I bought a white 2016 Jaguar F-Type S coupe with a 6-speed manual transmission 3 weeks ago from a dealership in Oregon. Loved working with them as they were very nice people and genuinely seemed trustworthy.

The car has 23k miles on it, a clean Carfax (no accidents, 2 owner), not one thing wrong with the vehicle inspection, no rust, original paint, no scratches, no dings, no modifications, service history showed all maintenance happened on time and at reputable dealerships.

The auto transporter delivered the car yesterday evening to a parking lot, and everything went smoothly. I drove the car home which took me 30 minutes as I took the scenic way home. No, I did not beat on the car whatsoever. I’m not against a spirited drive but I don’t know this car well enough to push it. I’m a responsible 38 yr old man who has owned multiple manual sports cars in the past and can drive a stick well.

This evening, I needed to get groceries so I decided to take the Jag for its second drive but it didn’t go smoothly. Here’s what happened:

1. Foot on the brake, Released the electronic parking brake, Pushed the clutch in all the way, Pushed the start button, Engine fired up…nothing odd so far

2. I tried to put the car into reverse. The gear lever moved to the left but refused to go up into reverse. Next, I tried to put the car into 1st…exact same issue. Then, I tried to see if the lever would go into any gear at all while the car was running…no luck. So, I learned that I could move the lever side to side but not up or down

3. I put the electronic parking brake back on, turned off the car, waited 30 seconds, and turned the car back on…Still experiencing the exact same issue

4. I turned the car off. Pushed the clutch all way down, and successfully selected reverse, then I was able to successfully select gears 1-6…so, I learned that I can run through the gears when the car is turned off.

5. I switched the car on, and immediately learned the issue had not self-corrected. I turned the car off, put on the electronic parking brake, and came back 10 minutes later to try again…to my surprise, it works fine now

6. I drove to Kroger very cautiously, I got my groceries, loaded the car, then switched it on…the problem is back and I can’t leave the parking spot.

7. I gave it 5-10 minutes, tried again, and now the car worked normally. I thanked God, carefully drove home, parked the car, and posted this.

Does anyone have any idea what could have caused this? Did I just buy a beautiful lemon? What should I do?

Thanks.

 

I can’t comment on the shifter/clutch strangeness. However, the car goes to sleep after about 10 minutes, at which point many modules are powered down, essentially rebooting them. This might be a clue. The light on the hazard switch goes off when the car goes to sleep.

We always recommend fully charging the battery when weirdness is seen, as an easy first step, as these cars are sensitive to battery voltage.

 

what do you suggest?

 

I drove the car for 30 mins yesterday and about 30 mins today. Shouldn’t that have sufficiently charged the battery?

 

No, that will not charge the battery sufficiently. These cars (like most modern high-end cars) have multiple modules that need full battery voltage. When it is not provided, random, very random symptoms crop up…they can be in any system of the car, so the first thing, especially given that the car is new to you, is to make sure that the battery is fully charged and that the connections are secure.
If this battery is the original battery it may well be due for replacement. But note this: new batteries are almost NEVER fully charged. Unless they are at full charge when installed, those random gremlins are apt to appear. You would not believe how many suspected “problems” are all down to insufficient voltage.
What many of us do is to install a quality battery maintainer (the CTEK units are the favoured ones, but there are others). Once installed it is a 3 second job to connect ir disconnect the unit…and the battery will be at full charge always. The result is a reliable car and a happy owner.

given the symptom, I would first disconnect the ground connection on the trunk floor for 30 seconds. This will allow the modules to reset. Reconnect…but the battery should be fully charged (remember that this is an AGM battery, not a wet cell battery).

 

Just writing in to support everything said here. I don’t believe it’s mechanical.

Sometimes Jag will reset if you shut it down and open/close drivers door - but that has usually only resolved any infotainment glitch (or the random modes not available). Usually, if I can’t get it to start, it needs the 10 min full reset - exit, lock the vehicle and let it sit for 11+ mins. Check that the hazard light is off. Then unlock and try again.

Bummer that this happened on drive 2! However, this isn’t a regular thing. It probably happened to me (16 MT) about 3 times over the course of 3 years, and always at home (so I could just go inside and wait). Dealer couldn’t ever find anything when it happened (ie no codes) but now wondering if there isn’t a gremlin in the MT startup sequence. Random guessing of course - there aren’t enough MTs to see large scale reports (beyond the known gen1 clutch issue).

Point being, overlook this glitch. Sounds like you made a good purchase decision and should enjoy many smiles per mile. Congratulations!

 

This happened to me twice. I was able to get to the dealer driving in 2nd gear. Twice they couldn’t reproduce it. Finally, it was time to do a brake bleed which also bleeds the hydraulic clutch. Never a problem for 5 years.

 

+1 on the battery charger.

Two other thots...
1) Have you called the dealer? One would think they must have encountered this before. Wouldn't be surprised if SOP was to connect the car to a charger overnite.

