After 3 years of ownership with my 2010 Jag XK Coupe with 9,443 miles and numerous trips to Jaguar, I still can't get them to replace my water pump. From my previous threads.....I drive very little but even so, after every trip regardless of how short or long I get a distinct smell of coolant. I smell it most noticeably after I pull into my garage after a drive and I DO LOSE coolant. Of course it's not much but I find myself adding a few ounces here and there over a course of time to keep it topped up. Nothing drips to the floor. I've taken my car to Jaguar twice for pressure testing over night and they claim the pressure stays the same. I have an Easy Care Total Care 6 year extended warranty. I have spoken to the General Manager and because they cannot see any signs of leakage (or claim they don't) or drop in pressure over night refuses to replace the notorious water pump. Most recently I even volunteered to pay for the water pump if the dealership will absorb the labor....This is after paying $3700 for my extended warranty! He told me it was unnecessary and might even make things worse. Worse? How does that make sense? I've run out of options and don't feel comfortable with a car that I am adding coolant to while smelling it after every drive. I would take it to another Jag dealership but the closest one has a HORRIBLE reputation in the service dept with inept techs. My last resort is going to my reliable Independent who knows all cars and is super honest, careful, and knowledgeable .. After all it is a Ford engine right? I have a little more than 2 1/2 years left on my warranty and it frustrates me that they won't do a repair that might cost total off the street $850? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've already contacted Jaguar USA a few times with no results as they like to leave these issues that have passed the factory warranty time in the hands of the dealership. I love my car but am reluctant to drive it for any long distances. Thanks all.

 

1 800 lawyer

 

If it isn't broken they will not replace it. Try stopping topping off the tank and see how much it drops over 1000 miles. If you pass the pressure test then you don't have a problem. It seems you have fallen for this water pump misnomer that is not supported by any failure data. Forget about it and drive it .

 

Sadly, If I was in that position, I would go the Indy route. See if the Indy will help document the issue and take another crack at the Warranty. I would also mention to the Easy Care folks that this story is getting play on this forum. I for one would not purchase from Easy Care after hearing this.

 

I agree with you totally Chazaroo...The independent might be the way to go. They will get reimbursed for the repair and it won't cost me anything. If I have the warranty why not go to the one that wants to honor it? Actually it is not Easy Care that is denying the claim. It is the Jaguar dealership that won't submit it. They are not charging me the diagnostic fee and told me I can come in as often as I want for pressure testing. Not Easy Care but the Jaguar dealership that is holding things up. I have no clue why they are doing this. How about customer satisfaction? Well it's not Lexus or a brand that cares.

 

Actually....the pressure test will not necessarily show a water pump in it's early failing stages. That is why they are not finding it. But once it does fail....it can be catastrophic. Thanks for your feedback jagtoes.

 

My 2012 had similar symptoms. It did not lose any coolant but it always smelt of coolant on shutdown. Had the water pump changed and smell went away. If you can get a main dealer to change it for $850 I would jump all over it. Mine cost $1300.
Why not just pay to get it changed if you don't like it leaking and be done with it. ?

 

I'm going to play Devil's Advocate here and throw in a few observations based on my own experiences with a warranty company (all positive-- I have threads bout my experiences elsewhere on the forum):

1) I had a nice talk with a rep from the warranty company who advised me, first, that NO warranty company pays on "intermittent issues." The issue has to be constant. Yes it means sometimes you have to let the thing almost fail before bringing it in, but it works.

2) Also, no warranty company pays on "customer advised" issues. This is similar to an insurance company not paying for open-heart surgery because you think you need it. The professional (doctor or, in this case, mechanic) has to request it-- and for big jobs a representative from the company comes out and confirms that the repair is necessary.

3) Any dealer service department (or experienced shop) is completely on your side in terms of warranties. Why? Because they WANT the work. They can bill full fare on the job. They don't make any money on the parts, but they do VERY well on the labor. It's a lot easier than playing tug-of-war with customers about how much things cost.

So... No warranty company will pay on that water pump for the simple reason that the pump hasn't failed yet.

My dealer found two things that I didn't even know were wrong with my car (rear fog lights and a transmission mount) and told me not to worry, the warranty company would pay. They were right.

(For what little it's worth... in my mechanic days, eons ago, my first 'go to' for the symptoms you describe would be the heater core. But I don't even know if these cars have old-school heater cores, so what do I know.)

 

Great advice and much appreciated. Heater core? and in Florida? If so... shouldn't the smell of coolant be inside the car??? I only get the smell outside. How does a dealership diagnose a heater core? Especially as sooooo many water pumps have failed for the XK XF and so many models with the same exact pump. Something to think about of course.

