Hello everyone. New here, first post. So please be gentle.

10 days ago I purchased a 2008 plate XKR Portfolio, black with ivory leather, from a reputable independent dealer. It was in excellent condition for a car of this age, probably helped by the fact it only has 28,000 miles on the clock. It also has a full Jaguar service history. The car has keyless entry and ignition.

On Tuesday I drove to work, then mid-morning used the car for a short trip to the supermarket. Upon returning to the car with my shopping I got in and pressed the start button. Nothing happened. The brake pedal appeared rigid. None of the dashboard lights lit up. I tried to turn the lights on (thought it might be a battery issue) and they worked.

I made several further attempts to start the car and nothing happened. Eventually I locked it and returned to work, with the intention of calling the AA after work. When I returned to the car (several hours later) it started without any problems.

A friend suggested to me I might have accidentally tripped the immobiliser, so I put this down to a one-off experience.

I parked the car up on Tuesday night and did no further driving for a few days.

I did some local driving on Saturday, then today (Sunday) drove to Sussex and back (170 miles). On the way home I stopped for a take-away pizza. On leaving the pizza place I got into the car. The electronics sprung to life, the steering wheel moved into my pre-set position, but the car refused to start when I pressed the 'start' button.

I pressed the button again and nothing happened. I waited 20 seconds and tried a third time - it started.

Clearly I want to get this sorted. I have e mailed the dealer and await their response.

Has anyone had similar issues? It has been suggested to me that this might be the result of an old battery, as the car is 6 years old and I don't think it has ever had a new one.

Any help much appreciated.

 

We don't bite (much)

These cars are very sensitive to low battery conditions, so that's a real possibility. It may be that it just doesn't take a decent charge, which would be unsurprising if it's the original. And a new battery is not a big investment.

There's another possibility - dodgy Start button. Does everything always light up when you first press it?

One other thing that drew my attention: the brake pedal. The car will not start unless it gets a satisfactory response from the ABS system that says the brakes are on - not just that the pedal is pressed, but that the braking system is pressurised and the pistons are holding the discs. We discovered this when helping another member who was rebuilding a damaged XKR; everything lit up, but no start. I suggested he bleed the brakes again - it worked.

So, if something is binding and messing up the brakes, you may not be getting enough pressure to satisfy the ECM that the brakes are on. This is a long shot, I guess, but it was the one thing that caught my eye in your description.

 

Welcome to the forum Emkay,

As you have only had the car for 10 days, the first move should be a return visit to the 'reputable independent dealer'.

Battery condition and charge can cause a host of problems with the sophisticated electronics on these vehicles but before putting on a new battery or any other possible contributing parts I would most certainly put it on dealer level diagnostics. It is reasonable to expect the supplying dealer to do this for you. Without reading stored or pending codes, the possible causes are speculative.

When you get a minute, please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Many thanks.

I bought it from Nick Whale, who have some fantastic cars on site and appear to be a good name in the sports car market. Indeed, at £26,900, the XKR was one of the cheapest cars on their books. (To get the Jag out of their garage they had to move a Jensen Interceptor, a nearly-new Ferrari and an Aston Martin limited edition!).

I note the car has only done 2,000 miles since September. It has one previous owner, and probably spent most of the time garaged up.

The dealer has offered to pay for a new battery. They are based nearly 100 miles away (I am in London and they are near Warwick), so I am going to take them up on this offer. In the event the problem continues I will probably be returning it to them and asking them to investigate it.

 

EMKAY,
This happens to my '07 Xk on rare occasions and always preceded by a solid brake pedal...............just try pressing the pedal again and again. If that doesn't work take a brake! and then try again ...............

Hope this helps, Adrian

 

That sounds a good course of action.

If you are not putting the car into a London Jaguar Dealer for the battery replacement, you should be aware that a number of adaptations are lost when the battery is disconnected and the following procedure should be used to reset them:




Graham

 

Many thanks for that. The new battery will be here tomorrow.

Do I need to drive the car immediately, or can it wait until the end of the day when I go home?

I am going to change the battery in work hours. My boss is fine with this, but not sure he will be happy with me vanishing off for 30 minutes.

 

If you can spare the time, it is best to fully charge a new battery on the bench overnight with a trickle charger before installation.

 

I'd suggest you do 1,2, 8 & 9, and leave 3-7 until you're headed home. There's no need to calibrate the ECM until you actually want to drive the car.

 

Emkay,

If you inadvertently pump the brake pedal, it will feel high and rock hard. The high pedal makes it difficult to make contact with the starter switch, so you'll have to stand on the brake pedal with both feet when you press the starter button.

The simple solution is to press the start button BEFORE you step on the brake pedal.

Note that other manufacturers require that you step on the brake pedal before you press the start button. Jaguar works either way, but I find that my car starts much quicker when I press the start button before stepping on the brake pedal.

This was previously discussed. See: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...se-time-57460/

Hope this helps. If so, please click the THANKS button in the bottom right corner of this post.

Stuart

 

Is there any documentation from Jaguar thats states to press the start buttun first then the brake pedal then the start button again?

I don't see that in my manual or at least can't find that information.

 

Richard,

It's not in my 2009 manual; the manual says to depress the brake pedal and then press the start button.

This "opposite" procedure was brought to my attention by my Service Advisor a few years ago when my car wouldn't start when I picked it up after it was serviced. I didn't realize that while I was sitting in my car chatting with him that I must have pumped the brake pedal, and when I pressed the start button nothing happened. He got in the car, stood on the brake pedal with both feet and it started immediately. He then told me to press the start button before stepping on the brake pedal. He said it starts easier that way, and I've been doing that ever since. As soon as I tap the brake pedal it starts.

Stuart

 

I found a TSB on this issue for my 2011 XK. Its merely a software update . Additionally the brake switch could be the culprit as well.

No: JTB00213
Issue: 1
Date: 23 NOV 2010

SECTION: 418

Battery Discharged





AFFECTED VEHICLE RANGE:

CONDITION SUMMARY:

Situation:
The vehicle battery may become discharged if the vehicle is left standing overnight or longer. This may be due to a MOST bus issue causing a 1.6Amp drain when the Infotainment Control Module (ICM) is shut down.

NOTE:
This software update should be carried out on any customer complaint of a discharged battery. The cause of the discharged battery must be investigated as per normal processes; any other faults found must be claimed as a separate claim.

Action:
In the event of a customer concern of the above, refer to the Repair Procedure outlined below to update the ICM software.

PARTS:

 

Battery was changed this morning.

I gave the car a run up and down the A40 during lunch and everything appears to be working well.

The test will be if the problem occurs again during the next week or so.

Let's see what happens.

I also posted this thread in another forum. Someone else came back saying they had exactly the same problem and it was solved with a new battery. So here is hoping!

 

Just a quick message to let you all know that the problem has not repeated since the battery was changed.

Thus, I am assuming it was a battery problem.

Thanks for all your help.

 

Sounds exactly what happened last week when my 2010 XKR battery ran down to 5.2 V in just 3 days from the fully charged state. That 1.6 Amp drain exactly describes the scenario. Guess, off to the dealer for a software update.

 

Sorry, Albert - I knew about that TSB, but I foolishly assumed it was a 'hard' fault, i.e. something that you'd see all the time, and when you said you got down to 40mA, I dismissed it. If this MOST bus issue is intermittent, that would definitely be the first thing to check.

 

It is an intermittent issue with my car and would assume this bus issue to be also intermittent. Otherwise all cars effected would run down the battery practically every time when the car sits a day or more. Since I just got my car a couple of months back, no way to know what version software is in it. Just got an appointment at the dealer for next Tuesday for an update.