It's more a low-cost precaution than anything else. I had to fit a reconditioned gearbox to my XK8 at 60k miles, at a cost of about £3k; if there's a reasonable chance that a £150 fluid & filter change might avoid a similar situation, I'm all for it.

 

Hey Guys, I just had a major coolant leak episode on my 2007 NA XK Convertible, was wondering if the above mentioned thermostat housing scenario is the most likely culprit?
Or if there are other areas in the cooling system prone to failure.

 

I had to replace my tranny after the odometer hit 120K on my 97 xk8.
Got a rebuilt ZF from the factory. Was going to have it changed when I first got the car but was told by the dealer it was a sealed for life unit. Guess that means the life of the tranny.

So I plan on doing a fluid change every 60K

 

I had my rear diff and transmission oil done a while back, 80,000 miles done. Fitter showed me the old filter pan, magnets were clean just a small bit of residue on them so gearbox seems OK, oil was discolored a bit black. I do think the car feels a bit sweeter in the gears and moving the selector. The diff fluid was as good as the first day just mild color change, but he did flush it out and done a refill. There is no drainage bung so the filler nut is the level.

 

Bought my 2007 XK-R in September of 2013 and have had the following problems. I bought the car with 46k on the clock and a VERY good extended warranty (important!!!), car currently already has 79k on the clock.

Let me preface all of the below with this - I DRIVE MY CAR IN DALLAS TRAFFIC AND TEXAS HEAT on average of 75 miles PER DAY 5 days a week, in stop and go commuting traffic.

The car has NEVER left me on the side of the road.

Feb. 2014 - At the 50k Service
1. Rear Main Crank Seal Seeping (not dripping, just some oil seeping) Fixed under warranty
2. Passenger Rear Axle Seal Seeping (fixed under warranty)

September 2014 - 58k miles
1. Drivers side Headlamp Ballist went out
2. Check Engine Light came on for (Coolant Temperature below operating threshold) This was the infamous thermostat going out, thankfully mine failed OPEN. Fixed under warranty

March 2015 - 76k miles
1. Car repeatedly went into "Reduced Performance" mode every time I was doing any "spirited" driving. Cause - O-Ring/Seal where the Dipstick goes into the oil pan was beginning to fail and come to find out we have "positive crank case" engines which was explained to me as meaning if there is a "leak" the computer will interpret it as a misfire and go in to reduced performance mode. Apparently when the Supercharger was really putting out the PSI's it would cause air to escape/leak from an area around the Dipstick seal which caused the code and limp mode. Fixed for $36 parts and .50 hours labor.

2. Passenger Rear Axle seal was "seeping" again. Fixed under warranty

I have had the occasional "Radio stays stuck on Jaguar logo and doesn't turn on" seems to mostly happen in severe weather/temperature changes. I have also had 2 occasions where the car starts up and immediately dies and attempting to restart immediately results in a Starter loop. I simply hit the button again, count 10 seconds and restart and it starts right up.

Now having said all of that, the car has NEVER had a serious issue and given that I am putting an average 18k miles a year or more on it I will say it is turning out to be more reliable than I had ever anticipated.

Like others I don't even care about the little things I have had to fix because DAILY I get 4-5 people who Ooooh and Aaaahhhh over the car.

 

Bottom line: It's always a good idea to get the latest model year you can afford. Time and mileage will always affect a cars reliability, and added to a poor or lesser than proven design plays more havoc. Go for what you can afford and if possible stay with the 2010+ XK/XKR models. Good luck.