January XJ8, 2004 model, lurches forward occasionally when my foot is firmly on the brake. Dangerous and now I am afraid to drive. Can you help?

 

Must be a brake fault. Brakes should always stop and hold the car.

 

Sorry for the "January" auto-correct, you know I mean Jaguar XJ8 2004 and not "January"...wanting to say that I can assure one and all that this problem is NOT pilot error. I do not let my foot just leave the brake pedal and slam down the excellerator....the car is stopped with my foot firmly on the brake when this occurs. I am going to have to sell this thing as I am now afraid to drive it. I have almost run into cars in front of me, taken the garage door off and today almost ran over my own granddaughter! I called my mechanic hysterical who told me to put my car in park anytime I am at a stop -- and ideally to stop driving it and he will flat-bed it to the garage and see what he can do.
I think I would rather beat it with a ball bat and and get rid of the damn thing. Too many people are having this issue with jags for us to tolerate. This is bull. I have had this internittent problem since the car was new...dealer said it was "fuel injection" issue but never resolved and keep saying nothing is wrong with it. Now it has begun to happen more regularly. If anyone has found a solution, I'd love to hear it. Otherwise I am in the market for a reliable car and it will not be a new jag. Angry and afraid.

 

Nope, not a brake problem. Even after brand new set of brakes several times, still happens. If you refer to older threads, many reports of this same problem --- just no solutions. Thank you taking the time to reply.. Foot hard on brake and all of a sudden....care LURCHES forward and I have to then STAND on brake to get control of car again. I am getting rid of this rolling possible killing machine if I can not resolve. After granddaughter issue today....this has to be resolved or I will never drive it again. What a shame. Best ride I have ever had. 138,000 mi - bought off the dealer floor in 2003. Looks like brand new and has been maintained meticulously.

 

Sorry to disappoint you but it's a brake problem.

I've not said it's the brake discs/pads (and it almost certainly isn't).

 

I have been involved with investigating allegations of 'unintended acceleration' for two different vehicle manufacturers over the years. Two of the vehicles I looked at were involved in litigation as the driver felt the vehicles were dangerous and tried to bring suit against the manufacturers, one German and one Japanese.

Upon looking the vehicles over, I noticed two distinct things: the lower right corner of the brake pedal pad was pulled off the brake pedal and the carpet directly behind the brake pedal had marks from shoes.

In other words, both vehicles, from two very different manufacturers, showed the driver believed they were stepping firmly on the brake pedal when in fact they had their foot underneath the brake pedal and were pressing quite firmly on the floorboard.

Have a look at your vehicle and see if this is the case.

 

Firstly you’re in the wrong forum. This is for the 2010-15 Jaguar XF. You’re referring to a much older XJ8 model which is completely unrelated

Secondly all the research shows that if the brake pedal is hard pushed down the engine cannot make the car move. It’s just physics. Try it if you don’t believe me - push brake pedal really hard and briefly hit the gas - the car will buck but it can’t move

So either you have engine surge and faulty brakes at the same time - ... Or much more likely your foot is accidentally pressing the wrong pedal and the brake is not being pushed hard

If there is really an issue then a good dealer will absolutely be able to resolve it. I’d have an experienced mechanic check it out

 

Everyone has been very polite and tip-toed around the real problem here. It's not the car, it's the driver! Toyota/Lexus and Honda/Acura have been hit with the most complaints about this problem. Extensive research shows it occurs nearly always in North America and to women or elderly men almost exclusively. The problem often occurs repeatedly and gets worse with age (of the driver, not the car). In EVERY case, the driver is convinced with 100% certainty that they had the brakes applied firmly, but in every case where there was a witness behind the car it has been reported that the brake lights were NOT on. The driver's foot was actually not on the brake pedal but on the floorboard or worse yet on the accelerator (your spell-check failed you on that one too). As has been pointed out, if you have firmly applied the brakes the wheels are locked and there is nothing the engine can do (on its own or under your control) to overcome that. In every case investigated the brakes were found to be in good working order. This phenomenon is well known to police and insurance companies.
Your constant insistence that there was something wrong with the car led your mechanic to do a substantial amount of probably unnecessary work to placate you. Certainly a suggestion of fuel injector service could only be explained as either a) not wanting to risk offending a good customer by telling him the truth; or b) making some easy money off the gullible (see "good customer" above).
As for the solution you seek, it is plain and clear and staring you in the face. Yes, go ahead and sell the car.....but don't replace it. The fact that this has been happening to you for over ten years and keeps getting worse is very telling. I'm sorry Grandpa, but the time is well past when you need to hang up the car keys for good.

