Greetings all,

I currently drive my 05 XK8 during the summers and love it. My daily driver is my trustworthy 06 Explorer. At 140,000 though I'm thinking it's time for semi-retirement (And I'm also looking for Jag comfort all year 'round). I have my sights set on an 07 XJR. Haven't found a specific car yet, but want something around 50k miles. Before I go too far I wanted some honest opinions on these cars for winter driving. I'm not worried about snow (I'll hold on to the Explorer for heavy snow), but the cold (Chicago, IL here). I've read through many posts describing a gamut of problems with the air suspension in the cold. How bad is it really.. should I look elsewhere or plan on doing away with the air setup right away? Any other cold-weather related problems that pop up? Thank you all!!

 

I would not be a fan of an XJR in the winter. It would be tough to enjoy the power and easy to get into trouble. I would lean toward another vehicle perhaps AWD something or other. Would you miss the room in the Explorer and want perhaps another AWD SUV? My XJR spends most of the time in the garage and my Lexus SUV is out on the snowy roads.
that's my 2 cents worth!

RyeJag

 

Thanks for your input ryejag. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear in my post, but I'll be keeping my Explorer for snowy days. The XJR would only be out on cold but dry roads, so I'm more concerned about the cold rather than snow.

 

If you use good specific snow tires on all four wheels and take it very easy on the gas I would think you should be warm comfortable and have traction as long as the HVAC system works the way it is supose to and not be dumping ice cold air on your feet like alot of these cars do in cold climates.

 

Thanks caperss.. snow tires would definitely be in order. Could you (or anyone else) elaborate more on the HVAC issue? Is it something that's relatively straightforward to repair?

 

You wrote almost exactly my story.
I have an 06 XK 8 and a Ford Expedition. Drive the XK8 on perfect days and enough to exercise it. Expedition has 160k on it. Had it since new. Tired of driving a truck all the time (and also 13 mpg) and wanted something with some room that is enjoyable to drive. About a month ago I bought a 2007 XJR with 31,000 miles. No regrets at all. I can honestly say that I have never driven a car as satisfying. Many faster or more thrilling but the XJR overall is phenomenal, has tons of power and is just plain fun to drive. I'm really glad I got the "R" although the right XJ8 would have been fine as well.
I plan to keep both the XK8 and the Expedition for our rare NC snow and towing occasionally.
Good luck with your search. I hope you find one you like as well as I like mine.
We should keep in touch. While we don't get but a few snow days each year we do have some pretty cold weather on occasion. I will report any problems. One of my concerns is getting enough exercise for the XK8. Mine has 46,000 miles. It's nice to share the mileage with another car but I don't want to have problems from too much sitting.
Let us know what you find!
2X

 

2ndxk8, Wow.. striking similarities between our garages! Yes, although I love my Explorer the 13mpg (even the XJR will seem like a bargain on fuel to me) and body-on-frame ride gets old. I'm going to start looking now I think. Seems to me the air suspension and heater core failure are most common cold-weather issues. If I lose heat on the drivers side.. oh well, honestly. That's what the heated seat is for. As for the suspension, I'll just budget for either replacement of the air system or conversion to the coil spring set up (most likely the latter since I plan to keep the car a long time and would rather avoid continued headaches with the air setup). But yes, we should most definitely keep in touch! Feel free to PM me and I can give you my email so we can keep each other updated there too.

 

Also, forgot to address the point about sharing the mileage as that too was my concern. I've juggled 2 cars but not 3 before. My thoughts are the Explorer will suffer least from sitting, so I'm going to make an effort to drive the XK8 on sunny days May-October. The XJR will be for rainy days all year round and clear days November-April. The explorer will be reserved for snow, hauling and towing. Full disclosure I may be a little OCD for planning this out before even getting the car...

 

Thought I'd update y'all... still searching for the right car but decided I'm going to give it a shot with the cold weather and see what happens.. probably not the most practical decision, but hey Jags are a love affair and not really about practicality. Found a babied '04 down in Texas that might be the one..

