I have just returned from a holiday in Germany, at a place called Bacharach in the Rhine valley. I set the trip before we left, and on return Monday morning at 02.00 I had done 2200 miles and got 28 mpg. I don't think this is at all bad for such a big saloon.

No problems occurred on the trip, except my remote central locking finally packed up. It has been intermittent since June 2010 shortly after I bought the car, (a fairly heavy door slam was needed to ensure it worked). Now it does not work at all so I have to use the key. I am told it is the latch mechanism that has failed in the drivers door. Another expensive repair no doubt, although new latches are available on a UK website for £185. I wonder how the main dealer price compares !! Then there is the fitting labour. The hunting during warm-up is still there, so as the car is now due service, I shall get this checked out. I believe it is a software fault somewhere.

Car is a wonderful cruiser on the autobahns, and handled beautifully on the twisty roads in the Taunus hills near Wiesbaden. The car was much admired in Germany, and I saw no other German-registered Jaguars, except a few S-Types, and one or two XFs.

I can recommend a holiday on the 'Rheintal" the stretch were is flows along a gorge about 35 miles long between Bingen and Koblenz.

 

Good to read you had a safe trip and returned back to UK .

 

Good to hear you had a safe trip Fraser. It's been a few years since I was down that way, at the time I was packing around Europe by train.

 

Fraser can you go into detail about your door lock problem?

Is it only the driver's door?

Does it not lock or unlock? Which one?

Has it been intermittent before it failed completely?

Does it work with the key?

 

Yes
It is only the driver door, and it locks momentarily, then unlocks

Yes, first ocasionally last year, then needing a bit of a slam, now not working at all

Yes, but when unlocking using the key (the remote will not unlock), I have to also use the remote unlock as well just after opening the door, or the alarm goes off. It gives little warning bleeps just before the alarm is triggered

Basically, it is a nuisance, but then, at one time, we didn't have these convenient devices at all. How did we manage before !!

 

Thanks for sharing details of your trip Fraser, only thing missing is a few pics

Good to know she handled herself well and hope you get your dooe lock issue sorted soon.

 

That 28 mpg. Is it from the cars computer or did you do it with pen and paper? I have seen 27 + mpg on occasion from the cars computer. I have never bothered to work it out the manually. From an XKR that has always delighted me.

 

I thought I might be able to throw some light on your lock problem since I have had one lock fail and I am in the process of repairing another door lock.
I traced the fault on the first door to a microswitch in the actuator and found that a replacement switch was not available. I then bought an used complete actuator on UK e bay which solved the problem.

I must say that your symtoms are not the same and at a guess it sounds to me that it could be just a bad connection in the electrical circuit or possibly a weak motor in the actuator.

The locks are stamped 'Ford' and I have just discovered that Ford Mondeos have the same microswitch.I have bought a Mondeo lock and will change over the microswich to repair the second door lock.
Unfortunately used Mondeo locks which are cheap and plentiful cannot be substituted in the jaguar.