I am considering buying a 2013-15 3.0 AWD XF and I have looked through the forums here but I didn't see a consolidated list of problems/things to look for on these cars. Could anyone give a summary of things I should be aware of when shopping for a car, or any particular thing that "it always fails at XXX km".

I've driven Jaguars for 20 years and had a variety of them, so fixing something isn't a problem, I just want to be armed with knowledge when I go shopping. Also, I'd probably be buying a car in Ontario and driving it back to Alberta, so if there are any known weak points I'd want to get them addressed before I head out on a cross country trip and get stranded in the middle of nowhere,

Thanks!

 

I just recently acquired a 2013 3.0 S/C AWD. I did browse through the forums and identified a few potential problems before I started looking at actual cars:

1. Coolant loss due to bad plastic tubes (particularly two tubes in the engine’s V-alley) resulting in catastrophic engine failures. Seen three cars with blown engines. Engine will turn over but not start. Usually a total loss because even used engines cost 7kUSD and up.
2. Spun bearings due to low oil levels. Seen two of these. Engine will run but very noisy. Jaguar thought it’s a good idea to remove the oil dip stick and replace it with an electronic gadget that works only after a 10minutes waiting time.
3. Start / Stop system inactive (some see this as an advantage). The XF comes with two batteries, and usually the smaller of those two is dead.
4. High Pressure fuel pumps noisy. Seems to be pretty common, especially when cold.

The gearbox apparently is bullet proof, I’ve seen cars with over 300000km on them and apparently no issues on the record. Also electronic problems seem to be uncommon. Interiors sometimes degrade from heavy sunshine, especially the leather dashboard.

When you go check a car, make sure the car is cold when started. Let the vendor start the engine while you stand in front of it. A sewing machine style rattling coming from the right side of the engine (in driving direction) points towards bad fuel pumps. I heard that noise when I bought mine but thought its related to VVT. Well, the pumps are much easier and cheaper to replace.

Remove the engine’s plastic cover (lift it up in the front, then pull towards you) and check the oddly shaped black plastic tube that disappears into the V-alley under the S/C. Any residues from orange cooling there or any smell of coolant in that area are likely due to crispy coolant tubes. Parts are not expensive, but the S/C needs to come out. Jaguar has JTB00566 out for this, which lists 4.2hours for the job. If not done yet this needs to be addressed asap, because in the likely event of that hose blowing up it’s a matter of minutes if not seconds before the engine shuts down for the last time.

Ask the owner on how he checks the oil level. Its probably a good sign if he’s familiar with that procedure.

I was able to get a good discount for my car because of the noisy fuel pumps, the coolant leak and the Start Stop not working. I will do the repairs on my own.

So far I’m very satisfied with the car, it’s a very quiet ride and the engine has plenty of power. My only mistake (so far) was to not carefully check on the car's options. I was after the Portfolio line for the cooled seats and thought that would pretty much include all gimmicks you could think of. Nope. My car does not have adaptive cruise control, no auto dim mirrors, no lane warning, no auto beam and no Digital Radio. I can live without most of these things, but I’m retrofitting an auto dim interior mirror now, which is relatively easy to do.



I hope that helps,

Cheers from hopefully soon snowy Switzerland

Chris

 

Thanks very much, that does help. Who would have though in this modern are of precision manufacturing there would be spun bearings?
It is snowy in Western Canada, got 10cm today!

 

I would pull codes to see if any issues (take along your own code reader - very cheap). And if you're not experienced in mechanical issues might suggest a couple of hundred dollars for a thorough inspection. Repairs are all doable but expensive in any premium car

Mine is 2010 and had it 8 years. Still goes perfectly. If well looked after you will have fun. If any issues around low oil, overheating etc go and find another one. There are plenty around...

 

I can do almost anything mechanical, I stripped a 1966 S Type to a bare shell and rebuilt it, adding an EFI system and distributorless ignition in the process. I've rebuilt engines, diffs and automatic transmissions, and replaced the entire interior so not much scares me. I'd just rather not do it on a fairly new car if I don't have to!

I wouldn't say there are plenty around, only 466 were sold in Canada in 2015 for example. I'm fussy on colour too, I don't want a white, black or silver car and plenty are in those colours.

 

I think @chris.schneider covered quite a few things

Not many 3.0 AWD have had engine failures due to the oil issues that I have seen. If anything engine failures have been from the catastrophic coolant loss.

