Hey guys

I currently own two lexus ls460L's and while they are fantastic cars, very reliable, they are boring im sorry to admit it.

I am too scared to get an S-class , and ive heard Jaguars reliability has improved a lot, so im very close to purchasing a 2012 XJL 5..0 supercharged with 60 000 miles

I took the car for a test drive, made an offer and they have accepted it. mechanically it drove very nice, only warning light was a low battery in the key FOB which they say they will replace.

As far as I know the car is not air suspension? I did not see any settings for firmer or softer ride ? Both of my 460Ls have air ride and I want to avoid them with the Jag at all costs.

1.How do I know if it has air ride or not? Any way to check?

2.Also ive heard the sunroof and water pumps are known to fail...is there any other trouble spots I should be looking out for ?

3. there is some pretty loud ticking, clicking from the engine bay, audible only from outside the car with the hood open, im assuming this is the injectors?

4. Im told its also the portfolio package, I have no idea what this means and how to verify if its true , can you pls give me a quick rundown ?

Im pretty good with making car purchased but sometimes I get too excited and sort fo run in blind, like im doing now ,,, pls give me some quick advice and things to look for , this will be my first ever jag.

Thank you very much in advance

 

*****, as for the suspension and air ride, all XJ's come with a coil over front with a coil/air bag rear suspension. If you look on the center console, you should see what looks like a checkered flag. That is for "dynamic mode". When you activate that, the shocks will stiffen up and minimize the amount of leaning the car will do.

As for other issues beyond the sunroof and water pump, it is all hit and miss. A lot of people have issues with the blind spot sensors getting confused if something is in the blind spot for too long or they will occasionally just not work and you get a message on the instrument cluster telling you that you have lost the blind spot system. Granted, normally in 5-10 minutes it will return on its own.

As for the ticking, I would get that looked at. I have the naturally aspirated engine and mine is quiet. I would want to know if it is coming from the supercharger, injectors, or valves. Keep in mind that if the engine goes, you are looking at about a $15K repair bill.

As for the portfolio package, It is mainly just some different color choices and a few options that come standard. The big thing you will want to look at is the seats. In the portfolio, the seats are perforated to allow the heated/cooled seats to work. the other thing that may or may not be obvious is the Portfolio can have contrasting color piping in the seats. Where the base model it will be the same color as the seats. But, this is selected when the cars were ordered and may or may not have this. Worst case, get the VIN number from the car and type it into this page (https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/vindecoder.php). that should give you the info that you are after.

 

Did some looking through my references and I think I have a better answer for you.

If you look at the VIN number of the car, The first 3 characters should be "SAJ" (code for Jaguar), the next letter should be "X" for you since you are in Canada (the X indicates that the car meets Canadian specs and is equipped with twin air bags, side air bags and curtain air bags). You may also see a "W" here. This would indicate that the car was originally made for the US market (will have the same airbag setup). The letter after that should be "A" indicating that the car is "left hand drive". The next 2 letters will be what you are interested in. This is where you start getting into the options of the car. The below chart will explain what each pair of numbers means:

10 SWB 5 seat saloon - Luxury (JT2)
12 & 1C SWB 5 seat saloon - Premium luxury (JT3)
16 & 1G SWB 5 seat saloon - Portfolio (JT5)
18 & 1J SWB 5 seat saloon - Supersport (JT6)
20 LWB 5 seat saloon - Luxury (JT2)
22 & 2C LWB 5 seat saloon - Premium luxury (JT3)
26 & 2G LWB 5 seat saloon - Portfolio (JT5)
28 & 2J LWB 5 seat saloon - Supersport (JT6)
29 & 3J LWB 4 seat saloon – Ultimate (JT6)
31 LWB 4 seat saloon - Armoured portfolio (JT5)
36 & 3F SWB 5 seat saloon – Supersport Sp Pack (JT6)
37 & 3G LWB 5 seat saloon – Supersport Sp Pack (JT6)
38 & 3H SWB 5 seat saloon – Portfolio Sp Pack (JT5)
40 & 3K LWB 5 seat saloon – Portfolio SP Pack (JT5)

Please keep in mind that SWB stands for "Short Wheel Base" (these cars are mormally just labeled as "XJ" on the rear of the car) and the LWB is for "Long Wheel Base" which is what you say that the car you are looking at is and has "XJ L" on the rear. I have included the whole list in case you get something that wasn't on a shortened list.

 

Its funny, i went from a CLS63 (W219) to the XJ, and i think it was one of the best car-moves Ive ever made. This car suits me 1000x better than the CLS ever did. Its a completely different car and i think you will be super excited to have one. There really isnt a comparison as far as im concerned.

The water pump is the only thing i see consistently mentioned on here as a failure point. I also have a 2012 5.0 SC and ive had some random problems, but nothing at all serious. Like Thermo said, sometimes they just resolve themselves. I had an adaptive suspension fault that went away in a couple hours. Ive had TPMS faults that also went away when it got warmer. the only actual problems have been related to window shades, basically. And my TPMS system had to be reset after getting aftermarket wheels.

