As inspired by the previous discussion on yet another engine failure, I'd like to take a user survey on the longevity of the V8 SC. It seems like there are too many engine failure threads here and I'm curious as to how long owners have gotten these to last. I own three other brands that are widely known for their supposed unreliability, read all of those forums, and none of them have the catastrophic failures we see here. I'm curious if that's just forum selection bias or we are actually holding ticking time bombs as in E60 BMW M5.

I have a 2011 SC 5.0 at 60k miles. I do not know if the water pump or tensioners were replaced, as I purchased it used and there wasn't anything in the records to indicate as such. I'm almost ready to throw five grand at my mechanic to replace these based on some of the horror stories.

So I'd like to hear your year, mileage, and engine maintenance you've had to do to get it there.

 

I have a 2012 5.0 SC with 97k on it and no problems to report, i bought it with about 60k something on it. Its been dealer maintained since new from previous owner and myself, always use the Castrol OE oil and checked regularly, and follow regular scheduled maintenance. My water pump was done at some point by the previous owner, and i drive the car pretty damn hard. As its gotten up in mileage it does seem to be burning a little bit of oil, but nothing alarming, and like i said i do drive the **** out of it almost daily.

 

Great idea! I have a 2012 5.0/SC SWB Portfilio (that's what the title says). Bought CPO with 38k miles on it. Self brake jobs and oil changes with Liqui-Moly 0w20 LR approved oil. While under warranty, I took it to the dealer for a malfunctioning parking brake. They ended up having to replace the chassis wire harness to fix. While there, they replaced the water pump AND the steering rack under warranty. Now has 71k on it, is driven "in a spirited manner" daily, and while the engine is far from quiet, it really has not changed appreciably since owning it. Maybe I am a bit "jaded", as I drove ITALIAN cars (think 80s Alfas and Maseratis) before Jags, so I find my X351 to be rock solid!

 

I bought my XJ two years ago with around 85k miles on the clock, still on warranty. It was completely dealer maintained by the previous owner with no major issues, just oil changes, brakes, and one of the rear wheel bearings, I think. Oil pan had a slight leak which I took care of myself, since the warranty didn't cover the gasket sealant they use (I laughed in their face when they told me that).

Two years later, I'm at 115k miles with a VAP tune, dual pulleys, etc. I have to fight to keep it under 90mph on the freeway.

My only "repairs" have been that oil pan gasket, both front and rear lower control arms (bushings were torn), the upper hose from the outlet pipe to the thermostat (was starting to look and feel squishy), and the water pump (only because I broke the stupid jerk little pipe fitting in the front...so it was my fault, not the pump's). All other normal and 100k mile maintenance has been performed by me. Liqui Moly oil changes every 3-5k miles.

Nothing wrong with the engine, whatsoever.

 

My car is a 2010 S/c XJL with 93k miles.The car runs very well, but it wasn’t free or trouble-free. I very much like the car, but not the repair bills. I have the entertainment package and my kids love it. I love the space, comfort power, grace and interior finishes. The reliability though could be better.

Per the recommendations of the forum I recently replaced all the fluids (transmission, supercharger, engine oil, coolant, differential, brake). I change oil every 3-5k miles. I do my own brakes. Change air filter at every 6 months. Additionally below is a partial list of other work that has come up in last 20k miles.

My supercharger coupler wore out (replaced), my timing chains clicked (so changed the timing stuff), water pump had small leak (replaced), updated coolant tubing and routing, coolant reservoir sensor sank (replaced), bent 3 rims (repaired), one hub bearing bad (replaced), rear suspension and front suspension needed work (halfway done), sunroof blind broken (this is the second time, so left it closed and don’t use anymore), headlight stalk stopped working (flashing headlights, replaced), rain sensor doesn’t work (haven’t replaced yet), engine and transmission mounts replaced, harmonic balancer went out (replaced), rear doors rattle, and bank 2 runs rich. For bank 2 I replaced injectors, coils, plugs, and O2 sensors but bank 2 still runs a little rich.

Having done all this work, I think I can finally relax and enjoy the car. I’ll still tinker with it, but hopefully now nothing major is headed my way. Best of luck with your car.