Hi there!

So I am relatively new here and new to the Jaguar world! I did my research and a couple weeks ago finally took the jump and bought a 2017 F-Type R with ~25K miles on it!

So far I am absolutely in love with the car.. it has been the most fun I have ever had on 4 wheels!

However, I am still in the phase of ownership where I am paranoid about any potential problems and want to make sure I keep it well maintained before any issues pop up.

With that said, I have noticed just the ever so slightest shaking at idle about every 5-10 seconds. It’s not severe and I don’t have any warning lights coming on. It’s just at idle (worse on first start of the day) about every 5-10 seconds I can feel just a slight out of the ordinary vibration in the engine / pedals that I want to get looked at.

I am not much of a self-mechanic outside of things like oil changes, but from what I have read it here it seems like it could be: A fouled injector, a slight vacuum leak, bad spark plug or an engine mount issue. Possibly the slightest misfire?

My real question here is: If my car is under warranty for about 5 more months, and I want to get all the maintenance in a can during that period.. Should I be looking to take my car to my local Jaguar dealership or an independent European auto type service mechanic? I am in the DFW area, but have heard mixed results on taking our cars into Jaguar dealership service departments. But it IS still under warranty.

I guess I am being a bit paranoid and want to avoid taking it into a mechanic that could potentially create more problems digging around in the motor than the potential benefit I would get. Again, this isn’t a bad issue and it’s not at all obvious, I just want to make sure I am taking good care of my car!

So any thoughts or advice on if I should take this into the local Jaguar Dealership service department or if I should look into an independent shop? Will the work be covered under warranty if I take it to JLR as opposed to an independent ? And would anyone here happen to have any local recommendations if you are in the DFW?

I also would like to have them just give all the main fail points ( coolant piping, rear diff oil, belts, pumps etc..) a look over to ensure everything looks good.

thanks for any help guys, I really do appreciate and I am glad I found this forum which led me to the decision to buy my F-Type!

Thank you!!!

 

I'm not sure how your local dealers are, but generally speaking I would take it to an authorized dealer and have them check that everything is in order and that all recalls, campaigns, etc. have been taken care of. Recall information is publicly available through NHTSA but things not deemed to be that severe is not published there. Some will undoubtedly say to not get all software updates applied because there's one that may reduce the exhaust pops and crackles on overrun. Getting a list of everything they think needs to be done is a good start. Make your own decisions on that. At least one software update I had was for a known issue with oxygen sensors. They'd throw codes at the drop of a hat, so sensitivity was reduced.

It might be worth paying the dealer to do the same inspection they'd do to qualify a used car as CPO, just to mitigate the paranoia a bit. I think my dealer charged $360 back in 2016.

All that should give you a good baseline for the rest of your ownership experience. Others here from your area may have specific recommendations on which dealers to patronize, and competent independent shops. Overall, these cars are quite reliable.

 

Hi and I also have a new-to-me 2017, manual trans. I agree, check the local JLR first. Still under warranty, they can check any codes the car is putting out. The judder you have is similar to one I had in a Golf,, and it was a bad spark plug. But that is only an idea. Go visit the dealer in person. It will tell you how they greet and treat customers. If they act they are doing you a favor, then move on to the next dealer.

Spend some time on this F forum. I found interesting information like the ambient (blue) lighting that was supposed to be in my door handles and in the center console grab handle. The LED strip was there, so it should have illuminated. I collected info from this site to show the tech at JLR dealer and he found the module that needed to be enabled. Check your weatherstripping around the doors, hatch, bonnet/hood. I had a broken pin in the forward/hinge end of my right/passenger side door WS. That was replaced and covered. I have a switch on my console to operate the rear spoiler for cleaning. The spoiler came up at 70 and went down like it should, but the switch to operate it didn't work. The day I brought the car home, I got a message that my battery was low, despite driving home @200 miles. All these things were covered under warranty. I also used info in this forum to help plead my case to replace the OE style flanged coolant pipes with the updated solid ones; that necessitated replacing the water pump as well, since the OE one did not play nicely with the new coolant pipes. I again used info in this forum to get the Super charger oil changed. JLR maintains that that system is sealed and good for 100,000 miles. NOT SO said the owners here. Got that done, as well as new SC belts.

