Hi all,

I am a 5 month old owner of a 2016 Jaguar XF and it has been running great while I've had it.

This past Sunday, however, I went to go somewhere and nothing on the car is responding. I can't unlock the doors, no buttons on the fob work. I got in with the key blade and the car was unable to recognize the key fob. I read the manual and put it up against the little area on the left side of the steering column and attempted to start it. The car will turn on (ignition on), but when I try to go to start it with the brake pedal pressed down, I don't hear anything (no clicks or starter motor noises or anything) and the car just turns off.

It seems to recognize my key fob when pressed up against the side of the steering column but not any other time, and even with that, it won't start the engine. When I turn the car on (no brake pedal pressed), I can use the infotainment system, AC, lights, etc. I can't even pop the trunk open to take a look at the battery level. I have 2 key fobs and both exhibit the same behavior.

One thing I noticed is that I have a "oil level overfilled" message. I got an oil change about 1 month ago.

Things I've tried: Replaced key fob battery and every iteration of pressing pedals and pressing the start button.

Anybody have any thoughts as to what might be going wrong or things I can try?

Thank you so much!
Dhruv

 

From what you say you have a security problem with the key fob and the car. DId you do anything unusual, or did anything out of the normal occur, before the car was closed and locked prior to this problem being noticed ?

 

Nothing unusual from my last drive about a week ago. The only possible thing I can think of would be - I believe I manually closed the trunk liftgate because it was not closing for some reason, but it has had issues before so I didn't think twice about it. After that, I didn't drive it for a whole day then this issue occurred the day after that.

 

If the vehicle hasn't been driven frequently, the very first thing to check is the battery voltage across the terminals with the ignition in the OFF position. When checked with a voltmeter, the battery must have a minimum of 12.6 volts for the systems to function correctly.

Verify the voltage prior to doing any further diagnosis as guessing on a Jaguar can become quite expensive very quickly.

 

NBCat - its been driven fairly frequently while I've owned it, but not sure before that. I would like to check the battery voltage, but I cannot find any way to get into the trunk. Neither key fob button, trunk release button nor my best shot at pulling the trunk release handle in the trunk have been successful. I haven't found any other way to get into the trunk - any ideas?

 

NBCat - I don't know why it didn't strike me before, but I just checked the battery voltage from the terminals under the front hood and it looks like the battery voltage is about 11.9V. That is probably it.

One problem still remains, though - I still need the trunk to open to try to replace it. The car is under warranty and a dead battery at 25k miles is probably covered, though.

 

I think all you can do at this stage is get the car recovered to the workshop. However there may be a "fiddle" to get the boot lid open but I don't know what that is. Maybe call the AA or whoever, assuming you're a member. What does the gurarantee say about breakdowns ?

 

Howdy Dhruv..
Sorry for your issue.
When does/did your 5-year factory warranty end?

Under your 60 month Factory Warranty, your annual oil changes are dealer performed.
Did a Jag dealer overfill it?

Which state are you in the US?
(Your forum profile indicates US.)
Let us know if your dealer covers the bricked battery and subsequent issues please.
Best Wishes mate..

 

Fraser - yep, I just got it towed away to the dealer. I really hope they bring me good news. More than anything, I want confidence in the car so I can go places without being anxious about its reliability. I keep hearing that the X260 is fairly reliable and I'm inclined to believe my particular issue is a one-off and perhaps the previous owner had habits that reduced the lifetime of the battery.

F1 - I believe the warranty is still valid, but I will have to check for sure. I had no idea that the dealer will change the oil - I should have done that. I got it done by a mechanic that has glowing reviews but not a Jag or European specialist or anything. I'll def go to the dealer from now on. And yes, I am in Atlanta, Georgia.

I will certainly keep you all apprised as to what happens going forward!

 

Alright good news and bad news.

Good news is that the car was under warranty and the repairs did not cost me anything.

Bad news is that it looks like the culprit is shoddy past body work that was done before I owned it. Apparently (and this is what the service rep told me, I haven't peeked in there yet), the shoddy body work was causing water to pool up in/near the fuse box in the trunk, shorting various systems including the CAN buses for the key fob. The technician also "made a drain hole" near the spot so it should not happen again. Here is the exact report from my invoice:

I bought the car from CarMax so I will have a chat with them.

Thanks for the help!
Dhruv