Hello

New member here. I have already submitted the new member intro in the appropriate area of this forum.

My new-to-me 2002 XK8 has 38,000 original miles but the major instrument cluster failed on the previous owner and the Jaguar dealer installed a used cluster with 190,000 miles since a new one was no longer available. The vehicle is in near mint condition and the grossly overstated odometer mileage bothers me. I have found a used cluster with a 38,000 miles on it.

Questions:

1. Can I install the cluster and have it integrated properly without performing special operations with a Jaguar diagnostic tool (i.e. is the cluster plug and play)? I know there are many networked modules on the vehicle and am concerned that the new cluster will not "shake hands" with the other modules and then render the vehicle disabled and forcing me to take the dealer. I'm not willing to do that...I will just leave it as is. I reviewed the receipt of the work the dealer did and based on the charges my guess is that it is more involved than just installing the cluster.

2. The posting for the cluster 38,000 miles on it is listed as 1998-2002 from the US showing the speedometer major graduations as MPH. Are the instrument clusters truly all the same in this date range or are there other factors driving other variants that I should be aware of?

Thanks

 

I've moved your question from X350 to XK8/XKR forum. Members here with the same model will be able to help.

Graham

 

My understanding is that if you fit it the vehicle will go into anti-theft and be totally immobilised.

 

Jag V8: thank you for your input indicating a cluster replacement will immobilize the vehicle.

However, I have done some research and several sources indicate that that is partially correct in that the immobilization with module/IP hardware swaps began in 2003MY XK8 with the introduction of the 4.2L. My XK8 is a 2002 MY 4.0L (the last of the first generation). Below are the sources that support this.

 

You should be able to do a swap with a 2001 or 2002 cluster from another XK8 convertible left hand drive (not a coupe and not supercharged and north American LHD model). This will be a hardware and software match, prior to the immobilizer feature. Yes, I have actually done this successfully.

 

As have I.

If you can, you want to be careful not to 'prematurely age' your car by replacing the IPK with a much higher mileage IPK, or have real problems when the next mileage check is done (say at an inspection) by having the ODO be lower than the last time it was recorded...

 

Thank you all for your inputs. Why the AM/Jag dealer in Michigan installed a used 190K odometer in a mint car with 38L miles makes no sense. I realize that new ones are not available but I've found several matches on eBay right now that would have been a better fit. Regarding the mileage discrepancies, there is a place on the Michigan title that allows you to check the box for "vehicle odometer reading inaccurate" to reflect this but that only comes into play during a sale. We do not have annual physical inspections just annual renewal fees that are handled online. Regardless I have an Excel I've created that shows the actual vehicle miles with documentation to back it up. I don't plan on selling the car for a very long time so none of that really matters. If I did sell the car I would disclose the complete mileage history as the prior owner did with me.

Having gone through this process I'm going to investigate collecting and storing modules over the next several years but that may be a difficult task to identify the correct ones. I think a better approach may be to send the existing modules out for repair in order to retain full compatibility. I see on my ABS module is sealed with RTV indicative of a prior repair. Sure enough, when I went to the folder of receipts that I received with the car I found one from the same Jag dealer who performed the repair 1 year ago Unfortunately, my VCATs label is gone. I work in the auto industry in Detroit and I can't believe Jaguar relied on a sticker to record the birth history. Typically key parts on the vehicle are bar-coded and scanned while they are being installed at the assembly plant. They are associated with the VIN in a central database not only for the ability to identify correct service parts but also to limit exposure if it learned later that one of those parts had a quality issue (i.e. you could narrow down the field of affected vehicles).

Does anyone have another method to get the VCATs label info if the label is missing? Perhaps writing Jaguar customer care with a request to provide the vehicle build sheet?

 

Many Jaguar dealerships are willing to provide a copy of the build sheet once you prove ownership of the vehicle to them. At least they were years ago when I obtained the build sheet for my wife's 2006 XK8. Some dealerships were more willing to cooperate than others....

 

Or maybe you can drive in reverse for 152,000 miles. Of course just kidding but it is just amazing to me that there is not some legitimate service procedure available to reset an odometer for cases like this.

 

That is a good point. I will contact the original servicing dealership in Troy, Michigan and see what birth history info they can provide me that is on file for my vehicle.