XJ 2.7 diesel running costs and longevity?

[philv]

Hi
I was considering an xj 2.7 deisal. 2006

I currently have an e class 2001 deisal estate. 2001

Any idea if the running costs will be similar to the merc?

And for longevity, the meurc shoul do 200k plus miles easily.
Will the xj deisal be as long lived? Will it last as long as the merc e class?

Thanks for any help

[Andy XJ]

I've run a XJ TDVi for 4 years and have done 68,000 miles.

It's a lovely car to drive and will manage a real world mpg of about 30-32.

But...and its a big but, the thing has been a total disaster from a reliability point of view. It's dropped into "get home mode" many many times and refused to start on countless occasions. The main issue seems to be the electrics. It constantly throws up faults on the dash and now says it needs a service, having been serviced 2,000 miles ago.

Its been ok for the last few months, but I'd never trust it not to let me down again. I've thought of replacing it with an XK, but they're looking a bit old now and I'm not sure I trust Jag quality anymore.

Mine may have been a Friday afternoon car, but I expected much more from a supposed "quality product".

[Bat21]

I previously had an S Type TDVi from new for 3 years and 80k miles, I now have an XJ TDVi which I bought at 1 year and 10k miles, I have had it for almost three years having covered another 14k miles. Both cars are superb to drive, the only issue I have had was on the S type which had a turbo problem sorted under warrenty, this was an issue which affected a small number of S types.

I understand that with the XJ, a dodgy battery can throw up lots of faults and there may be an issue with the earth points which can have a simmilar effect. Having previously had three mercs all from new, the Jaguar is IMHO a much better car. The XJ is just sublime:-)

[Simpo Two]

Andy XJ said:

It's dropped into "get home mode" many many times

My (S-Type) 2.7D started doing this and the local dealer wanted to charge me £550 for a new injector.

The problem turned out to be a mouse nest under the engine cover. Removed nest and chewed insulation, all fine!

[Deva Link]

philv said:

Hi
I was considering an xj 2.7 deisal. 2006

I currently have an e class 2001 deisal estate. 2001

Any idea if the running costs will be similar to the merc?

And for longevity, the meurc shoul do 200k plus miles easily.
Will the xj deisal be as long lived? Will it last as long as the merc e class?

Thanks for any help

What mileage is on it? IIRC they need a big service at 100K ish miles including the cambelt and a belt at the back of the engine. Although if you're used to MB servicing prices it might not seem too bad!

[vinnie83]

I'm interested to know what mpg you owners are getting, and what your split between city stop-start driving and motorway driving is?

I am thinking of buying one myself, and seem to have been told I would expect ~35mpg with my 75% motorway driving?

[Bat21]

S type 70% Long Journeys avaraged 45+
XJ fast rural roads, avarages 37 mpg.

[Simpo Two]

I thought the XJ was lighter than the S-Type, so why is the mpg lower?

[Bat21]

The s-Type was a manual and mostly motorway cruising, the XJ gets mainly fast A roads and often spirited driving. ;-)

[anonymous-user]

I had a Diesel S-Type auto, pre DPF, for about 2 years and 50k miles. Fuel economy averaged 30 - 32ish, would average 38 at 70 MPH cruise.

Reliability of the engine itself wasn't really problem, but the gearbox gave up at 110k odd - as most of them seem to. It also had both turbos replaced at 100K under warranty, before I had it and one EGR valve - as you can imagine the cost of this was astronomical.

It's a lovely refined engine, but it's so complicated with so many sensors and actuators that I find it impossible to imagine one doing big mileages without serious issues. Look in the classifieds and see how many you can find with >150K and it's not many, >200K and it's none. The packaging is incredibly tight, so even when the parts aren't expensive the labour almost always will be. The EGR valve itself was only £60 or so.

There also seem to be problems with parts availability, even direct from Jaguar. I know of a chap who had to resort to breakers yards for a lower rad hose for a 2007 odd XJ. This I consider completely unacceptable.

[Simpo Two]

dme123 said:

It's a lovely refined engine, but it's so complicated with so many sensors and actuators that I find it impossible to imagine one doing big mileages without serious issues.

It is certainly a clever beast - the product of infinite EU rules regs and taxation I think.

dme123 said:

The packaging is incredibly tight, so even when the parts aren't expensive the labour almost always will be.

True; when I needed a new a/c part they quoted me 4 hours labour - then later rang to say it was taking them longer than expected - they looked it up properly and found that the diesel version was 10 hours!

My sense with this engine is that it's not there to be thrashed. Stamp on the gas, turn it off from high rpm with turbos spinning - these will shorten its life I feel. But drive it reasonably, using full throttle only in emergencies, and it seems much happier and will no doubt last longer. If you want to race, get a petrol engine.

