Hi

2004 S-type R, with just over 40K
Had it 4 years and never had any issues or breakdowns
do all my own work and maintenance
its just had regular services,maintenance using genuine parts and regular oil changes using castrol edge pro
car still drives like new, uses no oil or water and fortunately has been looked after all its life as it has no rust either
I refurbished the rear rear suspension last year, noticed some of the rubber boots on some parts had started to perish, so I went through the lot
also did the valley pipe not so long ago, did not fail, just did it for peace of mind
cheers
Joe

 

***Just an update from my post on October 19, 2019*** I don't get on here much.
We've only put 3K more miles on it since that first post, so now it has only 57K on it. I know some of the things I've done or had done recently are considered normal maintenance, however, here's the list of just recently done:

Front and rear rotors and pads
Rear sway bar links
Upper hose (part #JLM21497) It's more that just a hose.
Rear wheel bearing (part #XR81723)
Replaced "foggy" headlamps

I was going to have the driver's side door mirror replaced because it has turned brown, but just for the mirror ONLY was $423 plus tax. I'll live with the brown mirror.
I must say again, we've had the car for 17 years, it's ALWAYS garaged and rarely sits outside for an extended period of time. I realize the car will be 20 years old next year, but it just seems like these "luxury" cars are not really built well or with quality parts. My wife loves the car, otherwise it would been gone yesterday.
Also, here's a pic for those interested.

 

update to present. Right rear brake caliper and just finished rebuilding the trans valve body with all seals and fluid and filter replaced. About 600.00 in parts but wow the tranny is absolutely fantastic. Drive test is like a totally different trans. and readings of internal pressures are fantantastic. Also have replaced all other original coolant hoses and rebuilt the supercharger except for rotor pack. Upgraded intake tract to larger. All new rotors and brake pads. Repaired sun roof shade....replaced the ignition key switch barrel and got rid of the pesky key in circuit failure and park brake fault...got a new flip key made thanks to member sone...replaced 2 marker lights in front.... Car now has a little over 170,000 miles and i would take it anywhere anytime any weather....sounds like a lot for 5 years ownership, but in reality it is about 3000.00 in parts and a whole lot of satisfaction in seeing the repairs as a total success

 

Hey guys newish here. Lol I just found this thread and thought I would add to it.
first off I have a 2000 stype 4.0 bought it about 5 weeks ago I think with 138900 miles on it. It was A sitter and sat a street over from me and i always wanted this car. Its clean has 3 small very fixable dents but it's clean. I was able to put around 500 miles on the car and boom.. hehe it starts

I just finished up this stuff
Full timing chain, tensioners job
water pump with metal propeller
New alternator "because I surely did not wanna get down there again soon."
almost all rubber hoses
Full tune up plug coils
oil change "amsoil"
Fuel filter
4 new tires extreme contact dws6
Full rotors and pads all the way around
Front pass wheel hub
Front upper a arms
Brake booster grommet
o2 sensors upstream
2005 type r oem projector hid retrofit with d2s
Led interior conversion
new agm hi grade battery
Front sway bar bushings
i thinks there maybe another thing or two but i cant remember.

Well thats within 500 miles and 5 weeks of owner ship. Hahahha she better last me a good while i hope. I sure love driving her.

Joe

 

Owned this car for 12 years now, very, very few problems.
- Replaced brakes once
- Replaced tires once
- Repaired hail damage once
- cleared clogged drain lines on sunroof once
- replaced battery twice
- replaced cabin & air filters several times
- replaced broken side marker lens once
- replaced wipers yearly
- headlites started drooping, used Brutal's fix
- hose under intake plenum blew - replaced all hoses & water pump
Pretty much nothing more than regular maintenance in its 58,000 miles, can't ask for much more than that - been a great car...

 

Not had my 52k mile 2000 V6 3.0 for long, but have had to replace whining alternator and idler bearings. Also did the tensioner, but not sure it needed that (I was just being thorough). Misfire so I changed all 6 coils and both sets of cam cover gaskets. Replaced catch on ashtray. Stripped and cleaned steering wheel controls to fix cruise control and volume buttons. Stripped and cleaned electric mirror controls (which still work intermittently). New front anti-roll bar D bushes (previous owner had used wood screws to stop them clonking so much). Replaced VVT solenoid to cure small rattle at start up (yet to see if that has worked). Everything else is just standard preventative servicing or personal modifications.

