I sold my X350 XJR a couple of years ago and instantly regretted not having a Jaguar in my life. It's taken a couple of years as I had too many cars, so after moving on my Bentley. I had a Jaguar sized hole on my drive. Enter a November 2000 registered X100 4.0 l XKR in stunning black with black interior and 20 inch BBS split rims. It looks great, sounds great, but it does not actually go anywhere!

When it arrived, I knew the po had issues with the car being in limp home mode, I'd had the same on my XjR and it turned out to be an ABS sensor. However, this is a whole different thing.

The car has covered 86k miles and has a full service history has a new correct battery. The engine starts and runs fine. Picks up revs and idles smoothly, quietly. However, selecting Drive or Reverse will either result in full reverse, or limp forward (max 30mph in 2nd gear) or more often, no drive at all. Selecting drive or reverse, there is no throttle response when a gear is selected, however the revs rise by about 500rpm when selecting D or R. Put the gear lever back in P or N and the throttle works normally.

I have a Jaguar dedicated iCarsoft i930 which is showing no DTC's. I've also scanned with my Launch X431 which also shows no DTC's. So I am at a bit of a loss. Occasionally, when starting the engine, I get TRAC unavailable flash up on the screen. But still no DTC's??

I have planned to replace all ABS sensors as a precautionary measure. I've also read up on the ABS module fix for poor soldered joints.

However, I am hoping the sages on this site will be able to offer some suggestions for the route of getting the big cat back on the road. and point me in the right direction. (I've already considered the gallon of petrol and match, but that may be a little drastic)

Thanks in advance

Jon

 

Do your scanner communicate with the Mercedes transmission? If the car behaves normally untill you try to use the transmission, I would start there.

 

On your icarsoft, are you explicitly interrogating the transmission module for codes?

 

Since you get TRAC Not Available messages on occasions, why are you saying your ABS sensors or system are not an issue. Beyond that, over the years, I have learned that modern sensor equipped cars can be crippled by a combination of two problems. Sometimes replacing one thing at a time won't work because the issue is not fully resolved by replacing one item at a time if you put the old one back in afterwards.
+1 on the tranny suspicions already voiced. And a thorough cleaning of the ABS sensors followed by greasing their connectors is mandatory in my book.

 

Thanks for your response. I will try tomorrow to see if I can pull codes from the transmission.

 

Apologies, I am not saying there isn't an issue with the ABS, I have purchased 4 new sensors and will fit as a matter of course, also I will remove the ABS module and check and repair if the soldered joints are degraded. My initial research has thrown up these items as fairly regular issue areas. If this action does not resolve the issue, then it will not harm the car! The sensors will replace the current old sensors permanently.

I am just trying to piece together a logical work process to resolve the issue...It would be great to actually drive the car; as beautiful as it is; driving is the ultimate pleasure with my Jaguars.

 

They should do, I hope to have a little more time this week to deep dive and see if the answers will be revealed. I am also changing the ABS sensors and repairing the soldered koints in the ABS module if required as a start point

 

"Occasionally, when starting the engine, I get TRAC unavailable flash up on the screen."

When you start the car, do you wait for the initial "systems check" to finish before cranking or do you immediately crank the engine? Try waiting for the systems check to finish and see if it makes a difference.

If anything I would suspect your battery is low and can't supply enough power to run the systems check and crank the engine - probably nothing to do with your gearbox error, but a new battery often solves many problems.

Does your gear indicator on the J gate move to the correct gear when you move the lever? E.g. D when in Drive etc?

You should also do some basic checks on your gearbox. Get a dipstick and check the oil level. Also go under the car and see if there is any oil leaking around the gearbox electrical connector - that is a common failure on the Mercedes gearbox. New connectors are cheap and easily replaced (change the gearbox oil at the same time).

 

Hi, thank you for your response.

The battery is new, correct size and power and fully charged (it is on a battery tender)..

When I start the car, I wait for the checks to complete before starting. (I've owned a few Jaguars over the years so got used to this practice)

I can confirm, the gear illumination on the J gate matches the gear lever location.

I will try and get under the car and check the gearbox for leaks. The car came with a dipstick (in the boot and appears unused) so I will check the level.

 

Thank you to everyone who has freely given your advice, it has been really helpful.

Today I moved forward a few steps. The battery is brand new and kept on tender to keep it tip top. I went through the standard start up process, Engine running well and up to temperature and pressure. This time I monitored everything on my new Launch system and could watch a check everything.