Cheers

 

Hey, don't be coming down south to poach our Jaguars!



You have your thinking aligned with the heater core and air shock issues. You'll probably want to address the heater core when it plugs, yes the heated seats work great but don't quite cut it on a really cold day. At some point one of this group of XJ owners is going to devise a backflush system/chemical that does the trick.

 

My XJR seems to love the cold weather. Believe it or not we have had some single digit temps down here in NC recently. No problem.
Silverstone, check your private messages.
2X

 

Actually, the drivers side of the windscreen does not defrost in the cold, so you will find it very hard to drive viewing the road through the passenger part of the window.

Please do not ask me how I know this.

My bottom was toasty though as were my hands due to the heated seats and steering wheel. But I couldn't honestly drive until the ambient temperature inside the car was enough to clear the windscreen. This took ages and ages......

I would recommend doing a seasonal pre check of the heater (core) and the heated seats system in October or similar allowing enough time to rectify any faults if found prior to the bad/cold weather setting in.

 

For cold Chicago days and not for snow make tripple sure your HVAC system works(good heat in every zone) (de-ice is hot) and all heater box doors operate as intended)(also make sure when in Auto Mode it works right, check all registers for cold air) and be ready for air suspension trouble. You want to look at your future XJ on a cold bitter day and make sure it has not been warmed up yet. That will tell you everything you need to know. Good luck!

 

I live in Spokane, WA, where it gets cold and snowy. We got an '04 XJ8 new and drove it all year long for several winters but we put snow tires on in the winter months. Car does fine except in deep snow on unplowed streets.

Zero problems with air suspension so far at 112,000. I just replaced the heater core recently and heater works fine.

Norm

 

I would not steer you away from an XJR as a year round vehicle. I am in WI and see similar snow/cold conditions as you. This last few weeks we have had temps that have not gotten above zero for days on end, with lows hitting round -27. No issues.
I understand the concerns that people have for the air suspension, but I wouldn't let it keep me from driving the car. It is fixable.
I currently have the heater core issue, and it is more of safety issue than comfort. If it is sleeting, I can't defrost the windshield enough to see!
Don't bother trying to flush it...I can't find one person on this forum that had true success with that.
I am having an indy replace it next week. It's not that expensive and you don't have to remove the dash. Another item to repair, but nothing to keep you from buying the car.

 

Thank you all for the advice.. and encouragement! I'm glad you're not all talking me out of it

Several of you made the point about defrost... you know, when I wrote the bit about heated seats keeping me warm...for some reason the thought about no defrost never crossed my mind

But, if what I've read here holds true ( and I've yet to be led astray!) then the heater core and shocks should be the only likely major cold weather issues.

It's reassuring to hear about others who manage with the XJR all year round. Again I'll keep my Explorer for the nasty stuff but it's nice to know it's capable all year round.

And as for stealing your Southern belles SaturnV.. I got my XK8 from Atlanta and intend to do the same with my XJR.. sorry to disappoint

On a related note.. stumbled across an X308.. 02 XJR 100. I know I'd be giving up the 4.2L, aluminum body.. some other goodies.. but I kinda like the stance and overall appearance.. it's a sharp looking XJ.. decisions, decisions...

 

2X, Don't seem to have any new ones showing up

 

Sent one weeks ago but must have hit the wrong button as I can't find it either. I will recompose tonight.
2X

 

Norm,
If you don't mind me asking, what was the approximate cost to replace the heater core (parts and labor)? Many have stated they have this problem and some have replaced the core, but I have not seen anyone mention the cost for this repair. Thanks.

 

Check several recent threads on this topic. A few of us have done it within the last few weeks and it might be helpful. We've also posted pictures.


As for cost, I successfully flushed mine, so the cost of the new/used replacement core wasn't an issue. I had a used replacement on hand that I snagged on eBay for $80 and I know at least one vendor sells new ones for $188 plus shipping.


I think the dealer shows about 4 hours labor for the job, so it would depend upon the shop you use. I had 4-5 hours into it myself, not including the core flush time.


Hope this helps.