Jaguar problems - a personal view
Discussion
Some of these threads should carry a Government Health Warning to the effect that reading them can seriously effect your equanimity. I have been a keen reader - if not contributor - to the Jaguar Forum for the last 12 months ( since I bought my XJ8 3.2 Sport)and I have to say that if I had read all the threads first I would probably not have bought my superb Jag. That would have been a gross error ... remember for every horror story posted there are probably thousands of supremely satisfied Jag customers out there. Human nature dictates that bad news is "interesting news". But take it with a huge pinch of salt. I suppose we have all followed Groomi's saga with concerned ( and sympathetic) interest rather as one cannot help watching a car crash or someone playing Russian Roulette but these disasters are rare, possibly very rare.
My own experience has been 12 months of " silly grin " motoring, and I don't just mean foot flat to the floor but effortless cruising for long hours on the Continent with 22mpg being recorded from a 240 bhp 3.2 V8 ... that'll do me!
Yes I've had problems ... (see thread Knock from the Rear - new shocks/bushes cured the problem - cheapest quote was from Guy Salmon of Stratford-upon-Avon - main dealer)
The battery started to drain overnight - due to a badly set-up Motorola carphone - and this morning my car flooded and wouldn't start. (see various flooding threads)
Remedy ... floor accelerator and turn key . Less than 30 seconds later engine burst into life.
My 2001 XJ8 has no Nikasil problem. Timing chain tensioners are of the latest (robust) variety and shocks were changed at 60,000 mls.
Yes by all means read the Jaguar threads (particularly regarding the use of Optimax) but bear in mind that the problems highlighted are rare or not confined to only Jaguar. For example many years ago I was given an Austin Maestro as my company car and the "cold-flooding" problem was born. This car had an "engine management system" instead of a plain/boring choke, and this refused to recycle until it felt like it.
ENJOY YOUR JAG
My own experience has been 12 months of " silly grin " motoring, and I don't just mean foot flat to the floor but effortless cruising for long hours on the Continent with 22mpg being recorded from a 240 bhp 3.2 V8 ... that'll do me!
Yes I've had problems ... (see thread Knock from the Rear - new shocks/bushes cured the problem - cheapest quote was from Guy Salmon of Stratford-upon-Avon - main dealer)
The battery started to drain overnight - due to a badly set-up Motorola carphone - and this morning my car flooded and wouldn't start. (see various flooding threads)
Remedy ... floor accelerator and turn key . Less than 30 seconds later engine burst into life.
My 2001 XJ8 has no Nikasil problem. Timing chain tensioners are of the latest (robust) variety and shocks were changed at 60,000 mls.
Yes by all means read the Jaguar threads (particularly regarding the use of Optimax) but bear in mind that the problems highlighted are rare or not confined to only Jaguar. For example many years ago I was given an Austin Maestro as my company car and the "cold-flooding" problem was born. This car had an "engine management system" instead of a plain/boring choke, and this refused to recycle until it felt like it.
ENJOY YOUR JAG
Well said that man.
If I went through all the work I have done to my Jag then it would turn me grey, never mind turn other people off, but when I add the costs up over 4 or 5 years of ownership, and against the origional purchase price, it is suddenly good value, and the smiles per mile speak for themself!!
Anyway, what price on personal satisfaction and enjoyment?
My XJS has given me great value for money I recon. Although there has probably been the odd moment of anger, on the whole, I do not regret the day I bought it!
If I went through all the work I have done to my Jag then it would turn me grey, never mind turn other people off, but when I add the costs up over 4 or 5 years of ownership, and against the origional purchase price, it is suddenly good value, and the smiles per mile speak for themself!!
Anyway, what price on personal satisfaction and enjoyment?
My XJS has given me great value for money I recon. Although there has probably been the odd moment of anger, on the whole, I do not regret the day I bought it!
Well said gentlemen! 
My XJS is the most reliable car I have owned bar-none.
Even the running costs have been very reasonable for a car that is used regularly.
On top of that the XJS is at the bottom of its depreciation curve and bnot likely to lose much more.
Bargain!
>> Edited by bobfrance on Wednesday 15th March 10:41
My XJS is the most reliable car I have owned bar-none.
Even the running costs have been very reasonable for a car that is used regularly.
On top of that the XJS is at the bottom of its depreciation curve and bnot likely to lose much more.
Bargain!
>> Edited by bobfrance on Wednesday 15th March 10:41
They're a good car, bear in mind that I was involved with the design and development of various Jag models, and I get a biassed and skewed view of reliability, because of the problem solving nature of alot of our work- it's natural when you work in R and D and the same would the case of someone who works for Toyota I'm sure- And I have been sorely tempted by an X308 Jag XJR.
i have posted some time ago that i was happy with my xjr and nothing had gone wrong with it. still the case!
its an unfortunate fact of forums such as these that people tend to post their problems.
a friend of mine is into av. he was looking for a tv.after reading the reviews and forums he came to the conclusion that that they cannot all be that bad.every make he looked at had faults!
how do we remedy this? get on here and post how much you are enjoying your cars
its an unfortunate fact of forums such as these that people tend to post their problems.
a friend of mine is into av. he was looking for a tv.after reading the reviews and forums he came to the conclusion that that they cannot all be that bad.every make he looked at had faults!
how do we remedy this? get on here and post how much you are enjoying your cars
Well I've had my XK6 (X300) for 2 months short of ten years now.
