Hi

Just bought a brand new 13 XJ V6, RWD. Beautiful car. Love driving it.

I do wish that it had more options like remote start but I guess i can live without had albeit freeze my fanny off during the winter.

I noticed a lot of owner's posting about problems with their XJ's and since I've never really owned a Jag before I'm becoming a little paranoid and concerned about taking it on a road trip.

Before buying I did some research and know that years ago Jags were on the decline mostly for reliability issues but as of 2011 and beyond they seemed to have gotten most of it taken care of.

Are there many satisfied 2011 and up XJ owners out there with few or no problems?

New Owner

 

Welcome to the forum jjjj4546,

Forums like this will always have lots of posts about problems. That's one of the main reasons for joining!

Read up on the issues and their resolutions but more importantly, relax and enjoy your new Jaguar.

When you get a minute, please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see.

In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Of course there are, but we tend not to hear from them. People who post here tend either to be enthusiasts, (like me), or people with trouble. Don't have any worries about going on a trip.

The only problem with a Jaguar in the USA is it is a very large country, but Jaguar dealers tend to be located in big cities, so people out in the country have long drives to get to them. However, if Jaguar succeed as they are doing at the moment, there should be more US dealers in a little while.

If you want reassurance, I have the previous model to yours, now on 10 years old and 76k miles and last year set off for Germany on holiday beside the Rhine south of Koblenz. That's an outbound trip of about 450 miles. I didn't expect to have any problems, and didn't have any. Only thing I'd say is to run around locally for a bit until any quirks have been sorted out. Most cars need a settling down period. OK, I know Lexus doesn't, and they go for ever etc etc etc but do you want one ?

 

I'm a new 2011 Jaguar XJL 5.0 V8!

I've had her for about 2 months now and I'm loving every moment. I took her on a long drive up country with a lot of b-roads and she soaked it up like a peach.

I genuinely can't see any problems that will leave you stranded by the side of the road but my drive was about 450kms one way so 900-1000kms return and no problems at all.

The car is so relaxing to drive at high speeds and just soaks up the miles so well it would be a shame if you held back from doing long trips.

 

Drop into another car forum or two and you'll see they're full either of no advice (lack of knowledge) or faults with help (the kind of forum for a DIYer). Stick around and do some reading but Don't Panic.

 

Thank s guys..............Appreciate the responses.

 

Just for a different perspective; there seem to be a number of owners and pro testers that find that the ride of their (including mine) particular XJs are terrible, particularly for longer distances where all the suspension vibrations and jiggling just wears the driver out.

I purchased my 2012 XJL new and had the car back 4 times with this issue and finally they put it in writing that the ride was "abnormal". I am in the process of talking to Jaguar of NA for a solution, possibly a buy-back.

Albert

 

A little jiggling makes you want to give it back? Jeez! I'm not at the point quite yet financially to acquire a new XJ or XKR but holy shiznit - when I do I will probably sleep in it so I can wake up in the executive boardroom every day. My daily driver is a 21 year old GMC for my business with my vintage XJ for pleasure. How did you get around before without jiggling and road noise - a puffy white cloud?
Smacks of spoiled brattery to me.

 

Well, sorry NS, but I for one, find the current ride quality of Jaguars bordering on the unacceptable, if not on it. However, it is partly due to this mania for large diameter wheels with low profile tyres that has caused this issue. In my opinion, Jaguar need to stop thinking every owner is going to a race track every week and build cars that restore the ride Jaguar were once famous for. I know, I had an old (badly built, I know), XJ6 Series 3 and the ride was far, far better than my current X350 XJ6. I have test driven the current XJ, and OK, it's a bit better, but not much.

 

A "spoiled bratter"??? REALLY???

For expecting a $90K flagship luxury car NOT to vibrate its way down the road? Heck, in comparison the dealer-provided loaner Hyundai Sonata had a great smooth freeway ride. I would not accept this vibration from the cheapest economy car, and certainly not from one of this caliber.

