Hello everyone. New here, first post. So please be gentle.

10 days ago I purchased a 2008 plate XKR Portfolio, black with ivory leather, from a reputable independent dealer. It was in excellent condition for a car of this age, probably helped by the fact it only has 28,000 miles on the clock. It also has a full Jaguar service history. The car has keyless entry and ignition.

On Tuesday I drove to work, then mid-morning used the car for a short trip to the supermarket. Upon returning to the car with my shopping I got in and pressed the start button. Nothing happened. The brake pedal appeared rigid. None of the dashboard lights lit up. I tried to turn the lights on (thought it might be a battery issue) and they worked.

I made several further attempts to start the car and nothing happened. Eventually I locked it and returned to work, with the intention of calling the AA after work. When I returned to the car (several hours later) it started without any problems.

A friend suggested to me I might have accidentally tripped the immobiliser, so I put this down to a one-off experience.

I parked the car up on Tuesday night. I did some local driving on Saturday, then today (Sunday) drove to Sussex and back. On the way home I stopped for a take-away pizza. On leaving the pizza place I got into the car. The electronics sprung to life, the steering wheel moved into my pre-set position, but the car refused to start when I pressed the 'start' button.

I pressed the button again and nothing happened. I waited 20 seconds and tried a third time - it started.

Clearly I want to get this sorted. I have e mailed the dealer and await their response.

Has anyone had similar issues? It has been suggested to me that this might be the result of an old battery, as the car is 6 years old and I don't think it has ever had a new one.

Any help much appreciated.

 

Could very well be the battery; the more modern a car is the more susceptible they are to electrical gremlins caused by a below par battery trying to power complex electronic systems and if yours is 6 years old then it certainly time to change it.
At least putting a new battery in will remove that from the equation and save chasing errant faults that wouldn't be there if the battery was 100%.

 

Hi Emkay,

Hope you get it sorted. Not sure about the Battery as it could be a faulty connection somewhere.
My humble S-Types battery is still the original (Build date 14thDec2004 Reg Date 24thJan2005) and still performing okay.

Regards,
Inver.

 

Welcome to the forum Emkay,

I've left a reply to your identical post in XK/XKR tech section. That's the right place for questions about your model.

Low mileage isn't always the best thing on modern Jaguars. Members who use their cars as daily drivers report far less electrical issues than those who use them on fine weekends only. With just 26K miles in six years, your XKR may have spent long periods of inactivity.

Graham

 

Many thanks to all for kind and swift responses.

I bought it from Nick Whale, who have some fantastic cars on site and appear to be a good name in the used sports car market. Indeed, at £26,900, the XKR was one of the cheapest cars on their books. (To get the Jag out of their garage they had to move a Jensen Interceptor, a nearly-new Ferrari and an Aston Martin limited edition!).

I note the car has only done 2,000 miles since September. It has one previous owner, and probably spent most of the time garaged up.

The dealer has offered to pay for a new battery. They are based nearly 100 miles away (I am in London and they are near Warwick), so I am going to take them up on this offer. In the event the problem continues I will probably be returning it to them and asking them to investigate it.

 

Hi Inver, I owned a Skoda Octavia Vrs between 2008 and 2013, and it was still running the original battery at the point I sold it.

I think it really depends on the car, the battery, how often you use it and, perhaps, luck.

Conventional wisdom seems to suggest batteries start to go downhill around the 5 year point, and the dealer seems to think this is a reasonable explanation.

Given that they have agreed to pay for a replacement, it seems logical to go for this option. If problems persist then I can take it back to them for further investigation.

 

Good news.

I've posted the XK 2008 battery reconnection procedure in your thread on XK/XKR forum.

Graham

 

hi emkay ive a 57 plate xk and ive had the same happen to me got my mate ex grease monkey put new bosh s5 battery from cosco £109quid he used a set of jump leads on the old to the new one. as the car is over 6yrs old its only wize to replace the battery .my xk is fine now no probs. get the garage to replace it cheers charlie

 

Thanks again for all help.

 

BTW, Emkay, if you're in east-ish London, I can recommend Les Pauls Motors in Woodford Green as a good independent specialist. They've looked after all 3 of my Jags, and always given me good service at a reasonable price (well, reasonable in Jag terms).