2) Sounds exactly like a transmission interlock, a 'feature' that's been around for quite awhile. On my old Merc, the 'shutoff' sensor was on the foot brake. And for an MT Jag, there's no reason why this couldn't be tied to the EB. On my AT, the EB disengages when I put the transmission into any gear, and activates when I put it into park. So, for me, there's actually no reason to use the EB switch at all. This is a clear indication that there's a connection between the transmission and electronic brake.

It's not clear from your posts, but what would happen if you didn't include turning off the EB as part of your start-up sequence? (but still have it on the shut-down)

Good Luck,

 

I bought my new to me MY2017 M/T in fall of 2020. The "drive more, battery low" message was on the instument panel. I had 18 months of factory warranty left, so made appt with local JLR dealer. They replaced the AGM battery. EVERYTHING the others wrote about the batteries is true. Yes, they put in a new battery, but it most likely it had sat for some time on the shelf. I had gone with the recommended CTEK battery maintainer and installed that as soon as I got the car home. It took several hours for the CTEK to work its way through its protocol, but in the end all the required lights were on. The AGM batteries are only good for about 5 years, if that.

If this doesn't work out, please come back. The group here has a spectacular knowledge base and will help you through this.

 

Don't say that - mine's 5.5 years old (assuming it was only just made when it was installed at the factory)!

 

From what you describe I would say it is probably clutch actuator related - the slave or master cylinder for the clutch because you can shift without load on the tranny (engine off). The exact symptoms happened to me with an old manual 280Z and it was a bad (leaking) slave cylinder. My only doubt I have in your case is you don't mention any issue with the clutch pedal feel.

 

"What many of us do is to install a quality battery maintainer (the CTEK units are the favoured ones, but there are others). Once installed it is a 3 second job to connect ir disconnect the unit…and the battery will be at full charge always. The result is a reliable car and a happy owner."

apologies for my scrubness (1 year into owning a Jaggy) but what battery maintainer would you recommend? are they based on what type of battery we have or does it just apply to all batteries? a link would be greatly appreciated towards the item or even a brand name is good enough. Thank you!

Edit: you recommended the CTEK told you imma scrub lol!For my other scrubs like myself heres a Link

 

Well if it serves to calm your nerves mine is over 8 years old and still going strong!

 

Well, I have no idea what a scrub is or what scrubness is but the battery in our cars is an AGM battery. AGM batteries do best with specific charging protocols, different from those used with wet cell batteries. Therefore the battery maintainer used should be one that has a program specifically for AGM batteries. The brand most here prefer is the CTEK, a Swedish-designed unit. While I have used other brands, the CTEK is what I use now for various reasons, among them safety, efficiency, reliability, advanced engineering. They have never let me down and as a result I have never had any electrical/electronic issue with my cars, no matter how long they are left unused (sometimes for months).
Regardless of which brand you choose, make sure that it has an AGM setting.

 

You're describing the problem I had. It came and went before finally showing itself to the shop foreman. I'd put really long odds on mechanical trouble in the clutch area. I only got a brief inspection of the removed parts but there was a loose spring, probably from the dual-mass flywheel. I suspect it was getting in the way of operation, sometimes preventing disengagement, sometimes blocking complete engagement. It didn't look like a part of the pressure plate or friction disc but was definitely floating freely in the bell housing.

New clutch, complete including flywheel, replaced at 17,000 miles and problem has not returned. I've done 30,000 miles now on the replacement, and that includes extra horsepower.

EDIT: There is nothing electronic in the clutch mechanism and no codes will be thrown. Don't count on it "clearing up" either.

 

It has a dedicated AGM mode and both eyelets and alligator clips for your preference of attachment. I used the eyelets as a more or less permanent connection.

As for life expectancy of an AGM, here's this link

https://lifelinebatteries.com/blog/h...%20will%20last.

And I'm sure it will ignite a firestorm. It also could depend on whose battery, your climate and the usual million other things that come into play with car ownership. As with most things that fall under car maintenance , I prefer to be proactive. Replacing a battery that is near the end of its lifespan falls in that category.

 

Exactly.
Hope the OP lets us know what the fix was.

 

The cynic in me thinks that if I was in the busines of selling batteries, I'd try to persuade people how few years they last!

 

I replaced mine at 7 years, though it was still good at that point.

20-30 years ago, I’d replace batteries every 5 years. Seems like they last longer than that (in my cars) nowadays.

For those interested, I believe this is the data sheet for the OEM Varta battery:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5tvrtsxpyl...5D852.pdf?dl=0

Varta has a lot of interesting articles on batteries, though I didn’t see one that discussed lifetime…
https://batteryworld.varta-automotiv...606.1666872112

 

In a couple of words...no, not if it was sufficiently depleted. The batteries in these, and many other vehicles, like a full charge. And there is more to a full charge than just being able to crank the engine and get it running...

Put it on a charger overnight and then you have a good baseline.