i have a 012 xf , the car wont strart, i beleive there is a communication problem with the smart key, the dash lights up and it says ignition on, but car wont start, we tried programing the key. any suggestions for potential problems these cars have, any help would be appreciated thanks mike

 

Sometimes the brake pedal switch needs a bit of gentle persuasion, try pressing really really hard on the brake pedal when you go to start the car.

 

I once got into something like that after a OBD scan tool went a little berserk. After breathing into a paper bag I tried the Land Rover hard reset. Disconnect the battery terminals and short them for about thirty seconds (no, not the battery terminals). This is supposed to be the equivalent of a BIOS reset in computer terms. After reconnecting the battery, hey presto, 4000lbs of dead weight became a car again....

YMMV

 

tried the break pedal already, it seams to be really hard now. my repair shop threw there hands up and said uncle. im gonna take it to a euro repair shop, any other suggestions ,? the baterry short sollution sounds risky but thanks for the advice

 

It's only risky if you short the battery, which isn't what you should do. Another way to do it is remove the positive battery cable and ground it for about the same thirty seconds or so. I had the issue where ignition would come on fine but footbrake and ignition to get it to start resulted in nothing - no click, no attempt to turn over. I was contemplating a tow truck to get it to my dealer to rescue then I remembered the similarity between many of the Jaguar and Land Rover systems and figured the know trick on LR was worth a shot. It saved me. Worst side effect was having to retune my radio pre-sets.

 

The brake pedal being hard is exactly the problem. If you push the pedal a few times after you turn off the car you get all the vacuum out from the brake booster and it's just manual at that point. So it's really hard to move it at all - and hence to trigger the brake switch
When you press the start button does it come on the screen saying press brake pedal to start car? If so, I suspect that's your problem. Try pressing the button and stamping hard on the brake pedal at the same time.

 

This^.

You have to press the brake pedal as hard as you physically can, "I'm giving it everything she's got Cap'n".

 

I've experienced this once or twice. I'm a big guy with strong legs and it took a lot of effort. You really have to try and mash the pedal through the floorboard. My butt would come off the seat I was pushing so hard and then "presto", running car.