One thing shows up with all these interesting contributions -- ANY car manufacturer does itself no end of good by making sure all the DEALERS are fully competent to service the cars they sell, and don't rip off the clients who are the source of their very existence. There are major policy mistakes which are serious -- changing "suspect" parts *****-nilly without really knowing if they are faulty or not, or not being able to diagnose faults down to component level. It wouldn't matter if those parts were just a few pounds/dollars, but they are in most cases an eye-watering rip-off.
I think we can say "Q.E.D." to the reasons why Jaguar, or any car manufacturer, is in trouble, or why they don't fetch much secondhand. Those chickens have come home to roost...
Leedsman.

 

I actually count on the Jaguar's depreciation when buying them. An S-Type is a real bargain, especially if you get one with the Select Edition warranty. As mentioned before, you get a car with a tremendous amount of refinement for the price of an entry-level new car. This may or not be my last Jaguar, depending on when I retire.

Mike

 

Mike,

When does your Select Edition warranty expire, and do you plan to keep the car beyond expiration?

 

Jon,

It expired at the beginning of the month. I plan on keeping the car for a long while though. I've had two previous Jaguars (XJ6) so I am aware of the pitfalls. All of the usual trouble areas have been resolved under warranty. I have a new rear differential, a new rear brake system, a new a/c system and a new anti-freeze reservoir. The car still runs great, just like a new car.

Mike

 

How many miles on yours? My warranty runs out soon too. I've only got 20K miles. No differential issues so it probably won't get replaced under warranty.
The reservoir thing I may have to push real hard as I can smell coolant, it slowly drops but they can't find a leak. Yet I have coolant on the top lip of the seam.

Today I developed a slight steering wheel squeak.

 

Hi Bob,

I have about 69K miles on mine.

From what I've read about STRs is that there may be a fitting under the supercharger that can cause a leak. Other STR owners would be a better source of information though. That would seem to be a warranty item to check out.

You may want to put some power steering conditioner in your system. It is available at the Jaguar dealers for about $10. I also spray some lithium lubricant on the steering column u-joints. It's a bit of contortionist drill though.

Mike

 

I'm going to a meeting tomorrow morning with a local Jag service guy at a friends house to watch a major repair job on his XJ. I may get a chance to ask him about some of this stuff and figure out how to get my local dealer to address it.

Thanks for the input.

 

Bob, you may want to go ahead and have the dealership put your car on the rack and listen to see if they hear anything at all. I didn't start noticing the "whine" until my car had about 32,000 miles. It could have been there previously but I may not have noticed it because it was so faint.

 

Mike,

Glad to learn that you're keeping your S-Type beyond your warranty. Owners come and go here on the forum but it appears that you, Rick, George, and me have plans to stay with our 3.0 cars as long as they don't begin to gulp down our maintenance funds. Of course, George has a huge advantage over the rest of us with his brother's repair shop at his convenience. Sure wish I had a trump card like that....

You certainly know the pros and cons of the car having been on the forum for a number of years now, and you did manage to take good advantage of your warranty with all of your costlier issues. I believe your risk going forward will be minimal. And you'll certainly get the assistance you may need with any future issues right here....

One question, though. I remember you stated quite some time ago that you live in a complex that does not allow residents to perform maintenance or repairs on their vehicles in the parking lot. So what will you do when you need to jack it up and go after a problem?

 

It's already been mentioned on previous visits. I also get a slight shudder at the steering wheel at stop or slow speeds too. They said they found nothing.

I'm getting a lot of the Sargent Schultz type answers on these small items.

I'm going to try and find out what the deal is with the rear diff tomorrow. I have zero issues right now so perhaps there was a production date change-over and I won't develop the problems some have? I'm guessing no ...

 

Park out of sight of the complex office and hope I don't get caught. I should be OK as long as I don't overhaul the engine in the parking lot.

 

Would you be mad at me if you knew I was looking at an STR Jon?

Bob lives close enough to me, and the aforementioned shop, that I'd be willing to lend a hand if needed, both with space as well as with turning wrenches, if he decided to go that route.

I love the 3.0 for everything it is, but also resent it for everything it isn't, if that makes sense...

I figure I'm probably in one of the better positions to take one on of anyone here, especially if you consider the "trump card". I'm still on the fence, but I have an interesting opportunity that I stumbled across.

Take care,

George

 

haha, you know you want to!!

 

I fully understand, George. You're a single man, your vehicles are your toys, and you have full access to a shop. I love the STR (I drove one in December 2009 just for craps and giggles), but I don't want the extra expense to repair, maintain, and insure. Our 3.0 was purchased as a highway cruiser to get my wife back and forth to Tampa on her solo jaunts to visit her parents. It fills that role very well....

 

I'm sort of in the same situation but I can do limited stuff like brake jobs. As long as it doesn't look like a service bay. A car cover helps for multi day projects.
It's just a real b*tch during the bad weather seasons. Summer & winter!

 

Bob -

If it's a one day job, you are more than welcome to use my garage. It's indoors and soon to be heated. I have most tools, and would be more than willing to help.

You know how to reach me.

Take care,

George

 

Thanks George.

 

Hi Bob,

I take it you've sufficiently recovered from your near-fatal wound to work on the kitty.

Once the weather gets warmer I'll get around to the spring detailing.

Bob, I thought NJ had two seasons: snow and rain.

Mike

 

Bob,

FWIW, I smelled coolant for a couple of weeks every evening when my wife parked her 05 in the garage, without any sign of coolant anywhere. Not low in the reservoir, either. Finally...maybe a month after first smell....had a trace on the reservoir seam at the top.....almost like you spilled some filling it....but hadn't filled it. Played around with it a bit and discovered a very small crack at the base of the nipple coming off the fill neck.

Zane

 

I developed the same squeak last night, and the mileage b/w our cars differs by less than 1k. It sounds similar to the sound (in other cars I have had) produced when there is not enough power steering fluid.

When I get around to checking it out I'll let you know what I find, unless you do it first.