 

Bought in 2011 for $9000..
Seems like it had a rhs impact given the new rhs headlights and misaligned driver door... all works ok
New trans after a year which was replaced under warranty after 6 months!
I changed front lower ball joints twice in lhs and once on right.
new wishbones and bushes front and back.
Front shockers to Bilteins
replaced rear LHS abs sensor cable... needed long arms and remote camera for that.
New window winder brackets and cables etc for RHS rear... interesting to do.
Regas.AC
Clean and Relube ac clutch to make it fully seat. or it pulls too much current and blows fuse.
8 new coils and plugs... $290 delivered from USA. Aus price $1400.
new head liner by removing pass seat not the rear window as the fitter usually did and often broke.. thanks to the forum for that.
Led Driving lights into the grill... so I could drive at night !!
New fog lamp globes... I think they were brighter when they were blown......
regular rat baits zip tied to engine cover.....

 

What are rat baits?

 

I do beleive he is referring to actual rat bait. You know mice rats long tailed creatures that eat the crap outta your wires and hoses. There usually green little bars with a hole in them for mouse trap homes. They go in eat the bait and die. .

 

Two baits.. One eaten and one half gone. I emptied a hundred leaves and bits of foam insulation from under the cover last week....Those long tailed creatures......

 

I can feel what you have faced. Did you get any sort of coverage?

 

Now THAT is a rat problem! Good idea to zip tie the baits on to the engine.
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.
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2007 402 bought at 9 years old with 9800 smiles on the clock. Since then: coolant tank;, lower A frames, hood and headliners, headlight screw hack, new leaper, steering casette in wheel, ebrake disconnect, replaced touchscreen, 5 window regulators, and it's ready for from struts at 45k miles. Also ready to replace the paintjob. Other than that, reliable as a Toyota...!

 

Aah right. Real rats. I haven't had that problem. But heard of it.

 

Since then, and with very little more use, the fuel pump died plus a rear window regulator collapsed. 150€ in parts and we are mobile again but fishing around in a half-filled fuel tank isn't really my idea of fun!

 

I notice you replaced the boot lock. I am not surprised, it looks like it is a very flimsy piece of kit. Why make a luxury car with a boot lock that looks like it is off a matchbox car? Even the noise the boot makes sounds tinny and poor quality. Not at all solid sounding, like the doors. Maybe I will have to spray it with wax oil to change the pitch.

 

agree. I am on my 3rd in 5 years

 

Right! The material used is very plain steel that deforms and partially jams the mechanism so it doesn't open on its own. However, the replacement lock seems to be holding up well. Maybe some improvement was made to the materials used. Unfortunately, corners are often cut on the bits you don't see but sometimes they do spoil the feel of the product

 

No much is the simple answer....

I purchased my S-type R in April 2015 and so far I have done about 25K miles over the past seven years. It has just passed the MOT again last week.

The faults I have had so far after purchase have been:

Two reversing sensors have failed. Both replaced with Valeo replacements. (One in 2016 the other in 2021.)
Right hand rear anti-role bar drop linkage arm broken. (Yes broken!!)
Expansion tank split. (Replaced with a new one.)
Both rear wheel speed sensors have failed. (One in 2017 the other in 2019.)
Two rear tyres worn out. (These were cheap budget tyres that were fitted by the previous owner just before I purchased the car! (See note below.)
Two wheel nuts replaced as they were starting to rust inside and swell the metel cover.

I have also fitted the CD changer and the later X and XJ 2010 Bluetooth module.
I had to change the RH front wing following light accident damage in 2020. (As new one in the right colour purchased on e-bay for £55 inc postage!)

In addition the car had the several known faults listed below that I identified when I went to view it.
As a result I put in a silly low offer on the already quite reasonable sale price and after a week of having no other interested buyers at all, to my surprise the previous owner, who had very little practical knowledge of cars accepted my offer! Happy days!!

Both rear exhaust boxes rusted through. I replaced these with Adamash ones.
Both rear exhaust box heat shields insecure and rattling about on the exhaust boxes. Repaired with SS washers secured with spring washers on original bolt pins.
(The above two faults made the car sound like a bag of old nails when I went to view it!)

A/C not cold. Cured with a re-charge and fine ever since.
Both front tyres worn on edge. The tracking was out and two replacement tyres fitted.
Sat nav DVD dated to 2003. 2011 DVD purchased for £8!
Passenger side interior central reading lamp not working. I have still not done this seven years later!!

The two rear tyres were also worn out, with one down to the cords, but the previous owner changed these for two cheap budget tyres in the week after I viewed the car.
But I still would not up my offer!

It should be noted that I was very fortunate that 2015 was also the lowest point for the sale price of the STR’s.
The S-Type shape was considered to be quite dataed and they were not popular cars at all at the time as a result there were lots of non STR's for sale at that time and even the STR's were very cheap.

Mellow

 

No, didn't feel the need when we bought it. It's only driven between 1500 and 2000 miles a year, but these cars are a money pit regardless of the mileage driven. I actually probably would have spent more over the years for coverage compared to what I have spent to fix things over the years. I've said it before, it would have been gone a long time ago, but my wife loves the car.