I love my Jag, and I have had quite a few, all of which I have been able to maintain myself (mechanically) I now have this 1999 XK8 that is a joy to drive, when its running right, BUT....what is it with these warnings that come up ....traction control fail, stabillity control fail, limp home mode!!!! I really find it so frustrating, when at the end of the day its an internal combustion engine, it works the same as any other engine, so why all these electronic controlled issues, that give the main dealers a licence to print money. All of the mechanical stuff ok, but.....

 

restricted performance, limp home, etc, are there to keep us from destroying the car from continually running it while it is damaged, or suffering from something that can do so if we don't know it. I rather like the 'help' that the car gives us.

My mom driving along, gets a high coolant temp, and the car puts her into restricted performance, forcing her to pull over and call for help...to someone who knew what to do. Because she didn't just keep on driving, the car was able to be repaired w/o catastrophic damage.

Think of it as a benefit rather than a nuisance, and you may see it differently. (or maybe not?)

If you've got traction control, DSC, limp home, and all of the others at one time...thats alot better than just one or the other.

 

I do understand the reasons, but it is so annoying when in this particular case seems no more than a traction control problem, if it was an immenent engine fail then I would understand the reasons for a shutdown, still this is progress I suppose.
Many thanks H20boy.
John

 

look in the s-type, xk8/r, and XJ8/R forums for multiple CEL codes... there's a common thread in them

 

The inst pack, ECM,TCM,gearshift ilumination module and ABS are on the CAN bus so they all talk to each other and affect each other. You probably have the common ABS pump motor circuit board fault (C1095) inside the ABS module. They are pricey as new units but can be resoldered/repaired. Get a DTC readout to be sure of the fault(s) before throwing parts at your car.

bob gauff

 

Many causes can throw this error on the dash, even a TB issue.

The other positive of the electronics is that it leaves a specific error code, and with that you can pinpoint where the actuall error is, otherwise you are just shooting in the dark to what it can be.

Have the code read, and post it, then we can support you on what it can be and how to solve it.

IMHO it should have been standard that you could see the codes on the dash, but it isn't, so only way is to use a OBDII reader. Best is to use one that can also read ABS errors, as this is not what most elcheapo OBDII readers can.

 

In my opinion the electronics will make these virtually obselete in the long run as happens to older Porsche 928s and many other cars. It is possible it is meant to do so. Your Jaguar is over 10 years old. Jaguar probably figures that more than long enough. Because the programming is secret even from owners, they can program in any failures on any timeline they wish. Why would Jaguar want your Jaguar to keep going? What they would want is for you to trade it in on a new one.

That, of course, is a highly negative view. However, building cars to become obselete is the history of auto production. I have an uncle whose profession in Detriot was specifically to design pre-determined mechanical failures. He was paid extremely well for it. It involved cycles and vibration, not maintenance or driving habits. The nylon timing gear was a biggie. To go around 100,000 without warning. It would require a top end tear down and would have bent the push rods. They gave him a quarter-million bonus when he designed a 2 piece a/c bracket to be one piece. It was 2 piece because it needed to be 2 piece. Making it 1 piece not only saved a casting and assembly step, it was known it would break somewhere between 110,000 and 130,000 miles, dropping the compressor into the fan and taking out the radiator. Water pumps to alternators, power steer pumps to crankshaft main gaskets to differentials, all were given life span limits. The same is true for interiors. Seat seams give out at a pre-set rate etc.

The goal is not to destroy the car, but bleed the owner down until one day at dealership for the next increasingly costly repair as the interior slowly ragged out, the dealer can instead offer a good deal on it as a trade-in on a new one, and the cycle repeated. I don't think the car is protecting itself or you. I think it's telling you it's time to trade your old Jaguar in for a new one and it will increasingly try to convince you to do so. He did comment that due to lawsuits, major mechanical failures had to be shifted more towards nuisance matters. Your problems are nuisance, aren't they?

Because people now have to finance cars for a longer period of time, the failure rate time and mileage allowances had to be increased accordingly.

It also is clear that the definition of safety is car first, driver last in my opinion. Forcing someone to pull over to save damage to the car may save the car. Or it may be the driver killed in a rear end or die of freezing or heat exhaustion. Jaguar doesn't have to do warranty work for an accident or dead driver, only for mechanical failures within warranty. These were overseen by Ford, weren't they? Guess who one of his clients was?

I gather you suspect it is only going to get worse.

It seems that over half of all "mechanical" issues raised on this forum for later model Jaguars concern the electronics. Apparently the bad reputation British cars have for their electrical systems is being restored?

So do you want to limp down to the dealership to trade it in on a new one? It will let you do that. Then it would be in warranty and it likely you'd have little problems with it - as long as it is in warranty.

This is only partly "anti-Jaguar" in terms of electronics. In my instance, the ECU is THE enemy.
What has changed is that since computers, you can't repair it. Before computers and outside of computer issues, you can.

 

I believe that once you obtain a scan tool, you will find that these car quite easy to repair yourself. Also, more often than not someone one this forum has had your problem.

So there are 2 things that I think you should do, (1) keep your car and (2)keep this forum in your Favorites column

 

Hello to everyone,
Can I say what a wonderful bunch of people you all are, without this forum and all of your advice I would have given up, I now know that I am not the only one with these problems and your advice has given me confidence to carry on to solve the minor problems It seems I have, may I say again thank you all very much and I will return with my progress.
cheers John

 

That was a very kind thing to say.

I would suggest that over 3 years and 2 cars I have done at least $10k in dealer service/repair based on what I have learned on this, and other, web based forums.

We should stop and remember that Al invented the web that allowed all this to happen.

 

Thank Al!!!???!!!???

 

If you truly love this car stay with it, it is like being married! And who said that was easy?

 

Burn it! it's the only way to exorcise the electrical demons!!!

I jest, I jest....I think....