So 1 month of ownership and I have another warning light, e-diff system failure, dynamic mode unavaible and winter mode unavailable. The last part is no loss I think lol.
Just got new ties on it so i havent driven it much, my guess 25% of trips so far have resulted in a warning light so back to the dealer I guess.
Serious question what's the overall reliability of these car?

 

Did you get a check engine light and if so did you read the code and what was it. Also how is your battery , is it at full charge. What were the conditions when the info data came up. Things like cold start up , weather , speed , road problems and any other things that happened.

 

I haven't had the time to too see if our Porsche and BMW readers will read the code, at this point I don't have the time or enthusiasm to do its going to the Dealer on Thursday (the soonest they could get it in).
I'm afraid to say I'm starting to get the impression it is the same as the last New Land Rover I bought in 92, I love the car but the detail execution and quality is not up to expectations, I was hoping that Country and the west midlands had got them selves into the current decade.
The diff is not acting as a LSD so it may be a genuine mechanical fault. The check engine light came on may be 30 miles after the first E Diff Fault warning.

 

Any OBDII code reader will work on these cars. Usually the 1st code triggered will cause other codes to fault. There may be some Jaguar unique codes but you should be able to look them up . Good luck.

 

I remember when you introduced yourself to the forum after just buying your car with numerous problems. Obviously, the dealer never reconditioned the car before selling it to you. Did you get the full history on the car to verify that the car wasn't involved in a flood etc. You kept the car knowing the dealer sold you a problem car. I have not experienced any problems to speak of with either of my XKR's I've owned. These cars are reliable, but if they are abused or have been subjected to elements they were not build to with stand they will fail like any other car. IMO with out knowing the history and details about the car you bought I think you bought an abused car which may have been subjected to water damage etc.

 

I understand that for sure. The car fax is clean all regular services no problems etc Jaguar verified the service history, all dealership. The dealer ( specialist performance place Lambo, bentley, porsche etc) in Chicago bought the car at auction off lease in Florida.
I would always caution any body buying a porsche to always go for a higher mileage driven and serviced car so I'm very familiar with the pitfalls of a used cars (especially complex ones). The problem I have is this is the only XKR I've driven so I may be being overly critical but I will say that so far the execution doesn't stand up against a Porsche. I hate to say this, being Brit who has worked with Jaguar and Ian Callum in the past. I started working on Jaguars at the age of 17 restoring old XK120's 150's mainly I have a love for the marque hence the purchase just not sure if its more heart of brain. I'm a design engineer, who's busy I don't get to tinker much and expect cars to work.
The problems;
Initial check engine light and other warnings were corrected by a factory recall software upgrade, so that's down to Jaguar not the car condition etc.
Wind noise the dealer tells me its normal. Thats Ok but if I was test driving this car in the mid 90's that did for Ford I would have rated it that the supplier needs to correct the problem but not do not ship to customer.
Ride quality difficult but at 20-30mph on a normal smooth street it feels like the dampers don't match the spring rate kinda like a home lowered and stiffened ricer not a $100k+ production sports car, I don't mean stiff I mean poorly matched. Not even really a problem just not quite there.
Insulation on firewall separating, poor quality material? or a symptom of a poor rebuild or other problem, not sure, see above history.
The latest problem the reason for this post the E Diff fault light. The diff is certainly not fully functioning as a limited slip diff this may be electrical, software or mechanical the malfunction is real.
So I'm hoping this isn't symptomatic of the car, all mechanical things will fail that's a given and sometimes a lot sooner than expected. If this was a 10 or 20 year old car none of this would be a issue.
My interest here currently has turned from making sure I get everything that is covered by the Jaguar warranty taken care off too should I keep this car or unload while it still has warranty left on it.

