Hello! Excuse me if I'm wirting something that has already been discussed but I just couldn't find a thread that matches my problem. Straight to the point- I am a happy new owner of a 2003 Jaguar XK8 (52000ml)! Just to start- I am from Bulgaria(Europe) but I imported my Jag from the US. The car is outstanding but however there are some minor issues that bother me. The first one is these vibration I get on the steering wheel while I'm driving on not so smooth roads(In Bulgaria they are very common). And the other problem is the fuel economy-11-12 mpg in the city. I want to ask the owners of such cars if this is normal or if not what should I do... Thank you in advance

 

Hi, welcome to the forum.

Depending on your driving habits, you should expect 19-24mpg in city driving.
I'm not sure what to tell you about vibration on rough roads Vibration on smooth roads might be more of a problem.

 

Pashoff
11-12 MPG doesn't sound correct. What type of fuel are you getting over there? Run premium in it. I can't help you on Vibration either, Off Subject, My mothers parents where from Sofia. My grand father wanted to always go back, but never had the chance, and I plan on going over in the next couple of years.
Good Luck

 

Are we talking about US or Imperial gallons? If it's Imperial you are in a worse situation.

 

If your mileage is that poor I'd get a code reading asap. You should easily get around 18-20 in town unless you are idling at stops for 5-10 minutes each...and sitting idling in traffic for most of your driving.

The vibration: Star with tire balance, and have all your bsuhings checked for wear. Even at 52K miles it's possible a few have worn out (it's 9 years old).

 

I average 13.8 mpg. I'm a lead foot though.

 

I average about 13mpg in my 02 XKR, all city stop and go driving. That's tuned up with a new fuel filter, plugs, air filter, etc....figured it was normal?

 

That depends on how you are driving it. If you drive it like an economy car you should be able to get 20+ mpg.

 

Getting 16.5 combined in sport mode, comfort about 18-19, using premium.

Two tons of supercharged GT with 20" wheels, burning gas is just part of the package. After all, doesn't the privilege of driving a Jag automatically include behaviors that are questionable by the less enlightened or successful?

I mean, after all, we have an image to maintain. It might be a little awkward if the mileage was *too* good, since it would be unseemly to be viewed as competing with Priuses.

Let us not forget that we drive *Jaguar*, ladies and gentlemen. Damn the torpedoes, conspicuous consumption ahead!

 

I have a 2002 XKR and get 22 to 23 on the highway, 18 or 19 around town, and 15 or 16 if I'm having fun.

Mark

 

hm, well I typically get around 22mpg city with the occasional switch into sport mode and a bit of spirited accelleration from the light. combined city + highway usually averages 24-25mpg. I've never taken it on a trip long enough to gain mostly highway miles, however when cruising @70mph on flat level pavement the instant mileage gauge will usually read 31mpg, with the top down.

edit: mine is an '03 XK8, which should get slightly better mileage than an R, and the 6 speed transmission is supposed to help with fuel consumption. I almost never keep it in sport mode on the highway.

 

At 90K took my '98 XK8 convert. on a trip from NJ to DC. Hit no traffic jams. Speed with cruise control 70 mph. Trip meter showed 28 mpg. Usual driving is 70% highway and 30% around town and I average 21-23 mpg. Jack

 

Welcome to the elite, Pashoff!

It think it important to get the engine thoroughly checked out: fuel balance, engine management and so on, and make sure that it is firing on all cylinders. At 52,000 miles the longlife plugs have probably never been changed, so I would suggest you have these done anyway, as well as a good service. Fuel consumption that low is just not right. I have a 4.2 XKR with uprated upper pulley, running on LPG (which has worse consumption than petrol) and even with a lot of heavy acceleration and a reasonable amount of town driving I get about 18 to the gallon - more in mixed town/motorway driving (up to around 24mpg - in the UK this is similar in cost to better than 40mpg on petrol!) If you accelerate like mad all the time, I suppose you could have very poor consumption, but as I said I think that a good service with fresh oil and plugs, and adjustment is likely to sort it out. I would not suspect anything particularly ominous.

Clearly there is something to be checked out with the running gear - steering geometry, wheel bearings, brakes and suspension. Have it looked at carefully; if there is something wrong then don't wait to fix it. I know this sounds daft, but it's not just an area of road surfaces that has been laid poorly, with ridges? Good luck with the investigations, and let us know the result.

 

could also have some air/vacuum leaks attributing to some lean conditions requiring more fuel being added...viscous cycle. Check all your lines and intakes bends, and even the connectors on the lines can leak, they have an o-ring that dries up too... the plastic doesn't hold up well after 4-5 years in that engine bay, almost all my plastic and connector o-rings have been replaced due to leaks.

 

Guys,thank you so much for the answers! I'm having the car checked and if I reach any improvement I will share right away. Thank you

 

I took my Jag from the mechanic today. It turned out that my Air Filter had never been changed since the car had been bought. So they changed my Air Filter and now I get 30-33 MPG highway with tempomat and 16-19 city driving on sport mode. About the vibrations I will have to replace the front sway bar links with new and the outer ball joints of the steering rack as well. When I change them I will write to tell you the result

 

wow, that's a really big difference. I wouldn't have thought that a dirty air cleaner could affect the fuel consumption so much.

glad to hear it's getting sorted out for you.