Hello all,

I write, hoping that I could get a second opinion about my issue with my 1996 XJS (that I love) with 85k miles on it.

I bought it in New Mexico and drove it all the way to San Francisco without any issue.
And then, once in a while it would stall after I would stop at a stop sign and try to reaccelerate (it never stalled while my foot was off the pedal).

Another time, the engine shut off while driving on a steep slope (going up) and my fuel tank was almost empty, so I just assumed it was a fuel issue.

No issue for a month, but then 2 days ago, the engine shut off while I was driving at 30mph in the city with a full tank. That's pretty scary to lose power and power steering while driving in the middle lane surrounded by other cars!

And finally, yesterday, it was shutting off every 5 minutes... so I called AAA to get it towed to my mechanic.

The car mechanic (John's Jaguar Service in San Francisco - very good reviews) hasn't been able to reproduce the issue but he tells me it is likely the Idle Air Control Valve ($471 to replace + 3.5-5.5 hours of work).

Before spending this kind of money ($800-$1000), I was just wondering whether any of you has had this issue before, or had any second opinion.

Many thanks!
Julien

 

Steep slope and tank almost empty would point to the fuel pump at my first guess being that the pump would not be submerged and overheat plus the random times after. IAC at 30 MPH, unlikely since it's an Idle Air Control valve not a "at speed" control valve. IAC for a 96 XJS on Rock Auto is $114.89

 

In case anyone has the same issue in the future:

The mechanic (John's Jaguar Service in San Francisco) could not experience the problem first-hand at the garage so he asked if he could drive my car to his home that day, to see if the issue happens.

Thankfully it happened, and he was pretty positive it was the Idle Air Control Valve, saying that he sees this issue a lot on this kind of car.

I haven't driven the car much since it got repaired, but I will write again if the issue was not fixed

 

Thanks for letting the forum know. A lot of times we get the questions but no one eer comes back to confirm how it was resolved.

 

Oh, you could have bought this one...

Idle Air Control Valve IAC | eBay

I think it is ridiculous that they claim it is 3-3.5hr job. It can be done in an hour even by a non pro like me!
When you hear the name of the faulty part, it will be better for you to look for a third party parts. There are many cheaper parts around.

 

Drinkingourd, I bought my replacement IAC on EBAY for about $100. Put it in myself in 30 minutes. When you experience more problems check with the forum first. Some shops will ream you a new one.
RagJag

 

hello just wondering if you got the problem fixed, I have a 1989 5.3 and it just seems to cut out randomly and then starts up a minuet or 2 later after a couple of turns of the key

 

Since the valve was changed I drove 400 miles without an issue so there is a good probability that the problem is fixed.