The sound system is not in keeping with this car. It is not very good at all. I have a better system in my 2013 Golf. Maybe when I get my courage up, I will take off the door panels and put some better speakers in there.

But the car is a wonder. Before I got to the sellling dealer, I had to calm myself and remind myself that one has to walk away from something that doesn't feel right. Well, that went right out the window when I just sat in it. A superb road car, OMG, it is just amazing.

You may also notice that the bonnet/hood panels don't align like we think they should. My passenger/right side headlight panel stuck out. I pressed on it and was surprised that I could push it in. I got out my exam mirror and light and saw two plugs in the forward upper wheel arch liner. I popped those out and looked in... the two bolts that were supposed to hold that headlight assembly in were not even there. Once I got them in and the assembly pressed into place, tightened, all was good.

The biggest shock was that I thought I had done all my due diligence on this car before I bought it... after I got it home, I was floored to find the Saga of the Clutch. How had I missed that??? Good ending was that the selling dealer had been upfront about replacing the clutch, they just dismissed it as an incompetent manual trans previous owner. but they did put the most up to date clutch in it (4th generation).

You will find the most incredible projects described in this forum. Some of these owners have skill sets that are more than impressive.. Unhinged... is one TheRock is another. There are even more members that have literally taken these cars apart to redo the engines, the transmissions and the entertainment systems. I am in awe of all of them.

Hope you enjoy your F and your visits here!

 

this is great advice and likely what I will have them do! I just need a little peace of mind by having them inspect and okay everything. Also would like to have the injectors inspected and cleaned, but imagine that will have to come out of pocket as well. Thank you so much for the help!!

 

Definitely, report any issues you have with the car (particularly the shudder) to a reputable Jag dealer well before your warranty is up. You could well end up with free injectors and/or plugs in the process of tracking down the shudder. After the warranty expiration is the right time to find a good independent shop.

 

wow thank you so much for the advice!! I have noted all the things you mentioned and am going to have them looked at! I’m glad you love your car as I LOVE mine, I look for any excuse to drive anywhere, but given I bought it used I just need to have everything looked over for the peace of mind. I see unhinged commented down below, so thanks for pointing out some savy members!

 

I didn’t realize you were a legend in this forum!! Thanks for the comment! I agree with what you said, I think I found a good local dealer to do my warranty repairs and I have some good independent on my list for when that expires!

is there anything else you can recommend for my year and mileage that I am not thinking of? I was going to have them quote me for a rear diff oil change, but am sure I will get racked over the coals on that from a JLR dealer. But also not sure if it’s necessary with my mileage? But it’s greatly appreciated if you have any other thoughts on things to look out for. Based on past experience my shudder feels like a plug or fouled injector, but that’s just conjecture at this point.

thanks again for helping out here!! 😊

 

Do have the differential fluid changed - my dealer had no issue at all in doing that at my request (but then, I have an excellent dealer, in apparent contrast to many on this forum).
And importantly, use periodically a good quality injector cleaner (such as BG44K - which, incidentally, my dealer puts in at every oil change). And use only oils that meet the current Jaguar/Land Rover specification in 0w20 weight.

You will love this gorgeous, silken beast….but be aware that owning a Jaguar quickly becomes an obsession. This may be your first but it will not be your last Jaguar.

 

that is great advice!! I was looking at getting a couple cans of BG44K, but wasn’t sure if it would be effective. I’ll grab some!

and is your local dealership a Jag dealer or land rover or something else?

sorry last question, do you mind me asking roughly how much they charged you to change the rear diff oil? Thank you for your help!!

 

My local dealer is Jaguar Land Rover Victoria. The oil used for the differential was Jaguar part # C2D3650 for the drain and refill. The charge was $130 total, labour and fluid. My car when the differential fluid was changed had 52,230 kms on it (about 32,500 miles).

 

And that part is Castrol BOT 720 which you may be able to find at a cheaper price than a JLR dealership will charge although it can be hard to find.
I and a few others have used Motul Gear 300 LS 75w90 instead with zero problems.