Hello, new here, owner of a Jaguar XF, S/C 2014 Premium Luxury for about 2 and half years. Bought it from the first owner in the summer of 2017. Current mileage is 95k kms. I never had to worry about the car until recently and other than the extensive googling I have done in the last couple of days, I have no idea about car repair.

Last couple of weeks, it started to have strong vibrations at idle and while driving - and also some whirring sound while driving at higher speeds, so I took it to Jaguar (last month of extended warranty), they said all bushings, motor mounts, wheel bearings and trans mounts, as well as the tires need to be changed (I was going to anyway, they were old). Their bill was way too expensive (warranty covered only the wheel bearing apparently), then I found a reliable garage and got all of them changed with original parts and put Michelin PS4 tires on it. (Also to note that, last service was done in Sep, shock absorbers were also replaced). Wheel alignment and tire balancing were also done.

Now, the vibration at idle is gone. Vibration at slow speeds is gone. But the car still doesn't feel smooth and have a few possibly minor issues, but they drive me crazy because I spent so much money on those parts and I expect at least a smooth, quiet drive. So here are the problems:

1- When it is idle, the engine is still loud, maybe it is normal with age and mileage, but to me it sounds like a diesel engine (not as bad as that, but just to give you an idea). Attaching a video. As a bonus question, is the whole engine movement/shaking normal when I ask my wife to stop the car? https://www.reddit.com/link/dwoxqu/v...okuty31/player

2- After all the parts mentioned changed, the car feels a bit like struggling at low speeds, like from gear 1 to 2. Also feels like manual car stopping (just for a second) when I go to that small bumpy road in the morning, slight uphill, But the drive at higher speeds is totally fine, i mean engine acceleration, gear change etc all feels fine.

3- I still get vibration over 70-80 kmh and in general the ride feels like I am driving on a road with many many tiny bumps. Like it is not going on a smooth road (but I know the road is very smooth).

So any ideas? I mean all of these can be unrelated problems, but I would like to hear what you guys think. Being in Dubai, I find it hard to trust most mechanics, though I know I will have to take it to at least 2 soon.

 

I forgot to write: The tires I got are Michelin PS4, 245/40/R19 and they are at 32 psi.

 

Dude, you got ripped off big time. A 2014 is only 5 years old. Trust me, most of those parts they replaced were just fine. And their shotgun approach didn't even completely solve your problems.

Your bigger issue is that you need to find a more honest and capable mechanic.

As for your remaining vibration, it could be as simple as a bent wheel, but it could also be something else, like worn driveshaft components.

 

It was the Jaguar service who told me I need to change those parts. Then I took it to some other garage with good reviews and they also thought the same (and did the work), I plan to keep the car as long as I can, so I don’t mind getting some of those parts changed at almost 100k but it’s annoying that it didn’t fully solve my problem.

 

Not for the first time, I disagree with lotusespritse's opinion here: not about the shotgun approach or the requirement for an honest mechanic, but his certainty that the parts replaced were "just fine" - as a 2010 that spent its life in the comparatively warm states of Texas and California, my engine and transmission mounts were pretty much shot 5 years later at ~65k with considerable driveline shunt when I replaced them - and it seems the engine mounts especially appear to "dry out" over time in hot climates, so I can absolutely see it happening possibly to a greater extent in Dubai. I'm surprised he can state with so much conviction the state of rubber mounts half way around the world that he hasn't seen, but there you go.

That engine shake on engine switch-off doesn't seem right to me, though I suspect that "clatter" that happens when the engine stops it could be a worn supercharger isolator - these are known to fail over time. You can test for this by removing the supercharger belt and testing the supercharger pulley for movement and noise. You can even start and idle the car with the belt disconnected to see if it still makes the noise when you switch the engine off.

As for your other issues - possibly wheel bent/balancing issues as lotus says, I'd also be interested to know the state of the flexdisc/guibo on your driveshaft.

 

Your reading comprehension is failing you again, david. I said most of those parts were probably good. I have 2 XFs in Texas (just sold one last week though) and most of those parts are still doing fine today, 9 years later. I didn't say I know which ones are good or which are bad, that would be stupid to suggest I did, david.

