3.0 Litre V6 Engine

We took the car in for a second opinion and confirmed that the transmission appears to be on its way out.

We're waiting on a cost estimate to see if we can have the transmission rebuilt. Is it realistic to hope it will come in under $3500?

The signs were hesitation, lurching, 'gearbox fault' message, lack of shifting early in the morning, then I turned off the car and turned it back on and the car would shift with no problems.

I'm concerned if I will cause further damage to the car if I drive the car when its not shifting. It appears to stay in 1st gear. Do I need to keep under 2000/3000 rpms? Then randomly, the car will begin to shift again.

Bummed in Texas.

Abigail

 

Who diagnosed it / what's their in-depth knowledge of the S-Type of that era?

 

Abigail, if it were my 2003 S Type I would run down to the local BIG box auto parts store ie.. Auto Zone, Advanced, PEP Boys etc.. and see if there any codes being thrown for FREE. My guess is you might be suprised that something with your engine is causing the transmission problems. Again its FREE and I may be wrong. If there are codes please post back to this thread.

 

I have experience similar problems, however my sort of comes and goes. It has went into limp home mode, which causes transmission to go to 3rd gear and stay there. I also get the Gearbox fault message. It has happened 3 times over last 12 months.
Had transmission guy drive and he told tranny was slipping in 5th gear. that is what caused gearbox fault. he also advised that as long as I drive in city, I should be ok. a rebuild from him = $4200. He says he does our local Jaguar dealership's transmission work. Seemed to be very knowledgable of this transmission.
However, you can purchase a rebuilt unit for $3100, just need someone to install. this is where i found rebuilt unit listed: http://europeantransmissionscom.x-sh...me.php?cat=492
This is not a recommendation for this business, just result of research.

 

Hi Abigail, noticed from another post you are in the DFW area and it seems you got the codes read yesterday? Would be a good idea to post what you found and let some of the guys here have a go at analysis.

My daughter has an 03 3.0L with a little over 80K mi. on it and will be home from University next week for "Mardi Gras break"...(Yes! they also get a real "spring break" later...) but I digress: If she shows up complaining of the symptoms you describe, I will take it straight to Motorcarman and formulate my next action considering his advice....I'm just sayin'......some outstanding resources not too far from you....don't fork over $3.5K+ just on a whim....

Good luck and keep us posted on what you find,
Zane

 

I trust you are not still on the original battery from 2003?


https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=50189

 

Jagmac in Dallas diagnosed the car. They were recommended by texascarsdirect.com. I'll get the codes from them and post them.
I did replace the battery before visiting them to rule that out. Also paid a local transmission shop to rule out electrical issues such as the computer, but turns out they did not have adequate equipment to see the codes. They still charged me though. That's when I found this forum and then headed for Jagmac.
A few months ago when I first had the slight hesitation, I had the fuel filter replaced in case it was "bad gas."

 

Our issues do sound very familiar. Limp home mode is like a fail safe mode, right?[

 

I had Jagmac replace the headliner in our 03. Had heard good things about them.
They did a pretty decent job on the headliner. Less than the dealer but still a bit pricey. Not sure what diagnostic equipment they have.

Bob is far more convenient to me and he has the Jag worldwide diag. sys. just like the dealer has. Depends where you are, Irving is a bit of a drive and lots of traffic between here and there. Boyd, not so much.

Codes might trigger some more help and ideas from the members. Good luck getting it sorted.

 

If you replaced the battery shortly before going to them then the codes were already wiped and the car would have been relearning its characteristics. They don't drive well until that's done.

Then, you get code P1111. Any others will be hints about what may be wrong. Worth getting, especially free.

 

Any updates??

 

I'm new to this but sort of curious where this ends up. I'm a little confused by this statement. If this is truely an internal trans problem, why would it disapear when the electrics are rebooted so to speak? Seems to me if the actual inner workings were damaged, it would behave badly all the time??

I know you guys have way more knowledge but it just doesn't make sence to me.

 

Mostly the trans does what the electronic modules (TCM & PCM) tell it. They try to protect the engine & trans from damage. Slow shifts and gear lock-outs are things they can do to try to prevent damage yet let you move (the alternative is total shutdown, which mostly people don't want).

You might like to do a bit of reading up on the net about how modern cars work, as this is not jag-specific.

The fail-safe modes go by lots of names on various cars. Limp home is one. You can see a Restricted Performance (RP) message, sometimes.

I would NOT change a ZF trans without being VERY sure it was necessary. Too easy to spend big $$$ on changing a good unit for another.

 

Just be careful and get a couple of opinions. Jaguar techs have stated that rebuilding the 6 speed ZF is very rare. Many lurching and other issues. I would read about the Lurch and do everything possible before rebuilding.

I didn't see even the most basic trouble shooting being done and this is a HUGE red flag.

No mention anywhere of the fluid level and has it been checked properly? With out a dipstick this needs to be checked manually and it's not that simple. So you MUST use a shop that is familiar with the ZF 6 speed.

Codes have already been mentioned. There are also software changes that need to be done. Have they been done and what version is your car at?
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That was my gut feeling since this problem is reported to be intermitant. My point was that if say a clutch pack is toasted, turning the power off & on isn't going to fix it.

 

That sounds true! (But the pack could be changed for lots less than a replacement gearbox.)

 

Great questions being raised. I may need to get a 3rd opinion in Decatur. I'll send Motorcarman a private message to see where his shop is located. The codes weren't written down but I saw as he was reading each code about 3 or 4 codes, and then he showed me where it said after each code.... CAUSE "possible transmission failure." (didn't know to write them down.. dang! wish I would have paid more attention to the codes.) I'm such a girl. They didn't charge me a dime to show me the codes so I was happy and convinced I needed a new or rebuilt transmission. Then I came back home in my jag.. checked the forum and have been second guessing myself while waiting for cost estimates. No troubleshooting was done. No fluid levels checked and no software changes done as far as I know.
I thought the Jagmac guys were certain because all the codes pointed to possible transmission failure. They called back while I was at work in meetings today and gave my mom cost estimates to rebuild and suggested I buy a used transmission with low miles as the most cost effective solution. Hmm... buying a used transmission seems risky even if it does have low miles.
I'm glad I'm here and found this forum. I hope Bob can shed some light on things for me. Thanks everyone for taking time to share your thoughts and recommendations. I'm in no hurry to shell out almost 4k.

 

Thank you for the update. Again get those codes posted here!

 

Abigail?

Any new info?

 

Hi, I saw a post on here somewhere yesterday about a small plastic part that can be replaced with some steel replacement to permanently fix the transmission from getting stuck in Park on a 2003 S Type Jag. Anyone know about this? I know I read it but then couldn't get back to it. Thanks, DM