Regardless of driving style, if I am to feather the accelerator in Drive mode, the car jumps forward as if I've floored it. My passengers even say go easy.
The same thing happened today in Reverse..

Is this normal?

 

Hello again @a . . . . .

Short answer . . . No; not normal.

Before a barrage of questions as to a fix, suggest you use Search This Forum using phrase 'gearbox lurch' or 'transmission lurch' or just 'lurch' to confirm your symptoms. Next, do same for other Jaguar Forums here (indeed, other marques also) that shared the same ZF 5HP24 auto, but be careful of later model years (eg XK8 / XKR that used the uprated 6HP26 box).

Read thoroughly because some threads point to relatively easy fixes (change atf) while some revealed more complex issues and fixes. You will gain a better grasp of the range of issues, and we can then better manage how we can help you.

Best wishes, and do keep us posted,

 

you’re on a stream today mate; thank you!
looks like I’ll spend tonight researching everything I need to know to create a troubleshooting plan.

once again unrelated, is it safe to keep the car in neutral when the car is rolling and then moving into Drive?
I used to do that in my manual Golf so it’s a bit of a habit.

 

It's great to hear your excitement with the XJ8, and very wise to get your car and yourself all sorted to iron out inevitable wrinkles. IMHO, you have chosen a fine model to concentrate on.

Safe? Yes, I guess so, within reason, and far less transmission / drive line wear and damage issues than what I see far too often . . . jamming thru N into Drive while the car is still reversing (and vice versa). The latter is a very poor and ultimately, very expensive, habit.

Cheers,

 

In some jurisdictions it's illegal.

(Strikes me as odd/pointless to do it. It's an automatic, just let it be that!)

 

Coasting downhill in neutral here in Texas is called Mexican overdrive. (keeps the torque converter cooler)

As JagV8 stated it is illegal in many areas.