My impression is that it is common.

So far

Chirping from AC unit diagnosed as some grommet missing. It actually was the fan blower motor which I told them it was.

Hum/Whine from rear end diagnosed as cat converter brackets. Actually it needed a new differential as per TSB

Currently heated seats inop being diagnosed as heater element. Likely will be something else such as the CJB or thermostat.

So is my frustration aberrant and isolated or common place speaking in generalities if course. I am aware it must vary from dealer to dealer.

 

Do you happen to know what the TSB number on replacing the diff? I was unaware of one on the later cars.

 

There was actually a Service Action issued in Feb 2010 for faulty diffs on some 2009 cars (XK, VIN B30552 – B30941) but in theory those should have been sorted already:

 

Do you know the service action number?

 

I don't but my VIN was included.

 

Do you mind posting the last 6 of your vin, I could then see the warranty history & get the info. I was just looking on JBN in product support & can't find it.

 

There was a TSB for differential replacement on earlier cars?!

 

That is the only one I have seen. I just found it the bulletin was an update prior to sale. The effected cars were not to have been sold unless they had the diff fitted.

 

My impression is they go by a money making triage that puts common sense aside.

 

Agreed!!!! Path of least resistance that yields the most revenue.

 

Overall I think you will find this common with MOST factory repairs on modern cars, not just Jags.
The level of complexity has exceeded the skill set of the average technician. Today most are young and trained only to plug in a computer and respond to the prompts. The job does eventually get done, but only when the software has them replace item after item till the error code goes away.
(The saddest part to this is that the first 3 items were just fine, but you will pay for their replacement anyhow.)

Individual thinking or or expression of actual automotive knowledge could easily be discouraged by the dealership as a financial risk or "liability". Better to follow the prompts till fixed and let management or the PR department deal with the unhappy customers.

This is a personal opinion of course, and not meant as a direct reflection on all technicians. I feel it is a growing trend.


Vince

 

UPS2908 was the original publication then it was replaced by Service Action K035.

 

I have to agree.

A vibration that was diagnosed as bad tyres and all tyres were replaced, was the propellor shaft.
Malfunctioning electronics like touchscreen and steering wheel controls was diagnosed as hardware problems, touchscreen and steering wheel switches were replaced. It was the battery.
The well known 1250 rpm drone was considered "normal" until I contacted Jag Europe. Then the extra brackets were fitted.

I'm lucky everything was done under Select Edition warranty. I don't want to even think about paying for all this misdiagnoses.

After the warranty period I changed to another dealer. Everything ok since then, so it might be specific, not generic.

 

If we're talking about warranty repairs I can all but promise that corporate Jaguar does not condone or encourage replace-parts-till-it-gets-fixed repairs. If they are like manufacturers I've been associated with, warranty expense is carefully tracked. They might tolerate some degree of guesswork, but not if the expense statistics start tracking too high.

As far as technicians go, well, they come in all ranges of skill sets, work ethic, experience levels, training levels, dedication, etc. I know this because I spent a couple decades hiring and firing them :-).

It's certainly true that the complexity of cars is growing at a rate much faster than the industry's ability to hire and train technicians. Twenty years ago predictions of technicians shortages were being made....and those predictions might be coming true. Over the years I lost more than a few talented techs and diagnosticians to other industries.

One issue that sometimes comes into play ....again, mostly on warranty repairs....is labor allowances. Typically they're on the low side. If a tech anticipates that he'll be getting paid for less time than he has spent on the car....well....let's just say that he isn't as likely to be as thorough with diagnostics as he otherwise might be.

I could ramble on for a few hours :-). I'll just say that the problem of "incorrect diagnosis" has many root causes.

Cheers
DD

 

Holy cow. You got free tires from Select Edition?

My XKR is Select Edition but I'm too afraid to go to the dealership to have anything diagnosed.

 

So at present Jaguar can't figure out why the heated seats are malfunctioning. They ordered new heating elements but that did not resolve the issue. I have little confidence in them after numerous misdiagnosis. Frustrated

 

Didn't pay even one cent. Select Edition is advertised as "a used car that is like new", so it has the warranty like a new car.

After the tyre change the dealer said the vibration was gone. I didn't agree. a Jag technician from Jag Europe drove the car, after that Jag Europe instructed the dealer to replace the propellor shaft. They also picked up and returned the car at my house leaving a brand new XF for me.

Recommendable service and warranty

If you have any issues you better have it taken care of while you can. Don't settle for anything less until you're happy with the result.

 

Interesting. I wonder if this is because you are in the Netherlands! I'm fairly certain that tires in the US are considered consumables!

 

They are consumables, but I think that means that if they wear out during warranty, they won't be replaced. But if they are defective (they told me there was a lateral deformation)
that's something else.

I don't have to accept a vibrating car because the tyres are consumables.

Now maybe you think: "why did you buy the car if it was vibrating" Well, it only occurred around 100 mph. During the test drive I didn't go that fast due to local traffic rules.

But since I have a long history in automotive technology, I told them right away it was the propellor shaft.

They chose to change the tyres, which obviously didn't help.

Same with the locking touchscreen and sometimes malfunctioning steering wheel controls. I read on this forum it might be the battery and told them that. They chose to change the electronics to no avail. Not the battery. Two months later the battery gave up and they had to change it anyway. No more electrical gremlins since then.

Speaking about misdiagnosis....

I think part of the problem is that they don't listen to the owner. They don't make notes of what kind of specifics you tell them. The workorder just says: "vibration at .... mph.
They didn't note that I told them it was a high frequency vibration that made the image in the rear view mirror go blurred. The other thing I noticed is that when I told them it was the propellor shaft, they looked at me like: "what do you know?"

I hope they learned something.

Anyway I asked the representative from Jag Europe who pays for all this. He said: "The dealer that sold you the car"

 

Wow. I am becoming more and more impressed with and thankful for my local Jag mechanic and the techs at Hennessey Jag in Gwinnett. When I had my 07 XKR, I took it in for a malfunctioning drivers mirror memory issue and the *first* thing they checked for was a bad battery. It was in fact bad and I replaced it. They also lectured me on why I should buy an AGM battery and not a regular lead acid battery. Turned out the door module needed to be replaced and they did this as well. The treatment at Hennessey of Gwinnett is outstanding as well. Can this change in the future? possibly...but it hasn't changed in the 8 plus years I've been going to them.

I know for a fact that at least two of their techs read these boards, and we also have Brutal and other Jag techs that frequent these boards.