So I just bought a 2004 VDP with 100k on the dash. One owner, tons of paperwork, reallllllly clean.


So after driving it home the air suspension light came on and stays on. Start it back up and its right there. Also the hood wont open now. Ive drove this car 3x and have been looking at it for weeks. Never had these issiues. So that ive bought it, BAM, lights and codes start popping up on the drive home. Seller is a " honest" guy and said never had these issiues. Im stuck with it now. O and my mechanic says it needs a wheel bearing.. right rear maybe... i know its a used car but geez.. is this what i need to expect from this car?

Any help with fixing my problems would be great. I spent all my money on the car....

 

If you just got it, plug in an OBDII scan tool and see if any monitors are incomplete. If there are incomplete monitors it means the dealer cleared the codes right before he gave you the car. That constitutes fraud, just like filling the transmission with sawdust back in the 60's.

 

What air suspension message is displayed?
The hood is a mechanical release, not electric, so that's an easier fix. Try gently pushing down on the hood while a helper pulls the release to see if that helps.

Don't be scared of the air suspension...it's pretty straight forward. We will help you through it.

 

Drb007 knows of what he speaks. He had just about as shaky a start that any new owner could handle.

It's a 9 year old highly complicated car with 100,000 miles. Some things will simply have to be dealt with.

 

I just got the hood opened... I am going to make a "how to" with pictures, that would have helped me out.

the light that came on the dash said " air suspension fault" But when I got in the car today it didnt come on??

agreed, i just hope it doesnt get to far into my pocket doing so.

 

Hey Gville...Old Town hear. When I first took delivery of my '04 XJ8 with 58,500 miles on it on the 60 mile drive home that night I experienced the dreaded 'air suspension fault" message as you did. I was pissed to put it bluntly as it had not appeared previous to my taking physical delivery. Anyway I watched carefully for the next couple of weeks as I could see absolutely NO CHANGE in the vehicles behavior or stance so rather then throw money at a perhaps phantom problem I studied.

As the weather warmed up and we adapted to the car and it got driven the message became rapidly less frequent up until now it only very seldom shows up and then the circumstances are all over the map and the performance never waivered. While it is still possible that there is indeed an air compressor seal on it's way to the great beyond I plan on taking a wait & see attitude at present as I suspect that in my case at least this is just an example of how the phantom menace can take up residence within any complex computer and electrical system. As you'll no doubt find out as you learn more about these cars they really did push the boundaries as far as that kind of technology.

A seal is an easy fix and will run $60-150 depending upon your level of DIY while a coil over replacement is in the $1000-1500 area but can wait until you've got a better idea of just what is going on.

 

Remember that temperature has a great influence on the air shocks. Was it cold when you got the error message? Had it even sitting for long?
Keep an eye on it and keep us posted. If there really is a problem it will prove itself.
I know a lot of forum members here push for the coil overs...but I personally don't have the need to run away from the air setup. It's not that complicated, and when it works, it's great
Don't panic. Get to know the car and keep coming here to learn!

 

It had not been sitting for too long, it was at a dealership. It was not cold when the light came on, I live in central florida so it was about 80. The light went off the entire next day and came on again today. again not cool outside. How low is this car supposed to sit. Any idea how much room from the tire to the fender? Is there a setting I can change to make it ride higher? just curious


thanks alot. I will keep coming here to learn. I am going to do a rear wheel bearing this weekend and Ill take pictures and make a how to!

 

Nothing adjustable about the ride height. I would estimate about 2 inches (no more) between the top of the tire and the fender...

Did the light go off again?

Sounds like the compressor to me. Easy rebuild and you should be good to go!

 

Although no fault code has been quoted, it is more than likely the air compressor piston seal is on the way out. The code to indicate this is C2303, Reservoir Plausibility Error, indicating the compressor is taking too long to re-charge the reservoir. These compressors don't suddenly fail, they just gradually lose efficiency due to the seal wearing until you get to the stage where it times out when recharging the reservoir thus generating the fault display and code. The fault code will remain, but after a number of cycles under the time limit the fault light and display will disappear, but the basic fault remains.

Options are: -

1. service exchange (or a new) compressor - plenty around on the internet
OR
2. buy a seal kit from 'bagpipingandy' ( a member here), and fix it yourself, or get a mechanic to do it.

A 58.5k miles and 9 year old X350 has done well if it is the original compressor still on the car !

As for the hood not opening, replace the latch cable, they don't last long, and are cheap to buy and fit. Make sure it is well lubed before fitting.

 

The light has come on and off a few times so far. I will scan it tomorrow with a scanner that does body control modules and check the code. I will for sure fix it my self. As far as the compressor , is it hard to get to? Know of any videos or how to on rebuilding it? If there isn't one I'll make it but some.direction would be helpful.

