I jumped in my car today and got cool air for about five minutes before it turned hot. It's 90 degrees here in the Philly area and the air coming from the vents felt even hotter. I tried both the auto setting as well as manually turning the blower to full speed with the temp to Lo. I've got an 04 XJ8 with 59,000 on it so I would be hard pressed to think the compressor is shot. I looked though the threads and didn't see much relating to this issue. Any thoughts before I take it to the dealer?

 

Might be, might not be. May be a leak in the system. If the pressure gets low it will shut down so the compressor will not be damaged. The car is at least 6 years old, maybe 7. I've seen compressors go with less time and mileage.

 

Is the return pipe from the evaporator getting cold ? If it is then it is a control problem with the climate control system.

If you can see the pulley wheel on the air con compressor where the serpentine belt drives it, look to see if the centre is rotating or not. If not, the compressor is not running, therefore no cooling. Lack of refrigerant will cause the system to close off the compressor circuit to avoid damaging it. So first check is the refrigerant pressure, an easy job at an air con specialist.

 

Well, on my way to work today (and ultimately to the dealer) the car broke down; at 6:30 a.m. It made a rattling sound before is stalled out. After being towed to the dealer they restarted it and it ran fine with the exception of the rattle. Their first guess is that the compressor pulley wasn't spinning at all and began to tear the serpentine belt. That's the initial guess from the dealer. I'll report back once they get under the hood. Thankfully my warranty is good for another 4,000 miles.

 

Just heard from the dealer; compressor was shot and seized up. The rattling was not the belt but likely the bearings. they actually said the belt doesn't need to be replaced. Their quote for the job was about $2,100 including possible coolant recharge and replacement of some kind of containment bag (it could be a little less; but not likely). Thankfully my warranty is going to cover it with the exception of the coolant. Dodged a bullet on that one...

 

That's good news!!

 

Good call on the age of the compressor being a possible issue, Lew. Dealer mentioned that the seals wear with age and can cause failure.

 

So, the dealer needed to keep the car for a few days and they nicely set me up with a 2010 XF (on their dime). I have to say it's been a blast to drive; I feel like I'm cheating on my XJ. It's the base model so the engines are the same yet it doesn't feel as quick from a standing start, and the seats aren't as nice as the XJs; otherwise it's a nice step forward for Jaguar in my opinion. The grip and cornering ability is excellent. My wife even noticed a big difference, and believe me when I say she could care less about that kind of stuff. Just thought I'd share.

 

Mike, That XF is a steel bodied car and weighs more than your XJ. The next generation XF is supposed to be aluminum as is going to be all Jaguars.