I've been lurking around this great site, which helped me purchase an 05 Super V8 for my wife. I bought it site unseen from an internet ad. I'd prefer to buy and inspect locally, but with my current time constraints and the rarity of the car, I took a leap of faith on a car that looked great. I did the same thing with a different car 6 years ago, and that car has been great to me. I'm hoping for the same kind of luck.

I have to get the car from the seller in St Louis to Atlanta. It will cost me the same to fly in and drive it back as it will to have it shipped. I'd love to fly and drive, but with time constraints and a baby, it makes sense to have it shipped.

My only concern with shipping is the air ride suspension. Is there a way of putting the car in tow mode and/or disabling the ride height control? I feel like if the ride height control were not disabled, I would receive a car with a dead battery at best and a blown compressor at worst.

Any other tips for me?

Thanks

 

Also, is there a pdf of the owner's guide uploaded somewhere?

Thanks

 

Hi berusch,

Congratulations on purchasing a great car!

Check out the X350 'HOW TO' quick links at the top of the home page for this X350 forum. There are lots of files available for download there, including the Workshop Manual in six parts and I believe the Owner's Manual also.

Check those manuals for information on "Transport Mode" to answer your questions about what Jaguar does before trucking a car. If you can't find it, let us know and I'll see if I can locate that information.

Also, when you get a chance, the moderators would be grateful if you would stop by the New Member's area and post a personal introduction:

New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum

Cheers!

Don

 

I appreciate your reply Don. Unfortunately, the link in the "sticky" thread for handbook download is broken. There was a pdf for 2006 XJ, assuming it's the same as my 05, I don't see anything like a switch to disable the air compressor. Perhaps that's what leaving the car in neutral does.

I downloaded the table of contents for the shop manual, but wasn't able to find anything with a keyword search using "transport".

 

The Owner's Manual pdf file I have is dated '08, so the '06 file may be more accurate for your '05, but here are a couple of sections from the '08 file I have:

Page 31:
• If the vehicle is being transported by
road, rail or sea, press the central
locking switch, located on the facia
panel, prior to locking the vehicle. This
prevents the intrusion and the
inclination system from being armed
for one alarm cycle, and sounding the
alarm as the vehicle pitches and rolls.
• If the vehicle has double-locking
disabled, the inclination sensor is
active when the vehicle has been
locked using the key transmitter, or
using the key in the driver’s door lock.

Page 194:
TRANSPORTING
If the vehicle is being transported on a
trailer or flat-bed transporter, the Electric
Parking Brake (EPB) must be applied, the
wheels chocked and the gear selector
lever moved to position N or D but NEVER
to P.
The vehicle must be securely tied down to
the transporter or trailer.
IMPORTANT: Use straps over the
wheels/tyres only, to secure the vehicle
to the transporter.
Caution:
Do not use the tie-down brackets on
the vehicle rear underbody; these are
for Jaguar factory use only. Do not lash
the body to the transporter. In time,
with the engine switched off, the
vehicle body will drop due to settling of
the air suspension system and cause
the tie down chains/straps to become
slack if connected to the tie-down
brackets or to any part of the body.
The towing eye is not designed for
securing the vehicle during
transportation.

I also have the JLR SDD dealer-level diagnostic software, and I believe I have seen information in that program that indicated that when Jaguar is shipping a vehicle the onboard electronic systems are put into Transport Mode, but I don't know any details as to what that may entail, and you would have to either have SDD or have a dealer use it on both ends of the car's journey. Hopefully you won't have to worry about it.

As far as the air suspension compressor goes, I am fairly certain that as long as the ignition is turned off, the only function of the air suspension system is to wake up every 24 hours and, if necessary, relieve some air pressure in order to level the car with the lowest corner. The compressor will never run with the ignition off but the exhaust valve may open, which shouldn't present much drain on the battery.

Hopefully someone who has transported an X350 will chime in.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thank you for the info. That is extremely helpful.

 

Only thing I would add is I highly recommend enclosed shipping. It's not that much more money and protects your car from the elements of road travel.

I assume you have the insurance covered. You'll want to pay attention to the amount of coverage the shipping company is putting on your vehicle to at the very least, cover your costs in the event of an accident (vs. book value of the car. This is usually negotiable. Congrats on the car and enjoy her when she arrives.

 

Hi Ben,

I was using SDD on our '04 last night and happened to notice a mention that when an X350 is put into Transport Mode, the air suspension is raised up above the standard ride height, perhaps to prevent suspension components from colliding with one another as the transport truck encounters bumps and dips (since the air suspension will not be in active mode and able to adapt to road conditions itself).

Again, I don't know if this is anything you need to worry about. I'm still hoping someone who has transported an X350 will reply and give you some more specifics.

Cheers,

Don

 

I appreciate the help, guys. Raising the car over normal ride height would help with increased approach and departure angles. It's a long car, and the ramps up the truck are fairly short and steep.

I'm leaning towards picking the car up in person and enjoying the 600 mile back in my supercharged Jag. It's for my wife, and I may never get the keys out of her hands again.

 

Fly out and drive it back. The drive between StL & ATL is pretty nice, this time of year. And take the baby with you!

 

I don't think there is anything to worry about a transport job provided the car is correctly secured. After all people leave these cars at airports for days and they work OK after they come back. Mine did, anyway !

 

I'm not worried about letting the car sit a few days, that shouldn't matter. I was more worried about having the chassis bound to the transport truck with active air suspension raising and lowering. There are some cars that have active suspension when the car is parked; according to the feedback above, the Jag won't self-raise in park.

Either way, my wife and I are taking a trip to St Louis to pick up the car this weekend, and we'll be driving it back. She wanted to see the St Louis Arch, and we'll get some time together and with the new car.

 

Hi berusch,

Glad you're going to drive the car back! Don't miss the Lewis & Clark museum down below the Arch. Lots of great history there.

Cheers,

Don

 

berusch, enjoy the experience! For future referance, here is the Jaguar TSB on transporting the XJ8. May be a good idea to print off a copy and put it into the glove box to show the tow truck operator if the need were to ever arise to have the car towed so they know what to do and what NOT to do.

 

Good info, thanks for the TSB.

 

Good luck with the transport

 

We made the 600 mile drive home without incident. I didn't trust the radar assisted cruise for the first 90 minutes, but eventually I found it to work very well and just let it do its thing. I would prefer more sportier suspension, but this car is for the wife anyway. The front felt very soft. Otherwise, it's a good driving car.

I won't post the average speed from the trip computer on this public forum, but the average economy was 27 mpg. Not bad for a big, heavy blower car with huge tires.

Went to 3 different stores yesterday, got complimented in each parking lot. That's never happened with the German cars I've owned in the past.

 

Hi Ben,

Congratulations on your beautiful new Cat! I know the roads between St. Louis and Atlanta quite well, and I'm confident that your average speed was well within the posted limits.

Regarding the front feeling soft, I imagine your Super V8 has the Comfort suspension, so I don't know if that soft feeling is normal and correct or not, but on our XJR with the Sport suspension, the dampers are switched to Firm when driving at speed to prevent a sense of wallowing. It might be worth starting a thread to ask other Super V8 owners if their suspensions also feel soft.

(sorry, I've just been waiting for an opportunity to use that silly emoticon!)

Cheers,

Don