I purchased my Jag in mid January and about a month later I experienced a serious fault. I started the car and it would not go faster than about 5 mph. The instrument panel said "Fail Safe Mode" and had a red warning light. It also showed two other failures that I don't remember, but I think one might have been "traction control fail". My fuel level was low, about 25 miles remaining, so I limped to a gas station and filled the tank. When I restarted the car it operated normally.

The same thing happened to my wife about 2 days later. She stopped the car and restarted it and the problem was gone. It happened again after a few miles and she stopped and restarted it again and the problem went away and has not reappeared in almost two months.

Can anyone shed any light on what may have caused this problem?

Thanks you for any help.
Dennis

 

Probably low battery voltage. Give them an overnight charge and see how it is from there.

 

The sure sign that an XK8 has a low battery is that, when you open the door, the window drops but it doesn't go back up when you close the door. If that isn't happening, your problem may not be the battery. It is probably worth charging it, just to be sure, but I think you'd see the window issue as an early warning.

So, what else? Could be an intermittent connection to one of the engine or transmission sensors, something that makes the car's computer systems believe there's a major problem. Probably the best way to get further along, if the battery charge doesn't fix it, is to take the car to a Jag dealer or good independent specialist and get them to read the diagnostic codes stored in the system. That will point you in the right direction.

 

Thank you Ngarara and Jimbov8 for the info. I'm glad it isn't a pending doomsday.

 

Yeah, the usual 'rule of thumb' is: if it goes away when you restart, it is less likely to be a major fault. Big mechanical issues don't usually go away like that. However, it's still worth getting it investigated, because not only it is annoying, there is still the chance that it may be significant.

 

Get the same issue when I am in stop and go traffic say an hour of touch and go on an expressway.....Turn her off and back on - Gone...My humble experience....Do not take it to the doctor will come out sicker than when it WENT IN!!!!

 

It happened to my 1999 xk8 twice in last 14 days. No fault codes left. Always says "traction control failure". It needs about three starts and it goes away. What is the culprit?