So I don't think I have ever posted on the XF board... XJ, XK, XE, F type yes but here no. Anyway, my plans for a 2011 XJ got sidetracked when I was bought out of my bodyshop by my now ex partner. Anyway, in a bid to save some money and still get a nice Jag for the wife I decided to look at XF's. While a 4 turbo 2013 would suit her fine I just cant go V8 less. This being said I found a beautiful 09 Supercharged in Liquid Silver but with 65K on her I am curious what to look out for.


Any input would be appreciated. Going to go look at her Friday and while I have had my share of Jaguars I have ever had an XF so I need my Jag brethren's help !


TIA,
John

 

I'm not familiar with the 09, but with any car I'm considering I always start with a car fax. It may not tell all but it will tell you most.

 

There weren't too many 09 specific issues. One was a differential issue. The rear diff had some contamination in them from the factory. If the diff isn't leaking or making any noise drain and refill the fluid for cheap insurance. They changed the design so a new diff requires new axles and a few other components ($7k for new parts). Another issue I had and a few others had was cracks in the roof just forward of the moon roof due to chassis flex. The dealer welded mine up under warranty.

Other issues for most of the 09-11 XF's:
-Random electrical glitches = battery low or needs to be replaced (VERY COMMON). Battery drain is common on these cars. Make sure you lock it after you leave the vehicle to shut down the electronics. Put a trickle charger on it if you don't drive it for a few days. There was a software update dealers flashed in to help eliminate this issue.
-Dash pad lifting near defrost (VERY COMMON)
-Shifter not switching out of park - recall should have been done to swap to new design. Quite a few cars were taken back and stamped as Lemon cars for this issue. Issue was related to cold solder joints in the circuit board below the shifter.
-Coolant leak either from cracked expansion tank nipple or thermostat housing
-Rear backup camera not working due to wire breaks in trunk harness (flex point)

 

I read with interest Blackcoog’s account of XF problems. I bought my XF Supercharged new back in Feb 2009 (it is called XF SV8, in rest or the world). I still own it, and have 45,320 Miles on the odo. So I think i can help.


All in all… i would say you have nothing to be afraid off (but sure, each car is its own case). I would add that the most annoying problem had to do with the fuel door. It gets stuck a lot. I fixed it and fixed it, and the dealer told me it is a very common problem but no solution. It worked great for the first few months. The trick is you have to press the door not from the edge, but toward the middle of the door area. It should not be a problem in US as you mostly do self serve fuelling, so yow will know where to press to open. But where i live we have all full service stations, and more than often I have to get our of the car to open the door my self.

Another thing to look for is make sure to check the catalytic converters. Both my 2 converters collapsed a month ago, those are very very very expensive. They cost close to half what a used car may cost, no kidding. My dealer was kind enough to have the dealership do a 25% discount and argued with Jaguar to get me another 50% discount. With me paying only 25% for the parts, i still had to pay about $2,500. Trust me, have it checked (they sneak a remote camera down the o2 sensor opening).

I experienced non of the symptoms listed by Blackgoog, except for dash lifting. The dash leather separates from the dash near the defrost opening, you see it wrinkled. I fixed it under warranty and few years later I got the same problem again. So this is a repeat problem

My head liner also sagged by year 5, Jaguar fixed it under a good will warranty.

My dealer told me that very early production cars had tail LH light problems, some LED points would stop working, and there was a recall for that. He told me also that fuel pump gets week by year 5. I am replacing my fuel pump at the moment. So check the pump performance.


Except for the catalytic converter scare, I say there is not much for you to worry about.

 

Thanks guys for the info. I knew about the dif and the dash. Im going to go look at it today or tomorrow and we will see.

 

Just wanted to chime in here. Blackcoogs list is pretty accurate except for the fact that the bubbling dash isn't as common in colder climates. I'm in Toronto Canada and haven't had an issue with my dash. Although, in colder climates the trunk lid rust issue will be more common. I just had the trunk lid refinished on my 09 this week.

Also to note is that I've had pretty much every issue on the list except for the coolant and dash issue (knock on wood). luckily I caught my leaky diff seals in time and didn't have to put through a warranty claim for a whole new diff

 

Touch wood, no bubbling dash so far, car has been in OR its whole life so more issues with moss than anything else (only kidding, the car is garaged day and night). The car is currently telling me that I have low coolant, only it's the sensor that has sunk in the coolant reservoir, not that it is truly low. $200 for a new reservoir, which I plan to DIY in the next month or so....

FWIW Truedelta says the 09's are the most reliable, with the order being 09, 11, 12, 10 (most to least reliable).

 

You should do a search about the coolant fluid level sensor on this forum. There is a trick to use a foam donut from a blank DVD/CD stack to put under the sensor to make it work again. Never done it but remember seeing it and it sounded pretty easy.

 

One other issue I have seen with my '09 is that the Nav has stopped remembering certain settings. Overtime I turn off the car it resets the Nav to Voice Guidance On, Map Facing North, and the voice phone book clears. May be worth checking as this could be easily missed on inspection.

 

Yes.. Very true... I have the same case of Nav amnesia. On few occasions it retains the settings... But normally it reset every time and I end up doing the north up, scale 1:200 and no voice guidance every time

 

On my 09 SC, I've been told that both cats interior grids have deteriorated, now I know how the examine them. I have an ongoing issue with the touch screen cycling on and off, and the sat nav button on the screen is grayed out when the screen acts normally. My headliner has a lot of droop in it now, and I've got the random electrical gremlins. The dash liner was totally replaced by the previous owner because of the bubbling issue (the car is in a typical hot middle east desert country) and I use a fitted sunshield without fail. Overall, I don't think I'd by another Jag. Too many small issues, and I get enough of that at work as a aircraft mech.

 

Ish, where in the Middle East are you? I feel your pain, except for the Nav button being gray (I have had every problem at some point in time)

The Screen would turn on and off, but this used to happen only once or twice upon car start. But it just went away since a long time now and I does not do that any more.

I noticed my headliner droop early in year 6 of ownership, Jag replaced the headliner under good will warranty.

The dash top was replaced in year 3 of ownership under warranty, but the bubbles were back in year 6.

The cats problem is the most significant and super expensive. But my dealer managed to talk Jaguar into paying 75% of the repair cost, I paid 25%.

And I bought another Jag 3 months ago, an F Type ....

The support I got from the dealer is one of the reasons I am in a new Jag.

 

Hi John Fox - did you go ahead and buy the car? If you are still looking, I would encourage you to explore a 2010 model too. The 2010 XF SC (which I have) has the 5L V8 supercharged (not that the 4.2L is lacking in power...) But it also appears to have fewer of the issues - particularly the differential which seems to be cropping up a bit here on the forum now and is an expensive fix.
Other thing to look for is the water pump - they seem to fail pretty regularly on all the XF models.

Good luck - let us know what you decide. Overall I'd say a terrific car.

 

Jag 50, Im over in Abu Dhabi. All the jobs I looked at in Saudi were just too restrictive in terms of general living.