 

Update, the cars at the dealer I just had a call the E diff fault was because it over heated. A little concerning since I was driving down a mildly twisty country road on a mixture of packed snow and clear tarmac and really being quite gentle. Its a new car to me still learning its behavior and I wasn't looking for intermit connection with a ditch !
This was a permanent fault that needed to reset not a over heat I'll be ok in a few minutes?
Has nay body on here tracked one of these cars as what I put it through is a mere fraction of what I'd have given it on a track day?
Other issues, peeling insulation on the firewall, there replacing.
The check engine light was a catalytic converter being replaced under warranty 23,000 miles really??
Windshield washer not working hoes disconnected, they've reconnected it.
Wind noise, I'll take the foreman for a drive and point it out.
Not sure if this a lemon or the XKR is a just a very pretty garage queen more akin to a 80's Ferrari in its ability to used daily. I know this comment might offend people on here but seriously am I missing something?

 

Most XKs seem reliable - forums are always full of issues, but that's because people with problems come to forums for help. But there will always be lemons. And even good cars have occasional issues; my XK8 needed a reconditioned gearbox at 60k miles, and the water pump failed, but that's the only times it let me down in 13 years of ownership.

I suggest: get the fixable problems fixed, like the e-diff; try tinkering with some of the others if the dealer won't (try attaching the loose insulation, maybe some troubleshooting of the wind noise). Then live with the car a bit longer, and maybe test-drive some others to see if they exhibit the same annoyances. If it still bugs you, get shot of it; if other XKRs are the same, try something else.

 

I've had three Jaguars.. XJR, XKR and now FtypeR and all three have been fabulous to drive and no issues..

Hope you can get yours fixed up... sometimes I wonder that when you buy a used car you are buying the last persons driving habits and car care.

The only time I've had real issues with a vehicle has been a new Chrysler product and just about any used vehicle I've owned.
Lawrence.

 

Good feed back, Funny thing is I've normally had better luck with used than new lol swore I'd never buy another new land rover two discoveries!
The dealer is replacing the fire wall insulation. The E diff code showed over heating! which is concerning because I certainly was driving hard and had only been driving may be 10 minutes!
Wind noise and ride quality if they have her running tomorrow the plan is to test drive it with the foreman and discuss.

 

Cars stuck in the dealer to Monday !

 

I just got the car back, all running good. The E diff fault was a corroded connector (CA185) cleaned and greased.

 

Result!

Now, enjoy...

 

Good stuff!

 

Thanks guys,
They've ordered the firewall insulation but it needs to ship from the UK.
The left hand feed for the windshield wiper had disconnected so that's fixed.
The odd ride was the dampers fully off, there controlled by the same controller as the e-diff so when it faulted out they shut off at the same time.

 

Damn, of course, it's all done in the Adaptive Damping Control Module (ADCM), I'd forgotten that. Well, the Differential Locking Module handles the motor that changes the e-diff clutch loading, but it does what the ADCM tells it to do.

The car should be a much nicer drive with Adaptive Dynamics working properly.

 

Yeah, I down loaded the work shop manual so I understood what I was talking about, but they beat me too it Interesting reading all the same!

 

Oh, sorry, forgot to answer that - yeah, quite a few. I've done a few laps of the Nordschleife in mine, but there's some more serious track drivers on here. The main issue seems to be wear on the brakes, particularly if you do a lot of laps on a tight circuit with TracDSC on (rather than DSC off). Adaptive Dynamics uses braking as well as diff control to try & avoid over/understeer, and so you're giving it the beans while AD is putting the brakes on - that burns pads.

Personally, I'm too chicken to turn DSC off on a track with zero runoff like the Green Hell, but I intend to have a go at Silverstone this year, so might be brave enough there.

 

Hopefully I'll get her to a track this summer. That makes sense with the DSC I was surprised it needed pads after only 23,000 miles.
I want to understand whats turned off and whats left on for Trac DSC and DSC off I way prefer the way it handles with the DSC off but I'm just getting familiar with her and don't want to stuff her!

 

Further update, its difficult to tell for sure (different conditions etc) but the car feels far more composed and the Traction control far less aggressive driving to snow than before the E -diff fault makes me wonder if something was quite functioning correctly before!