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I have a 2016 xjl 3.0 petrol, i think that the car ride is uncomfortable. In a thread i posted a while ago i discussed the suspension issues. I replaced the shock mounts after they were completely worn out and squeaking, this issue got resolved.
The car was vibrating on higher speeds, After doing wheel balancing the front rims appeared to be bent, i fixed that as well, after doing the balancing again the vibrations were less but remained, so i chnaged the tyres because they had flat spots.
The vibrations are gone now. But still i think the ride is so uncomfortable, the slightest imperfection on the road surface can felt and the car shakes and vibrates a lot for a full size luxury sedan. I rode in compact cars and cheap suvs that felt much more comfortable!
What do you guys think of that? And how do owners of xj think their cars ride?
One more thing is that one of the front shocks has a faulty sensor and giving adaptive dynamics fault, but i honestly believe that shouldn't cause a harsh ride since the car is permanently in normal/comfort mode
It might help the other X351 owners to know what size and type of tires you have. I have an XF, but the principles are all the same. I bought a "Portfolio" package to get the seats that I wanted but it came with 19" wheels. I then had to buy Jaguar's 18" Vela wheels separately and put tires on them myself. And I chose a tire that is just a little taller than stock. That extra 3/4 inch of sidewall made a HUGE difference. I also installed the Spires comfort suspension package which reduced spring rates by 20% but the extra sidewall actually made a more dramatic improvement (together its still not the magic carpet ride of my old X308, but its reasonably tolerable on the asphalt cattle trails that Texas calls roads). I don't know if there's any sort of suspension kit for the X351 but you can probably change your tire sidewall height. You also have to do a little research and choose a tire with a more flexible sidewall. The load rating in pounds on a tire is somewhat of an indicator of sidewall stiffness, but still kind of have to sort through reading tire reviews from people driving the same class of vehicle.
DanielCh, because of the failed front shock, that is why your car is riding rough. When the car senses a failed shock, it puts the car into Dynamic mode 100% of the time. When in comfort mode, the car is sensing more sensors than I care to admit to to measure body lean, wheell movement, anticipated body lean, etc. Based on all this information, it then starts adjusting how stiff each shock needs to be to give the optimum performance by opening a bypass valve inside the shock. When something is broke and not working properly, the car defaults to not opening this bypass valve, therefore, giving the stiffest ride it can. This is done so the car is not left being too soft and resulting in the driver losing control due to the body leaning too much. If I had t otake a guess, it is your right front shock that is having issues.
It might help the other X351 owners to know what size and type of tires you have. I have an XF, but the principles are all the same. I bought a "Portfolio" package to get the seats that I wanted but it came with 19" wheels. I then had to buy Jaguar's 18" Vela wheels separately and put tires on them myself. And I chose a tire that is just a little taller than stock. That extra 3/4 inch of sidewall made a HUGE difference. I also installed the Spires comfort suspension package which reduced spring rates by 20% but the extra sidewall actually made a more dramatic improvement (together its still not the magic carpet ride of my old X308, but its reasonably tolerable on the asphalt cattle trails that Texas calls roads). I don't know if there's any sort of suspension kit for the X351 but you can probably change your tire sidewall height. You also have to do a little research and choose a tire with a more flexible sidewall. The load rating in pounds on a tire is somewhat of an indicator of sidewall stiffness, but still kind of have to sort through reading tire reviews from people driving the same class of vehicle.
My car has 19", 245 45 upfront and 275 40 in the back, i agree with you that smaller size wheels and more side walls can help a ride, but my car rides unusually harsh for a luxury sports sedan no matter what wheels and tires it has, that does not explain such a harsh ride. Someone here posted about an issue related to the front sway bar bushings not sure if that could be an issue in mine.
Thanks!
Sounds like Thermo has it figured out. I wouldn't have thought it to default to the stiffest setting. I would have thought it to operate in the opposite manner. And I was expecting you to come back and say had the 20s. Heck on 20s you wouldn't ever get over 30mph around here without breaking something, a rim, a tooth, a vertebrae, etc.