[vinnie83]

Simpo Two said:

My sense with this engine is that it's not there to be thrashed. Stamp on the gas, turn it off from high rpm with turbos spinning - these will shorten its life I feel. But drive it reasonably, using full throttle only in emergencies, and it seems much happier and will no doubt last longer. If you want to race, get a petrol engine.

Whilst I appreciate that it's a luxury car, not a small coupe or sports car, I am quite disappointed if what you said is true.

The biggest benefit of turbo diesel engines is the high torque, making it easy to thrash the car at lower revs. If making use of this torque damages the engine or makes it less reliable, that's no good thing.

I have had a 535d (remapped) and currently have a standard 123d and thrashing them is great fun because of the amount of torque available!

[Simpo Two]

vinnie83 said:

Whilst I appreciate that it's a luxury car, not a small coupe or sports car, I am quite disappointed if what you said is true.

The biggest benefit of turbo diesel engines is the high torque, making it easy to thrash the car at lower revs. If making use of this torque damages the engine or makes it less reliable, that's no good thing.

Well I haven't proved it, but it stands to reason that the more often you push an engine to its limits the sooner something will fail. My car is crucial to my livelihood so I don't want it to fail. Once the lump is moving it certainly powers along in the midrange where the torque kicks in and goes flying past the plebs, and I'm happy to do that because you can sense the engine is enjoying itself, but IMHO it's not built for racing starts from the lights and red-lining. This is why I have a Griff (mind you if I redlined that I'd be dead by now)

[V12 Migaloo]

I bought an 06 XJ 2.7 thankfully from a main dealer. Restricted performance popped up, they change a turbo, then another, RP still there, must be the EGR's (exhaust gas recirculation valves £ 700 a piece i think) changed those.. RP still there. Oh ok lets change the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter £1,500) RP still there. Various sensors changed RP still there CATS change RP still there, 6 injectors changed RP still there.... OK guys isn't about time you got a Jag technician in from the factory, so they did and the fault was traced to a small section of compressed wiring in the loom, £450.... ALl fixed now... All in all they spent (under warrenty) nearly £8k! I have also had the rear bushes changed and a steering rack changed under warrenty as well. WHY, well the car had only done 30k miles since 06 and I think it must have been sitting idle for a huge portion of this time. just lucky i had the warrenty cover.......
She now runs like a dream. I get over 40MPG at 85/90mph on the motorway and around (easily over 600miles from 110 quid derv), best car i've had, quiet, fast and very comfortable

[Simpo Two]

V12 Migaloo said:

change a turbo
then another
must be the EGR's (exhaust gas recirculation valves £ 700 a piece i think)
lets change the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter £1,500)
Various sensors changed
CATS change
6 injectors changed...

fault was traced to a small section of compressed wiring

Doesn't say much for the state of modern engineering/mechanics does it.

Where would you have stood legally if you'd been paying for all that unecessary work I wonder?

[tonys]

V12 Migaloo said:

I bought an 06 XJ 2.7 thankfully from a main dealer. Restricted performance popped up, they change a turbo, then another, RP still there, must be the EGR's (exhaust gas recirculation valves £ 700 a piece i think) changed those.. RP still there. Oh ok lets change the DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter £1,500) RP still there. Various sensors changed RP still there CATS change RP still there, 6 injectors changed RP still there.... OK guys isn't about time you got a Jag technician in from the factory, so they did and the fault was traced to a small section of compressed wiring in the loom, £450.... ALl fixed now... All in all they spent (under warrenty) nearly £8k! I have also had the rear bushes changed and a steering rack changed under warrenty as well. WHY, well the car had only done 30k miles since 06 and I think it must have been sitting idle for a huge portion of this time. just lucky i had the warrenty cover.......
She now runs like a dream. I get over 40MPG at 85/90mph on the motorway and around (easily over 600miles from 110 quid derv), best car i've had, quiet, fast and very comfortable

The above story is so bad you'd think it had been been made up and posted by somebody from a rival marque's dealer, but I fear it might actually be true. And the steering rack wears out even if not being used

[V12 Migaloo]

