I'm glad to find this forum. To be honest, once the warranty expired on my V6 S Type last December my needs regarding discussion about, and greater knowledge of, the technical aspects of the car became an exponential priority. I can no longer knock on the dealer's door for things major and minor to be rectified without charge - the value of forums such as this is suddenly put into perspective because when things start to go wrong the first action is to attempt to 'do it yourself'.

Furthermore, after a five year unlimited mileage warranty from new (that's what I got here in the Middle East, I don't know what you usually get back in UK) the car has reached an age where things are going wrong - it seems there is an exact lifespan of certain components that suddenly expire as soon as the warranty is no more. Indeed, in the 9 months since the warranty I have replaced the AC compressor, 2 window regulators and 1 indicator switch. The fuel flap release has now started to become problematical so I suspect that is the next thing to go wrong.

Mind you, I have certainly had my 'money's worth' under the warranty - my car has the distinction of having had 5 (yes, five) new engines during the five years of warranty. This I suspect was down to the main dealer who had not accurately identified the cause of the repetitive failure (same symptoms each time). In the end Jaguar sent technicians from UK to sort it (it was the engine management system) and since then and (80,000 km later) the car is running beautifully. However, during that same five year period I had 2 differentials, 1 exhaust system and 1 CD player replaced plus various smaller items.

This underlines the very harsh conditions here in the UAE with temperatures up to 50 degrees during the summer months at times. This also raises the question how come the Japanese manufacturers have 'got it right' when it comes to reliability here but the European manufacturers have not. Even simple efficiency of components, e.g. my Toyota Landcruiser AC is icy within a few minutes after starting during the heat of the day when the inside temperature of the car is phenomenal yet my Jaguar takes a minimum of twenty minutes to become comfortable and it never gets as cold as the Toyota. The same goes for Nissan and Honda - they are equally as efficient.

Even the US cars seem to have a better track record than the Europeans. I love my Jaguar but I do have some trepidation about being completely confident with it in these conditions.

Anyway, enough of this rambling - and to finish I would just like to record my satisfaction in joining this forum.

 

Hi and welcome. I'm new here, too, and an S-Type owner like you. I bought mine (a 2003 V6) a little more than a week ago so I'm still in the process or learning how my cat behaves on the road. I doubt I can go back to other makes now, though.

 

Welcome,
I see your point , I can't properly set my A/C in my Jag too . Either I get a very cold footwell area or slightly warm .
As for the japanese productions I reckon they specially design toyotas for deserts , country specs may vary
Enjoy your Jag and forums

 

Welcome from the US scribe!

 

Welcome to the forum, wow 5 engines and 2 diffs, that's some going. I hope that that's it now that you are out of warranty.

 

Welcome!! It's great to have another member of the club of folks who are so taken by the class and mystique of Jaguar that we look beyond their problems and idiosyncrasies. Sounds like you've put up with a lot.

Just remember: If you're going to "arrive", you need to arrive in a Jaguar.

 

welcome to the forum scribe......Are you a Hibee??
Anyhow, I suspect that you have some affinity with the Edinburgh area but could be wrong?....Either way I hope you enjoy the site and kudos to you for sticking with the car!

I know what you mean about the temps......I was in UAE / Oman and Qatar for a week around a month ago and wow.....it hot around 47-48 degrees.....wayyyy too hot for me
I was in a Mitsubishi pickup I think it was being chauferred around and the speed with which the AC became ICE cold in those searing temperatures was amazing, and boy was I grateful!

See you in the forums

 

Thank you for your various welcomes.

Regarding the "hibernia" bit, I am half Scottish and half Irish so I am somewhat schizophrenic in this respect and have both British and Irish passports. If the Scots had their own as well I reckon I'd also get one of those because you never know when a different nationality is preferred here. I use the Irish one if travelling to Iran, Iraq, Yemen and some other Mid East destinations. It can be quite an advantage not to be labelled a "Brit".

Mind you, when I'm driving the jag I suppose I am making a statement that I'm British, especially with Elgar booming on the CD which I am inclined to do - this demonstrates the confused mindset of an anglicised celt!

Regarding the "scribe" bit, I am not a journalist but did write a column in the business pages of the Gulf News for ten years and also contributed to various other professional journals and BBC/Sky News (I am a consultant in the maritime industry). Ten years ago I first used "hibernianscribe" as a handle for my first e-mail account (where I wanted to be anonymous) and I have used it ever since as a useful username.

On the subject of other Jaguar forums - this is certainly the friendliest I have experienced. Indeed, after I made a 'first' post on one particular one the first response I got was curt advice to keep my comments brief otherwise nobody would bother to read it! That put me off and has prevented me from making any further contributions.

My experiences with my Jaguar in this region have been difficult ant times - the difficulties being exacerbated by the harsh conditions and an 'idiot factor' when it came to effective quality control by the main dealer - certainly apropos the engine problems. Saying that, the warranty was a lifesaver and certainly bolstered my support for Jaguar during any arguments or discussions I might have had concerning these issues.