Just recently got this message after some hard jerks as I was accelerating around a corner. I believe it went into limp mode because it was very hard to take off moving foward. The car still goes into every gear. No CEL. Could this be my gear box oil being to low? I'm not sure if it was EVER changed or is this the beginning of a huge overhaul and headache to come?

 

There are 3 different Transmissions used in the 1997-2006 XKs. If you would put the year and Model (XK8 or XKR) in your Signature, someone should be able to help you.

 

It's a 98 XK8 ... Anyone have any insight on this ?

 

Had a similar issue where a seal had gone and the gearbox was weeping fluid. The PO had over-filled the box and by the time I bought the car, enough fluid had escaped to cause problems. Wasn't a new gearbox, but did require a new filter, new seal and a re-fill of fluid.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes, Colin

 

How much did it run you Colin?

 

Based on what I have read over the years here on the forum, fluid and filter changes can run anywhere from $200-$1000 depending on where you bring it. However, search for posts on the forum with your symptoms...there is plenty to read. I would suggest bringing the car to a good ZF specialist. I wouldn't want to try and Internet diagnose this for you, but most of what I read with similar sounding symptoms seems like a substantial issue.

 

I'm in the UK, but the cost was within Steve's bounds. The gearbox has been fine since, but it I know it could have been very expensive to fix had there been a more serious problem.

Best wishes, Colin

 

Read the codes and post them.

 

After a couple days of research on this fault message I go out to get the codes and notice the GEAR FAULT message is gone. I haven't drove it since the day I posted the thread so I decided to take it down the street and everything seemed normal. Could this be an electrical complication? Is it safe to drive now? Are the codes still stored? Open suggestions?

 

Take the car to any local parts place and get them to read the codes.