How is everyone's day going? Mine, not so hot. Friday, we got a warning saying Hi Oil Level-Do Not Operate Vehicle on my 2014 XF AWD. So over the weekend, I checked it several times and it shows high. Call the dealership yesterday and it was hauled to them. So today I get a call about wanting to do my 1 year service. That he's looked through my owner's manual and saw where I changed it(why was he doing that). I said it's not been a year and I paid to have my oil changed at 5500 miles and it only has 9500 miles on it now. Yes it will be a year old in a month. So finally getting told crap that wasn't told to me in the first place, I said sure, now what's wrong with my car. Dealer: Oh, we don't know yet. Me: Then why are you freaking calling me. Dealer: We want to catch the oil and verify how much it is.

Ok, so it sounds like they wanted the first service to somehow pay for the oil when they fill it back up. They call back 2 hours later. We're done with your car. What was wrong? It had too much oil in it. If it did, then you did it 7 months ago when it was changed by your service dept. Why did it wait 7 months and 4000 miles to just now come on. We don't know but these cars don't take the full 8 qts of oil so we put less in it.

Now after the last statement, my internal warning siren is screaming that I'm getting the texas two step. I kept asking the same question and get the same answers which basically say nothing.

So I call another dealership, Tom Williams in Birmingham AL. I go through all this crap and ask what they think. They have never heard of one doing that and it does not take a half quart less than capacity. So I'm thinking that's my last visit to Century Jaguar.

I'm wondering what are some of your thoughts. If it actually was high from the start, it would have told me that. I think something has happened. Either the sensor is not right or there is another fluid that has made it's way into the crankcase causing the level to become high.

 

Maybe the oil got thicker as it aged, and perhaps it was colder that day making the oil less viscous and with those two conditions it tripped the high oil warning. I suspect the warning was more about pressure than level but only the techs would know for sure.

 

Yep find another dealer for sure!

 

Will, you're exactly right. After I get a copy of all service work(CEL @400 miles, my oil change and it's last visit), I will be letting another dealer handle all it's service.

 

The next saga....I drive up, without them knowing, to pick up the car. I told the service writer I wanted to check the oil level before it ever starts. So he gets the tech and we all three go out there. Guess what, it's high. "It wasn't yesterday." I say it is today. So after staying there another half day, we check and it says ok. I drive home, 1.5 hr drive, wait the alotted time and check the oil. It's high again. So, it gets transported to B'ham for the next visit. They call and say it has too much oil in it but they are going to check it again before transport back home. 2 hours later, I get the call that says something else is wrong. The scanner shows high, low then no level. Of course I said that's why it's there. I haven't heard anything since Tuesday so who knows.

 

if your oil level has actually gone up you likely have coolant in the oil. On the 5.0 they actually preheat the oil with coolant using I presume some sort of tubing in the sump. Seems like a disaster waiting to happen to me. Or it could be a head gasket. If you have foamy oil its a dead giveaway of water in oil.

 

And a hi oil level warning would have nothing to do with pressure. If you have too much oil your oil pressure will drop due to frothing as the crank hits the oil. Either your sensor is acting up or it is actually overfilled due to coolant ingress.

 

I figured that it was the sensor. But things have changed. Back when I worked for GM as the Corvette/ZR-1 tech in the late 80's, you diagnosis the problem and repair it. It's now my understanding that you call and open a Jaguar case with an engineer and see what he says to do. Or at least that's what they are telling me at the dealer.

 

I hope the solution is simple and happens quickly. I am not too impressed with the Jaguar after sale experience myself. It is s shame when the cars themselves are so good yet the rest of the psckage falls so short.

 

Well, after being at the dealer for three weeks my car came back. And even though my ASE cerification was in the late 80's-90's, I had guessed the problem. It was the oil level sensor.

 

Good guessing. I have found that one almost has to know what is wrong with the car before taking it to the mechanic. I feel sorry for folks who don't have that ability - they must experience a lot of frustration. Also glad to hear it was just the sensor and not a major mechanical issue.

If you happen to find out how much extra oil must be in the car with a properly functioning oil level sensor please post that info.

Thanks.

 

Amazing all because they removed the manual dip stick - what a bunch of dip sticks

 

The oil level sensors are more accurate and more reliable than human operated dipsticks.

Failure of the oil level sensor is exceptionally rare. It uses radio waves transmitted from the bottom of the sump which reflect off the oil surface and are received by the same sensor. The distance is converted to an oil level signal that is displayed on the dash. If you want to check your oil level at any time, you park the car, switch off, open the hood and then switch on only the ignition, do not start the car. Be aware that the oil level will display lower if the engine is cold. The sensor readout is calibrated to show correct oil level with hot oil, ten minutes or so after shut down. If you check the oil between ten and 30 minutes after a hot shut down you don't need to open the hood.

My oil level sender occasionally shows oil level during a stop/start cycle which is odd. By that I mean if I cycle through "button A" on the left hand stalk while the engine is shut off by the stop/start system it occasionally cycles to the oil level display between average speed and actual speed digital display.

 

As amazing as a high tech level sensor might be, oil level does not need to be
measured with any greater accuracy than can be measured with a dipstick.

And dipsticks don't fail. Don't have to turn on the ignition either.

The inability of those unschooled in reading dipsticks is another
matter.

 

I find it irritating you have to let the car sit for ~10 minutes and it has to be on a level surface to check the oil.

As an engineer I get frustrated with other engineers who think they need to make things way more complicated than they need to be for such a simple task that has been around for a LONG time.

A metal rod wont fail a sensor will.

 

Just pop the bonnet (hood), instant readout, no waiting 10 minutes.

 

Dipsticks don't fail but the operators do.

If you know how to check the oil for your engine with a dipstick then fine. In general, for the normal owner, the electronic level sensor works best.

Now when these cars get old....????

 

Jesus Christ, it doesn't take a degree to read a dipstick.

 

I have asked three dealers and the forum in several different threads. Nobody has answered this basic question: how much of an overfill condition, in quarts, liters, litres, pints, gallons...does it actually take to trigger an overfill warning on the Jaguar 5.0? I had about two quarts too much in my car after a dealer oil change and did not get the warning. Just curious what it takes to get the alarm..,

 

True. Sadly a lot of car owners never open the hood (bonnet). A dipstick is way beyond their "thinking".

They also don't check their lights work or their tyres have tread or their tyre pressures or ... well, you get the idea. (This is why TPMS is now mandated in many places.)