The orange transmission warning light on the upper left of the dash wont go away and my car is stuck in either 3rd or 4th gear. It goes above 50 mph but at around 60mph it is at 3,000+ Rpms. I drive up hills a lot so this has got to be doing some wear on my transmission? It is not good to drive while the car is stuck in this mode right? It engages into reverse but it is hitting hard into gear when I put it in reverse.
A check engine light is illuminated as well so I am going to check the code it provides.
Anyone have this problem before?
Any recommendations on what I should do to fix this? How bad is it to continue driving while having this problem?
Thanks everyone!

 

I had an exact problem on my XJ40 .This could be as cheap fix as a bad solenoid or it may cause you to spend some money to fix the problem like overhauling tranny .
My dealer advised me to not drive the car that much because repair bill would go up
In earlier days , it was going off when I turned off the engine but someday it became unbearable no matter how many times I turned off the engine , tranny was throwing into limp mode right on

 

thanks cadillac for sharing. Its the same for me, it used to come on and all it would take to make it go away was turning off the car. Now it seems to want to stay in that mode.
Would you recommend taking it straight to the dealer to avoid wasting time on other less expensive mechanics that probably are not very familiar with Jaguar transmission problems?
I am thinking thats the way to go.
I really hope it is a minor problem I have sunk close to 11K into this baby already.
The drive home from the mechanic after getting the hub & wheel bearings replaced($700) it wont come out of limp mode. One problem after another. Keeping my fingers crossed it is an easy fix.
As far as $ goes I think i've crossed the line of no return. Sunk way to much $ into her to just give up.
aghhhhh the costs of being a jaguar owner

 

I would first suspect the rotary switch on the side of the transmission. Try adjusting it. Remember that even a slight adjustment (1/4") is huge. Go about an 1/8" at a time and see if the light goes out for you.

 

Thanks for the advice Ken! I read a post from you mentioning the rotary switch on a later model Xj6. Is it an easy procedure to adjust the rotary switch? Would an average mechanic know how to do this? Any tips on accessing/adjusting the switch? Sorry I am not much of a mechanic. I do have a CD-Rom Service manual but it is not that great of a resource compared to the knowledge of people who have been there before. Thank you sir.
Aloha,
OTE

 

Jaguar incorporated a non-volitile memory system for HARD FAULTS in the TCM. I can tell you what happened to me and you can guess what happened to you but if you don't ask the TCM what DTCs are logged in the module then all we are doing is GUESSING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You need PDU,WDS,IDS,SDD or AutoEnginuity ETC. to interogate the TCM and ask it 'where it hurts'.

We ask computers to shift for us and then ignore them when they turn on a light to try to tell us what is wrong. I hear people tell me that they don't want to pay the dealer a hundred dollars for a diagnostic printout but will spend a thousand dollars in parts GUESSING and throwing parts at the fault.

Diagnostics are not going to get easier. Even brake pad replacement needs a computer to release the rear calipers on several cars I work on.

bob gauff

 

So did you have something like this happen before? I thought you were gunna tell us more.
Anyway thanks for the advice. I will have Jaguar run it through their diagnostic systems.
Its strange I just drove my car a few miles to see if the light would come on again since it went off and it was shifting smooth and no slamming into reverse. Hopefully it stays gone but if the light returns she needs to be plugged in at the dealership.
Thanks everyone
ALoha

 

Here are some TSBs for diagnosis

bob gauff

 

Thanks for those pdfs. Useful information. Making a service appointment at the dealership, I really hope its an easy fix. I would have to garage the jag for a long while if I needed major tranny rebuild or replacement.