I am going to buy XJR 2004 I need ideas!

I been with jaguar cars more than 12 years, my first one XJ40 XJ6 & second one X300 Vanden Plas with 75,000 mi still have the second one, looking to trade it with X350 XJR with 69,000 mi.
I really like my Jag but I wanna change, I dont have any idea about the new X350 instead of troubles with fault Air suspension & Parking brake.
its light with aluminum body,very roomy & same shape like the x300 & x308.
I need an advice the better to keep my Jag or buy the new XJR, what I meant according to troubles if it has alot of troubles or not!

Thanks.
Rabeea

 

If you have a look around this forum, you will see the kinds of issues with the X350 that exercise their owners. However, don't be put off the car, it is a superb automobile, but like all cars, can suffer from certain things that may need sorting out. Here are some common issues: -

1. Air suspension - the compressor used to provide compressed air for the suspension does not last long, because its seals wear out. Service exchange items are available, and also new ones on the internet at reasonable prices. The compressor is located behind the front bumper on the LH side in direction of travel, i.e driver side in USA. Swap time for an experienced mechanic is around 30-40 minutes, longer if it's the first time.

You will see posts on replacing the air spring units, and people have replaced these with aftermarket steel spring units. For me this is a last resort thing. It is puzzling to me because my local independent Jaguar shop here in England told me they have never replaced an air spring. These things include the shock aborber, so are expensive, but again, can be found on the internet too. The air system exhausts some air back through the compressor after engine shut down to blow the water out of the water trap. Some people can think this is a leaking air spring - not so, it is normal.

2. Cosmetic corrosion - at certain locations the paint can be penetrated and start "filiform" corrosion, which is creep corrosion under the paint, and looks unsightly, (internet search on those words will tell you more). Common locations are (1) leading edge of trun lid (2) fromt doors by the rear corners. (3) rear tonneau where screen seal meets it (4) wheel arch lips
This is not a car killer, but can be expensive to get fixed assuming you don't like the look of it

3. Transmission - very long live mechanically, but can throw up faults requiring a reload of software. I get the impression that Jaguar did not manage to sort out the TCM software fully before putting the car on sale in 2003 (in the UK). I have had two reflashes so far, both costing very little, but they cured the fault. One in particular, is hunting on warm-up, another is rough upward change 2-3 which puts the box into 'limp home' mode. Incidentally, Jaguar have no defined tranny fluid replacement period, but it would be prudent to do one after a few years (or miles), probably at around 70-80k miles.

4. Electrical grounds - there are three grounds at the front of the car behind the headlamps on a bulkhead. These can corrode badly and cause all sorts of faults to be annunciated. They need an eye kept on them, and regular application of a fluid like WD40 or similar.

Hope this helps you

 

Fraser, very well put, I love my X350 and glad I bought it. I see you have a MG Midget, brings back memory's. I had a 67 and a 74 Midget, in the old days use to drive the 67 1650 miles back and forth to school non stop. Now thats seat of your paints driving and kinda miss it.

 

I also had an 99 xjr and I love it. Now I have a 2004 xjr and when compared to my 99, I would take the 99 any day. I know the x350 is a far advanced car, but in my specific case, I have had a front end rattle which I can't figure out. I own a bodyshop so it's hard for me to convince myself to take it in the dealer, because I have a highly trained mechanic on staff (he worked my my Maserati Quattroporte). But next week, I am taking it to the dealer.
My car also has the 20 inch BBS Sepang wheels, and even though they look sexy, They just ride too rough, and transmit too much vibration through the steering wheel. I like a communicative steering wheel, but not in my luxury Sedan. Plus I just bent both right side wheels thanks to a huge pothole in lovely Long Beach, CA. I am waiting to fix the rattle in the front end and then if it still rides like crap, I am thinking about trading the 20inch wheels with some 18's.

The Leaper hood ornament looked a lot nicer on the 99 (plus it was bigger). So I had mine shaved. I like the clean look on the X350. (can't believe people are opting to put those on the Xf's and the new xj's.)
On a positive note, the power is amazing, the ZF transmission is a lot better than the X300 MBenz sourced unit. The trunk and the back seat are a lot bigger. Love the reaction of people (Car savvy) when I show them how the whole car is aluminum and it's riveted like an airplane. Love the stealthiness of the car.

If I get the front end rattle taken care of without filing for a chapter 7, then I will be happy with my car, that is until I get an 2011 supercharged.

 

Ah yes, the big diameter wheels. My car had 20" Sepangs on it when purchased, and I did tell the dealer I thought the ride was a bit harsh. Being a Sport the car also has harder springs. Anyway, I was offered a swap by the dealer a few weeks later for a set of 18" and took this up. The car was really transformed by this swap.

Of course in reality I did the dealer a big favour because having a set of 20" Sepangs on a car apparently makes the car more "saleable" to the punters. Now that I have experienced the car with both large and small wheels, I really do wonder why people want these big wheels. The ride can shake your teeth out !

BTW I have had no front-end rattles, but have had to replace rear lower wishbones and spring bushes. The rear suspension bushes are an on-going saga with S-types and X350 cars, as they wear out quite quickly, due in my humble opinion to those damn large diameter wheels !! My prognosis is that the low profile tyres pass a lot more road shock back to the suspension and this makes the bushes wear out prematurely.

If you want some idea of the cars cruiseability, I came back off holiday from Bacharach on the Rhine to Crewe in North West England one Sunday last summer; autobahn/motorway virtually all the way (except for Channel crossing of course !). Distance about 580 miles, and no tiredness on arrival home. Mostly 130 kph (81 mph) on European motorways, and near this, (illegally !!) on UK motorways, (70 mph limit)

 

I love my 2004 Xjr. You need to find that was well taken care of by a fellow enthusiast and you should be fine.

 

I just got done with my Jag search for the same car. For the corrosion issues you are in luck, it is easy to check. From the manual just flip to the section on how to replace the headlights, it will show how to remove the plastic panel that goes across the front of the car, it is easy just 6 plastic screws that you can remove without tools. With that panel out of the way you can easily see the headlight grounding points behind the headlights. They are a good indicator of the overall aluminum corrosion of the car. In addition to not looking good if those points are corroded they can cause the HIDs to flicker.

Hope that helps.