Otherwise this car has been a fantastic vehicle. the gentleman's muscle car.
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Thermo I have a 2013 XJ SuperSport with the Speed Package and according to your "trim" numbering I should have 36 & 3F SWB 5 seat saloon – Supersport Sp Pack (JT6), But I do not have a "36" in the Vin just the "3F" designation. Also I always thought the SWB stood for Standard Wheel Base. IMHO

 

I would strongly recommend looking at 2013 and up models. Not much price difference and you get a better car. You really DO want the 8 speed automatic over the 6 speed version. I have had both.
Regardless of which engine you get.
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+1 on the 2013 or newer. Here is the product brief for 2013 that shows the differences.

 

 

Ticking could be nothing - often the case on the 5.0 V8. But can also indicate worn timing chain guides (usually closer to 100k miles but can be much sooner). This is a surprisingly expensive fix on this car due to the labor needed to get access. Have heard quotes $4-5k and many people claiming much higher. So you will want to be sure

Typically it's very reliable if it has been looked after

 

That's the answer!
Go drive one and see if YOU think the 8 speed is worth it.

It is a nice improvement. I went from a 2005 S Type R with the 6 speed to a 2014 XJR with the 8 speed. The improvement in gas mileage was shocking! I have over 150HP more plus a bigger and heavier car that gets at least 5 mpg better than the S Type ever did. This was completely unexpected!

It's a shame that we have shifter paddles because with the 8 speed they are simply not needed. You can't out shift the electronics.
I know I try regularly and always go back to just letting the car shift itself.
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Agreed. The 8speed is the way to go.

 

XJsss, as for the trim numbers, I am confident that I have the correct numbering as this is coming straight out of the Jaguar service manual. The only possibility is jaguar moved around the numbers a little bit during hte 2013 update and now the numbers mean something slightly different.

As for the meaning of SWB, I don't think it is for Standard as the XJ was built around it being the longer wheel base and they shorten it to make anything that is not an XJ L. Short/Standard, all the same thing as long as you know that the LWB is for the long wheel base.

 

 

Im asking 35k for my 2014 XJR if you are interested its listed in the marketplace. Super clean car with 22" after market wheels, blacked out, carbon fiber trim, red leather etc...

 

Hey guys

thanks a lot for the replies , I really appreciate it

Im in limbo now, they are awaiting my reply , its a tough call

I belive this would be the lowest priced XJL 5.o supercharged , im paying the equivalent of $17 000 usd (about $22 500 Canadian)

they were originally asking $28 000 but it has many cosmetic issues... door dings, few scrapes on the rockers ….and the front bumper has been in a fender bender and was resprayed poorly, the accident is also on record.

These are usually the kinds of cars I buy, ones that have some cosmetic issues and I am pretty good at repairing them myself.

My dilemma is that I love this car more then my 460L's , but I use those cars for work , so would this car be as reliable to rack up 30 000 kms per year ? I don't mind the usual maintenance and odd issue, I just don't want to run into anything serious


they offer a fairly decent 2 year or 40 000 kms warrantee for $4000 + tax, im not sure if I should get it

That's $1000 for every 10 000 kms, ive never spent anywhere near that on any vehicle ive ever owned, from lexus, to corvettes

Appreciate all the info , I just have to make a deicison now

 

just for reference, i bought mine with 62k on it about 18 months ago, and its at 84k now with no issues other than those small things i mentioned. That is a really great price, i cant believe they are taking off over $10k. As long as you feel confident in your abilities to repair the cosmetics. I would be worried about any mechanical issues caused by the accident that werent repaired properly, potentially, but as you said you have experience with this.

As i have got older and "wiser", i feel more comfortable with cars like this when there is a warranty there to save me, but ive never come close to using the entire cost of the warranty in repairs, so its a tough call. youre basically payinf for peace of mind, IMO.

 

Thanks, yea its a tough call I agree

and no they didn't take off ten grand, sorry they were originally asking about $27-$28k Canadian, and I got them down to about $22 500 , but they are saying the car needs new tires to get certified so they are trying to hold now at $23

I am happy to hear that most people are having good experience swith these cars, but ive heard of a few guys blowing the engines

Does anyone know the engine code for these 5 liters? Id like to do some research on them to see what other makes and models they are in, and the overall reliability

The 07-09 xkr v8s were apparently pretty bulletproof , I like to hope these are as good or better but im not sure

 

When you mention "loud ticking" is it at the rear or front of the engine?

If it is the front then I would expect a possible serious issue as this car is within the year range noted for tensioner issues both Jaguar and Range Rover.

 

I wouldn't say the front, it seems more like the top ,,,it has the characteristic sound of the "ticking diesel" which injectors are sometimes known for

Are many people having to repair the timing tensioners quite often?

Its not yet at 60 000 miles it seems quite early for that

 

I dont know the code, although im sure one of these OG members does. I can tell you that its the same engine that is in the XFR/R-S, the supercharged Land Rovers, and the XKR/R-S, just with different tunes and probably some other minor changes, but the block is the same.