If this is "normal" as the Jaguar dealership tried to tell me over time, the Jaguar suspension team should be fired on the spot for mind-boggling incompetence. On the other hand I also own a 2012 XF that, while still has a stiff suspension, does not suffer from the same very poor ride quality, not even when I installed the XJL wheels and tires on it.

Fraser is entirely correct in blaming much of the poor ride of today's cars on the low profile tires BUT, something else is also wrong with this XJL. I am actually driving my XJL these days with only 22psi tire pressures in attempt to soften the jiggly ride. While it works it still does not make the ride acceptable.

Jaguar had tried to remedy the ride quality for 2013 by employing different-rate springs and dampers and have not succeeded, according to multiple feedbacks and my own test drive of a 2013 XJ. Because of that I suspect it may be a chassis rigidity issue, particularly since it was still vibrating when I installed the 18" wheels and tires that work fine on the XF.

If for you the gold standard for ride quality is your 21 yr old GMC or your vintage XJ, I actually don't blame you. Both are likely provide you with a much better ride than this new XJL that I am driving. To that very point, a week ago I had a chance to drive a now 14 year old sedan that I gifted to a young relative many years ago and, guess what; I said that I wished my XJL would ride nearly as well.

Albert

 

As I have said on another thread, Tire pressures are critical to the XJs ride, IMHO. Just a couple of days ago my Cat was jiggle and had vibration in the fronts on the interstate. I checked and my pressures were down over 3 lbs, I inflated to my Cats recommended 39psi and I'm riding a dream again.

 

Albert and Fraser,

I humbly apologise for my knee jerk reaction. Specifically the bratter remark. But - imagine for a moment you are both holding my 'brass ring' and you're saying - " it ain't all that great...". I've never driven a new XJ so I am relying on 3rd party info. A new XK yes, but only test drive miles.
Boy is my face red...! :-)
I understand Aston Martin V12's are temperamental - I'd like to find that out first hand too...

 

In the S-Types, the ones with the softer ride were bought in smaller numbers than the ones with low profile, bigger rims. The fix if you buy used and it has larger rims is to swap to the smaller rims in order to get more rubber. Does this not apply to the other models?

Also, some tyre makes are harder than others. I hated the Pirellis.

(I'm happy with the ride with my STR so don't want to change, but I know not everyone likes that kind of ride.)

 

Indeed tire pressures are critical for a decent XJ ride. Unfortunately, with my particular car when the dealer sets the pressures to 35-36 psi I know it within the first few hundred yards of driving as the ride becomes unbearably stiff, causing the vibration as the speeds increase on the freeways. BTW-as far as I know the recommended pressure is 32psi. I don't have any worries about running much lower, in my case 22 cold psi, as I raced cars for decades where I ran 13-14 psi cold pressures in my slick racing tires with much taller and softer sidewalls.

NP - appreciate your note but, no worries. Those of us used to being on forums have developed somewhat of a thick skin and can handle responses. This is my 4th Jag in a row; had an '05 and '08 XK and the '12 XF. This is NOT the issue of a "stiff" ride. I have had many ultra fast sports cars with stiff rides. But, I do expect that even the stiffest suspension should ride smoothly over perfect surfaces. The XJL does not. No issues with the rides of my other Jags. And, yes, a short test drive is not enough to evaluate the ride. We test drove this particular XJL for a total of 5 miles and it appeared OK. As soon as we got on the freeway for our 3 hours long drive to home, the issue became obvious. Upon getting home I immediately called the dealer, complaining about the ride. For some reason the ride actually degrades with time spent on the road. I can not figure it out why, other than the tire pressures tend to increase as the tires heat up.