Here's the problem for the OP, you think you fixed a lot of potential problems with your car after spending a ton of money, but you have a lot more things that are higher priority that you should have done before these items, such as cooling system plastic, water pump, intake valve cleaning, transmission filter and fluid, diff fluid, blake bleed, etc, etc etc. You really didn't do anything on the list that will result in trouble-free motoring.

 

Thank you davetibbs and lotusespritse for your comments. To be fair, I do not understand much from cars but two separate garages (dealer and a premium car service garage) clearly showed me that my bushings (tire shop also made a comment on this and said they won't do alignment because I need to change the bushings) and motor mount were quite broken. I have no reason to doubt it. Dubai has a harsh climate and some things can wear much quicker than other parts of the world. However, none of them made a comment about my rim or wheel being bent, which makes me think, they should be fine. I did the tire balancing twice - wouldn't they say something about the wheet if it was bent?

Anyway I am taking the car to the other Jaguar service in the city today or tomorrow to get them check the car. New set of eyes from a different dealer.

 

If you're pretty sure your wheels are balanced I'd be considering driveshaft wear - specifically the flexdisc/guibo on the driveshaft. You need to remove the exhaust and heatshield to be able to see it so it's entirely possible it's in a bad state but not visible.

 

I am quite sure Dubai has Texas beat when it comes to heat . The desert will kill compound rubber quite fast ( I have been there quite a few times and I think it reached over 90 degrees every day without fail from April to Oct, that plus the whiplash to cool evenings will kill rubber fast...

Agree with Dave here, seems like the isolator is shot.

Engine does not sound horribly loud for a direction injection system/

 

It has been a while and the problem is still not totally solved. Here is the latest update:

- Took the car to the dealer, who said they found an issue with supercharger belt or something like that and fixed it, plus they rebalanced the tires again and the car should be fine now.
- I took the car and drove it around and the vibration at higher speeds was still there.
- I took it to a highly reviewed tire shop to check the rims, balancing etc, they checked and confirmed all is fine. No bent rims etc.
- Next, I took it to a independent garage for diagnostics who charges $100, they kept the car for a day, tested everything, then they said this: "we checked everything but we couldnt find any issue, however when we drive, we also feel the vibration", only dealer or more specialized Jaguar garages can figure it out and didn't charge me the diagnostics fee... They said the joints etc are all look okay.

So I am stuck again. The vibration is mild but incredibly annoying to me. It also feels like I am driving on tiny bumps all the time whenever I drive over 70-80 kmh. The vibration gets worse as the speed increases and if I take it to Neutral when I am driving on highway, the vibration is still there (I don't understand much about cars, I'd imagine this should rule out at least some of the potential issues).

I am going to try another garage I guess, cannot think of what else to do.

 

Thats what we get for not buying a Toyota here.. Diagnosis should be systemic with expected results, but not on this car.

Any given part of the suspension, wheels, brakes or driveline can be the culprit. Bushings, shock mounts, engine mounts, trans mount, diff mounts, guibo, brake rotors/pads, steering rack, its endless. Even the dealers here are just parts swappers and expect you to eat the cost of this stupid guesswork, and like to play dumb for more profit. Many of the bushings like on upper arms can pass the lever torque test and not knock but still be bad, they won't know it until removed. At least the labor here is relatively cheap at the few independents or my car would already be scrap at only 120k miles.

 

Just wondering if you replaced the guibo / flex joint yet. I have similar symptoms to you on my XJ and have also been suspecting this as the culprit. My independent shop says it looks okay, but I can’t think of anything else. For brevity I won’t go into all my maintenance records other than to tell you there isn’t much left to maintain.

Every now and then I get a slight clunk sound when I put the car in park. The noise got 90% quieter when I replaced the transmission mount. This suggested to me that the clunk is transmission/ drive shaft related. As the clunk is still there though (just quieter) I’m thinking perhaps the guibo is bad. Hoping you have some insight on this with your car.

Thanks!

 

The Guibo's can look OK at a glance, but the cracks are small whilst it's all bolted in situ. If the vibration is there when you knock it into neutral whilst moving, then I bet that's the issue. They are available as a separate item and you don't need a full prop shaft.
Good luck.

 

Why is that the case? In neutral there is really no torque going through the drive shaft so wouldn't you expect the vibration to essentially stop? Unless it's so loose that it's clattering around under its own weight with no stress placed on it which seems unlikely?

Worth checking anyway as they are known to fail. But doesn't sound like the issue here?