Well i have had my 2003 2.5 S-type for nearly a month and started getting "the Lurch" about a week ago then today i got the gearbox fault warning.

i know there are hundreds of threads on this but everyone seems to have different stories so i will let you know how i go.

my car is booked in next thursday at the dealer. i have the remainder of my used car warranty as well as an extended warranty.

i am hopeful that it can be sorted out quickly.

 

Sorry to hear ya got the "Gear Box Fault" warning. 1. Aside from the "Lurch", you didn't mention if any other abnormal shifting characteristics exist? 2. Ya mentioned she's an 03, so it's time to swap in new trans. (differential fluid too while yer at it) fluid anyway. Worn trans fluid will give her a mean "Lurch". I recently had poor up and down shifts and a worsening "Lurch". A trans fluid swap did the trick, so ya may be in luck. Read the recent posts on this subject. 2. Check her battery for volts (14+) and dying or dead cells. Though she may start, a dead or dying cell may still exist, thus she may not be recieving enough volts and amps to properly run her amazing amount of circuitry, thus a gear box fault warning light, etc. 3. This should be enough for you now to debug the beautiful bitch. Good luck and let us know what turns up.

 

yes - so am i

there are really only three places that i can take the car into here in Western Australia - the dealer where i bought the car is the best place to start. i bought my previous X-type from them and they always $looked$ after me.

when i bought the S-type the first thing i looked at was the battery and i did get it serviced there as a condition of sale and they do check the battery. i did a visual inspection and it looks new - with no sign of corrosion on the terminals.

when i spoke to the service dept i mentioned the "lurch" issue and the fix for it - they said that is something they will try but they want to look at solenoids and such and they mentioned possible failure of a module.

seeing as how this will all be done under warranty its in their best interests to fix it without recourse to parts but i will mention the possibility of fluid levels being low or worn when i take it in.

heres hoping its going to be a one day fix.

 

Sorry to hear, how many miles/kms do you have on it?

 

just 77000 km so well below average - which is why i bought it.

just drove home and no gear box fault warning and no lurch. its still going in on Thursday because if anything can be done short of replacement of the transmission on the day i would like those things tried.

at least the dealership i go to (dont know if i'm allowed to name them) are pretty good and know Jaguars pretty well so they should be able to sort it.

its probably a blessing that the gearbox fault came on so that the event is recorded - i don't think the lurch is recorded when it happens as it is not considered a fault by the software.

 

77000 it needs a fluid change quick as bfsgross said. Fault light? I would bet the battery is on the way out. The lurch is common and there is a known cure,
Get the fluid and filter changed, it won't be covered by warranty, I'm assuming it's a ZF 6 speed box, the ONLY approved fluid is Shell M-1375.4 ZF market it as Lifeguard 6 , it's the same stuff, Shell blend it exclusively for ZF at their German plant. It's expensive.

 

77000km is not in dire need of changing the fluid (be nice if they did it, though).
The special fluid has come down a lot in price but is not cheap even so.
Warranty? Great! Go for it.
The battery should have a date on it. Not proof it's good or bad, though.

 

re fluid change 77000 km i would have thought i should get 100000 km out of it but we will see what the experts at the dealer say - as i said they do know jags but if they recommend a fluid change and filter - which includes the pan i gather than so be it - after all i want the car fixed - i would be only too happy to buy a battery if that is what it is but again we will see what they come up with.

if it is a reflash and re adaptation then they can fix that for free as its a known fault - same goes for any faulty bits they find.

irrespective of all of that im still glad i have a Jaguar.

 

well the dealership still has my car - they have diagnosed the fault and have sent the valve body away to be reconditioned - from my reading here that sounds like the spring inside the valve body has failed - they were kind enough to loan me an 04 s-type 3 litre to use over the weekend. i am surprised how much of a difference the extra 500 ccs makes but i still prefer my own car. hope i get it back soon.

 

Whoops, sorry folks, I saw the 77000 bit but I somehow missed the km. bit. I was thinking 77000 miles

My excuse??? I'm an old man and my glasses need cleaning.

 

Wouldn't hurt to at least be planning to change it. Better if the dealer just does it, hoping to fix the problem.

 

lol! victor

yes - jagv8 - i did mention the fluid change to them - even mentioned i would be quite willing to pay for it (tranny is a warranty job). however they seemed to think it was unnecessary - though i guess it all depends on what the results are when they re - install the valve body and check that out.

i will of course keep you all posted as who knows - the resolution of the problem may provide useful information for someone else here.

 

just a quick update - no new information - the dealer now says i might get my vehicle back wednesday or thursday or at the latest close of business friday.

i had a look at the valve body of a transmission ( not mine) so i do understand why they sent it to a specialist - here is hoping that when they put it all back together it fixes the issue and doesnt create new problems - like transmission leaks.

i hope they checked the solenoid pack while they were at it - i dont want to wait another week while they get one of those.

 

I have a question.... Do you have a 5 speed or a 6 speed trans? I ask because the "spring issue" is a common fault with the 5 speed Ford trans. If it is a ZF 6 speed, this is the first time I personally have heard of a valve body issue with one...

Either, it's common or I'm about to think... Uh, Oh...

Yes, I know the ZF box came out in 2003 but the year thing is all over the place depending on location... (IE, the 05 refresh is actually 04 in the UK).

 

yes i was surprised too - i have the 6 speed - of course it may not be the spring in the valve body - there are a lot of narrow channels in the valve body along with solenoids and more than one spring - so anyone of those items could cause an issue.

 

i was supposed to get my car back today

they reinstalled the valve body but it didnt cure the fault.

they have now removed the transmission and sent it off to a specialist.

i guess this would mean i will get a fluid and filter change - maybe a new solenoid pack.

i will keep you all posted.

it probably just needed a fluid change but if they want to do all of this under warranty i really cant complain.

maybe i will have forgotten what my car looks like by the time i get it back.


as long as everything works when i get it back



glad i got a three year extended warranty though.

 

+1 on the warranty!!

 

so here we are a week later - the dealer told me it would be ready today but now they are telling me friday. they have not told me yet what they have done but they did mention re adaptation of the shift now needs to be done so they must be getting close. i will pass on the details as to what they found and whether i do indeed get it back on Friday. keep watching the skies for any pigs.

 

Readaptation / readaption (yuck) is where tech and a driver get in the car with IDS hooked up and drive at various speeds while the tech watches IDS as it confirms that each trans clutch has been used and its behaviour detected & programmed by the TCM.

The pigs need to fly low to avoid the snow clouds etc

 

yes i read about that somewhere - fingers crossed this is the last big problem i have for a while.