If you'd told me 10 years ago that I'd keep the same car for 10 years I would have thought you'd gone mad.
It's been totally reliable. (that is tempting fate)
Apart from 1 service where all the bushes needed replacing it's been cheap to service.
Most years I never even lift the bonnet, it just gets it's annual service.
OK it drinks petrol, running around locally I get about 18 MPG, but years ago the misses used to have a VW Passat, and doing the same sort of driving that only gave 22MPG from a 1.8L. So I can't complain about 18. And the Passat was a reck after 3 years.
As other have said, in forumns like this you normally only hear of the problems. I used to work in support on computers, and again you only ever heard of the problems. I knew a few customers away from work, and they'd go year in year out without a hitch... but we never heard from these sorts of customers at work.
Happy customer?
As Simon & Garfunkel once said "Still crazy after all the years"
If you'd told me 10 years ago that I'd keep the same car for 10 years I would have thought you'd gone mad.
It's been totally reliable. (that is tempting fate)
Apart from 1 service where all the bushes needed replacing it's been cheap to service.
Most years I never even lift the bonnet, it just gets it's annual service.
OK it drinks petrol, running around locally I get about 18 MPG, but years ago the misses used to have a VW Passat, and doing the same sort of driving that only gave 22MPG from a 1.8L. So I can't complain about 18. And the Passat was a reck after 3 years.
As other have said, in forumns like this you normally only hear of the problems. I used to work in support on computers, and again you only ever heard of the problems. I knew a few customers away from work, and they'd go year in year out without a hitch... but we never heard from these sorts of customers at work.
Happy customer?
As Simon & Garfunkel once said "Still crazy after all the years"
I must admit that if I had listened to all that has been written and said about problems with Jaguars ( and other cars ) I would probably have never bought , and therefore never enjoyed many of the cars that I have owned! I have an X Type diesel estate, my second , which is apparantly, according to some, complete rubbish, although I have never noticed this ! If it were so bad , why would I have bought a second ?
I also have a 1991 XJS 4.0 , inherited from my father 5 years ago, and that has never had a serious problem in the 10 years it has been in my family. It has done at least 3 trips to southern Spain and back during that period and typicaly returns 24mpg on longish trips , but only 18-19mpg pottering arround. I also have a Mk 2/ 340 of 1967 vintage, which I spend my spare time tinkering with ! I have previously owned 13 Citroens ( everything from 2CV & DS to BX and Xantia ) which people have denounced as unreliable etc , so why did I experience very, very few breakdowns?
I have only experienced 3 Jaguar breakdowns. Once when a ten year old 1986 XJ6 4.2, that hadn't been seviced for 18 months and was being run on a shoestring because of lack of funds suffered Head gasket failure and then secondly, an Airflowmeter sensor problem. The third was with the Mk2 , when at the age of 20 years , it's distributor decided to disintegrate about 2 miles from home. I suspect that all manufacturers are responsible for the occaisonal bad apple, but I'm afraid that it is mostly the bad ones that get written about, not the good one's! Most of the car problems I have experienced in nearly 40 years of vehicle ownership, could be traced back to either something being overlooked during maintenance or a directional blockage i.e. clot at the wheel!
I also have a 1991 XJS 4.0 , inherited from my father 5 years ago, and that has never had a serious problem in the 10 years it has been in my family. It has done at least 3 trips to southern Spain and back during that period and typicaly returns 24mpg on longish trips , but only 18-19mpg pottering arround. I also have a Mk 2/ 340 of 1967 vintage, which I spend my spare time tinkering with ! I have previously owned 13 Citroens ( everything from 2CV & DS to BX and Xantia ) which people have denounced as unreliable etc , so why did I experience very, very few breakdowns?
I have only experienced 3 Jaguar breakdowns. Once when a ten year old 1986 XJ6 4.2, that hadn't been seviced for 18 months and was being run on a shoestring because of lack of funds suffered Head gasket failure and then secondly, an Airflowmeter sensor problem. The third was with the Mk2 , when at the age of 20 years , it's distributor decided to disintegrate about 2 miles from home. I suspect that all manufacturers are responsible for the occaisonal bad apple, but I'm afraid that it is mostly the bad ones that get written about, not the good one's! Most of the car problems I have experienced in nearly 40 years of vehicle ownership, could be traced back to either something being overlooked during maintenance or a directional blockage i.e. clot at the wheel!
Edited by INKYFATCAT on Friday 20th June 13:17
I would agree that problems with Jaguars are very overstated. I had an S-Type for 5 years and the only problem was the sub-woofer picking up the engine revs, which was sorted out in minutes by my dealer.