Guys, the dealer, who was a merc main dealer, decided to do the work themselves and amortise the labour cost, which I think was a mistake imho. According to Jaguar all the issues where down to the small section of wiring loom that had got crimped. Personally I think it had been sitting idle for far too long and there may have been "some" issues with the other components that where changed. The fact is I'm glad I bought it from a reputable trader, backed by a huge group, who's warrenty covered all the cost. I've now basically got a new car!
Like my V12, it seems as if modern cars need to be used regularly, but the moral of my story is to buy used from a respected dealer and get a 'blue chip' warrenty.
As I said I couldn't be more pleased with this car. The double glazing and double bulkhead supress so much noise that at speed it genuinly feels 50mph slower then the speed ones doing. The motor is strong, handles well, brakes great, its big inside and I get let out of side roads which was not the case with my beemer...
Even with the issues I have had I would reccommend these XJ's to anyone, with the caveat that you ensure you get a warrenty. But hey when you buy a £50k car for 1/5th of the original purchase price, that goes without saying. An XJ, or 7 series or S class, the A8 all requires top dollar to keep in tip top condition and I have heard much worse stories with Ze Germans then mine...
For the record I am a JEC member for 10 years and I would never buy a beemer again. That is another story thats far worse then this one, if anyone is interested then I will post an equally long list of problems I had with aone year old 3'000 mile 57 plate 525 i M Sport Auto...

[tonys]

V12 Migaloo said:

Guys, the dealer, who was a merc main dealer, decided to do the work themselves and amortise the labour cost, which I think was a mistake imho. According to Jaguar all the issues where down to the small section of wiring loom that had got crimped. Personally I think it had been sitting idle for far too long and there may have been "some" issues with the other components that where changed. The fact is I'm glad I bought it from a reputable trader, backed by a huge group, who's warrenty covered all the cost. I've now basically got a new car!
Like my V12, it seems as if modern cars need to be used regularly, but the moral of my story is to buy used from a respected dealer and get a 'blue chip' warrenty.
As I said I couldn't be more pleased with this car. The double glazing and double bulkhead supress so much noise that at speed it genuinly feels 50mph slower then the speed ones doing. The motor is strong, handles well, brakes great, its big inside and I get let out of side roads which was not the case with my beemer...
Even with the issues I have had I would reccommend these XJ's to anyone, with the caveat that you ensure you get a warrenty. But hey when you buy a £50k car for 1/5th of the original purchase price, that goes without saying. An XJ, or 7 series or S class, the A8 all requires top dollar to keep in tip top condition and I have heard much worse stories with Ze Germans then mine...
For the record I am a JEC member for 10 years and I would never buy a beemer again. That is another story thats far worse then this one, if anyone is interested then I will post an equally long list of problems I had with aone year old 3'000 mile 57 plate 525 i M Sport Auto...

Ah, not a Jag main dealer - that makes more sense.

You should balance the argument by explaining the BMW issues. Having looked into a few Jag issues, I then considered BMW and found a surprising number of reported problems there, ie turbos, Vanos sysyems, DPFs, fuel pumps etc to name but a few. Audi and MB, let alone VW, are not, from reports I've heard from owners, not immune either.

The need to meet the (very sensible) EU emissions limits seems to be pushing technology limits at the moment. All okay whilst it works, but wallet shrinking when it doesn't.

Still, it will all be worth it if we cut our carbon emisissions as that means the US, India China et al can carry on doing what they like and we will have saved the world (or was that Gordon Brown?)

[V12 Migaloo]

Hey Tony,
I couldn't really offer a comparison on the TD Beemers as mine was a automatic petrol 525 (3000cc) 07 model. But for sake of balance I had 8 coil's, 8 fuel injectors, 8 spark plugs, a fuel pump, a pressure regulation valves or solonoid or something (sorry for being vague) In 2 years of ownership the car went back 10 times for these faults and was subject of 4 campaigns... In the end after breaking down in norwich and and rattling alone at 30 mph I had enough. The beemer was a nice car, everyone liked the look, the quality of the interior but after 7 BMW's I had had enough and finally when the X350 prices become more attainable I plumped for the 2.7, which is far superior in every way then any of my previous chariots. Photo of the beemer.

[tonys]

V12 Migaloo said:

Hey Tony,
I couldn't really offer a comparison on the TD Beemers as mine was a automatic petrol 525 (3000cc) 07 model. But for sake of balance I had 8 coil's, 8 fuel injectors, 8 spark plugs, a fuel pump, a pressure regulation valves or solonoid or something (sorry for being vague) In 2 years of ownership the car went back 10 times for these faults and was subject of 4 campaigns... In the end after breaking down in norwich and and rattling alone at 30 mph I had enough. The beemer was a nice car, everyone liked the look, the quality of the interior but after 7 BMW's I had had enough and finally when the X350 prices become more attainable I plumped for the 2.7, which is far superior in every way then any of my previous chariots. Photo of the beemer.

Very interesting, as only recently people were telling me that the S6 BMW petrol, without turbo etc., was bullet proof Your experience shows that reality may not match the perception.