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Help! I went out in my 2003 XJR last night, a 7 mile round trip. On three occasions, the red dash warning light came on along with a beeping audible warning, and displayed the message "Driver Intervene". Lasted around 2 seconds each time, then cleared. The car was being driven at around 30mph, and the warnings did not follow 'events' (indicators, wipers, turning, braking or anything like that). I've only had the car a short while (2 months / 800 miles) and have never seen this before. It made me nervous about driving it again, TBH... Has anyone else seen this? Should I worry and what action should I take? Thanks, Dean.
Nothing to worry about, it seems that your car has ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control).
With this option (which, at least in Germany, was standard only on the Super V8 and the XJR, and an option on the other models), the car also has this warning function that shows the "driver intervene" function, which can sometimes show up even if you yourself would think that there is now danger at the moment it appears, but then these systems are alswys set to be on the cautious side...
There should be a button between the ones for the boot and the fuel tank flap with which you can switch off the alert warning. When it is switched off, it will only appear in very rare moments.
In case you do not have the owner's manual, here's the relevant excerpts:
Best regards,
Hi Thomas, thanks a lot for putting my mind at rest. You're correct, I had accidently put the ACC alert warning button on! I need a manual that's not in Japanese... lol. I won't worry if ever I see it again. However, it doesn't explain why it came on when the ACC was not engaged? Maybe this was an electrical 'glitch'. I seem to have an ever changing number of these lately. Like the lights going really bright, switching off completely, then re-appearing as normal, all in the space of around 1 second, three times on a trip at night the other week (but not since). Or the remote lock button on the fob not working occasionally (fob battery already replaced). Or the parking sensor alarm going off at random when I'm driving along the road. I resolved to buy a new battery. The one that's on was probably fitted when the car was imported 18 months ago, it's a Bosch, and it looks okay, but a few on the forum say Bosch do not always work well with these cars. It's also a lower rating (800A / 85Ah) than the Yuasa battery that's coming tomorrow (900A / 100Ah). Maybe that will help.
If you read the right hand side of last page that I posted, you will see that the forward alert feature also works when ACC is NOT engaged. That's why you have the separate button for it...
So, no electrical glitch in this case.
Best regards,
Thomas
Last edited by Thomas-S.; Jan 15, 2025 at 06:18 AM.
Reason: Typos.
- a new battery will probably help, as these cars are very sensitive to the battery voltage and condition, and yes, the one fitted to your car right now is too small, imho.
- the remote lock button on the fob not working might be a mechanical failure, which can happen. If you dismantle the fob, you will see whether this is the case.
- I also have the parking sensor alarm sometimes going off on my car when I do not see any reason for it going off. As it is not that often, I just switch off the parking sensors and switch them on again after a few minutes.
- Do you have HID headlights? I suppose so. If that is the case, you should first check the grounding points behind the headlights for corrosion. In the worst case, you will need to fit new grounding points, which is not that dfficult. The second possibility is the ballast of the headlights malfunctioning. If that's the case, they need replacing.
Thanks Thomas. Once again, my lack of knowledge is laid bare for all to see... (I am a very experienced and qualified engineer as it happens, but I design the roads that we drive on, and have next-to-no knowledge of what we drive in). I may as well ask this one as well... I want to replace the headlight bulbs, they're rubbish except when on full beam. I suspect they've been there since the car was manufactured (but the outer casing is still very clear, despite being over 20 years old). The internet is a minefield to me, a balding man of advancing years What replacement / upgraded bulbs are recommended? I'm far more concerned about having more light, than the cost. I just want to order something, so hoped someone might have done this recently, got good results, and I could just follow suit (and get my mechanic to fit them because I'm auto-useless!! ). Thanks again, Dean.
It's up to you and I always use after market bulbs. But you can certainly check with Jaguar and buy factory bulbs?
Your new and don't know yet but Jaguar does everything on your car using the last 6 digits of the VIN. So you want to always check that the part numbers your ordering are for your car. Any of the online Jaguar factory parts places will do this.
Just a note but a used Jaguar will be an expensive experience if you can't DIY the repairs? Is your local guy experienced with Jaguar's? Does the shop have an operating SDD system?
Your XJR is a great car but now old. Any air suspension issues yet? That will be the biggest problem with this version of the XJ. With the age of your car it "might" have been converted to coil springs already?
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The brands that mostly get really positive results in tests here in Germany are Osram and Philips. Sometimes also other brands, but these two are almost always in the top 3.
I normally use Osram Nightbreakers. Same as you, for me performance (more light) is more important than cost and durability.
But in any case, I agree with Clubairth1 in that you definitely should use quality bulbs.
If you have HID headlights, the bulbs you need should be "D1S". You can see the type needed if you look on the headlight lense from the front of the car. The high beam bulbs are always halogen.
Yes, can't wait TBH. I really struggled the other night on an unlit rural road with bright lights coming towards me (...it could be my age, but am hoping the current bulbs are the 20-year-old originals!). A word of warning to anyone else reading this - Amazon link above £145 , 'Purplenova' (Ebay) £99 with free p&p
'Driver Intervene' warning
I went out in my 2003 XJR last night, a 7 mile round trip. On three occasions, the red dash warning light came on along with a beeping audible warning, and displayed the message "Driver Intervene". Lasted around 2 seconds each time, then cleared. The car was being driven at around 30mph, and the warnings did not follow 'events' (indicators, wipers, turning, braking or anything like that). I've only had the car a short while (2 months / 800 miles) and have never seen this before. It made me nervous about driving it again, TBH... Has anyone else seen this? Should I worry and what action should I take? Thanks, Dean.
). I may as well ask this one as well... I want to replace the headlight bulbs, they're rubbish except when on full beam. I suspect they've been there since the car was manufactured (but the outer casing is still very clear, despite being over 20 years old). The internet is a minefield to me, a balding man of advancing years 
What replacement / upgraded bulbs are recommended? I'm far more concerned about having more light, than the cost. I just want to order something, so hoped someone might have done this recently, got good results, and I could just follow suit (and get my mechanic to fit them because I'm auto-useless!! 
). Thanks again, Dean.
, 'Purplenova' (Ebay) £99 with free p&p 