I have since had an XK8 for three years with no mechanical problems and one sensor fault on the seatbelt warning light, which again was sorted during my last service.
Two fairly minor problems in nearly 8 years of ownership is pretty good in my book and both cars have been great to drive (the XK8 especially).
I have since had an XK8 for three years with no mechanical problems and one sensor fault on the seatbelt warning light, which again was sorted during my last service.
Two fairly minor problems in nearly 8 years of ownership is pretty good in my book and both cars have been great to drive (the XK8 especially).
Edited by Washout on Sunday 22 June 01:15
Good to hear. To put these problems into perspective Porsche are often hailed as a paragon of German indestructablity- with my 1995 Porsche 993 Turbo, last year I had to spend lots. The cam cover gaskets were leaking oil- which on normal cars would be an easy fix- involved removing the turbos and plumbing- only the dealer insisted on fitting new Turbos. If I didn't have contacts in the industry- I can imagine the bill would have easily been close to 8000 Euros. As it was- it was alot less.
i'm fairly new to jag ownership (13months) but so far our XK has been faultless (except aux belt and thermostat). none of these are show stoppers. our XK have done 13K since we got it and does mostly town driving with the odd blast up the motorway. it is the perfect motorway/autobahn stormer covering big miles without the need for a break (except for fuel 
).
we do sometimes worry about something going wrong etc but so far touch wood its been reliable. infact it has been been spot on from sitting in traffic in hot heat with the air con on full blast to starting in icey conditions showing -8c! now compared to our mates one owns a 996 C4 and another Maserati 3200GTA.. the jag has been far more reliable. infact the 996 is the running joke at moment because it always has some sort of problem.
The jag imho is actually built very well, it feels like it could go on for 200,000miles easily (assuming it doesn't rust away!), it feels like a tank built to last.
imho the problem with jags are normal common issues that other cars are prone to. bushes wear out/bearings/aux belts etc. all these are normal wear and tear parts.
With a Junior NST on the way we are thinking of selling the jag and getting something alittle more sensible, however i'm thinking of keeping the car and getting a baby seat.. i'm sure i can get one that fits with a buggy that is small enough to fit into the boot..
).we do sometimes worry about something going wrong etc but so far touch wood its been reliable. infact it has been been spot on from sitting in traffic in hot heat with the air con on full blast to starting in icey conditions showing -8c! now compared to our mates one owns a 996 C4 and another Maserati 3200GTA.. the jag has been far more reliable. infact the 996 is the running joke at moment because it always has some sort of problem.
The jag imho is actually built very well, it feels like it could go on for 200,000miles easily (assuming it doesn't rust away!), it feels like a tank built to last.
imho the problem with jags are normal common issues that other cars are prone to. bushes wear out/bearings/aux belts etc. all these are normal wear and tear parts.
With a Junior NST on the way we are thinking of selling the jag and getting something alittle more sensible, however i'm thinking of keeping the car and getting a baby seat.. i'm sure i can get one that fits with a buggy that is small enough to fit into the boot..
NST said:
With a Junior NST on the way we are thinking of selling the jag and getting something alittle more sensible, however i'm thinking of keeping the car and getting a baby seat.. i'm sure i can get one that fits with a buggy that is small enough to fit into the boot..
Na, sod the buggy, pushing buggies/prams/push chairs about always just got on my tits anyway. When they were little I always preferred to carry them in one of those papoose things. Once they were too big for that, I still generally preferred to carry them and as soon as they can walk encourage them to walk. Won't work as a main plan, the misses is bound to insist on having a buggy and they'll object to carry the little ones.a8hex said:
Na, sod the buggy, pushing buggies/prams/push chairs about always just got on my tits anyway. When they were little I always preferred to carry them in one of those papoose things. Once they were too big for that, I still generally preferred to carry them and as soon as they can walk encourage them to walk. Won't work as a main plan, the misses is bound to insist on having a buggy and they'll object to carry the little ones.
i did mention to not bother with the posh pram, got a instant yelling about not being so stupid. oh well i did try. the baby carrying thing definitely on the list, i can't see the point of the pram when i'm more likely to hold the baby rather than push it around. oh then find a pram that fits in the boot.
I let the wife have a boring Golf to put whatever buggy thing in it she wants. Stops me having to compromise on my car choices.
Back on topic, I agree with the OP. As he points out, I have had every problem under the sun, but then I still have the car... so maybe, just maybe I actually like it.
Jags are great cars to drive, but if you buy a lemon it can very nearly bankrupt you. Therefore all these warnings are good if only to heighten peoples awareness. Buy a good'n and enjoy it!
Back on topic, I agree with the OP. As he points out, I have had every problem under the sun, but then I still have the car... so maybe, just maybe I actually like it.
Jags are great cars to drive, but if you buy a lemon it can very nearly bankrupt you. Therefore all these warnings are good if only to heighten peoples awareness. Buy a good'n and enjoy it!
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