My X-Type has served me well for a long time and has been a fantastic daily driver, especially in the snow. However, I will need to let it go soon as it has the dreaded rusty sills/rocker panels and there is so much rust underneath the car that it's impossible to repair. It's a shame really because all the mechanical pieces are still working fine.

However, I would like something with a bit more oomph as a daily driver so I've decided my next car will be a S-Type R. I have a few questions on this particular model.

1)Does the S Type suffer from the same dreaded rotten sills/rocker panels as the X-Type? I've read that the facelift model (2005 and after) shouldn't suffer from this as they switched to galvanized panels. Being that I live in Chicago, they throw massive amounts of salt all over the road here in the winter. I take extremely good care of my vehicles and this is a car that I would like to last at LEAST 5-6 years if not more. I've been reading about having the underside sprayed/coated to protect against rust if that helps at all.

2) Are there any major changes they made to the S Type past 2005? I read that they made a major revision to the suspension (I think the rear end?), changed the hood/bonnet to a lighter aluminum piece, and changed the sills/ rocker panels to galvanized panels. I thought I read somewhere that they stopped using Brembo brakes one of the years. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Please note any model year changes

3) The only major problem I've found with the S Type R is the valley hose. About when should one expect this to fail? I'm thinking higher mileage like around 80,000miles? Besides this, are there any other major reliability issues with an S Type R?

4)Being that this is a rear wheel drive car with 400hp, how important is the lack of a limited slip differential? I see Quaife sells an LSD for the STR but this is not going to be a track car. Is the lack of LSD a big deal?
What about winter driving, would an LSD aid in winter driving at all or it's not necessary?

Any other advice on an STR would be greatly appreciated thank you!

 

I have had my 2006 for a little over a year now...the guy I bought it from lived on the coast so he was in a saltwater atmosphere...I have looked the body over extensively with the plastic panels removed and found very little if any metal rot..yes the hood is aluminum on the 2006...the brakes on mine are fantastic and huge non- brembo and I have tested them and found no issues..i pulled the radiator tank off to get a real good look at the hoses and belts and everything else..this was really easy and gave a good look...also replaced coolant at the same time...dont know much about the limited slip question...the only other thing I have done beyond scheduled stuff is changing the supercharger oil...jaguar says do not bother but a lot of jaguar mechanics say change it at 75000 to 100000 miles...the same supercharger is used on gm and others and gm says change at 75000 I believe...you could probably find a thread on here about this and those with more knowledge than me will have advice...that is why I recently joined...A wealth of friendly, vast, free knowledge with a common cause.. jaguar ownership...hope some of this helps

 

Snow/ice - not fun.

I don't believe they changed the galvanising at all during the STR years.

(They'd already made huge changes when it was first made.)

 

I notice you live in Chicago , I used to live in Upstate NY where they salt the winter roads rendering 10-15yr old cars junk before their time. I've been in Florida for a few years now and bought a 2006 S-Type with 120,000mi with absolutely no rust. You might think to take a little trip here or TX or AZ.

 

It's an awful snow car. I park mine during the winter and even parked some stuff rusts on the chassis and running gear. At least get something that's FWD. THis has big fat tires in the rear with low profile tires and lots of torque to boot. All terrible things for good traction and rims damage quite easily in potholes.

I frankly don't get why people drive nice high performance cars like these in such atrocious conditions but I see Mercedes, BMWs, Audis ... etc. in the high performance models all the time here during horrific winter conditions. I drive my big old Suburban for that.

I wouldn't describe the S-Type's rust prevention as robust. The steel chassis parts are just lightly painted steel with the paint thin at the edges and they rust early as a result of that. And mine is in very nice shape in that department but still, there's some there.

 

My valley hose leaked after 10+ years and 119K miles. Not bad for a 2005 car!

Can you DIY the repairs? This is really the key point because ALL the problems have been long found out and this forum has all the repairs too!

I had my STR for 6 years as a daily driver and never broke down. My only failures where coolant leaks and the SC engine has a bunch!
About 22 hoses so I would plan some repair time when I picked it up. Don't forget the DCCV replacement and possible RCCM damage if it was not changed quick enough.

Also service the transmission/sleeve/pan/bolts. Check for weeping transmission cooler lines. The connection between the rubber and metal tubes will leak after time.

I think the lack of the LSD is the STR's biggest drawback. It's a powerful car and needs one. I never did the Quaife because of the cost but did change rear end fluid several times.

Really LOVE the E-Diff on my 2014 XJR! It a shame it can't be fitted to the STR it would make a great addition.

My 2005 STR had the Brembo's and I recommend using ceramic pads all around. I ran the Akebono pads for 70K+ miles. The emergency brake pads are hard to find so don't forget those too.
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I guess I have that one to look forward to next ...

Has anyone NOT had to do that? I'm just over 60K on my 2005.

Now I'm looking most at all the suspension pieces in the rear suspension ...

If I do that I'm going to buy the parts and have someone do it. Doing this on jack stands in my driveway is a bit too much. Only the three bushings in the the lower control arm look like they'll be the big work in this. Everything is simply replaced by bolting in new rods.

Nothing has broken on the upper control arm.

Front suspension just got done.

 

Or California. My son lives in Chicago. When he needs a car we buy in California and he or I drive it out there.

 

Find out where the car spent it's time. Used cars move around a lot so just because it's being sold from one of those location doesn't mean it hasn't seen salt duty. I got mine with 15K on it out of Atlanta but it spent most of its time in the D.C. area and most of that in a garage. It was never driven in the winter and still hasn't been.

 

I have been working a ton and have not had time to check this thread, I apologize. There's a middle aged man I work with who used to own a 2003 S Type R and he drove his in the snow with all season tires and said it was fine. I think I will be able to manage in the snow, might be a bit tricky but should work.

As far as the rust is concerned, do these cars have rusty rocker panels/ sills like the X-type does? Is there anything preventative I can do to stop that from happening if it does suffer from the same problem?