Well it has been a few days since the apparently bogus ABS/DSC warning has come but now there is another annoyance. I always keep the Sport Mode button up which supposedly engages the sport mode. To tell the truth I have never felt all that dramatic a difference except for slightly more solid shifting. Anyway today noticed the little red light in the button is not on but drive and shifts feel the same. So it the light not being on more to do with a failed bulb (or whatever the light is) or is it a failed switch? Since the car drives the same I am thinking it is just a funky light but, if so, is there a way to fix the bulb inside the switch?

 

I don’t know the year of your car, but on my 2002 XKR, the button needs to be depressed and the light on in order to be in the sport mode. In the sport mode the car starts off in 1st gear, not in sports mode it starts off in 2nd gear.

if you floor the accelerator, the sports mode keeps the car from shifting early. Easy to compare the shifting point and tell if you are in the sports mode or not.

Z

PS: I can’t advise about fixing the bulb, sorry. Taking off the trim to access the sports mode switch is a heart stopper. The plastic is brittle and prone to cracking. I believe If you have to remove the trim there are videos and instructions in the sticky’s.

NOTE: I have it backwards, sports mode is with the button up, not down. At least I have the “light on” part right !

Z

 

In sport mode it goes like a rocket ship ..you will know the difference...down for rocket mode,

 

Does the red light come on when you press the button down as that is what is supposed to happen?

Richard

 

Looks like there is at least some incorrect understanding here about this button which is actually Jaguar's fault since operation is counterintuitive. You would normally think that depressing any button would engage an operation while having the button in the up position would disengage the operation. But with the S-mode button it is the opposite. When the button is UP the light is on and the light being on indicates you are in the Sport mode. When the button is pushed and in the DOWN position the light goes off and this indicates you are NOT in the Sport mode. At least that is how this has been in my 2005 XKR for the last 15+ years of ownership. The owner's manual also states when the light is on it indicates you are in Sport mode and, again, the light is on when the button is UP.

That being said I have to say I have never felt a dramatic difference but that is probably because I do not drive the car aggressively. But when the car is is NON-Sport mode the shifting feels slushier (is that a word) than what it feels like in Sport mode (i.e., slightly firmer shifts in Sport mode). So yesterday when I was driving with the button UP but the light NOT on I was wondering if I was still in Sport mode even though the light was not lit--maybe the bulb just burned out or something. The shifting felt the same as what I had always felt in Sport mode.

HOWEVER now this is a moot point since this morning when starting the car with the button UP, the light is on again (just like the last 15 years of ownership). So it looks like it was just one of those gremlins that pop up in these cars from time to time (like the ABS/DSC lights that intermittently came on a few days ago and that have now disappeared). Could be I just need a new battery since there are a lot of these niggling things that seem rear up with old batteries.

 

If you have any doubt about whether your battery is up to snuff I'd check that first. A slightly weak battery causes all sorts of anomalies.

 

you are 100% correct. If I’m not sitting in the car looking right at it, I’m going to say the wrong thing 100% of the time !

I'm very sorry for putting out the wrong information, but I don’t think it will be the last time

The only thing I’m sure of is that the performance is way different when the sport mode is engaged ( please don’t ask me to go on the record if that means it’s up or down ) and the light is on.

Humbly,

Z

PS Of course the owners manual is no help, mine just says to press the button to turn on sport mode and press it again to turn it off. But no mention of up or down being the “on” position. I suppose they assume a light is notification enough that the sport mode is engaged.

the cruise control works the same way on my 2002, again with no mention in the manual regarding up or down, just press to engage. Press again to disengage.

 

Can I jump in here and ask a quick question?

Should the S on the sport mode button be backlit, as the speedometer symbol on the cruise control button is?

Mine is not and I suspect it can't be repaired, just replaced. The red light does illuminate when the button is "undepressed" and there's a definite difference in shift timing in sport mode.

 

No problem about the button confusion. But I keep hearing how having Sport mode on is way different and car is like a rocket. I have never noticed that dramatic a difference but as I said before I drive rather mildly. Are those that say the Sport mode is totally different driving pedal to the metal in which case the difference might be more dramatic?

 

Yes there is a backlight bulb as well and there is actually a video you might find about changing that bulb.
https://youtu.be/nLMjm_kPBxM?si=XvnhoBd2tMocD6j9

 

With the 4.0 XKR cars, the car will start out in 2nd gear without the sport mode engaged, that’s easy enough to determine by counting the gears as each shift is made.

the second difference is with the shift points, yes you have to bury the throttle for the definitive experience . With the sport mode engaged the engine will go to 5,500+ rpm before shifting up. Without the sport mode the shift point is much much earlier.

i do not know if the sport mode characteristics are identical with the 4.2 models.


Z

 

On my 97 xk8 which I’ve only put about 1000 miles on before winter hit, I can say there absolutely is a huge difference in having sport mode on. When first got It I tried both ways, and non sport feels sloppy/sluggish on the shifts. And yes I drive this thing hard, so maybe that’s why I noticed it, but with sport mode ON and asc OFF this car will light up the tires, and I’ve learned to respect it or I will end up in someone’s front yard…again

 

I pretty much always keep the sport mode on (button up, red light on). I had a 4.0 (Nikasil) XJ8 and with it's sport mode on and pedal to the metal, it would rev to 6,850 redline. My 4.2 XK8 revs to 6,500 redline. Not that I do that very often, but inquiring minds want to know.

 

if you floor the accelerator with the sport mode engaged, the result is much different than flooring it without the sport mode.

I have a lead foot, so I don’t know anything about how subtle the difference is with mild(er) acceleration, other than the car starting out from a dead stop in 2nd gear without the sport mode.

 

I guess that is my "problem"--my mild-mannered driving style. My previous ride had been a 1995 Corvette and it was easy to program the firmness of shift points using a Hypertech programmer. The XKR is probably the smoothest shifting car I have driven with shifting that is almost like slurring from one gear to the next. At least in Sport mode the shifts are a bit more noticeable.

 

Well I am thinking (hoping) that it is just a time for a new battery. Over the past couple of days the sport mode light suddenly goes off for no particular reason and then the next time I start the car it is on again. I tried charging the battery which sometimes helps to delay the weird various idiot light issues but I guess with the battery being 6 years old now I should just go ahead and get a new one to see if that solves the problem with the random lights.

 

The "Sport" mode will engage if the indicator bulb is burnt out.
Regarding the 4.0 cars, John over at To The Garage has a nice series, please see the video link below:

Sport mode discussion starts at 8:30

Interestingly, the functionality includes monitoring the Wheel ABS sensors to determining cornering. This will affect whether the car up shifts in a cornering situation.

Also note that if there is reason for the transmission to relearn adaptations, this will not occur driving in Sport mode. This is a rare situation, just something of which to be aware after specific major overhauls.

 

Thank you for posting the “John” video. There’s seemingly no end that one can learn from him. Really, really enjoyable.

Z

 

Yes which also explains why I never noticed much of a difference in Sport Mode. Since I drive like a wuss and do not floor it or throw it around twisties, I guess I never truly activate the Sport Mode.