Hi All,

I have a 2005 Jaguar XJ8 and I got into a problem just yesterday. I was pulling out of the garage so put it in reverse. When I reached the curb, I wanted to put it in "Drive" so, I pulled the shifter to "D" and it did reach "D" but the light indicator markers next to the shifter shows that it is in Neutral/ "N".

So, thinking it is just an occassional glitch (BTW this never happened before), I pushed the shifter to "P" thinking I will start over. This time, the shifter reached the "P" position but the light indicator only reached "R". Again, puzzled I was like maybe I should switch the car off and start over. This was the mistake I made i.e. I should not have switched the car off.

Now, the car is off and it cannot be turned on because the car thinks that the shifter is in "R" position as indicated by the light. And the shifter of-course does not move. So, I am in a dilemma of what is wrong. I am at a point where to look whats going on under the shifter, I am opening the floor center console. I am at the point where I have removed the top plates and related nuts near it. I have removed the rear-register cover in front-middle of the rear seats and removed its electrical connectors. But there are two nuts here that hold the center console to an aluminium frame. I used allen's wrench to open the nuts on the front section of the center console. The rear section seems to have the same size of nuts but they are aluminium and the allen's wrench does not seem to work on it.

So, two questions:

1). First of all, I am guessing I know that problem is the gear interlock cable that goes under the shifter that tells that the trasmission what state the shifter is in. I don't really know if this is the issue. So, I need help with this.

2). Second question is what type of toolkit should I get for these nuts to open up. Is there a toolkit specific to Jaguars that I can get?

Thanks,

 

B4 you do all that, I recommend you look under the car at the attachment of the shifter cable to the tranny. They sometimes come loose. This is not an unusual issue for the ZF.

 

Your exact symptoms happened to me. AFTER tearing the shifter lever apart and not finding the issue I discovered by shifting the linkage cable I could get the trannny to shift to different gears. That lead me under the car and presto - the linkage was loose at the transmission. Lock tight and tighten the two screws. Back in business.



LOOK under the car where the linkage cable attaches to the transmission... you will find the two loose screws.
You can put the center console back together!

Report your findings either way.

Tom

 

Thanks hlgeorge and panels. I have the floor console removed but I will put it back together after reading your post here.

To proceed further, my car is parked on the curb so it will be hard to safely get under it and it is wet but I will try that and look for the loose cable. Is that area where the cable is easily accessible from under car and easily visible OR do I have to open up some under car covering to make it visible?

And is it right below the area where the shifter is OR is it somewhere distance away?

Once I solve this, I will post my findings in detail.

Thanks for your replies and help.

 

You have to jack up the car unless youre the thin man at the circus. Find the bolt first 1 falls out and 1 is there, there willnot be 2 loose ones but 1 loose and 1 gone.itll be probobly on the drive 8mm small bolt. Youll see the loose cable bracket when you jack up the car on stands

 

One will be loose, one will be missing. I found mine laying on the ground right where the car stopped, got lucky and put it back in. (with lock tite)

Passenger side, no under carriage parts to remove. You will see it on the side of the transmission between the trans and tunnel.

Good Luck
Tom

 

Perfect! Thank you Gentlemen! It was exactly as you described. The bracked with the two bolts needed was missing one bolt. After reading yoru post, I tried loooking for one of the bolts on the driveway and could not find it. Then when hope was lost, I hit it with my foot and there it was. The bolt.

Went under the car, put the bolt in the missing spot. Although it was hard, since I could not fit a tool in there. And my hands are big too, so they were hard to fit there. I used a small plier to give it the final turn to tighten it. And there is my Jag all "geared" and running smoothly.

Haven't used a glue on it though so there is a chance it may fall off again. Any other suggestions... let me know.

Also, I had planned on taking pictures of the missing bolt and the area where it got missing from but missed doing that once I got under the car. I wanted to do this so people here can get an exact idea as to where it is and what this bracket looks like. Next time!

Thanks a lot for your help. Really appreciated.

Thanks,

 

Pulled in to the parking lot at work. Car would not shift. Just as you said, 8mm bolt on the ground. Jacked the car up and did the repair in a few minutes. The other bolt was still in. The linkage is on the Drivers side. Thanks very much for your effort posting.
By the way, I went in for an alignment and a rear tie link was bad. Through research, I found this link is the same as a Lincoln LS. Part bought through E-bay for $75.00 versus $165.00 from the dealer. Easy part to install.

 

i hope you got it aligned when done because it throw off the alignment

 

Great example of why this forum is invaluable!

 

hi, I owed a X308 XJR and I just got the same issue today, I hope it will be a easy fix, I will follow your instruction and report my result

 

I work out of town, I just came into my other/work house tonight - in the dark and had the same problem. Shifter handle position in park, red indicator in reverse. killed the car, it wont start. luckily while in park it was actually in neutral, so i was able to push it in front of my house off the street.

first thing i did was run inside, turn on the computer and check my trusty jag forum. found this post within 5 minutes.

after reading this post i figured i better run outside and check the street for that screw you guys keep talking about above... i went out there with a crappy flashlight AND I FOUND THE SCREW IN THE ROAD! i feel lucky as shiite.

thank you all.

 

LOTAHRKUMAR,

Thanks for posting this issue, albeit 3 years ago. It was very helpful to me today! After a 700 mile drive from Michigan to South Carolina in my Mom's 2005 Jaguar XJR, the shifter locked. Much like your own experience, I was mesmerized, but since I own two Jags myself, I knew it had to be one of the many anomalies that seem to happen to these cars. After reading your post, I found the bolt on the ground the next morning--loaded pics. Just wanted to thank you and keep sharing, J

 

This is definitely a thread to keep in mind, anyone with an x350 could have this issue in the future, thanks for all the info.

 

Visit your local parts store. Blue Loctite is for bolts. Use blue first. Last resort if they ever come loose after using blue, is red Loctite. This is for stud and bearing mounts, and will be hard to get loose if you use it. FYI.

 

Is this bracket and two 8mm bolts on the driver side of the transmission?
Things like this are items I like to address prior to having issues. The crankcase vent valve and blower oil are others.

 

This post seems to have been useful for many. FWIW, I have not had the same problem repeated since I re-attached that bolt almost 4.5 years back.


Thanks guys for posting your experiences. Sharing these experiences is invaluable for all of us Jag owners and helps us all.


Happy Driving! Enjoy!

 

And an Amen to that. Read this thread and got right under the beast armed with 8mm box, and both screws took about a quarter turn to secure. I have 111 kmi and I guess it took that long to back them off, but they are snug for a good long time now. Another fortune saved by this forum. Free memberships that work for you make life good.

 

I am confronted to the shifter locked in P issue, with probably loose or missing bolts.
Question about jacking to operate safely and with enough crawling space under the car:
Is it enough to put a jack lifting the left front side (then an axle stand) or is it more suitable to lift the whole front of the car (putting two axle stands under both jacking points) or the whole left side (front and rear) to get better acces on the left side of the tranny?
Would that allow to crawl far enough under the car to see and maneuver the bolts with hands or spanner?

 

Unless it's an emergency, Jaguar states that the car should not be lifted by only one corner. You'll also find it easier to gain access to those bolts if you lift both front sides.

IMPORTANT!! Remember to disconnect the battery before you jack up the car.

You should definitely check those cable bolts first, but the 'stuck in P' issue can also be an electrical fault.

Download Section 1 of the Workshop Manual for full jacking instructions:

http://www.mediafire.com/?aap4oucmhqgbafc


Don't forget to disconnect the battery.