 

Hey G'Ville...I know you're in Gainesville and I'm only about 40-50 miles west of you in Old Town and we share the same weather<G>

You do know that you can push the reset button on the lower left of the dash in that group of push button controls to the left of the steering column above the coin tray? It is a temporary fix it that it removes the message but not the amber light and then for only one ignition cycle. It will however give you a hint as to the severity of the problem if it does not come on immediately every time right after you start the car. It may, as it did in my case, vanish after about two weeks of driving as it occurred less and less frequently.


That said, in all probability you'll end up replacing the compressor seal which is a relatively easy 1-2 hour fix to remove the compressor mounted in the engine compartment, replace the seal, and re-install. What you want to try to do first is to fully diagnose the problem before wasting dollars on useless attempts trying to fix parts that aren't broken. These cars have a highly complex system of computers of various functions that do a pretty good job of monitoring and maintaining almost every aspect of the cars operation, but they are not fool proof nor 100% correct. The problem in going to a dealer is that in all likelihood they will go directly to the codes and start replacing parts until they by chance replace the right one. That would be O.K. but they will expect that you pay for every part and labor hour wasted replacing unnecessary parts and that gets expensive really quickly.

There are specific things you can do to guide yourself but you have to be systematic in your approach and not just jump from pillar to post if you know what I mean. First, there is a nominal ride height specified by Jaguar of 386mm in front and 373mm in the rear. This is measured from the center of the center cap of the wheel to the highest point of the wheel opening arch. for the best results leave the vehicle with the key off and out and completely undisturbed for at least 35 minutes. This gives the height controlling electronics time enough to go into sleep mode and hopefully adjust to the above figures +/- 15mm. You should do your best to insure level ground and proper tire inflation with no unnecessary weight anywhere in or on the car. That will indicate to you if there's an immediate problem, and if so it will hopefully point out which corner is going bad if it is somewhere other then the compressor or air storage tank under the spare tire.

This isn't a one sentence answer because it isn't a one sentence problem so I STRONGLY advise you to go to the X350 Stickies and download a series of very useful (but sometimes badly organized) manuals and texts.

Among them are the following:

(1) airschematic.pdf....(2) JJM103499103-Vehicle-Specifications-09-2009-

406702_JJM.pdf.....(3-8) X350 Workshop US001 through US006...... (9)

X350 electrical.pdf.....(10) X350_en_Final_US.pdf.....(11)XJ8 Jaguar Parts

List & Diagram.pdf.....as well as the latest complete Jaguar JTIS program

which is the electronic version of the workshop series of manuals but in a

slightly different format.

Start here and dig your way through the levels when needed. It may appear a little hard a first but everyone on here will pitch in until you get more familiar.

http://www.mediafire.com/?x11yhijup29yt#8viyccmusy9t1

There are additional files you can dig up from the XK8-XKR group as they have dug up a ton of specific files, some of which can be helpful to XJ8 owners like us. That's where I stumbled on the new Complete Jaguar JTIS download.

Of course, if your loaded with $$ then just go to Jacksonville, Orlando, or Tampa and let the dealers retire on your service bills<G>

 

I had/have same issues. Air suspension is gone. I had to replace my Right Front Strut. My car would get the fault light and show Car too low - all this during cold frigid weather after sitting overnight. Did not do this when above 40 degrees. Dealer told me it was a strut seal and suggested single strut replacement on right side. All is well. Fault is scary when it occurs on a long commute or trip. I did continue to run my vehicle, but baby'ed it during fault light display. Sometimes the light went out after warming up. I bit the bullet and replaced the strut.
As for the hood, I now have that issue. I pull the latch, it seems as if it has tension to pull latch, but I believe cable is stretched. Taking GVillVDP suggestion and pull the dam. Will keep posted upon completion.

2004 VDP with 126000 miles. Love the car. Hang in there. I have NOT had any serious issues in 5 yrs of ownership other than strut. Car is in PA, but was a former FL car. They don't do well in cold weather! lol.

 

Have you got Fault Code C2303 ? If you have the compressor is likely fading away, and not pumping the reservoir to pressure within the 3 minutes allowed. Time for a new one, I think. You have done well for it to get to 126k miles, although it might have been replaced, and you need to replace it again, as it is a notorious short life component, in fact I think it is the shortest life component of the air suspension system.

As for the hood latch, you need a new cable, because they rust up and won't free up even if you lube it. Also check the latches are well lubed. The cables are not expensive, but a nuisance to replace. If you are DIYing it, use a bit of string when you pull the old one out, so you can drag the new one in easily.

 

For some reason my snapon code scanner won't give me body control module codes... I haven't seen that code. Only leveling codes bc a shock went bad