery that starts to get weak (may start the car just fine), that it will cause the computers to start "seeing things that aren't there". So, in your case, if the battery is getting weak, the tranny computer is getting too much noise which is making it see the TracMode issue (which doesn't really exist). I would start with getting the battery check and seeing if it is at 75% of capacity or less. if it is less, toss in a new battery (you were going to need one soon anyways) and then see what you have then.

If you do find that you need a computer, I would be looking at places like e-bay and getting a used computer. It will be much cheaper and should get you back on the road in no time flat. See:

00 2000 Jaguar XJ8 Transmission Computer Control Module TCM ECU LJD2401AA | eBay

2000 2003 Jaguar XJ8 Transmission Computer Control Module TCM TCU LJD2401AA | eBay

2000 to 2003 XJ8 XJR Automatic Transmission Control Module TCM ECU Computer | eBay

Just match up the numbers and all should be good. Worst case, the tranny shop will need to reflash the TCM to make it be accepted by the car. Should be out the door for around 1.5 hours of labor plus the cost of the computer.