Hello again,

Afer several "CATS system fault" or "CATS system failure" (I forget what it actually says), I believe I'm going to do the Arnott coil conversion. I replaced one failed strut with an Arnott a year ago. Several weeks later I had the above message. Indy replaced the "suspension valve block" (the silver air manifold in the trunk). It worked for 7 months, then got the same error message again. Due to the holidays, Jaguar closed in the New Year, etc etc, it literally took the indy 3 weeks to get it done (I know - it might be an indy issue.) They said it was AGAIN the suspension valve block. Fine, covered under warranty. We drive 2 miles away and....guess what?....the freaking light comes back on. So after 3 weeks of waiting, I'm right back to ground zero. How disappointing.

As I've posted before, I hate knowing that the suspension is virtually a time bomb & I can't trust it on long trips (I have 90k miles on it). I know that we're all busy, but I really can't afford to not be able to depend on my car. I live in a rural area where there are VERY few euro mechanics, and the really good ones are at least 25 miles away.

Here's the funny part: I love the car, and would probably buy another once this needs replaced. I believe this car provides exceptional value, gas mileage, and joy of ownership. In fact, maybe having 2 of them is my answer! It just sucks having niggling things break on it every 3-6 months (recently replaced 2 door latches and the throttle body). I believe removing the air suspension will remove LOTS of potential failures. (4 shocks, compressor, valve block, connections, etc.) I hope to put 5 more years and 100k additional miles on this car.

I've read reviews of the Arnott system & GvilleVDP's nightmare of getting one of the bolts loose. One of the members on here (usmc maybe?) said he completed the job in about 3 hours. Arnott's website has pretty good video instructions for installation. I'm willing to give up some of the comfort/cool factor of air in exchange for reliability. I knew I was taking a chance on buying the Jag as I'm usually a Honda/Toyota guy, but NOTHING they have compares to the VDP.

I think in reality I'm just thinking out loud, inviting opinions, although I've read a lot of them already. I'm going to try to talk to Arnott soon. Your thoughts are always appreciated. This damned car is like a dysfunctional marriage. I love it, but it burns me so bad some times. Yet there's no way I want to get rid of it. Lol. I need automotive counseling.

 

CATS relates only to the shock absorbers, so I'm not sure why the suspension air valve block needed replacing, it is quite an unusual thing to get replaced, most times it is the air compressor, or air springs.

Note that the shock is an integral part of the air spring unit, but the two are not linked in terms of operation, other than being part of the same assembly. On the X350 model series, CATS switches the shocks from Hard to Soft depending on what the car is doing. For instance, braking will cause the fronts to be switched to Hard.

Was the Arnott unit a rebuilt OEM one or Arnott's own, new, replacement ?

Main question is, is your indy up-to-speed on these cars ?

 

There are quite a few CATS related codes that get thrown that help pinpoint the area of the failure. Has your mechanic mentioned anything about what codes were thrown?

 

Fraser, many thanks for the explanation of the operation. I would agree that it's an unusual thing to be replaced; not to mention TWICE. Coincidentally, the first time it was replaced, the 6-month old Arnott shock was replaced because "it was defective also." I really like my Indy, but I'm very skeptical when TWO important parts happen to both be bad. But it DID fix the problem for 7 months!

To answer Fraser's questions, I think it was a new Arnott unit, as the top housing looks different. It was bought new for $399. And the second answer is this: the shop owner is a 20+ year euro car mechanic & said he has the equipment to read suspension codes. Is he up to speed on these cars? I definitely thought so, and he claims so, but let's face it: given these results, it doesn't seem that he is.

To answer Lagonias question, I haven't talked to them about the failure yet again (other than notifying them.) they didn't charge me anything, but I'm having less and less confidence in them, hence my likely converting to coils.