Hello all! New to forums but I've been trolling the past few weeks doing my research on the '09 XK convertible I just purchased. So far I love it!!

One perplexing issue I've encountered is an audible "low battery" warning I've received twice in the past few days. No visual dash warnings or lights come on, just the audible warning. The Porsche dealer I bought the car from (trade in) is installing a new battery this weekend so hopefully the little voice goes away. I also bought a CTEK MXS 5.0 to hook up in the trunk for everyday maintenance of the battery. I've used a tender on my 2016 Harley Street Glide and swear by them.

My concern is that neither my local Jag service department nor Jag of North America ever heard of this car having an audible warning for a low battery. They only know about visual dash warnings (aka dummy lights). Jag NA said they'd look into it but I'm not holding my breath. Nothing online or on this forum that I could find either. And if it is a low car battery then why am I not receiving any dash warnings or lights? There's nothing extra hooked up to this car, aftermarket or otherwise.

Anyone ever hear of this? I changed the key fob battery the other night as a precaution and haven't driven the car yet. However, I don't think that was the issue as the key seemed to be working fine. Would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!!

 

Congrats on buying a great car! As you can see, I've a 07 XK. It turned out the battery in the car when I bought it was on its last legs, and went flat on me once (in the driveway, thank goodness). But I never heard an audible warning.

Have you thought of an exorcism??

 

Is this a N American thing? I've had a battery so low my CD player wouldn't work until about 15 mins into the journey, but not once did I get any battery warning. A week later it was back to so low the seat wouldn't move, then I put it on a CTEK and fully charged it, been all good ever since - it was extremely low at the time, but not a single warning of any sort. This is odd

 

Did that warning occur as soon as you opened the door and got into your car, or after you were sitting in it for several minutes?

Is that audible warning a double electronic beep? If so, that's the normal error message warning tone from the sounder. You'll also have a warning message on the dash. You'll get that beep when you repeatedly push the lock button on your Smartkey fob. It means "Stop, I'm already locked!"

Opening the door starts "Convenience Mode", and the car draws over 10A just sitting there doing nothing. Leave it like that long enough, and you'll end up with a low battery. So, if you are sitting in the car with the engine off and listening to music, the warning comes on to let you know that you're draining the battery regardless of the actual battery charge level. This also happens when you're working on your car and leave the door open.

 

I'll call Linda Blair!

 

I'm not sure since this is my first Jag. Thanks.

 

Both times I heard the warning it was immediately after starting the car which I did immediately after getting in it (no sitting in convenience mode).

The first time was the day after I was sitting in it in convenience mode for about 45 minutes fiddling with the phone, radio, Bluetooth, etc. and setting everything up. So I could see the battery running down that way and giving me a warning.

The second time was the day after the first warning. I drove the car for about 7-8 miles, made a couple of stops and got in and out a couple of times. On the third stop the audible warning came on when I got in the car and after immediately starting it.

I'll know for sure in the next two days about the strength of the battery and will get it replaced (free of charge from the selling dealer) regardless. I've also purchased the CTEK MXS 5.0 and will hook that up as well to be used everyday. I'm hopeful the voices will go away. But being the curious lad I am and wanting to know why this is happening I will continue to try and figure this one out. The fact it's an audible sound that not even Jag knows about is one thing. The fact it's not accompanied by any type of visual warning is the second thing that puzzles me.

Thanks again!

 

By the way, it's a voice that says "low battery", not a beep or series of beeps.

 

Sadly, Max von Sydow, who played the senior priest in The Exorcism, just died. So no help there...

 

I’d suspect a third party system that has been embedded in the car by a previous owner, and may be deactivated but still operationnal, like a GPS tracker, a Speed camera detector, an anti car-jack, a recorder, etc...

 

Yes I understood your question the first time and NO this is not a Jaguar feature, perhaps an aftermarket upgrade (not likely). I reckon something must have been added to the car, might be in order to contact a surveillance specialist and have a good go over to check for spyware....

