Drove the Mrs.' XF (71k miles) in for regular maintenance once yellow service indicator light came on. After oil/filter change, indie shop says vehicle now will not go into Drive & provides attached report; recommending TCM replacement ($3800). Wow, after vehicle just drove beautifully on 1200-mile road trip w/no previous issues?? Towed to local Miami dealer, who says codes only indicate transmission errors, but there's a fluid leak. Dealer offers to try $1500 fluid flush/replace w/new pan/filter/seals, but no guarantee this works, may need new transmission; says no Jag dealer will repair transmission? MUST be steps in between new fluid & new transmission. How can I find out? What are they? Replace plastic sleeves in mechatronics? Replace solenoids? New torque converter? Or am I stuck only replacing the module, which the dealer will not do? What would you recommend, Jag enthusiasts? The wife loves this car, purchased as low-mileage CPO from dealer in Santa Monica. Gotta believe there are other steps we can take.

 

There's no way I'd replace the module based on that report. I've had that exact code when I refittted my transmission but the fluid level was too low (they're a pain to fill and know you've done it properly) - however clearing the codes was not enough to fix it. I have an Autel DS808 that provides dealer functions, but the dealer can also do this - and there's a specific service function to reset the transmission which I needed to do on top of clearing the codes, and then all was well again.

The first thing is to find out where the leak was from - usually the sleeve where the wiring connector goes into the transmission body, but it could be the pan too.

Personally, I'd swap out the mechatronic seals & connector sleeve (these replacements are available all over ebay/amazon/etc), refill with new fluid, clear the codes, and reset the TCM using the dealer service routine - either if your indie can do this or the dealer.

 

Excellent insight! Many thanks, Dave. Gonna search for a top-notch indie shop in South Florida, since we're new to the area. Any idea how to find one? Dealer will not switch out seals or connector sleeves and I don't have the tools or space to try it.

 

I mean, these cars have ZF boxes in which are found in various forms in a number of different cars but especially BMWs. Changing out the seals/fluid/pan on a ZF 6HP26/8 is basically the same on a BMW as it is on a Jaguar, so you may want to consider places that specialize in European cars or even transmission specialists.

A good place should even have a computer that can reset the transmission too.

 

https://www.jagshops.com/near/miami-fl

 

I'd try a hard reset by dis connecting the battery for 10 min.

 

Bigg Will, thanks for that suggestion. Another DIYer this a.m. mentioned same and I passed it on. Dealer is now recommending topping off transmission fluid since they say it's very low and has a slow leak at transmission oil pan. They hope this will clear the code they're getting, which indicates internal mechanical failure inside transmission. According to tech, this could be because fluid is so low. (Interestingly, dealer shows no codes indicating TCM failure.) IF this clears the code, we'll replace the pan/filter/gaskets and hope that does it. My question, for someone who knows more than me: will simply topping up with trans fluid clear a mechanical failure code? If not, why are we doing that? Even so, wouldn't we still need to flush/replace the transmission fluid?

 

Funny thing is you really can't tell how low the ZF trans fluid is unless you've drained, or filled it Per ZFs instructions, as the ZF trans has no dipstick, and uses the fill procedure to determine fill level? Now I'd start being a little skeptical of their diagnosis, ESPECIALLY if the dealers scans didn't turn up and "trans TCM failures" codes, and they now want to do a trans service. In my opinion if the TCM is failed topping off the fluid will NOT cure the problem. Just so you know, disconnecting the trans main harness plug and running a scan will show trans TCM failure codes.

 

Hi. I had my Jag XKR 2004 Transmission rebuilt about 2 years ago by Alonso Transmission 305-261-6603 and Ralph the owner is great and stands behind his work. They only do transmissions and have been in business forever....about 40 years or so.

I would recommend him and his shop to anybody in the Miami, FL area. Also does anybody know a good Jaguar mechanic for suspension and rear back up sensors in Miami or Fort Lauderdale, FL area.

If so please email me (email address removed by GGG)

Thank you, Marla

 

Welcome to the forums Marla,

I've removed the eMail address from your post. It is not necessary as members can simply reply here.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some information about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Hi, Marla. Thanks for your reply to our post on transmissions. Turns out changing the fluid and replacing wiring harness did the trick for us back in 2019. We relocated back to SoCal six months ago, but as far as mechanics in South Florida go, we used Mitch at Jag Repairs in Pompano Beach. He takes longer with the pandemic and you kinda have to stay on top of him, but he loves these cars and knows them inside out! Will save you a lot of money, seems honest, and will tell you when you can wait on things or what needs to be done now. Tell him Lee & Jackie with the blue 2015 XF sent you. Interesting guy. If he learns you're really interested in your car, he'll share a lot about how it works with you.