I'm a bit surprised at how many readers refute that these cars can suddenly accelerate with NO input from the driver. I imagine they will keep denying it until it happens to them, and if they are driving a newer, all-electronic car enough it probably will. It happened to me the other day in a 1999 XK-8 I bought recently. I've driven Jaguars all my life and owned & worked on just about every model up through the 90s. I know how to drive a stick and an auto. trans., and I have NEVER had an unintended full-throttle situation in my life until the other day. in the XK-8. After it happened, there were NO codes in the computer and it did not go into 'limp home'. It was as though it never happened. The only forewarning of this event may have been when the first start-up of the car that day gave me 'ABS' and 'Traction Control' warning lights. They went away on the second start-up and a bit later, as I was slowly pulling into a parking spot, the car went full throttle. I have no idea if the two events are connected, but I DO know that my foot didn't cause it.

 

You're in the wrong part of the forum for a XK8.

Secondly, every single case it has been some physical input to the petal.

Just the read hot adrenaline of the moment prevents it from being noticed.

"I was pulling in slow to into a parking spot, the car went full throttle".

Most likely you caught the gas, in panic of trying to slow down yet going faster you gave even more input, resulting in full throttle.

In my case I already outlined what happened, a different set of circumstances but still scary.

I am fairly certain given the redundancy of the system, and a system that when one input fails defaults to off, that it is a physical placement via an object on the accelerator that is the cause.

It won't fail to full throttle, it will fail to cut throttle.

 

Me too! Today!

 

Thank you. I am a little surprised at this thread where everyone mocks someone's auto issue. I just had this happen today. After driving this same car for 11 years I did not suddenly develop bigger feet and forget the layout of my brake and gas pedal. The acceleration surged. In drive, in neutral and then in park. Until I turned the car off. It was so bizarre. 2009 XK

 

NO NO NO> this is an actualy problem. Rude to dismiss folk. I am a female, I don't wear work boots. I have had this car 11 years. This has never happened. Nothing to do with my foot. We are not all idiots experiencing this problem

 

Those posts are crazy! I wonder if Jaguar has ever admitted it; Wow! I am now a little afraid to drive mine. Mine didn't surge fwd and hit anything today. My brakes still worked. The engine was definitely wanting to move forward and revved up bad in neutral and worse in park. I was driving slowly in a lot of traffic. I had to shut it off fast. Then it drove home the last 4 miles fine.

 

With the ignition in the OFF position, what is the battery voltage across the terminals when checked with a voltmeter?

 

I also have a 2008 XK and had this happen 2x over 4 years when coming to a slow stop, causing a minor accident each time.

 

Wow, that isn't cool at all having it result in accidents. Seems to be limited to the 4.2L generation, would imagine that scenario would be very disconcerting.

 

Check your carpet and/or floor mats to be sure the accelerator pedal is not getting stuck after you take your foot off the pedal.

 

Also check fuel trims as it could easily be an air leak.

The car has a fault. They do NOT do this as-built.

 

I just read this whole thread. I had no idea that the forum had so many female members.

 

Rude, but funny

 

Why is that rude? There were several female member who chimed in in this thread. I thought it was just a bunch of old dudes like me.

 

Yep, THAT'S what you meant. It sure is!

 

I thought the same thing when I read it, was surprised as we don't see the ladies chiming like the regulars on here. If someone decides to disclose their gender I don't see it being offensive being mentioned later as a reference in a non-insulting context.

What I find amusing in this thread is the condescension, to assume people are stupid and pushing their throttle instead of brake or have bunched up matts or oversized shoes. When they clearly say it isn't any of that...there are enough repeat reports to say there is some type of flaw. Whether in design or maintenance (such as vacuum line breach) who knows. Haven't heard it on the 5.0L.

 

On cars with electronically-controlled throttles, I can understand the possibility that a software glitch could cause sudden acceleration. However, one of the people who commented said she drove an early 4.0 liter X100. On those cars the throttle was connected directly to the gas pedal.

And the guy who rear-ended two different people the two times he had the throttle glitch... LOL.

 

I had this happen to me once in my 2010. I was in park at the time, and yes it was my foot at the wrong angle.
I also had it happen once while I was learning to drive, what, a hunnerd years ago? That time it was also my own foot.
My sister once crashed her own old Chevy into a garage door...... her problem was a can of hairspray (or something similar) had fallen out of her purse and got jammed into the pedal area. Again, that was like a hunnerd years ago.

 

Good news is her hair looked great!!!

 

Bad part is now she's at least 116.