Hi there,

Today, whilst reversing and then driving away, an amber warning light / message GEARBOX FAULT/FAILURE was displayed on my message centre display panel, on my X-Type SE V6 3.0L 4Dr Auto (June 2001).

I have never seen such a message before. That scared me a bit because, according to page 4-10 (On The Road) of the Driver's Handbook, it was likely that the driver [...] "will experience a degradation of gearbox operation".

I carried on driving as normal, but could not hear / smell / see / feel any further problems at all.


When I got home, I switched the engine off and on again (just in case if the computer was playing up). The amber warning light / message was still there.

I then checked the car fluids, oils, water etc. and they were all OK, normal, topped up etc.


I then left the engine off for a few hours.

When I returned to the car, I switched the engine on. Surprisingly, there was NO MORE amber light / message at all. The car seems now fine as if nothing has ever happened.

The current mileage on my car is 68553 miles.

Any thoughts at all, please? Any advice, please?


Thanks in advance.


Alexandre
Buxton - UK

 

Good day Alexandre,

I don't think you have an issue there, I think the technology sometimes confuses us drivers when there is nothing wrong, BUT if it happens agin, I would suggest you pull over as soon as it is safe to stop, you may be able to judge the situation better?

When I drove my first automatic, I realised that the lights going on and off were a direct result of my driving at the time.

I had a habit of moving or trying to before gears and such were engaged and i could have damaged the motor, plus most cars these days are susceptible to weather/moisture/cold/rain and can play up, but I've a suspicion that all is well?
I hope that helps? Enjoy! Stu

 

xande, like Stuart said, probably just a fluke that there was an issue. The other thing that I would recommend you try is having a load test done of your battery. Our cars are very sensitive to a low battery voltage during starting of the car, which will then take all the computers and make them do funny things (random codes, make things not function properly, etc). If the shop tells you that you are at say 75% of capacity or less, replace the battery and then see what you have. We have found that a new battery fixes a lot of the random gremlins that you may see.

 

Thanks! Two (02) days ago, the battery was completely dead (probably due to the cold - but I could not understand why, as I had driven the car the day before, without any battery problems). Anyway... I tried to jump start it, and it did not work at all. I then recharged the battery myself (at home). It is now 100% fully charged! Initially, the amber engine icon lighted up/on... but, it went off again after a few hours (after the car battery was fully charged). How bizarre! Anyway... the car battery now seems 100% fine, with no engine icon gremlins on anymore!

 

Hi there AGAIN...

Today, AGAIN, whilst reversing and then driving away, an amber warning light / message GEARBOX FAULT was displayed on my message centre display panel, on my X-Type SE V6 3.0L 4Dr Auto (June 2001). I have also noticed that the amber engine icon lit up too.

I think, the information on page 4-10 (On The Road) of the Driver's Handbook is right: I DID [...] "experience a degradation of gearbox operation" (i.e. the car took a few fractions of second to set off - after I have dis-applied the handbrake).

When I got home, I switched the engine off and on again (just in case if the computer was playing up AGAIN). The amber warning light / message and the amber engine icon were still there.

I will leave the car off for a few hours AGAIN to see how it goes.

The current mileage on my car is 68557 miles.






A Jaguar dealer told me that the next full service should be done at 70,000 miles.


Any further ideas, please? Any further advice, please?


Thanks in advance again.


Alexandre
Buxton - UK

 

xande, test the battery and lets see what we have at that point.

 

I had the same gearbox fault and it turned out being the throttle body. Something about the cruise control and throttle body not talking and the computer gave me a gearbox fault. It happened three times. I just stopped, turned off, counted to ten and started with no lights.
I've stopped using the cruise control and had no more lights.

 

Please let's keep it simple ...

Thermo is 100% correct. Alexandre, please be assured ... Until proven otherwise, your problems are neither bizarre, unique, or even unexpected ... car is 12 years old, 68K miles, and no mention of when new battery was fitted. Sure, there could be a real trans problem, but we can point to many more hundreds where a dying battery starts throwing up false fault messages.

If you want help on how to load test your existing battery, then yell. If you can't point to when your last new battery was fitted, and you would prefer to avoid the bother, just replace it.

Best wishes,
Ken

 

Just out of curiosity, has the car ever had the transmission / gearbox serviced / fluid change or is it original?

I know that Jaguar say "sealed for life" but.......

At 70k miles I'd suggest that a transmission service may not be a bad idea, especially if you intend to keep the car for a while

Probably a bit too far for you I'd guess, but we have a meet in a few weeks time at one of the premier A rated ZF gearbox specialists in the country....

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/u...2014-a-111085/

You could always at least call them and ask their opinion?

Good luck

 

Thank you all for your thoughts.


As I said before, I recharged the batter with a battery charger, and the battery is now 100% fully re-charged. No more gremlins with the battery.


In respect to the "Gearbox Fault" message etc., I took my car today to my usual mechanic (not a Jaguar specialist, but he does work on all types of Jags). He did a brief computer diagnosis (ECU etc.). The problem code is P0778 / Pressure Control B / Electrical. However, he advised me to take the car to either a Jaguar dealer or a Jaguar specialist, for a detailed computer diagnosis to establish what the real problem with the "faulty gearbox" is. He said that it seemed that the car has "no drive" (i.e. when it sets off from stationary etc.), but drives "fine" when picking up speed. His cautionary advice was for me NOT to drive the car though, as I might "end up with no drive at all", thus leaving me stranded in the middle of the road.


I have obtained a quote re computer diagnosis from a Jaguar dealer (£70 + VAT for 1 hour's work + extra for extra hours) and from a Jaguar specialist in Manchester/Stockport (£27.50 + VAT). For all you outside the UK, VAT is at 20%!


I will have to obtain a detailed computer diagnosis. I just hope that the problem is simple; otherwise, I know for sure that the gearbox is still the original.


The Jaguar dealer told me that the next full car service should be done at 70,000 miles.


I was told by my mechanic though that the Jaguar gearbox should really need a proper service / refurbishment nearing 70,000 miles - 80,000 miles (in some Jags, as far as 100,000 miles!).


Any further ideas, please? Any further advice, please?


Thanks in advance.


Alexandre
Buxton - UK

 

Alexandre, I trust you will be patient if I ask whether, say the morning after your recharge, you did repeat the load test as Thermo recommended? For interest, what was the test voltage? Lastly, how old is your battery?

Please don't think I specialize in flogging dead horses, but I find my workshop is now home to an amazing collection of parts, especially electronics, that were replaced prematurely or in error as a result of faulty diagnosis - and therefore, at needless expense. Nor am I suggesting your mechanics are wrong - simply that the tests or recommendations from Thermo and myself are simple for you to do yourself and entail little work and modest expense.

Best wishes,
Ken

 

Hi there again.


I have checked the battery voltage. It's 12.5V (charging at 86% only). My other mechanic said that I would need a new battery anyway (£68 inclusive of VAT).


He then checked the car with a BRAND NEW battery: but the amber warning message / engine icon was still there (GEARBOX FAULT).


Someone (who used to own a 2.0L Jag) then advised me to replace the battery AND replace oil filters etc., as they could also cause computer error messages (and it would cheaper than going straight for a serviced transmission/gearbox).


I now believe that I really need to obtain a detailed computer diagnosis from the Jag specialist (at £27.50 + VAT) and then see what the real problem about the gearbox fault is. I think that is the next reasonable logical approach in this matter now.


Any further ideas, please? Any further advice, please?


Thanks in advance,


Alexandre
Buxton - UK