Hello Fellow Jagateers,

It has been 10 months of ownership of my Jag and 8 months of it were not the most pleasurable. I had two long threads that formed an epic saga of problems, potential fixes, dealer incompetence, expert advice, well wishers, and good Samaritans. After solving the dreaded limpus modicus virus, I decided to take a different approach to owning this car and it appears to have worked. So I decided to write a positive post to hopefully balance all of the b*tching I have done previously.

I stopped thinking about the car as a Toyota Camry and started thinking about it as a hobby. It is something that must be "tinkered" with and treated with a level of devotion. My first step was to make a list of all the majors issues that were reported in this forum and go through each one of them step by step. For example, I have used JTIS to find every ground point and have them checked and cleaned. I have had all of the major connections in the engine compartment cleaned, dielectric grease added and sealed. I have replaced hoses, belts, spark plugs, examined wires and coils, added a 2 Farad stiffening capacitor (in preparation for a massive stereo upgrade). I have spent the last 2 months wrenching to a degree that I never approached on any previous vehicle.

Unfortunately, I broke a lot of sh^t in the process, but most importantly; I learned. Isn't that what hobbies are about? I embraced the culture of the car and I now say "boot" and "bonnet" instead of "trunk" and "hood" (only when referring to the Jag though). I even watch the BBC show Top Gear. Some say ... my man bits hang at a 45 degree angle and my farts smell like 10W40 ... all we know is; he is called the Bert!

The car has been running perfectly and I am enjoying the Jag experience. I now have no fear of anything in the car and except under extreme circumstances, will never see a dealer again - after the warranty runs out. I had not realized that owning a Jag was more than just driving and washing it; but essentially a marriage to it -- for better or worse, richer or poorer, 'til bank account do us part!

I get it now.

My contribution to this forum will be a guide book that I am working on that will tackle the limp mode problem. I am researching every code and condition that throws the car into limp mode. I am using this forum, google searches, and interviews with service technicians. I intend to have answers sorted by symptoms, price of repair and by probability of component failure. I hate limp mode with a passion and want to make sure that no one else has to live with it. When I feel I have a valid document, I will post it and welcome your feedback to make it a solid document. Hopefully, this will help repay my debt to this forum for the concern shown during my crisis.

 

Eek, you're making me scared to own my car!!

(Had it 31 months, 21K miles, and no disasters so far. Gulp)

 

6 months, 7000 miles and no problems. I don't count the weird seat gremlin as it's not an operational issue.

 

Approaching 34 months and 47,000 miles of ownership. I've had to deal with the well-known S-Type issues including limp mode/throttle body replacement (factory warranty), rear stabilizer links and bushings replacement (factory warranty), coolant expansion tank replacement (factory warranty), fuel filler hatch assembly replacement (factory warranty), and IMT O-rings replacement (DIY). All things considered, not too painful. And it's still a great highway cruiser as well as a beautiful car. Hope we're able to keep it in our stable for at least a few more years before my risk/benefit analysis tells me it's time to unload it....

 

That's good news Bert, glad to hear it.

I've done around 33,000 with mine since late 2007 with few problems the last major one was the torque convertor which the warranty picked up.
I've got a few minor things going on now but that would be the case with any car.

 

LOL! Bert, your post has to be the best yet...very uplifting. Kudos to ya fella!

 

Can't say I've had any issues with my car over the past year either. I don't know if you all count coil packs as normal wear items or not

 

We all have our "issues" Mike.

 

Coils fail on lots of cars (heat, nasty voltage, contamination, etc), so I reckon they're a wear item. It's debatable, though.

 

FYI Advance is running a special right now. $30 off on orders over $150 (two coil packs and a nice oil filter wrench), PLUS a $50 off coupon on your next order over $100 (which will most likely be 2 more coils). They have gone up almost $20 a coil since the last time I replaced them, but it still isn't too bad of a deal.

And my issues are like

 

Oh enlightened grasshopper, the world is now at peace.

 

LOL! Very cool guys.

 

"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."

Could be applied to your Jag, but, we want the car to continue and you to discover all its secrets.

 

I am bald. I did take Kung Fu lessons as a kid and I am fast enough to ****** a pebble out of an old man's hand.

LOL!

 

LOL! Funny. Too bad for David Carradine. What a wierd departure?

 

The Bert, WTG!!!! Glad to read about the new outlook!

Maybe we can celebrate around Bird-day (Thanksgiving). Although thats a far distance to keep the S Type running until.....



Maybe now is a good time to hit Jason up and add to your stable(?)!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1gAHil89Z4

 

Congratulations on a huge job well done. You may not recall,, but wayyy back in the beginning I stated that once you got all fixed, you would be very happy with it. I'm now happy to say..."I told you so" !!!!!

 

Hey Bert,

I purchased my S Type about three months ago. I too was wondering what I could have been thinking, if anything, to have made such a rash move. Did you ever wonder why we humans have to relearn certain basic truths, such as... a car designed to travel a road not so often used, requires a higher level of involvement with it's owner. My Jag is now stabilized and what a joy she is. She is graceful, nimble, powerful, and oh so elegant. Congratulations on your victory!

Best regards,
Arty

 

Now, I can finally get to the good stuff. I want to change the rims and tires on the car. 19s and maybe some Goodyears or Michelins. The tires that came with the car are a brand I have never heard of: Nexxen. I guess the dealership went to Family Dollar to get the tires. Other mods will be ceramic pads to reduce brake dust and a K&N air filter. I will wait to install the 300,000 Farad Flux Capacitor with the time dilation option and the NCC-1701 E warp core minus the Heisenberg uncertainty compensator (too expensive).

The best mod will be the stereo upgrade I intend to do myself. I want to put in a system that makes thunder sound like someone pouring milk on Rice Krispies in comparison. I love Jazz and can't wait to have blood gushing from my eardrums. I want this to be the best stereo I have had in any car (won't take much to achieve that goal!).

Just a few short months ago, I would not have attempted this out of fear of breaking something. As a hobby, I can take my time and do it right using most of the winter when I won't be driving the car to do the install. It also gives me an excuse to spend time in the garage, alone, when the wife gets in one of her moods. Wish she could go into limp mode sometimes!

 

Ummm, I thought we had a secret pact where we never publicly praise the cars and just let the 'outsiders' continue believing that they're unreliable pieces of cr*p?