Hello everyone . I’m planning to be a new member of the Jaguar community. I’ve always driven Nissan and Infiniti cars(currently 370z). I was wanting to make the move to a 8 cylinder and the 2012 XF has always caught my eye. I’m planning on buying a 5.0 2012 XF; and if I stumble upon the right one, the supercharged model. Will be a daily driver, just some spirited driving to and from work and “cruises” on days off. Just have a few questions before I jump in:
1. How much is the price of an average oil change/service and how long do you guys go before servicing again?
2. How often does the supercharger oil need to be changed and do they usually do that as a part of the normal car servicing?
3. Are there any common issues you guys see in these cars around 100k miles+? Such as trans issues, weak factory parts, window motors, etc(i’m going to be buying one in the 50k-70k mileage range)
4. Advice on going with N/A or supercharged(other than the obvious that the supercharger is more fun) Does the supercharger lead to more issues/more repairs further down the road past 100k?


and any other advice or info you guys could give me would be great!

 

I'm guessing you are from the US and I'm in Oz so I can't advise much on cost, however:
1. Assuming you buy an XF that is out of warranty you should DIY the engine oil and filter changes as it's a piece of cake and the oil and filters are not that expensive.
A dealership will charge like a wounded bull, at least four times what it would cost to DIY, and an independent mechanic will charge about half of that.
These engines cry out for regular oil changes, at least twice as often as the scheduled interval of 12 months or 16,000 miles whichever comes first.
Same with engine air filters (replace once every three years), a very easy DIY.
2. The SC oil has no scheduled change mileage or time and it's not included in any JLR service schedule, officially it's "for life" but it should be changed at least every 100,000 miles if not sooner. It's not an easy job, most say the supercharger has to come off to do it (= big labour costs) but it can be done without removing the SC although it's not easy and it helps to be a 90 lb contortionist!
3. Trans issues are fairly rare but they do arise from around 80/100,000 miles and in nearly all cases the "fix" is to renew the trans fluid. But it's like the SC oil - the trans fluid is officially "for life" and never needs changing but this is BS and it really should be changed every 60/70,000 miles as recommended by ZF. This applies to both the 6HP26/28 (pre 2012) and the 8HP70 (2012 on). Again not an easy DIY job but doable and expensive as the new fluid costs a packet and the labour charge is fairly steep. You should get it done by a ZF specialist/agent as it's a tricky procedure.
Other relatively common issues are mainly around the cooling system - coolant pump breaking down/leaking, plastic coolant pipes and hoses cracking/splitting/leaking, thermostat failing, expansion tank cap leaking/failing etc etc. Many owners recommend all these suspect plastic parts be changed out every 70/80,000 miles at least, again a big expensive job especially on the SC version. The problem with these coolant system failures on the XF is that there is no gauge showing coolant level, you have to look in the engine bay to check it, and if/when something fails and there is a massive loss of coolant you will cook and destroy the engine very quickly if you keep driving.
Yes, door lock solenoids are a known weak point and in particular the driver's door solenoid and possibly the whole module will often need replacing by 100,000 miles.
4. The SC version is muuuch more fun, it pulls like a train and can be safely beefed up to 600 bhp plus for not a lot of $, but the NA version of the 5.0 is not too shabby either although there is little you can do to enhance it.
Yes the SC version on older XFs generally costs more to maintain/repair, mainly because the most of the big jobs (coolant system pipes etc) require the SC to come off = big labour costs.

 

Thank you OzXFR. Exactly the info I needed. Still a much longer engine oil change interval than the cars I’ve had experience with, I assume because it holds more oil. Looking forward to it! Just waiting on the right one to come on the market

 

OZxfr is on the money as usual.

I love the "charging like a raging bull comment" gonna use that often (like when the SO takes the credit card.)

Time to get a "big boy car" I guess. The Z is a nice car, but more for a boy than a man (got a colleague pissedoff when I mentioned that to him when he parked next to me in my XFR one day Come on, he was chief counsel at my company, time to show your ********* have dropped....

Oil Change at the dealer is 250 or so. But you can get it done at any garage (like Firestone) as long as you make sure they use the JLR spec oil (5w-20) The Dealer oil is spendy but you can get the Jaguar spec oil from Ravenol and Motul ( the version of castrol the dealer uses is not available in the states It takes 7.2 qts

Checking oil is a bit of routine, land there is not oil pressure light or gauge. Lots of folks don;t and that (can) casuses major issues, Check the engine for timing chain rattle ( sounds like a diesel in the front of the engine) That is an expensive repair and would likely cost more than the car is worth.