 

@Swimref


My dad is 88 but his Buick never needs washing--each month when the body shop replaces a fender or such they wash it after repair and painting. He always has a "reason" but fortunately for me the "foot on brake but hit the garage anyway" has never come up. All of the grandkids know better than to get near him in the car--but they still love him!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thx a lot for your reply....even though I am old, have no idea what forum I am on, should not be driving, and do not know how to spell correctly. But you know what, you are the only person who has made me really think that it is I (old woman not old man) who may be the problem! Thank you so much for taking the time to reply....it may just be time for me to hang those keys up permanently!

 

What a refreshingly honest reply! We’ve had a few threads on this topic before and people doggedly blame the car. And I get it - it happened to me once in my Land Rover and I was certain there was something wrong with the car and it was only by pushing the brake so hard that I avoided an accident. It was a while before I realized it was just driver error. Turns out the pair of shoes I wore that day has a sole that sticks out wider than my others and had caught the edge of the accelerator pedal. I felt it catch on another occasion and worked it out - never driven in those shoes again...

 

Even though I was on the incorrect forum/thread, thanks for all who took pity on this old woman and reached out on my query on my XJ8 arbitrarily lurching out from a dead stop! You are ALL so correct....I did the test this morning....foot firmly on brake while attempting to push down on gas...there is NO WAY that car could lurch anywhere, it just dug into the surface of whatever road-type we were driving on. i would have gone to my death blaming everything but the enemy..'ME"! So again you all, thanks so much for giving it to me straight....much appreciated and I will now unsubscribe to your forum since I have no business cluttering up with my unrelated data.....awfully glad I did it once though!! You are all rock stars. Georgia Mae, Melbourne, FL/Asheville, N.C./Philadelphia, PA

 

I almost lurched through a parking space last week with a pair of shoes I don't wear often. It can happen to anyone (in my defense my shoes are size 12) For that reason, as well as more legroom options, I often drive with my shoes off. Floor mats are often to blame as well.

 

There’s no need to unsubscribe. If you go to the section called Jaguar Models (Modern) there is a forum section for your vehicle - it’s labeled XJ / XJ8 / XJR. If you post into that section then people with the same model as you will view and be more likely to be able to help you!

Good luck.

 

Since you know enough to use a car forum, I recommend you sign up for Uber and Lyft.

You probably don't drive to work every day at this age, so you'd be pleasantly surprised to find out that using a ride sharing service whenever you need to go somewhere is most likely less expensive and safer than owning a car.

 

GREAT suggestion -- am going to investigate that today! Uber, et al! (or perhaps I could try and crawl into my 1974 Stingray which I just had restored for my daughter.....just kidding folks). I think I need to just settle back and let someone else drive me. Once again, thank you all so much for really and truly resolving for me. I have huge feet myself and often drove with my big, heavy running shoes on....but no excuse, we all reach the time when daily driving needs to be reconsidered. Again, thank you rock stars!

 

Super idea, and thank you. Whomever I turn the car over to in the family can benefit from this suggestion. You guys are all great!

 

This reminds me, my Grandad just wrote off his 2 cars and destroyed 3 garages in the process! He had one car parked in his garage, there are communal garages at the back of his house, he was in his other car outside the garage and somehow managed to wack into the garage door straight through the door forcing it into his other car. He did this not once, but 3 times!!! Back and forth. He also managed to take out the brick wall, and 2 other garages in the process!!!

Also, the other day, a car pulled out onto the opposite side of the road infront of me, when cars do this and nothing is behind me, I will pass them and then they can can pull out but this old guy just stared right at me for 3 seconds, waited till I got dangerously close and then decides to pull out last second forcing me to brake hard to avoid hitting him. I wouldn't mind if I slowed down or flashed but I did neither. We then stopped at some traffic lights so I pull up next to him, he wasn't even looking at me and seemed oblivious to the fact he just nearly caused an accident. I wound down my window, beeped him and told him to wind his windows down, which he did. I said "Why did you just pull out on me?' He said 'I'm sorry, I didn't see you' I said 'You need to retake your test before you hurt someone' to which he nodded in agreement and drove off. I felt like cussing him because it scared me but I didn't.

Fair to play to Ga-Mae for admitting fault and being so honest about it and great job by you guys for being upfront and not pulling punches.

 

It really is a'kin (sic) to driving distracted, driving under the influence; driving-after-the-point-of-safety because, mostly, of age and all that entails. I should not be driving anymore and I really know that now. However, I don't think without hearing it from true jag enthusiasts --- I would have listened to anyone else. Perhaps hard to understand, but in my case, true statement. I called my mechanic yesterday and told him I knew what was wrong with my car......he paused...and then sheepishly replied....."You go first." LOL And many thanks once again to all who helped save me from myself.

 

But now you know the cause, being more aware might mean that you get to enjoy your Jag for a few more years?
It can be just the simple act of making sure you plant your foot squarely on the brake pedal? I know I have a bad habit of having my foot angled onto the brake pad, graphically brought to my attention during a recent Jaguar Art of Performance event which was held in the wet. I left foot braked and the foot slipped straight off the metal brake pedal