Hi All,
I have a new to me 2000 XKR with 28K miles. I've already worked through a few common issues however, I'm stuck on this one.

Does anyone have experience with the steering wheel tilt motor problem ie. wheel extends but doesn't drop down as it should on start up. What I'm wondering is can the motor or potentiameter be repaired or does it have to be replaced? If it can be fixed how do you do it, and does it require removing the steering wheel? Lastly, if the fix requires wheel removal can it be done by an amature with a rented/borrowed steering wheel puller or should I defer to a pro? Thanks in advance.

Ken

 

Hey Ken,
Go to the search area and enter: "Steering wheel retraction." There's a post there that addresses the issue.

 

I hope you can fix it. My '03 had the same issue last spring but luckily it was still on Jag warranty. They replaced the whole steering assembly with all the motors - would have cost about $4,000 if not under warranty. The assembly was ordered from England and they had to build one there... took 4 months to arrive.

 

FYI, I've heard this can be a nightmare to fix when it breaks so I turned mine off. I figure if I don't use it, it can't break.

 

I added a couple links to the tilt/reach steering column issue in the FAQ sticky in the xk8/r forum, lots of good info there.

 

Chaz,

From what I hear, that's the exact opposite to what is recommended. The tilt/telescopic motor(s) & potentiometers need to be exercised regularly or they lock up. Speaking from personal experience, my car is stored for the winter and when spring arrives I need to exercise the column before it starts working reliably.

 

Ditto ABorealis - Mine work fine when it is warm and are sluggish when cold (like first thing in the AM). I also use the seat/wheel memory settings to make it go to the right position. I keep two positions memorized - one for top up and another for top down.. I'm finding that several things about my car work better when I use them a lot, and it seems I've read that advice on this forum. I wouldn't just turn it off. DaleD

 

It most likely is the potentiometer. I had mine apart and changed its indexing and it worked flawlessly for about 2 months and now is sticking once in a while. The motor itself works fine. For what its worth, I also agree that these things seam to work better if used all the time. let it sit and it will surely fail.

 

I set the memory 1/2 a little on each side of the current position and then cycled the positions while assisting the wheel movement with the other hand. That got it unstuck and . . . yes, they work better when used.

 

Chazaroo, et al,
Thanks for all the replies; however, after searching the forum for steering wheel retraction and steering wheel tilt I was still unable to find the answers to my questions. I tried excercising mine and it makes it marginally better for the rest of that day but I only drive it every 3rd or 4th day and by then it'ts back to repeated attempts to get it down. In my opinion, turning it off is a good idea - at least then when it refuses to move it'll be where you want it anyway. That being said, I'm the kind of guy that wants everything to work properly and it sure is easier for entry/exit if its working. Sooooo, if anyone has any further input as to how to fix it without spending $4K please let me know!

Thanks again all - I think this forum is invaluable to keeping our machines running at a reasonable cost. Hopefully I will not be "pruned"!

Ken

 

The motor/potentiometers are easy to replace. Jaguar warranty time is .5 hour. I have done about a hundred so I got pretty fast at it. Just get a 4mm allen wrench for the 2 mount screws and make sure you run the column TILT all the way to the top, back it off a half or quarter turn and slide out the old motor from the plastic slipjoint. Before you mount the new motor plug it in and run it UP with the switch until it stops. This will ensure that the motor stops before the TILT binds mechanically (so the AUTO knows where to stop)

bob gauff

 

yeah but that is if you want to pay for a whole new motor.

 

Bob,
Thanks for the info - can you please clear up a couple of more things for me? JTIS says to begin by removing the air bag, steering wheel and underscuttle - that’s the part that’s a bit dicey/unclear for me. I've never removed a steering wheel before and I'd hate to mess it up and I have no idea what the underscuttle is. Do you have to remove the steering wheel? Is the underscuttle the panel under the steering wheel with the sunglass compartment or is it the plastic surrounding the steering column? Thanks again.

Ken

 

You only need to remove the wheel/column if you are replacing the REACH motor or position sensor (it's on the top of the column). You need to remove the underscuttle (under the column) and not the cowling for the upper column (where the switches are). The TILT motor assy is under the column and is held in place with 2 hex socket screws.

bob gauff

 

Bob,
That's great - Thanks! I'll get a new motor and put it in ASAP. I tried exercising the heck out of it today and it's still hit and miss - really drives me nuts.

Ken

 

I have a 97 XK8, and when I bought it the tilt didn't work at all. I just changed out the tilt motor. I think it was $180.00 for the motor and it took me less than an hour to change. That fixed it just fine.

To Change:
Remove large lower cowling to access motor (two screws and it slides out, be sure to disconnect wires to valet switch & humidifier sensor)

Remove three screws from bottom of steering column to remove lower cover.

Motor and spline should be visible now.

Remove old and replace with new.

Just be careful when you put the motor in to make sure that you have the motor rotated to the fully up position then place the steering wheel at the high point, not the highest point it will go!!! Then attach spline assembly.

Make sure to put the Auto/Off switch in Off and check full travel. If the steering wheel is not set at proper height when retracted it will hit your wood and try to crunch it.

Hope this helps

 

Bob, Dpez,
Installed the new motor today - it was easy as you said. It's so nice not to have to mash the switch 5 or 6 times to get the wheel to drop!

For any others doing this repair Dpez is right - If the steering wheel is not set at the proper tilt angle when retracted it will "hit your wood and try to crunch it". I wasn't really sure what he meant until I nearly crunched the wood around the instrument cluster. Problem is, even when the wheel is quite a bit lower than it's mechanical limit when the steering wheel retracts if the tilt upward is too great it'll hit the instrument cluster surround. Luckily I was watching - thanks to Dpez, and I had not put everything back together yet. For my car, with the motor at the max upward position the steering wheel needed to be lower than the mechanical limit by ~1 1/2 turns.

Thanks to all for the advice.

Ken

 

I'm having the same problem with mine, and before spending the money for a new motor, has anyone out there taken the motor out, taken it apart and cleaned it out with success?

 

I have on my car. The motor itself is not the issue if it is doing the getting stuck at the top of the range thing. What I found is that the potentiometer gets worn or dirty contacts. I took mine apart and cleaned the potentiometer with contact spray and it worked flawlessly for about a month then started to do it again. I think I remember trying to get the potentiometer by it self and struck out do to its design.

 

Thanks to all, so much wisdom on this blog. I have lot to try.