 

Made by ford with a jaguar logo stuck on , The electrics worst ever bought from a flea market in Hong kong eats battery s like a fat kid eats candy made by Lazy *******s in England what do you expect , ON a positive note the design was good but he was a scots man

 

I still can’t get over someone traded the xk for a Porsche.

 

Americans

 

What do you call a 911 after a prospective buyer has a dealer do a Pre- Purchase Inspection?

A screened Porsche?

 

I work with a guy who has a 911...omg, i thought I had my hands full. Those cars are a proper ball ache. Every bit of maintenance seems to be an engine out job, loads of parts known to give up after set period of time. This year he has spent £7000 so far and still has ignition issues!!! It will take me 10 yrs to spend 7k on my XKR, and that will probably include fuel

 

You say 'made by Ford' as though that is a bad thing.

Maybe you aren't aware that Jaguar 'quality' pre-Ford was abysmal and it was only after Ford acquired the company that quality control became a thing again and the resulting cars were some of the most reliable and best built that Jaguar had made for decades. Jaguar was a basket case before Ford came along in the early 90s. They had just two cars and an ancient factory which was, like the company itself, on the verge of collapse. Despite your offensive generalisation about the English, it was a Londoner, Bill Hayden, who was Jaguar's new CEO after the Ford takeover and who drove the changes which ensured Jaguar's survival. And make no mistake, Jaguar was about to disappear after being mismanaged into near oblivion by their former owner, British Leyland. Hayden recognised the abysmal quality - he famously remarked that the only car manufacturing facility he had ever seen that was worse than Jaguar's at that time, was the Gorky factory in the former Soviet Union! That is how dire was Jaguar's situation.

Ford saved Jaguar. Without Ford there would be no XK or XKR line for us to enthuse over. And no V8 engine either as it was Ford which introduced the first ever production Jaguar V8. The X300 model was the best car Jaguar had ever built at the time, and the difference in quality sparked off serious sales which finally turned Jaguar into a profitable enterprise (they had been losing over £1,000,000 every day before - and that is a million in the money of three decades ago) and led the way to our beloved XK series (and the F-Type later).

 

I love my XKR. But I have owned five 911s and they were the most reliable cars I have ever owned, in a very, very long line, including BMW, Mercedes, pre-Ford Jaguars etc. Not one of the five 911s ever needed any attention other than routine servicing and consumables, despite them all being daily drivers. I sold my last Porsche 911 (a 993, last of the air-cooled) at 17 years old (the car, not me!) for more than I had paid for it 15 years earlier. Since I sold it, it has doubled in price. Of course, all of my 911s were air-cooled. I stopped buying them when they introduced water (maybe wisely if your report is typical) because, as everyone knows, a water-cooled 911 is not really a 911 at all. I clung on to my 993 for so long because I did not want to move to a water-cooled version. I still regret selling it.

 

My colleagues 911 is a 2004 I believe, and I seem to recall him mentioning pipes that have to be frequently changed because they are made of the wrong material combination (engine out job) - so I'm guessing water cooled. He does spend a small fortune on his, our jaws were on the floor when he was explaining

 

Yes, that will be water-cooled. The last 'real' 911 was 1996 (in Europe) - the '993' model, which was the version I owned. I was a fool to sell it because it was in near-perfect condition, only 65,000 miles, FSH etc, and the very last of the air-cooled models, which is why it has now acquired cult status and is fetching incredible money.

Having said what I said, my wife has a (water-cooled) Porsche Cayman which she adores, and which has given no trouble at all in 36,000 miles.

It is true that any version of the 911 will be more expensive to fix than the XKR seems to be. I am constantly surprised at how little it costs to run my XKR and how cheap it is to service (Indie not main dealer). I'd go so far as to say that my XKR is possibly the best all-round car I have ever owned. My 911s were maybe faster but they were also noisier and more difficult to drive and not nearly as comfortable on long journeys. The XKR is also one of the most stunningly beautiful cars I have ever owned.

Interesting though this is, we are straying too far off topic and probably ought to cease and desist, before we attract Moderator attention.