I kept having the ZF squack and going into limp mode for years on my 2003 XK8 despite fluid and filter changes and Lifeguard 6.
I finally took it to the dealer a couple of months ago and they did the software adaptations from a TSB in 2009.
I seems to have worked well but it makes me worry about the future of these cars and even the newer ones with the 8 speed ZF which have the same problem.
What are we going to do when the dealer no longer supports this software? From what i have been told, it is not something that just anyone can do.
One day with all the software upgrades, this procedure will probably be incompatible with the computers at the dealer. THen what? Seems scary to me.
Anyone know of a solution?

 

I bet you can do this flash with the mongoose cable and SDD software......

 

Then you better not have any transmission problems. If you think your predicament is bad, here is some perspective. Historically there has only ever been one Jaguar dealer on the island. The old dealer was bought by another conglomerate and relocated. Apparently, they must have fired all the older techs and equipment. Now they won't even touch any Jag that is older than 2010. You can go there, tell the service department "I want an oil and filter change on my Jaguar". They then ask you the model I say XKR, and then they ask for the year. I then say 2004, and they immediately stone wall me and outright refuse to do the service. Mind you, I only ever went there to try to get them to cut and program new keys and ask if they could do the transmission software adaptations, but they refuse.

What about independent Jaguar mechanics? I know of only one, he lives 3 hours from my home and he closed up shop a few years ago. I'm glad I can wrench on the Jag for most things. The day I need software to fix the Jag is the day I look into third party ECUs. I'm sure someone would be more willing to tune one of those than interface with the stock one.

 

Well, without getting into too much detail, the magic of virtual machines makes it possible to run these older operating systems (like Windows XP) and everything that runs on top of it (SDD/IDS) as a kind of program under a newer, maintained operating system (like Windows 10). So, it might be a long time before running SDD/IDS becomes truly impossible. Not to say dealers are going to maintain an interest in doing this, but our ability to access this software altogether is unlikely to go away anytime soon.

 

Just like JD, I’m in the small island of Bahrain, and there’s only 1 Jag dealer and he refuses to even touch my 1999 Jag XK8.

There’s lots of garages here with good local knowledge to work on parts of the car.

however the IDS/SDD software is not available here. Not at the dealer or at the Indy garages. But luckily I haven’t had a need for it .... yet. My Dubai friends said there’s one garage in UAE, but that’s a 6 hour drive away.

So I’m a case of making do with a simple OBD2 reader, gut instincts and lots of info from this forum.

Good news is that the AJ-V8 engine is common throughout brands, the ZF transmission common too. At the age of our cars, reconditioned units are relatively cheap to purchase although financially that may not make sense due to low market resale value. It’s the ECM and the TCM that are of concern. Old electronics are tough to source and need to be programmed for the car. The ABS module seems to be even tougher.

I’m definitely in the group where preventative maintainable is better long term. Jump on a small problem before it gets big. Some forum members have even fixed R&R the capacitors in the PCBs of these modules as they have limited life span.

If you’re having module problems, get a old laptop, mongoose cable and source the software. It’s not cheap or easy but if the car is a keeper and you can wrench, then it’s the only way to go.

 

We are fortunate enough to have a superb locally-owned British automotive indie shop in our area. They have the hardware and software sufficient to handle the ZF adaptations reset procedure (and just about any other electronic diagnostics procedure you may require). To them, our XK8s/XKRs are relatively modern compared to the XKEs and Triumphs and other much older cars that I typically see in their shop whenever I visit. If you can find a shop like this in your area, it is well worth your time to develop a relationship with them. I have not needed these guys often (perhaps three different times since we purchased our first Jaguar in December 2008), but they have certainly come through for me every time I have asked them to get involved with an issue that had me stumped....