DanielCh, because of the failed front shock, that is why your car is riding rough. When the car senses a failed shock, it puts the car into Dynamic mode 100% of the time. When in comfort mode, the car is sensing more sensors than I care to admit to to measure body lean, wheell movement, anticipated body lean, etc. Based on all this information, it then starts adjusting how stiff each shock needs to be to give the optimum performance by opening a bypass valve inside the shock. When something is broke and not working properly, the car defaults to not opening this bypass valve, therefore, giving the stiffest ride it can. This is done so the car is not left being too soft and resulting in the driver losing control due to the body leaning too much. If I had t otake a guess, it is your right front shock that is having issues.
Thank you Thermo, in my head it was the opposite, that because of the failed shock it's always on comfort mode since i cannot turn on dynamic mode. I really hope what you are saying is right and the issue can be fixed by changing the front faulty shock, and i won't have to dig and waste time finding another underlying issue causing the bad ride.
Sounds like Thermo has it figured out. I wouldn't have thought it to default to the stiffest setting. I would have thought it to operate in the opposite manner. And I was expecting you to come back and say had the 20s. Heck on 20s you wouldn't ever get over 30mph around here without breaking something, a rim, a tooth, a vertebrae, etc.
Yep i also thought it workes the opposite way lol. I forgot to mention that where i live the roads are near to perfect and road imperfections are very small and everyone agrees we have the best infrastructure in the world, which really made me worried and sure there's something wrong with the way my car drove!
When I replaced my shocks I bought Bilstein's from RockAuto they had the best pricing.
So you're saying that some aftermarket shocks might perform better than oem ones? And do they let the dynamic mode work properly and no faults will appear from the dynamic sensors?
Here is the details from out of the service manual about how the suspension works in our cars. This is specifically written for 2010-2014 cars, but I am sure that other year cars are running something very close if not the same exact thing.
The ADM (Adaptive Dynamics Module) uses a combination of information from other system modules and data from the body vertical accelerometers and suspension height sensors to measure the vehicle and suspension states and driver inputs. Using this information, the ADM applies algorithms to control the dampers for the current driving conditions. The ADM receives the following signals on the high speed CAN bus from the stated system components:
Brake pressure - ABS module.
Brake pressure quality factor - ABS module.
Car configuration parameters - CJB.
Engine speed - ECM.
Engine speed quality factor - ECM.
Engine torque flywheel actual - ECM.
Engine torque flywheel actual quality factor - ECM.
Gear position target - TCM.
Lateral acceleration - ABS module.
Power mode (ignition signal) - CJB.
Power mode quality factor - CJB.
Roll stability control mode - ABS module.
Steering wheel angle - ABS module.
Steering wheel angle speed - ABS module.
Steering wheel angle status - ABS module.
Terrain mode requested - JaguarDrive selector.
Torque converter slip - TCM.
Vehicle information parameters HS - CJB.
Vehicle speed - ABS module.
Vehicle speed quality factor - ABS module.
Front left wheel speed - ABS module.
Front left wheel speed quality factor - ABS module.
Front right wheel speed - ABS module.
Front right wheel speed quality factor - ABS module.
Rear left wheel speed - ABS module.
Rear left wheel speed quality factor - ABS module.
Rear right wheel speed - ABS module.
Rear right wheel speed quality factor - ABS module.
The ADM also outputs information on the high speed CAN bus for use by other systems as follows:
Fault message - Instrument cluster.
Terrain mode change status - JaguarDrive selector.
Terrain mode - JaguarDrive selector.
Front left suspension height - other systems as required.
Front right suspension height - other systems as required.
Rear left suspension height - other systems as required.
Rear right suspension height - other systems as required.
The ADM monitors the input signals and operates the damper solenoids. The input signals are used in control functions and a force required for each damper, for each function, is calculated. An arbitrator monitors the force requirements from each function and apportions a force to a damper. The force is converted to the appropriate current and sent to the damper. The control functions are as follows:
Body Control – Uses body vertical accelerometer and CAN inputs. Calculates road induced body motions 100 times a second and sets each damper to the appropriate level to maintain a flat and level body attitude. Provides improved body control without loss of ride quality.
Roll Rate Control – Uses CAN inputs. Predicts vehicle roll rate due to driver steering inputs 100 times a second and increases damping to reduce roll rate. Provides improved control and driver confidence.
