About 5-6 months ago, the water pump in my 5.0L coupe started rattling so badly that I thought my supercharger had broken. We replaced it for the second time. About 3 months ago after having several radiator hoses replaced (150,000 miles on my car), I still had a small leak that would leave a small stain on my driveway overnight, but which only resulted in a couple of cups' worth of mssing antifreeze over a month or two. I would check coolant level every couple of days and made sure it was topped off. I mentioned it to my mechanic who was very busy as was I, so I didn't bring it in right away. Last week I noticed the stain on the driveway was growing from the small dot to a much larger spot, and I finally made the appointment to bring the car in. I had assumed that one of the unreplaced hoses had sprung a leak or that a plastic nipple might have cracked, so I was highly surprised when the shop called to tell me the new water pump was leaking again and now out of warranty. I paid for another new one, had it installed and last night, no stains. When I went out to the car in the morning, however, my CEL went on immediately upon start up. I went to the shop early this morning and the computer readout claimed a faulty cam positioning sensor. Coincidence? or maybe it was damaged during installation of the water pump since they had called me on Saturday to report they were having a difficult time reinstalling the pump. Fortunately, as many of you know, when I bought the car more than 6 years ago, the engine was replaced as part of the sale, and we kept the old engine which is on a stand at my mechanic's shop to scavenge for parts when needed. A five minute process of unplugging the sensor from the old and plugging the sensor in on the new, and the CEL was banished and did not return all day. So, while I'm pissed that I'm on my fourth water pump and had to buy each of them, at least I didn't have to buy a cam positioning sensor. Why can't Jaguar create a decent water pump replacement for the obviously faulty ones they've been peddling?

 

That’s stinks about the new pump failing only 6 months old. I just had the dealer installed the third pump on mine and hop it lasts a good long time. It was so nice to drive the car and not smell coolant when I shut the car off. I love seeing these cars with all the miles on them. It comforting to believe I have a long way to go.
Best of luck with yours !

 

I can't speak to other cars as on what I own the water pump is a normal maintenance item that gets replaced.

Those of you with other modern cars, is the waterpump expected to last the life of the car?

 

i would say three pumps in 42k miles is not normal maintenance. My 14 Chevy has 76k mikes still on original and my sons 04 GMC has 157k miles and on its second pump.

 

In some cases, my Chevy pump has 270,000 miles on it.

 

Well, huh. My 2010 has 66,000 miles and absolutely zero water pump issues whatsoever. It was even checked last year and presented with zero concerns.

.........so far???????????

 

It's possible that the water pump is fine but the leak was caused by incorrect installation. If you look at my post Interesting find during water pump change you'll see that my pump was incorrectly installed by a dealer.

 

What is the failure mode on those waterpumps you replaced? Bad bearing, shaft, impeller?

Only failed waterpump I had was on my 2004 x type and it was only leaking from the gasket, the actual pump itself was still good.

I was planning on just replacing the pump gasket on my 2008 xkr, but ended up doing the pump too for preventative maintenance while I had the S/C off. Aftermarket ones are not too expensive.