All these engines The plastic hoses get brittle over time and the rear coolant crossover was redesigned to remove a seam that tened to go fast ( the fron as well but it easier to see of course. ) The back one to replace requires removal of teh SC

SC coupelrs go out as well, also requires removal of the SC> These were redesigned into a solid version eliminating the spring for a solid one. This was done by eaton. Might was well do that at the same time as the hoses and cross-over

The water pumps tend to go out and leak quickly, JLR undated them in 2015 (it seems)

One issue I have seen is oil overfill of the AWD. The AWD has a smaller oil pan to accommodate the FWD transaxle and drive shaft. RWD is 7.7 AWD is supposed to be 6.9 L but, based on the level indicator mine never took more than 6.2 to be at the top of the indicator. I looked at maintenance records for a couple that listed 7.9 as the fill level. Shops did not know about the level indicator I think. I split the difference and it says overfill on a flat surface and 1/2 qt low on a slight incline of my drive with a 10 degree incline

Most electrical gremlins seem to be caused by a failing battery, these cars are power hogs.

 

I suspect ruling out white, black and silver will significantly reduce the options for you! But in the US and I expect in Canada too the 4 door sedan is a dying segment so I wouldn't have thought you will have trouble finding one.

Lots of expertise on here if there are issues. And ideas for mods too!

 

HI Jagboi64 , I actually bought my 2014 from Jaguar Calgary.

Most have been covered by what I read but I ran into 2 key issues that you could have concerns about. The first was a recall on the rear end seal, the Dealership in Saskatoon didn't do a good job and in a month and a half we needed a new rear end ($4,200.00+) lucky it was covered under warranty.

The funny one was last winter. I had the car in the garage but didn't have the heater on, it was -26C and the external thermostat was reading -46C (Scan with SDD told me this) The vehicle would place the gearbox in safety mode and would not allow it to engage a gear. Ended up having to disconnect the main battery for an hour and then it worked. I also switched out the sensor and haven't had an issue again.

Overall it is a good car but I was very happy to buy it as Certified pre-owned with warranty. Just had it inspected as my warranty will be up end of December and they (Jaguar) is offering to extend it so I am very happy.

Kevin

 

Thanks for the input! Odd that it would read the wrong temperature, but good that it was a simple fix.

I've only been through Biggar on the train, took it from Vancouver to Montreal last year. Does it count if I didn't stop?

 

Later when I spoke with the dealership, the technician told me it wasn't the first time a sensor screwed up. I just wished I could see the trick to properly removing the mirror body without damaging or scratching it.

 

>recall on the rear end seal,
?? Can you provide any further details?
My right side rear axle is leaking lub and will have to be replaced. US $ part price is ~$1000. Would like to know more about that recall.
==================================================
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '15 XF (X250) Portfolio AWD
Jaguar - making mechanics out of customers since 1935

 

Sorry but I don't have a printout of it, I had the car in the dealership for new tires and a TPMS repair when I was told about it. I also do not know if it was just a Canadian recall since many U.S. recalls are not offered to us. If I have some time tonight I will take a look.

Kevin

I looked into it a bit more and it looks like it might have been a voluntary recall or repair as I can not find anything official and the bill just has "Dealer Repair" in the Amount and labour sections for the pinion oil seal, driveshaft bolts, Diff oil, exhaust clamps and drain, fill plugs. Not sure if this is much help for you.

 

As noted by others here and on other posts, the coolant connectors are the Achilles heel. I love my 2013 and I knew it had the coolant issue when I bought it. I paid $1,100 to have the connectors replaced with the Jaguar re-engineered parts a few days after I bought it (they were leaking). I got the car for a steal so I was not upset. It only had around 30K miles on it at the time.

Other than that, I have had two occasions when the display console went black - but only for a matter of minutes. The first time was when I had to dig away snow from the car in order to drive it (temperature issue?). The second time was just when backing out of a convenience store parking lot in warm weather.

Be aware of the low profile tires; they can burst on impact with potholes - and they need air more frequently than normal tires.

Good hunting!

 

It sounds look a cooling system overhaul is first priority no matter what I buy. I have experienced the pothole tire blowout in my X Type. I was turning onto a road in the winter, and blowing snow had filled in the pothole so I couldn't see it. I didn't hit it very fast, as I was doing a right turn, but it was enough to break the belts and I needed a new tire.

 

Many (or most) on the road may have already had the coolant connector replacement by now. Try to subtly find out out from the owner if you come across one you are interested in buying. If someone claims to have already had the upgrade, ask to see shop paperwork. The 3.0 S/C AWD is a pleasure to drive (especially at speed). I just wish it had more XJ V8 growl.

 

Is that the plastic Y pipe at the front, or the crossover pipe at the back of the block?

 

Both.