Changing to a smaller wheel/taller sidewalled tires, is a potential solution. I actually changed to my 18" XF wheels and tires (245x45x18) for the XJL (from 19") and it was an improvement but, the underlying vibration was still being felt. Since running 10 psi less tire pressures (22psi) makes a significant improvement, I am now thinking to run the 18" XF wheels with the combination of 50 series tires (245x50x18) which would provide an additional 12mm sidewall as compared to my stock tires while matching the factory 19" tire diameters. Perhaps the additional sidewall will allow enough sidewall flex to mask much of the very bothersome resonational frequencies now present. Interestingly, what seem to cause those bothersome frequencies is NOT reactions to bad pavements but, reactions to perfectly good and smooth blacktop surfaces. Where other cars ride glass smooth, the XJL vibrates. Very frustrating.

Albert

 

My X350 had similarly bad ride quality. During my short Jaguar Alive drive, the X351 felt much more planted, perhaps because it doesn't have the air suspension on all four corners like the X350.

 

The new XJ, (X351), only has air springs on the rear, it is steel coils on the front.

 

I have had a lot of Jaguars in a short period of time. These car are unique top of the line complicated automobiles. The systems they employ are very complex. With any modern luxury class sports car there are very sensitive systems that give them the features, ride and performance. The same features can also cause issues, which can occur in any brand automobile. I have my father's $64K Cadillac CTS sitting at the dealer since last Wednesday because the power driver seat doesn't move.

It is frustrating when you invest money in a car, no matter what the cost and it doesn't work right. I had a steering wheel shake on my car that was solved by changing the front tires.

In totality, I was fortunate to trade up to a white 12' XJL Portfolio Executive 5.0, which may not be as quick as my XF SC 5.0, but is one of the most striking beautiful car designs outside and in I have ever seen. I enjoy just getting in and taking a ride for no reason. People I notice comment "Nice Jag" or "What kind of car is that?" I also have a couple of Corvettes and also hear "Nice Vette." Only a couple of car brands get that general reaction. People that don't own them, appreciate them.

Who says "Hey nice Benz, Audi or Lexus?" Seriously, if I wanted a simple, reliable, low cost, non-controversial car, that is apparently for nice non-controversial white people, that live in suburban-rural interface Pleasantville, where the air is clean, there's no traffic and the sun is always shining, I'd drive a Subaru. What's with that marketing? Those ads drive me crazy. What world is this?

If you have the opportunity to own a Jaguar, drive and appreciate it. You worked hard to get one of these. The rest is just life in the Big City.

 

On a more current thread I posted this: "The '10-'14 XJL has an all aluminum monocoque construction except for steel door and trunk hinges, hot formed steel side impact beams, and a magnesium front end carrier for a weight savings of ~40% or ~ 331 pounds compared to competitive cars using predominantly steel construction. The ride characteristics you site [from this thread] are a direct result of the relatively light-weight structure of this limo sized vehicle. Adding stiffer sway bars will only aggravate the situation by making the suspension less compliant. Models employing 20.0 inch wheels rather than 19.0 inch wheels will also suffer poorer ride characteristics, and poorer performance on everyday less than perfect roads, due to their lower profile, and therefore stiffer sidewalls. Personally, within 10 days of buying my used XJL in late November, I had new Continental ExtremeContact DWS ultra-performance all season P245/45HR 19.0 front and P275/40HR 19.0 rear tires installed because of their superior hydroplaning resistance, wet traction, ride comfort, 186 mph speed capability; excellent snow and ice traction (if needed), noise comfort, longer life and less unsprung weight, than the OE Pirelli P-Zero tires that came on the car. WHAM-BAM, this transformed the car into the ultimate road car. Smooth riding and quiet, yet super responsive (including in the wet) and totally composed."
To this I would add: "If you don't keep tires inflated to the car manufacturer's recommendations, you may experience undesirable results".

 

Appreciate the comments mate about the Continental DWS tires...will look into placing those on my car when the times comes. I have the Pirellis on mine and they are doing ok so far, but not as happy with the ride and I could be. Cheers!