Pitch Rate Control – Uses CAN inputs. Predicts vehicle pitch rate due to driver throttle and braking inputs 100 times a second and increases damping to reduce pitch rate. Provides improved control and driver confidence.
Bump Rebound Control – Uses suspension height sensor and CAN inputs. Monitors the position of the wheel 500 times a second and increases the damping rate as the damper approaches the end of its travel. Provides improved ride quality.
Wheel Hop Control – Uses suspension height sensor and CAN inputs. Monitors the position of the wheel 500 times a second and detects when the wheel is at its natural frequency and increases the damping. Provides improved ride quality. Under normal road conditions when the vehicle is stationary with the engine running, the dampers are set to the firm condition to reduce power consumption.
The ADM receives its power supply via a relay and fuse in the CJB. The relay remains energized for a period of time after the ignition is off. This allows the ADM to record and store any DTC (diagnostic trouble code) relating to adaptive dynamics system faults.
System Fault Message
If a fault is detected by the ADM, a message is sent via the high speed CAN to the instrument cluster and the message ADAPTIVE DYNAMICS FAULT is displayed. The ADM also logs an appropriate DTC. The ADM can be interrogated using a Jaguar
approved diagnostic system.
If a fault is detected, the ADM implements a strategy based on the type of fault. If there is an electrical power fault, or the ADM cannot control the dampers, they default to the firm condition. If a sensor fails that only affects one or more control modes an intermediate damper setting is used as the lower threshold. The remaining working modes can demand higher damping as required.
Before you start replacing anything, try doing a Hard Reset. That will drain the capacitors that power the electronic modules and discharge their volatile memory so that they're reset to their factory defaults. It's like rebooting a computer to fix a glitch and won't hurt anything. If you're lucky, it might fix your problem.
Before you start replacing anything, try doing a Hard Reset. That will drain the capacitors that power the electronic modules and discharge their volatile memory so that they're reset to their factory defaults. It's like rebooting a computer to fix a glitch and won't hurt anything. If you're lucky, it might fix your problem.
DanielCh, when you disconnect the battery cables, you are going to lose the memory to a few things (auto window up/down, radio presets, your MPG/ODO/MPH avg/etc, seat memory location, and your roof blind auto operation). All of these will either drop to zero or will need to be reprogrammed. Takes about 10 minutes to do, so, not like you have to spend an entire afternoon doing the recovery.
As for risks, there is always a chance (however small it may be) that when you reapply power, it can cause a module to fail. Granted, the shock of starting the car is just as likely to damage a module or jump starting another vehicle with your Jag. There are always risks. But, these are very small in the big scheme of things.
DanielCh, when you disconnect the battery cables, you are going to lose the memory to a few things (auto window up/down, radio presets, your MPG/ODO/MPH avg/etc, seat memory location, and your roof blind auto operation). All of these will either drop to zero or will need to be reprogrammed. Takes about 10 minutes to do, so, not like you have to spend an entire afternoon doing the recovery.
As for risks, there is always a chance (however small it may be) that when you reapply power, it can cause a module to fail. Granted, the shock of starting the car is just as likely to damage a module or jump starting another vehicle with your Jag. There are always risks. But, these are very small in the big scheme of things.
When you mention auto windows and roof blinds, you mean they won't operate automatically until reprogramed? And how is reprogramming done? Excuse my ignorance 😂
The OP, DanielCh, is in the UAE, so his XJ might not not be the same as North American market models that usually are not supplied with radios equipped with a security code. If equipped with a security code radio, there should be a card with a 4-digit code in the Owner's Handbook together with instructions. You need to enter the 4 digit Security Code using the number buttons on the radio to unlock it. Enter the wrong code too many times (3? 4?) and you'll need a dealer to unlock it.
Resetting windows Is easy. From the driver's seat, with the engine running, close the driver's window fully. Release the switch, then lift it to the close position and and hold it up for 2 seconds. Then open the window fully. Release the switch then push it to the open position and hold for 2 seconds. Lift and release the switch to operate the one-touch function. Repeat the procedure on each of the other windows. You can do that from the driver's controller or the switch at each door.
Make sure the sunroof is closed and with the ignition on press the front of the sunroof switch for 45 seconds.. Keep pressing and the sunroof and blinds will open and close. When this is done release the switch.
XJL very harsh ride
