Just to throw in another .02, - these cars are made to be driven. It's the folks who baby them, or let them sit and just use them as a fair-weather car that seem to have all the codes and problems cropping up. Getting the revs up once in a while and getting the oil warm and flowing is good exercise for the cat.

 

Blows the cobwebs out, so to speak!

 

^^^^^^^. this !!!

If only people had some willingness to learn how much cold reviving hurts and shortens the lifespan of an engine.....


Z

 

The saving grace here is that the engine gets to temperature quickly, by design, and maintains temperature long after it is turned off.

 

I have been taking my wife's 2006 XK8 out for some spirited 20-to-25-mile runs on clear days several times per week for the past month or so. While I simply do not fit into the car regardless of whether the top is up or down (no headroom, legroom, kneeroom, shoulderroom, footroom, etc.) , I must admit that I have been having some great fun with it. So much more enjoyable for me on a crisp 28-degree December morning vs. a miserable 90-degree July morning, and the engine prefers these colder temperatures as well....

 

Hi all,
This topic has seemed to polarise between those afraid of codes and those who are not. As I have mentioned, the fact that this line of thought is expressed must indicate an existential problem does exist, regardless of it’s dismissal by those fortunate or clever enough to avoid them.
Now there is no way that enthusiastic driving should have any effect on any aspect of the car other than increased rates of normal wear and tear.
I can only relate my experience with my 97 XK8 and it is truly a tale of woe. And that is a description from someone who has spent a lifetime of ownership of British cars and bikes, Jaguars in particular. I did buy the car second hand but low mileage and in apparent excellent condition. I did the required maintenance items such as replacing chain tensioner etc. It has been totalled pampered, simply by it’s location, where, when it is driven, it performs long country runs with speeds limited by relevant road rules to a dawdling 110km/hr. It is always garaged and has appropriate maintenance.
The list of faults and potentially catastrophic failures that have occurred are staggering, including a cracked coolant tank, badly degraded tensioners, failed braking servo/traction control, failed serpentine belt pulley, failed power steering pump, failed gearbox control. This does not include numerous codes being thrown up, at the moment a recalcitrant ‘LOW BRAKE FLUID WARNING’ driving me nuts. And this doesn’t include numerous exterior trim failures including side mounted blinker light falling out, boot light falling out, headlights leaking water and degrading etc. And this is still a relatively low mileage car (150km).
It is easy to say that many cars faults are primarily due to low battery voltage or poor earths but clearly this is not the case with most of the failures listed.
I keep the hope going that I have got through the last of it’s teething problems but there has been no relief yet from failures after over a decade of ownership.
Now I am the first to recognise that this forum is for Jag enthusiasts and harsh criticism of the cars has no real place here so I do apologise for the negative tone of this letter. I did go into it’s ownership with my eyes wide open and must say I have had excellent runs from various British cars that have been considered as having poor reliability, including Rovers, Mg’s, Triumph saloons and motorbikes (T160 T140 Norton Commando) various Series Jags including a Daimler SeriesII Double Six, Range Rovers etc. All have travelled very large mileages and provided great pleasure, with the usual expected smatterings of annoying problems.
So back to the original post, I am envious of driving the XK8 on the track but living with the reality of every km travelled with the car working correctly is only another km until the next failure does bias ones opinion. Yes, it is beautiful looking car. No it is not a true sports car and in fact very very few people really want a sports car in spite of their protestations. It can however give an excellent account of it’s itself, all in comfort. The sound and feel of that engine as tachometer climbs towards the red does put a smile on my face but the anticipation of the next failure or unexpected warning message popping up largely overwhelms the experience.
As an aside I have thrashed my MGB (yes it thrashes slowly) and through the most torrential rain storms with only the occasional drop penetrating the rag top
Regards to all and again, sorry for not a more positive post
al

 

reading thru your list of woe, it just doesn’t sound that bad for a 24 year old car chock full of brittle plastic and complicated electronics, both well past the expected expiration date. Adding it all up, even allowing for hourly mechanics rates, I think it falls short of $10,000 . Is that right or close.

I bought my ‘02 knowing full well I might end up with a relic gathering dust in the garage. So I’m determined to drive the bejesus out of it on a daily basis so I’m getting a good return on the purchase price before it craters. I’m only 3 years and 46,000 miles into the ownership. So far so good. It’s cost me $7.20 per day . If it burned to the ground tomorrow, it would still have been a bargain by my standards.


Z

 

Indeed, this is the direction I come from as well. A new Kia Stinger (perish the thought) is $33K at a minimum. A 5 year loan @2.59% puts it at 590/month (~20/day) disregarding the substantial increase in my insurance rates. I haven't spent anywhere near this kind of money on all of my XK8s.

More to the point, leases on F-type verts start at about $630/month + $5K every three years if you want to keep it new (i.e. fewer headaches). Time value of $5K every three years is about $100/month. Now, we're at about $25/day for the car only, and I am telling both drivers on my insurance policy under 25 that they are no longer drivers until they hit 25, and my 19 year old daughter will murder me in my sleep.

Moral of this story: I will continue to drive XK8s to avoid being murdered by my daughter.