 

I would try some UV dye and get hold of a cheap UV light and inspect it in the dark.

 

Great question....I paid $3,700 for an extended warranty and I have never had a claim other than this one without any payout. Would you pay another $850 for a failed part after that kind of expensive warranty? And my part is failing so it is an issue.. To be continued... Thanks everyone...

 

In order for any dealer or independent to put in a claim for a part that isn't broke they would be committing fraud. So with their credibility on the line they would not take the risk. The dealer should have history data from the factory if there are high failure rates on these pumps. Get a WT gauge and drive it until it blows. It will not be catastrophic. If you fear driving the car your options are to pay for it yourself or sell it. Take your car to an independent and put it on a lift and pull the belly pan and inspect the water pump and weep hole. If dry you are good to go and if wet they will consider it broken and support a replacement.

 

Thought you smelled it in the cabin. Never mind.
That core was often the culprit because the small amount of coolant loss you describe was hard to trace (as opposed to a radiator leak, or the like, which is easy to see). If the system passes a pressure test, I'm stumped. I mean I've worked on cars where idling on a hot day was all the pressure test you needed.
Look, man, I obsess about things too. I get it. Here's what you know:
You smell coolant.
You're not insane. (...right?)
The dealer is not going to submit as is. (So let's not call the warranty company the culprit just yet...)
This leaves you with two options: live with it (wait-and-see) or replace it (take action). I get the vibe you want to do take action. What would I do? Acquire the part yourself. Ask around on the forum, check wholesale parts places. Hell, pull it off a wrecked car that had rear-end damage. Then, go to a good indy shop and have them slap it on. Then see. But be prepared to find out that, maybe, the problem is elsewhere.

 

I'm good with the concept of preventive replacement, but would not install a used part, especially knowing that the 5.0L engine's pump has a questionable reputation to begin with.

I just changed 5 (out of 9) coolant hoses on my 2007 XK (4.2L, 79K miles) as a preventive measure and also bought an engine coolant pump, but decided after inspecting the old pump that changing it was not necessary yet.

I'm wondering whether the reason for the OP's vehicle emitting a coolant smell might be a slightly leaking hose which is mostly hidden by the intake manifold, which connects the throttle body to the engine block. There have been a few recent posts about that hose bursting, which gave me the motivation to change the 5 hoses mentioned above, in particular that one hidden hose. I recall that one owner who reported this issue had relatively low miles on the odometer, which to me was quite disconcerting.

 

Hmmm, I wonder if you would get the same run around at a different Jaguar dealership?

 

The closest dealership to me other than the one giving me the hard time has been slammed as being horrific in the service dept and I've be warned to stay away from. I've heard this from numerous sources. Next I have a dealership in Miami and one much further in Fort Pierce. Either one will pretty much take up a big part of my day getting there and back. I'll have to think about that over the Independent which is 25 minutes away and usually looks at my car shortly after I bring it in. I might try to Indy first to see what he finds. I trust his opinion.

 

I would not worry about it. I get a wiff of anti freeze smell from my XJ after pulling it in the garage every once in awhile. It has done that since new. I have looked all over the coolant system to find SOMETHING, especially the pump, leaking. No luck.

Without finding a problem a responsible shop would be crazy to change something out. There are DOZENS of things that could be leaking other than the water pump. Sure there a few/bunch of people that have had bad water pumps. There are a lot more that have NOT had water pump issues.

If it isn't broken, don't fix it. If you are convinced there is a REAL problem then find it. Don't go on an Easter egg hunt changing parts that MIGHT be broken. (I am not saying to avoid preventative maintenance such as changing oil, coolant, rubber hoses, and etc. that have a known lifetime.)

 

Boca:

You can buy a "New" water pump for your Jag 2010 XK 5.0 for $140 off eBay.

NEW JAGUAR WATER PUMP XK XF XJ XK 3.0 5.0 C2Z28248 C2Z21781 C2Z29189 AJ812119 | eBay

Determine the cost to have it installed at your independent shop and move forward.

This route is better than having a failure while on the road and preventing any additional damage. Also, you will end the personal frustration of the water pump issue. It sounds like you have spent some time trying to resolve the situation and have gotten nowhere.

This link is to British Car Parts a specialist in Brit parts and has a 12 month, 12,000 mile warranty.

 

Richzak ... you are a wise man ...

 

I too get a whiff of coolant when I park in the garage, but have seen barely any loss (its down maybe half a cup over the past year, and still above the min mark).
One thing I did notice last weekend, was that there was some crusting around the bleed valve on the top of the expansion tank, so maybe that's my source.