Got a 02 3.0 X-Type, 40,000 miles on it. Dealer put on new rear tires, which was nice, although at the time I didn't realize AWD can be picky about tires. I have a weird slight vibration/noise at 55-75mph ish which sorta reminds me of an old fashion train noise, sort of like a "chugging" noise. Is it the possible unmatched tires? Also i think I have the prop shaft noise, around 65-75mph when not applying the gas it has like a loud wind down noise, could this also be the source of the vibration/chugging? Other then that i really like it so far. I bought their extended warranty (really a GM warranty, was from a Buick dealer) and am hoping that if its a prop shaft issue the warranty would cover that. Also one more thing the defroster vents are like popping out of the dash, are those easy to re-seat?

 

If the vibration appears only on the steering wheel, it might be the tires, I once put on some offbrand tires "Capitol Sport UHP" and its vibrating like crazy. I went back to different shops and spend almost $100 few times rebalance and it still same. I change to Conti Extremecontact DWS after a few weeks and it took away the vibration. The vibration might caused by a bent rim too. They might be also You can put in different set of wheel to check on the vibration. I have the prop shaft problem too, still haven't sort it out yet, they are really loud during the winter. Since you got the warranty, I'm sure you will be covered, if not the part will cost $425 from http://www.trademotion.com/partlocat...layCatalogid=0 and labor will cost you more.
About the vent, mine popped out too, I pull both of them out and I don't think it made alot difference. I think they came out because of the material degraded overtime, if you look at them, they are kind of bent, unless you have a way to reshape the plastic vents.

tzh, as for your imbalance issue. Take the car to a different shop and have them perform 2 checks. First is a trueness check of the rim (make sure it rolls in a straight line, not wobbling side to side). If the rim is not true, it will still balance. If the rim is not true, I would be questioning how the rim got bent. Normally this occurs from hitting a curb pretty good. If all the tires are true, then have them do what is called a "road force balance". This is slightly different than a standard balancing job and it tends to take out vibrations like you are talking about.

"Something else that you can try is rotating the tires front to rear (keeping the tires on the same side of the car). If the vibration goes away, then you know you have a problem with the rim/tire that is now on the rear of the car. If the problem remains, then you have a suspension issue. If this is the case, then you will need to check the tie rod ends, the lower ball joint, and the strut for any looseness. if you need help on how to do this, let me know. It is pretty easy to do, but having a second person with you makes the job easier." - Thermo

 

I'm thinking as long as they are the exact and I mean exact same size tires it shouldn't have any effect. But if they are not all four matched tires you could run into something called drive line wind up. Any vehicle with a transfer case (which ours has) running different size tires front and back has the transfer case rotating at different speeds, I knew a guy with a jeep that wasn't thinking and had smaller tires on the front and ran on dry pavement, inside of 2 miles his transfer case grenaded.

 

think of it this way for every mile driven your front wheels need to turn about 2x more than the rear since they are worn to a smaller diameter. Since on dry roads that isn't possible your tranny and transfer case is allowing this slippage to happen which results in heat. I would be putting 2 tires of the same brand and pattern as what is on the rear. Then move on to the other issues. I would also look into the transfer case oil change threads and get that done since you have an early one. Just do a search and you'll know the options for changing since it was "sealed for life"

There is a service bullet out there for the defrost vent. Basically they shrink. you can push it down and slide it that direction and it may hold. Double sided tape is another good cheap fix.

Congrats on the car. I liked mine so much I bought another Jag.

 

Hey there, welcome aboard, sorry to hear about your issues and see that you've already had some good replies.
For further info please do your homework and thoroughly read through the X type quick FAQ link thread......Most if not all the info you need and more is there.

Good luck
Jim

 

I also just bought an X-type and have the same issue with the defroster vents. The dealer wanted almost $300 to replace them with new vents that are not supposed to warp. However, $300 will buy a lot of rubber cement so I'm going to try that first.

Mark

 

There is a recall that fixes it for free, look it up in the FAQs at the top of the forum.

 

I checked the FAQ but didn't see anything. Can you tell me exactly where to find this recall notice? Thanks,

Mark

 

sidewalkman, was it a recall or just updated vents? I don't even remember seeing a TSB. Anyhow, $300 is way too much. I can't remember for sure but I think I paid $90 for both sides at the dealer and that was a long time ago and in Canada where prices are at least 1/3 more. The updated vents come with better clips.

Having said that, many have been successful with a bit of glue as long as they aren't warped badly.