 

Hi Z, Dale and all,
If you believe that the problems I have described are not too bad for the age of the car, I obviously haven’t truly conveyed the magnitude and frequency of the problems I have faced. Without hyperbole the car has virtually not completed a major trip without a significant issue. Since I have owned it I’ve driven it about 40,000 km, remembering that every trip is always quite some hundred kms.
I am disadvantaged in as much as the nearest Jaguar specialist is a great distance from me.
The car was originally purchased for my wife to replace her venerable XJ300 which still performs faultlessly and is in beautiful condition despite astronomical mileage. It quickly became apparent that XK8 totally lacked the required reliability, as such it has tended to be a ‘garage queen’.
Aside from the issues mentioned, I am always disappointed by the brittle plastic clips that break as soon as look at them that hold the trim in place. Interestingly, as a farmer I use large quantities of Philmac rural poly pipe and fittings for various water schemes. These products can survive indefinitely in the weather, are incredibly tough and almost never fail. One has to wonder why such an expensive car has plastic which is brittle and is hardly fit for purpose when other grades of plastic are available. I realise that many cars also suffer this problem.
Please do not misinterpret my post, I have spoken to many who have excellent reliability from their XK8 and I have to accept that either I have been particularly unlucky or have bought a well disguised dud. It is not my intention to be troll on this site or unduly criticise these beautiful cars but what I have written is an accurate account of my ownership. I will continue for some time more to give the car a chance to redeem itself but I struggle to retain confidence.

regards all
al

 

Al, I didn’t realize that your reliability issues were leaving you stranded so often. I completed sympathize with your situation as I once owned a car with identical unreliability which always struck miles from home.

My 1970 Oldsmobile 442 convertible was never able to complete a round trip without limping home or worse, taking a ride via tow truck. After a year of denial I parted ways with General Motors and some 45 years later couldn’t be happier. I don’t think I’ve missed much.

Z

PS. have you considered trying a different XK ?

 

I used to take my 2002 XKR 100 Coupe on various club drives and to car shows, thoroughly enjoying it every time, and in between those times it sat under a cover in the garage. It is a quite rare car so it seemed prudent to take care of it, though it began to die just sitting too much. So I figured, it is my car so I am going to use it. I fitted the 20" BBS Montreal wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport 4s tires, I replaced the stock brake pads with EBC Yellowstuff pads in the big Brembo calipers and flushed the brake fluid and replaced it with Motul RBF 660 brake fluid. Now when sitting in the Recaro seats holding tightly to the Momo steering wheel shifting at the red line with my foot flat on the floor, before hard braking to make it through the 90 degree Turn 1 at Willow Springs, there is nothing better! The car, though a grand tourer and not a sports car, is a blast to drive at the many tracks around Southern California. That said, there are definitely some deficiencies. It is best to turn off the traction control since if you do not, many flashing lights and power loss accompany trying to exit a hard turn quickly. Also, even shifting on the left hand side of the J gate, the automatic trans is not ideal, as well as the open differential. That is why I am gathering the parts for my 2000 XKR Coupe that I am building into a pure track car. Should be a bunch more fun with the T56 Magnum trans and the Quaife diff, and the Nitron coil overs, along with many other modifications.
Jaguar has a storied racing history so if you want to drive your car hard, go for it. Every time I drive back from the track, I can tell my car is saying thank you!

Bill
2000 XKR Coupe
2001 XKR Coupe
2002 XK8 Coupe
2002 XKR 100 Coupe
2002 XJR 100

 

Live this! Just ordered a manual gearbox for my XKR;-).
Still a long way to go...

 

Finally I have been able to try this too! Still with the automatic box though. Great handling! Nothing is true on what I read on bad handling! Brembo brakes were okay untill the "cheap *** brake material" melted onto the rear discs...But still it was a surprising performance on te F1 circuit over here:-).

 

I used my 2000 XK8 Coupe to get points in a race to win the season championship when my regular race car lost its motor. The transmission goes into a special performance mode when you thrash it and you can actually (slowly) drift one.

 

Lets face it ALL track cars have a short life span and require diligent maintenance. The XK8 is a grand touring car built to go long distances safely at high speeds. When you look at the engine, gearing, brakes and handling the car seems to have been designed to run between 2000 and 3000 rpm. In overdrive that gives you a speed range of 68 MPH to 99 MPH with normal wheels and tires. And it can run all day at those speeds. Of course it will still thow codes and require diligent mainenance, but we all knew that when we got a Jag.

 

Perhaps a minority viewpoint, but for me a great GT car should be able to over deliver.

I want a GT to be able to do more than asked if it, and be able do that without sports car drama.

If I want to drive hours at 200 km/h, a great GT should be able to deliver 200 km/h without me feeling that’s all it’s got, and having to white knuckle the steering wheel.

One should always feel the great GT car has more to give than is asked of it.

So far, the XKR shows it’s greatness without needing to display the typical sports car feeling of being a skateboard on the ragged edge of control.

Z

 

my 2002 XKR is piling on the miles with no apparent internal engine wear.

It just turned over to 180,000 miles total, and now over 64,000 under my ownership.

Even though it’s my daily driver, I feel compelled to drive it more than my usual transportation need’s dictate . I worry more about it deteriorating while sitting still than I do about it wearing out on the road





Z