Changing out all the coolant pipes is recommended since the originals fatigue over time and had a fault in seams that fail often. Newer versions have it fixed in most. Pulling the SC, changing the oil and and putting in a a new supercharger coupler ( another frequent failure) costs about 2000 at a competent indy ( or 4500 at the dealer)

Great cars, turn heads, and have major go factor (especially with a slight tuning as OZ mentions

 

Thanks guys. Is there any aftermarket part manufacturers you would recommend for these models with good reliable parts? For both performance and OEM replacements. I’ve heard of Mina Gallery

 

Kim is almost right , the supercharged oil should be changed every 5 years or 50,000 miles using powerhouse U.K. Advice. They are the specialists. It evaporates over the years , many don't realise this .Ask me how I know , I'm the contorshonst who first changed it on the 5litre engine without removing the engine. It can be done see xkr stickies section for step by step "how to"

 

The preferred supplier of pulleys and tunes around here for the SC version is Velocity AP, reasonable prices (but not the cheapest), great after-sales service and top notch products. You get what you pay for.
But before you even think about pulleys and tunes make sure whatever XF you get is in tip top shape first. Run it for at least 2,000 miles to see what problems might pop up and get them fixed.
Other things to look for on a used XF are the condition of the tyres and brakes, the XF is hard on both and it's not uncommon for a seller to try to fob one off with worn out tyres and/or brakes. I bought my XFR some five years ago now and the interstate private seller was honest, the tyres were definitely due for replacement and he said the brakes (both rotors and pads) were as well, although on inspection they weren't that bad. I got $4000 knocked off the asking price due to this.
Good quality tyres are very important on the XF especially the SC versions and some sellers especially dealers will fit cheap rubbish for a quick sale, don't fall for that trick.
The general consensus around here and especially on the F-Type forum is that the best all round summer ultra performance tyre for a modern Jag is the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S. Not the cheapest but not all that expensive either.

 

Some of parts are interchangeable with certain ford models. (Control arms, TPMS sensors, things like that.) you should use Jaguar parts, many availalbe for discount online from dealers (ebay or direct online dealers)

There are many parts that are available from OEM suppliers with the standard caveats, some are good, some are not

 

About the best I have found for parts prices is Rock Auto. A mixture of OEM and alternatives, but mainly alternatives that in many cases are as good as if not better than OEM, for example oil and air filters.
For OEM parts the cheapest I have found is Britcar but they are in Blighty so you have to factor in a fairly hefty postage cost. Great service though.
There are some dealer chains in the US who have good prices such as Reno Jag.
Search around, use Fleabay Motors etc and you can often find a bargain.
As a general rule of thumb DO NOT go within a bulls roar of your local JLR dealership unless you really want to be bent over on price!

 

Oil changes for my 2012 XF has been pretty minimal at around $80-100 for the change including 8.5 quarts of synthetic oil and oil filter. Genuine Jag parts and fluids done by my trusted Indy Jag Mechanic.
I have a 5.0 NA 2012 XF Portfolio, so I can't help you with the Supercharger costs.
Common issues at this day in the life is that the coolant parts show wear and often leak. It can be costly to replace everything, which is what I did as a preventative measure. I think it was in the range of $1400 to $2400 depending on what you replaced. I replaced about everything including the water pump, thermostat, all of the plastic tubing, genuine Jaguar parts, so I would have a warranty on those if they leak in the future, which one pipe did and it cost me about $2200 with labor.
The front steering bushings need replacement, the bushings are cheap, but the labor is expensive as they have to take apart everything and press in the bushings, but no more wobble on the front end. Can't remember what that cost but I think it was 1200 to 1400. I didn't replace the control arms.
Other than that, nothing is more than the usual oil changes, which I do on a very regular basis. They say 15k per change, but my mechanic says, 3K-5K. Go for the lower numbers as the parts are worn and these engines run hot.
Most of these things need to be done by 75K or 8-10 years.
The thing you may have to watch out for and is very expensive is replacing the timing chain tensioners/timing chain. There is a known issue with these engines which can go bad and ruin your engine. To do the proactive change, it will run you around 5K. But it is better done before you hear the loud clunk. I think the latter 2012+ 2013 models had put in the redesign which doesn't show up as often.
I bought a 5.0NA because of the lack of failures, plus I couldn't find a used 2012 Supercharged or R model on the market when I bought it. They are pretty hard to find. But I can tell you the Supercharged/R models are a major step up in power, not that the 5.0NA is powerful enough. I drove the F-Type Supercharged and it was a blast! If I had a supercharged, I'd definitely remap it, just for the major boost in power.
Oh the other thing is that I did have to replace my window regulator as the window has an issue with water leaking in the sill and dripping or rusting the regulator. It just wasn't predictable as it would go back down thinking that an arm was caught in the window when closing. Easy fix though. But those things are not cheap $200+ as you pretty much have to get Jaguar parts.
Oh, the last thing.. make sure it has premium sound system already installed. The mid line sound is okay, but adding the woofer makes it much better, but that involves doing a CCF edit and adding in the high amp. I'm still trying to figure out how to properly program the amp for Surround sound as I added in the rear surround speakers and the front dash surround speaker. It is a big headache as I've spent enough money buying the wrong used amps and then borking them in the process of programming them...you'll see my posts on programming and still working on it today. (taking me a few year now.. on and off but at least I have the high amp model with upgraded B&W speakers the woofer.

Other than that it's been pretty much faultless. Much better quality build than my S-Type which had engine leaking smoking because of warped valve covers and electrical drain, and every couple years the window regulator plastic part replacement, but that car was cheap to maintain because of the common parts with the Ford cars. Rock Auto was my best friend. My mechanic loved me and always chuckled when he saw me. It was a sweet car even though it had nagging issues which we kept trying to resolve. Jaguar forums always helped me to be preventative in my maintenance.