On further investigation with the icarsoft, I was able to pull two codes- P1300, which is a boost calibration fault and P1100, which is Mass airflow sensor intermittent. I also found this comment on the Jaguar Owners Club site from a few years ago. This seems to be almost identical to my situation but there is no resolve for the post:-

So questions tonight are how do I check the boost calibration - could this be caused by a leak from the supercharger system - the only reason I ask this is my Porsche twin turbo V8 had a similar boost issue due to a cracked pipe?? I may be completely off target. The P1100 could be a duff Airflow meter or connections perhaps?

Thank you again for your patience and help
Can anyone advise and possibly suggest where I can find correct procedures on how to check and repair.

• Jaguar Model: XKR
• Year of Jaguar: 2001

But on the way back a message came up gearbox fault so I pulled over even though there seemed nothing wrong, turned her off left it a few minutes and with fingers crossed started her back up but error code still in place but now she seemed to stay in second gear and would not change at all, she has manual s mode but the digits would go up on the dash but no gear change.

I have tried the battery full charged over night, had all the abs sensors checked all fine. Hard reset her. But none of those seem to make a difference.

I have codes p1100 mass air flow intermittent, p1300 boost calibration fault come up and I can clear all these and the gearbox fault light, but she won’t change gear, she will takeoff in this gear so no limp mode.
Am I being bamboozled by these code as my mechanic friend has checked the maf and what ever else he needed to check re boost calibration and he can’t find a problem with these.

 

Id use the dipstick. Personally id change the gearbox flu8d and filter anyway. Cant do any harm. Also the electrical connector. All doable.

 

yes, I've purchased the proper fluid pump and fixtures...no more bunt hands on the exhaust and hot fluid down the arms. Fluid and filter to be ordered. Is the electrical connector a fix it or can I buy new and replace?

 

I believe 2000 4.0 is 5 speed box. Electrical connector is a service item. Fiddly to fit but doable. Plenty of videos on youtube. I found it easier to remove the bracket on the cat to gain more access. Sump is 8 bolts i think .
Refill through dipstick. Measure how much comes out carefully as a point of reference. Dipstick is not the best.

 

When you are looking up information on your gearbox, make sure you are reading about the Mercedes gearbox in your 4.0 XKR, not the ZF fitted in 4.0 XK8 and 4.2 XK8/R. I have no idea what you need the fluid pump for, why you would burn your hands on the exhaust, or get hot fluid down your arms. It sounds like you have been delivering a baby gorilla while riding a steam engine.

 

Thank you, this is likely to be the weekend now.

 

That is the best and funniest response I have read ever...

OK, an explanation, the last time I changed the fluid and filter on a Jaguar gearbox, it was on my previous x350 XjR. The fill plug is buried high up on the right of the box, next to the heat shield for the r/h exhaust pipe. I didn't have a proper oil dispenser so it was filled using an oversized syringe with a flexy hose on the end. I had to hold this in the fill hole with one hand whilst trying to push the plunger of the plunger of the syringe in! this was with the car on Jacks and me lying underneath it.

The fluid pump is a proper workshop ATF pump designed for delivering accurately measured volumes and specifically for hooking into the fill hole or alternatively down through the dipstick tube. Very useful. And a lot less messy.

...so back to the current XKR issues, which are now much improved, not completely resolved but getting there :-) I will put an additional post up

 

Hi all. An massive thank you to everyone who has helped me with this thread. Most of the major issues are now resolved and the car now drives.
.
Here is a quick sum
1. Mass airflow meter replaced with new unit from Jaguar.
2. Dipstick used to measure fluid level - nothing shown. I thought I was using it incorrectly at first
3. New atf fluid pump purchased which allowed me to fill the box via the dipstick tube. 4.2ltrs of ATF was eventually added (that is not a mistake, 4.2 ltrs)
4. 2 front ABS sensors replaced. a major task involving cutting the wheel lug covers off the lugs as they were corroded on, then having to cut, drill and drive the remains of the old sensor out as they were corroded
5. 4 new tyres ordered to be fitted this weekend along with full wheel alignment.
6. New battery fitted and fully charged, sitting on a tender when not in use.

For the first time today, I have been able to drive the car (gently for now) and it is fabulous. I still have TRAC not available flash up on screen randomly and I am hoping changing the rear sensors will resolve this.

So again, thank you for the help.

BTW, I forgot to mention, the loss of ATF appears to be from an electrical connection. We will have car up on a lift this weekend to investigate and hopefully find the fix.

there are other electrical issues according to my code reader, so I will start from the front, working to the rear cleaning all connections / earths /repairing any dodgy wiring found.

 

Changing the ATF is always No 1 with gearbox problems... Glad you got it going OK

 

Wow. That is a lot. You should have changed the electrical sleeve before refilling the oil - you will have to drain and refill now.

 

From memoey 4.2 litres is about what would come out on a fluid change. 7mm socket for the electrical connector. Dont over tighten it and make sure the o rings are in the correct position or it wont sit properly.