2003 STR. 37, 500 miles.

Driving along happily today the check engine light came on with "gearbox fault" showing. There is no loss of performance, and shifting is smooth. I'm hoping (for once) this is simple. OBD reader gave the following codes: P0741 and P1111.

For what it's worth, Jaguar just repaired a broken wire under the passenger side (U.S.) firewall that was causing the car to stall with P0351 codes and ignition coil faults. The thermostat was also replaced at the same time (unrelated issue; just needed done).

Appreciate any insight.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...r-p0741-56517/

 

Thanks but doubt this is the issue. There are no symptoms consistent with a torque converter issue.

Does anyone have direct experience with my problem? Thanks in advance.

 

You do sound to be in the VIN range.

One other thing it might be is a failing battery as you get weird codes then. Note that it will be "fine" in other ways (starting the car etc). Measure volts (without starting the engine at all) after it's been off for 12+ hours. Ideally measure as it's cranked but you need a storage-type device and find the lowest volts.

 

I had a new torque convertor fitted to mine around 50,000 same code and message.

 

+1 to John's advice. You'd be surprised how many S-type transmissions have been "ruined" by failing batteries!

 

+1 previous advice on load testing your Battery ...

Sudden, unexplained warnings/faults related to trans, DSC, EPB, instrument cluster (especially multiples) ... diagnosis should always start by checking battery ... 12.6V and higher is good ... 12 is bad ... 11s are dead.

Best wishes for speedy fix.
Ken

 

My moneys on the TC.

 

Once I get my own car sorted out I was going to write a useful and very detailed thread on my whole torque converter...till then here:

Symptoms: first random rpms fluctuating on a cold start in any gear +250 to +150 rpms, happens very infrequently.

Then eventually you will hear the TC start to "break up" under 2000 rpm specifically in 5th or sixth. Sounds like a box of rocks shaking and pulsating. After you hit 2krpm it goes away. Almost sounds like an exhaust leak rasping.

Finally eventually the clutch lining or seal goes out and your car will hesitate under load in 5th or 6th under 2krpm. It will feel like a bad miss, like a bad plug or wire. It will get progressively worse and bad on hills. Then you will get the P0741 code all the time once the TC spins at a different speed than your engine? Then it will never go away.

I hope you don't have a failing TC because it's about $2k to replace with the labor being the worse part. Good luck!

 

I though everything bad in the US was "Obama's fault"

I'd go after the battery first. BTDT.

 

double post

 

Thanks for such a thoughtful post. Don't you just hate it when you see all these forum requests for advice, tons of advicde given, and no follow up from the OP regarding the fix. Kills me...

I have no symptoms. The gearbox fault light came on transiently and I have not seen it again. The check engine light remained on. The code P1111 was listed as a definite, and the P0741 as a pre-diagnostic check. I'll definitely let you know what the outcome is. Good luck with your own cat.

 

Well, I have been informed that there was a TSB that many of you know about with this 2003 STR, and a fault in the torque converter in this model can trigger the check engine light. The recommendation from Jaguar to make the light go away is a new torque converter at a cost of around 4K for parts and labor. Audi had a bunch of cars with the same torqe converter fault a number of years ago and many of those owners drove the car for years with the light on without issues.

There is no loss of vehicle performance, there are no hard changes in gears, and there is no lurch. Thus, I am not ready to hand off 4K unless I am convinced it is needed. Interestingly, Jaguar did kindly update all the software on the ECM to see if it helped - the light did come back on and it stayed on for around two weeks....then mysteriously it was out today when I went to drive home. Maybe it has 'learned' there is not an issue. We'll see what happens. Now that the light is out, I'll change the battery. I'll keep you updated.

 

Update: the car gave me a restricted performance message and then went into limp mode this afternoon while climbing a hill, then cut out. It did restart normally. No dashboard lights. Only code is P0741. Ten minutes later, at 50 mph, I felt a definite lurch, and the restricted performance message flashed for a second, and then immediately the check engine light came back on. It has driven 60 miles without issues after that,

I'm 70 miles in the middle of nowhere this weekend, and so hopefully it gets me back. Does this seems consistent with end-stage torque converter behavior?

Appreciate any thoughts.
(2003 STR, 38K miles)

 

Or early stage or just low fluid.

 

On that note, has the gearbox been serviced?

It must be getting into that mileage range where its due?

 

With the P0741 code, could it be a vacuum leak? Wasn't the member who owned Tijoes STR prior to him have the evap. canister crack that caused symptoms like above?


I can post a pic of the 3.0's evap. canister local to help you out if needed. I believe that they are located in the same place on the North American models of the V6 and V8.

 

P0741 is pretty specific to the torque converter. A cracked evap canister would give an evap leak code like a P0442. A vacuum leak would likely cause a P0171 or P0174 code.

 

I'm the second owner (purchased the car at 20,000 miles) so cannot say if it was serviced before me, so I doubt it. Why do you ask, Jim?

 

It cut out again--twice on my wife tonight. Fortuntely it was on a side road and she's fine. She was not paying attention and did not see if the restricted performance light ot check engine light came on again briefy.

P0741 is the only code showing. Can the torque converter being bad typically cause the car to stall at low RPM (what my wife said happened)? I ask this because a few months ago, it was cutting out like this and I had a bunch of codes to the ignition coil, and the Jaguar dealer did find a broken wire in the harness behind the right front wheel. Fixing that wire made the problem go away. Having this old issue is placing a seed of doubt as to what this torque converter nonsense is capable of.

It's clearly not save to drive. I want to know which issue to go after first. Since the torque converter is such a big and expensive job, I'd hate to have that done to 'stop the check engine light coming on and off' and to clear the P0741 code only to find out that there may be something else wrong in the wiring harness since this issue could leave me stranded.

Again--P0741 is the only code. Can a bad torque converter often cause an engine stall at low rpm? (2003 STR, 38K miles).