Trust no one when it comes to your car. Always double and triple check everything. Weekly oil level checks are a necessary routine.

 

In the "old days" weekly routine was check water (coolant and washer bottle), oil on dipstick and tyre pressures. Sadly automation has taken the edge off that. Fortunately pilots still do a visual inspection and count the engines and wings before taking off in case their instruments miss something ;-)

I am getting better in habitually checking the oil level before driving off on a Monday morning for the week.....

 

My kingdom for a horseless carriage with a dip stick (other than the one behind the wheel.)

 

When I purchased my 2010 XKR with the 5.0L V8 from a private party, during the inspection with my mechanic, he told me and the previous owner that the engine was not good and would need replacing soon afterwards. The previous owner had purchased an aftermarket insurance warranty policy that paid my mechanic to purchase a used engine and install it. We purchase an engine with about 5000 miles on it from a wrecked XKR, and the whole thing including the engine, parts, and installation came to $14000.00. When the blown engine was checked it was also critically low on oil, but no warning lights appeared on the dash. I know because I had driven the car as well. There are engines out there and no doubt you can find a Jaguar independent to source and install it.
Good Luck.

 

Was wondering if anyone has ever looked into the Engine Block being used in the F-Type.

The part number is AJ812898

If you search online under F-Type spare parts then the internal parts (Pistons Rings, Pistons, Connecting Rod, Bearings, Crankshaft, Bearings and Thrust Washer) don't show up.

They fall under parts #26, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32, 33 under the engine category.

Now if you search all the below mentioned models then everything shows up. These cars all share the same Engine Block as shown on all catalogs.
XJ 2013-15 Base, L Portfolio
XJ 2016 L Portfolio, R-Sport
XF 2013-14 3.0L. 3.0L AWD
XF 2015 Portfolio, Sport

I have spoken to the local agency and they seemed clueless and aren't able to verify since their system wasn't showing any of these. They mentioned these are likely not supercharged engines or are diesel which seems unlikely as these shows up under the same engine with the cars all being petrol based and supercharged.

 

My view may be unpopular, but given that the oil level check can be done in seconds before starting the engine, without needing to open the bonnet (hood) or have a clean cloth to wipe the dip stick then it could be argued that the electronic oil level sensor is easier to check and hence more likely to be done than the traditional dip stick method.

Totally agree that JLR should have an automatic warning flash on screen if level is low or high.

It ought to be a relatively simple software change to accomplish this.

you can check tyre pressure using similar process that uses tpms yet if you don't manually check this it will automatically warn if too low.

Would be an interesting case to seek legal opinion on whether JLR were partly liable due not having an automatic warning as with many other issues.

 

I find oil level is obnoxious to check on F-type. You need to remember not to start it, or it doesn't work. When you don't start it but power on, you need to sit through multiple instructions and warnings spamming OK button. I would rather deal with a dipstick than this ****.

Also, regularly checking oil on modern cars is not a reasonable assumption. We also don't grease nipples and have a spare tube to change on the side of the road. A new car shouldn't run itself out of oil between oil changes.

 

hitting cancel switch twice if you started allows you to still check when trying to access level. I do this when i forget after oil changes cause i always double check

 

^^^ That is the Cruise Control Cancel button, right?

I didn't know we could check oil level that way after starting. Does that display an Instantaneous reading or the inscrutable Average level?

++++++++++++++

Regards 'Checking the Oil":

I've gotten into the habit of hitting START when I get in the car, without stepping on the brake. Then, while the car 'boots' up its systems (headlights ON since they are set to AUTOMATIC and my garage is relatively dark) I buckle my seat belt & close the door. I then check the oil level via the MENU if needed (about once every 2 weeks, or 5 - 6 drives).

Only then do I put my foot on the brake, start the engine, and turn OFF ECO mode.

I feel this procedure lessens the initial draw on the battery...and we all KNOW that the electronics hate low voltages!

 

I could never get this to work no matter how many times I hit cancel.

 

Engine off, ignition on, hood open. Display the electronic oil level, then hit Cancel twice.

 

Oops yeah drivers door and hood open which is the way the car is when im servicing it. Engine not running and ignition on. And yeah the messages annoy me too waiting till i can scroll. Theres a way to access live data with engine running but i dont remember cause i just dont have a need to do it so like most thing if i dont delete some things i have no more memory avail to store new or maybe its just a age thing i forget

 

This is the third engine blowup I've seen here, and it seems that all 3 are from oil starvation. Does anyone know of a blown engine that didn't involve oil starvation?

 

Way more engines are replaced from low coolant and driven till damaged usually warping heads and or block as well. Thats across land rover and jaguar.

 

 

Yep, when I had a coolant leak the "low coolant" warning came on when the expansion tank level dropped to about 1/3 full, so around 1.5 litres of coolant lost.
Luckily in my case the leak was not a bad one and was in such a spot that it stopped leaking at that point and I still had plenty of coolant in the system.
But other more serious leaks are not uncommon on older mileage AJ133 and AJ126 engines so if that warning comes up you really must pull over and shut the engine down immediately otherwise you risk catastrophic engine damage, and even then it may be too late.

 

that does not stop many from driving cause "im almost home/work, must be a sensor, well its not running hot" fyi coolant temp sensor does not read air but liquid, it will read air temp eventually when its cooking. This is another reason i always recommend fixing reservoir sensors when they fail. You dont know when that warning comes on if its just a little low or empty from a ruptured system. And if the light is on all the time from a bad sensor in the reservoir you may just ignore until too late. Owners on this forum are a vast minority of all the owners and most here are entusiasts that are more adept at maintenance and automotive awareness or you wouldnt be here.

 

I couldn't find a warning light indicator in my '14 owners handbook for LOW COOLANT. Is it just a message in the center display?

 

Yep, it's a message in the centre display (between the speedo and the tacho).
You also get the "critical warning message", a red triangle with an exclamation mark in the middle, see section 10 of your Owner's Handbook "warning lamps".

 

^^^ Thanks.

Does anyone know how empty the reservoir looks when this warning is about to be triggered?

Perhaps I should be asking: Does the coolant level sensor ever tend to get gunked up or sticky as on some cars? I'm assuming its mounted on the bottle somewhere.

Our coolant was just below the MINimum indicator 'step' in the reservoir when we took over the car. Has only dropped a couple mm's since topping up.

As you can see, we are 'all-in' when it comes to MAINTENANCE.