To All;


Thanks for all the great info in answer to my water pump question. I feel comfortable in how to deal with the issue when I find a car.


I have another question that I have not been able to answer by searching older threads here. When reading Carfax reports I often see reference to the engine module being checked, reprogrammed and/or replaced. These are XKR's of 2010 or 2011.


I assume this module controls air/fuel/spark. What happens to cause the owner to go to the shop? A warning light? Rough running? Both? If my car is beyond warrantee, what is the cost to reprogram or replace?


Thanks;


Rob

 

If it's the PCM (aka ECM) then yes it's the one that does roughly this stuff OnBoardDiagnostics.com - Engine Basics i.e. runs the entire engine.

Could be a service action, recall, MIL on, whatever. Carfax is a bit odd in bothering to mention it. And they only know so much anyway so treat with caution. Clean Carfax doesn't prove a whole lot.

The PCM on these cars is hardly ever faulty so almost never replaced. Reprogrammed e.g. minor emissions tweak, yeah, has happened. It's about as complex for the shop as for you to download something small/medium size.

 

Thanks for the link, very useful even to a non-mechanic like me. I appreciate that Carfax has a limited use; but when I see something over and over it raises a question. Especially when it says that the item was replaced.

 

I doubt it's even true as we have lots of members and almost no-one even gets them reprogrammed let alone replaced.

I suspect Carfax mean something else. (I'm reluctant to say plainly that they're wrong but I think so.)

Now, if they mean one of the other modules then maybe. E.g. people get water in places it shouldn't be and electronic items don't like water.

If you're really contemplating an XK8/XKR, read the forum for a while. Almost every thread is about faults because the happy owners don't come here looking for answers. You'll see common issues are mostly quite simple on cars. Failing coils, O2 sensors, air leaks, perished hoses, brake problems. Gee ya don't say!!

And there are tons of posts saying how to diagnose & fix.

 

If you are talking about the J056NAS1 Non-compliance recall, it is for 2010-2011 XF, XJ and XK models that may not have the VIN readable through the ODB port. They will re-program the ECU if needed to make sure the VIN is stored correctly.