Looking for some help on a noise I’m experiencing on my 2015 XJ 3.0 SC. It is only audible at 50mph or above and stays constant rather I left off the gas or not. It seems to come from front passenger side. I took it to a mechanic thinking it’s the wheel bearing but that’s not the problem. He might think it’s the transfer case and front diff that are going bad. Any thoughts as to what you all think it is? I want to have the fluid changed on the transfer case and front diff first but would like to hear what you all think first. I have 56k miles on the odometer.

Thanks for your help!

 

Have you changed the tyres recently ? If so, what make ?

 

These are the tires that came on the car when I bought it. They are Pirelli’s which I didn’t think made such loud noise but I guess that could be the culprit. Wouldn’t the noise be all around and not just one side though?

 

I suspect it's either a tire, or a wheel bearing. It's very hard to diagnose a wheel bearing. Has anyone tried the acid test? The normal procedure is to drive at about 50 on an empty road, and zigzag, so that the load on the wheel bearing increases and decreases. It should get louder with more load. Obviously this needs to be done with due care for other road users.

If a tire, it is possible for one tire to get feathered, which causes a lot of noise. The obvious step is to swap the front wheels and see if the noise moves.

 

I used ChassisEars to diagnose my wheel bearings. It’s pretty obvious when you attach a sensor to each hub. Only one channel will make noise while driving. The wired ones are cheaper and get better reviews.

EDIT: For clarity, ChassisEars are piezoelectric sensors that you clamp onto a suspected part and you can then hear the part while driving. They work almost exactly like a mechanics stethoscope, but they clamp onto the part so you can use them while driving. This is the only way I know that you can diagnose noises that are only noticed while driving.

 

If you have access to a lift, that's the way I normally verify and locate noises like that. Can locate the issue quicker than trying to drive and guess. Ive seen both wheel bearing and transfer case cause noises in Jags. not so much front diffs. Also helps to have mechanic stethoscope to further diagnose.

 

So the noise went from a hum to full out grinding noise, I decided to just take it to the dealer. The tech just called and informed me that the front differential is bad and needs to be replaced. I’m assuming that my CPO warranty would cover this but he said he has to call Jaguar to see? Is there any reason why this wouldn’t be covered?

 

Marques, where they can possibly get you is if you told them that it has been making a noise for a long time and I just didn't worry about it and then this happened, they may try and blame you for making the problem worse. May not change what the final part that they replace would be, but that will be their stance. So, hopefully you said that the transfer case just started making this grinding sound and I brought it in to you. If you said that, then it leaves them no real room to complain. The other thing is if you had brought it to them and they were like "do not worry, it is just tire noise, no need to change anything". So, hopefully you have been taking the car to the same place because if they diagnosed it wrong, now it is on them.

 

I didn’t give any time frames, just described the problem when I dropped it off. I hope they wouldn’t try and snake around the issue but I guess I can’t put anything passed the dealer. I can’t imagine it wouldn’t be covered but just thought it was interesting how HQ needs to be called to check the coverage for CPO. It’s a little disheartening actually, my Escalade has some issues and they asked no questions...I assumed Jaguar would have been as easy as Cadillac.