Hey all, so some updates on my car (and questions).

As some of you might remember, my vehicle was leaking coolant. Originally, the water pump was replaced along with a couple of gaskets and hoses ($1700), after which the car continued to leak. We identified that little upside-down "Y-piece" under the engine as the culprit, changed that out along with a few more related hoses and gaskets (this cost me an additional $2700). I got the car back and it seemed fine for a while but then I had to drive about 20-25 miles out of town and when on the highway I tend to drive it in Dynamic Mode (love to go fast) and by the time I got home, the coolant level was where you see in picture #1. I got a little concerned again, topped it off (pictured #2) and it seemed to hang in there for a bit, which has led me to believe that maybe after the last repair, there was some degree of "settling" taking place within the multiple reservoirs and compartments in the car and perhaps it's ok?

Yesterday the wife and I took the car out about 10 miles out of the city and I purposely drove it in Dynamic Mode again and the reservoir is now at picture#3, slightly below the level we were at after the top off. So my questions are as follows:

1. Is Dynamic Mode something we aren't supposed to be using frequently? Are we only supposed to be using it with the paddle-shifters? I don't use them as it switches gears on it's own I've noticed when I use this mode.
2. Is there some "natural" evaporation or dissolving of anti-freeze (like there would be with regular engine oil) over time due to driving at fast speeds on the highway? Or would this not impact the coolant levels?
3. Regardless of Dynamic Mode - is possible that these cars just generally need to be topped off every so often? (All the cars I've had in the past I rarely touched the coolant, or maybe the folks at Jiffy Lube, oil change places tended to take care of that and it's possible I never needed to action anything on that end)
4. Lastly - I've got a question regarding a message I had pop up that says something like "Car due for maintenance in 1,000 miles" or something to that effect. I haven't taken a snapshot of it, but wondering what exactly *is* the recommended "maintenance" that must be done? What would I ask the dealership to refresh or replace if taken in for a regular check-up? Spark plugs, ignition coils, filters, hoses, etc? I have no knowledge of this piece when it comes to the regular wear-and-tear on this vehicle.

Appreciate all the continued help and advice guys.


Picture 1 - About a month after getting it back from the mechanic, driving it daily.

Picture 2 - topped it off to this level.


Picture 3 - About a week since I topped it off compared to picture #3

 

Yes the air does work itself out. So it's looks normal so far but keep checking until it does not change anymore.
No on my 2014 XJR the coolant level does not change.

Did you bleed the air out using the bleed screw?
I have the V-8 and can post a picture but I think the V-6 has it in a different spot?

Dynamic mode makes no difference and is fine to use if you want to.
The paddle shifter's will work in any position in my car but it always shifts automatically unless you over ride it by operating the paddles.

The service indicator is set for Jaguar's normal oil change interval of once a year or every 15K miles. I recommend that you ignore this and change the oil at least every 6K miles. It's cheap insurance!
The next item is you can't turn off the service message except with a tool of some sort. The dealer can do it and we have found several aftermarket scanners that can do it to. It's a bit of a pain as I just reset mine for the first time since I am out of warranty now.

I have to say that those are shocking amounts of money for what was done. You really can only make this work if you can DIY the car's repairs.
It's just too expensive to have Jaguar work on it without a warranty. We have all the answers on this forum and we are very lucky to have several actual factory Jaguar techs that post on this forum too.
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Well, considering the symptoms and what you’ve already done on the car I’m afraid the next usual suspect is the head gasket... I hope it’s not the issue you do have, but the hypothesis should at this stage be checked...
any white smoke when you start the engine in cold weather? Or milky oil deposit under the oil filler cap?

 

Here is the recommended service intervals, but as Clubairth1 state oil service every 6 monthe or 7.5 k using the reccommended oil and nothing else.

 

Well it's way more likely to be leaking from a plastic cooling part and NOT the head gasket.
You can check for combustion gasses in the coolant to be sure.
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Have the gearbox serviced if it hasn't been already. Replace the pan/filter and ZF Lifeguard 8 fluid.

 

to answer your question about dynamic mode - you can use it as often as you'd like, whenever you'd like, with no restrictions. You can use it with or without the paddles, with or without the transmission in Sport. you can use it 100% of the time during the life of the car. do not worry about using it.

 

1) In cases like this, there is no substitute for a cooling system pressure tester. Mine is a Mityvac. $35 at Amazon right now. Crank it up to 5 PSI above the rated release pressure of the cap, and look for leaks. I found about 5 on a TR8, several on a Land Rover V8. And don't get me started on the Jaguar V12. It would be easier to tell you what didn't leak.

It can be very illuminating. The ability to go, say 5PSI above the normal pressure can expose leaks that are otherwise very hard to find as they are small or intermittent.

2) I've found my car wants to settle at the lower limit of the cold range. Put more in, it will vent it out. Try seeing if it stabilises at the current level.

 

No, thankfully neither of those. Any other ideas?

 

Not very familiar with this - do these consume some of that coolant as well?

 

Thanks for the great ideas Mark - as usual love your posts / responses.

 

The gearbox has nothing to do with the cooling system losing coolant, but the gearbox must be serviced to avoid a major repair down the road. The ZF 8HP will benefit from a pan/filter and fluid change every 60 thousand miles or seven years.

The best thing to do is to pressurise the cooling system to 1.5 bar after a cold soak, preferably overnight, and inspect for leaks if the pressure begins to drop after ten minutes.

 

After I changed my water pump, I also had another hose that was leaking. I am still leaking somewhere, because I smell coolant, and before I topped it off the other day, my level was about the same as your picture 1 is. Like another poster said, I would do a pressure check and see if you can find the leak.

 

Appreciate the suggestions. The biggest issue for me is that I just want the darned thing fixed already. I'm sick of it not getting fixed and I don't feel comfortable doing any kind of long distance road trip this way. Makes me anxious. Hopefully the pressure test will work.

 

My first question is: When are you checking the coolant level? It should be checked at least a couple hours after you stop driving the car, maybe overnight if you're really concerned. Regardless, seems low even if you consider some of the coolant "in use".

Answers to your coolant questions below:

1.Is Dynamic Mode something we aren't supposed to be using frequently? Are we only supposed to be using it with the paddle-shifters? I don't use them as it switches gears on it's own I've noticed when I use this mode.
Engine revolutions on average are higher, should not impact long term reliability. Your driving style will impact how long stuff lasts, though.

2. Is there some "natural" evaporation or dissolving of anti-freeze (like there would be with regular engine oil) over time due to driving at fast speeds on the highway? Or would this not impact the coolant levels?

It should be a sealed system (on every car, not just Jaguar) and no. If you have a head gasket problem you would have some other symptoms like colored smoke. I don't remember if all OEM coolant has the trace dye in it, and if possible visual inspection will be helpful first to see if you're leaking somehwere or trickling.

3.Regardless of Dynamic Mode - is possible that these cars just generally need to be topped off every so often? (All the cars I've had in the past I rarely touched the coolant, or maybe the folks at Jiffy Lube, oil change places tended to take care of that and it's possible I never needed to action anything on that end)

No, if you have ever had a car that needed monitoring or topping off, you have a leak or breakdown in some seal in the system. I'd check the water pump weep hole, seems to be the first portion to fail.

 

Very good point about the pressure tester. It's much easier to climb around the engine compartment looking for leaks when the engine is not boiling hot!
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And leaks get more obvious at 20 PSI than at whatever it runs at (12-15?)