Greetings all!
First time Jag owner owner, and a few days ago I picked up a nice 2004 XK8 convertible that, aside from a few electrical problems ( intermittent brake switches/cruise control, dash lights not working when headlights are on ) I need to sort out, I'm enjoying quite a bit.
Being that I've never driven one before this week, I have to inquire about one issue...the accelerator pedal seems to be quite stiff, and takes some effort to depress.
As I've never driven one before, I wonder if this is normal for an XK8? It's much stiffer than any vehicle I've ever driven before, and it really makes the car less responsive than I imagined it would be.

What might my options be to take some ( or all ) of the stiffness away?

Thank you in advance!

 

You can try lubricating the pedal bushes and accelerator cable. If that proves unsuccessful, check for stiffness at the throttle body, or fraying of the accelerator cable.

 

Thank you NBCat, I'll give these a try

 

Also try tightening the accelerator cable. All of these cars' accelerator cables tend to slack off as the years pass, and that results in less-responsive or even sluggish behavior. Tightening the cable is a two-minute procedure done underneath the hood with no tools needed. Search the forum using "tightening the accelerator cable" as your search phrase and you will see multiple threads describing exactly how to do this....

 

It is likely out of adjustment. Go in the bin by the brake booster (basically above the gas pedal). There is a cable that goes to the sensor. There is a "fork" keeping the cable in place. You need to take the "fork" out, and remove the slack off the cable, then put the fork back. Make it sort of tight, but not too tight. This is a 2 min thing.

Then, re-teach the ECU about the change: put the ignition on (engine off) and slowly make the gas pedal travel the entire way to the floor and back. Do it a couple of times to be sure. This need to be done because this is throttle by wire. The cable goes to a sensor, not to the throttle body directly.

There is a big thread about this. Some say it brings a lot of power back (because the throttle can now open the whole way), etc. When I did this on my car, it felt like the car lost 500 pounds. Throttle response became WAY better. I am talking basic driving in town here, right off the line, not any type of spirited driving.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

NBCat, Jon89, and FMertz, Sincere thanks for the suggestions gentlemen!

I performed the quick adjustment suggested by JOn89 and FMertz, and WOW...big difference in throttle response! Lightened up the pedal a bit too. Brought it out about 4 "clicks", then the "ECU re-education", and I'm very happy with the result. Much more responsive, more like I'd thought it should be. When I get a chance I'm going to lubricate the pedal bushings and see if that helps as well.