I currently own a beautiful 2000 XKR convertible. I am a weekend hobby mechanic and try to perform the lions share of work myself. On my current Jag, I have sorted out the common problems plaguing XKR's of this era. (Tensioners, Convertible Hydraulics, Throttle Body, etc.) I will soon be selling my XKR, with the intent of replacing it with a MY 2005-2008 Super V8 or XJR. I'm leaning towards the LWB Super, but I love all Jags with the supercharged engines!

My question is...What are the big issues that I should I be looking for on the 2005 - 2008 Super V-8 & XJR cars?

I have gotten plenty of good advice in the XK8/XKR section and I expect I will have the same experience here!

Please chime in with your advice and comments! (Mrs. Growl-R has signed off on this and I want to find the best one I can before she changes her mind!)

Cheers!

Jon

 

Have a look around this forum, and you'll see what can go wrong, and what happens most frequently. Essentially, the car is reliable, in that it is extremely rare to be left at the roadside, but there is a durability problem with certain suspension parts, and the air suspension compressor. US owners have had air springs fail, but it is rare here in the UK, and thank goodness because they are very costly to replace.

There is also a slight corrosion problem due to the car being totally constructed of aluminium. I posted on this very recently, but it is essentially a cosmetic problem of crevice, (or filiform) corrosion peculiar to aluminium. It doesn't destroy the car, but is unsightly if ignored. So look at: -

- leading edge of trunk lid
- curve above 'Jaguar' chrome piece at rear of trunk lid.
- corners of doors
- D-post by the windscreen seal

Later cars are better. Jaguar were learning about aluminium even whilst the new X350 cars started to be sold in 2003, and mine suffered, now cured and not returned three years later.

 

The climate control motor can quit working because of a bad relay. Info on this site makes replacing quite easy. Dealer has an abundance of the part in stock which is indicative of the need for frequent replacement. I think the part cost around 260 US including our ten percent sales tax.

 

@Growl-R

I did a similar move... '00 XJR to '06 XJ Super V8 Portfolio. I had a lot more worries with the '00 car than the '06 car. I am "aware" of the suspension issues and the possibility that something may go wrong in future, but so far after 2 years of ownership, I've not had a single "Car too low" warning. I had my plastic header tank crack and leak. This is a common failure part and is an easy DIY job to replace. The only issue is you have to replace it with the same badly designed plastic tank which will inevitably fail again. I was hoping someone would have came up with a retrofit metal tank by now, but seems not.

The models you are looking at have ACC (Adaptive Cruise Control) and while I have seen one or two postings on here of issues with this system, it seems to be pretty rare, but for sure it is one thing you MUST test on any test drive. I think troubleshooting this system is pretty difficult for the DIYer as you need access to the computer system the dealers use.

The only other tip I would give is to make 110% sure the battery is up to snuff. A lot of owners have had very weird issues due to a weak battery. Note : These weak batteries will still crank and start the car without issues, but it seems to be if the voltage is not absolutely perfect on these cars, it upsets the electronics. I had "Cruise not available" on first start of the day due to a weak battery, I spent a long time researching and worrying about this error, but fitting a new battery fixed it completely.

My $0.02 buying advice would be to hold out and get the Super V8...... it's every bit as fast as the XJR, but at the same time it's better appointed inside.. Also the extra legroom makes a big difference if you are planing on carrying rear passengers

 

Thank you, Sarc, 04Xjrsteve and Frazer for your sage advice and opinions in your replies. After reading your posts and others in this category, I feel much more informed on what to look for before the purchase.

...and the search is on to find my Super V8!

Cheers!

Jon

 

'Appointments' aside, in the X350 tribe, a less-costly 'vanilla' XJ8-L's major disadvantage vs an 'R' or 'Super' is that it might not land one in jail (quite) as quickly.

For-sure it is fast enough. And then some..

.. and I love the ability to clock 30+ MPG @ 65 MPH average across the Appalachians Bethel Park <-> Sterling, VA and 30+ MPG @ 70 MPH average across the flatlands of Ohio & Indiana. That is an 'enduring' advantage w/r payback.

And I did say 'average'..... end-to-end, so one might suspect it has seen ...



The normally-aspirated engine also leaves a bit more cash on the table for maintenance, and rules-out the blower and its Sputniks as a potential problem source(s) as well..

JM very happy 2CW.

 

I have both types and I like to drive the NA car better. The supercharged engine is lower compression and around town, it is not as quick. The supercharger only shows itself on harder throttle.
the NA engine is also quieter and gets 30 mpg as compared to a average of 21 mpg for supercharged. The X350 cars have air suspension problems (dealer replacement runs $1500 per shock, DIY runs $400 per shock), cooling header tank failures, blower resistor failures, and very expensive control arm wear (these control arms retail at $550 each). Transmission oil changes run $550 plus at small shops. I have had door lock failure, headliner failure, and back up alert failure as well. There have been numerous clogged heater cores which runs about $650 to fix.

 

I have a Super which is a super car. I like the luxury, but don't ever need all that power.

 

When I recently had an alignment done on my XJR, the specialist had noted that something was, I think he said, soft and, I think, he referred to control arms. I will have to check the invoice to be sure. He recommended fixing within 18 months.

Is this a DYI project; or, should I take it to the alignment specialists. They are an excellently regarded company, in the same family for 50+ years.

Thanks

 

You quote a huge mileage difference between the SC and the NA.
Does this refer to different cars (your X350 and your XKR) and to different driving styles?
Also the SC should in principle become effective already at small revs (contrarily to a turbo). Do you however perceive effectiveness only at hard throttle?

 

I like it, because it only requires a little "squirt" to run away from some fool who is on your tail.

Sometimes, around here, they get so close you can't even see their front license plate.

Scary.

 

+1 RCG. Driving my XKR has spoiled me for the SC engine. I don't always need it, but I've found that the power is there throughout the RPM range...from a light blip of the throttle to a full on pedal-to-the-metal burst. I've got to have the full package in my sedan!

Cheers!

Jon

 

I love the S/C motor. I came from a 1991 911 (964) when my firstborn arrived. I like the suspension and the 20" Sepangs. Between the motor, the shocks and the wheels, it feels like it could beat a 964 or a 911 in the straights (non-turbo of course) and the handling "doesn't suck". I drove a few NA XJ8s before I found my XJR and I just found them too soft and tame for my tastes.

The adaptive cruise-control is friggin' awesome. When I use it, that is. I prefer to be in 100% control as there are folks who monitor your every speed transgression around here. Oh, wait, yes, I set the cruise control for the speed limit and let the car follow whoever is in front of me at the pace they set. If they hit the brakes, I'm astonished that the car will actually hit the brakes almost until a complete stop where the computer flashes and sounds a "driver intervene!" message. What a wonderful invention. I still don't trust it completely, but it is such a cool feature.

Anyway, reliability problems...

Every hose in the cooling system will need to get replaced eventually. Every damn hose. Including the one that snakes from the front of the engine, underneath the supercharger to the back of the engine. Most of the hoses aren't that expensive if you shop around, but it takes a few days to get them in. So if you have a daily driver, just go ahead and order all of them and set them on the shelf. You'll need them eventually. And get a shop to do the supercharger one. My indy shop did mine and it took them 11 hours in labor. At least that's what they charged and he said he would NEVER do another one. The bits in the back of the motor are a PIA to get to and remove.

One of the first things I replaced in my '04 was the climate control sensor that was mentioned in an earlier post. I think they fixed this permanently by '05 or '06. The new sensor is twice as big as the old one. Not sure what's up with that, but it must have been a weak design.

Air suspension. Yep. You will replace these air shocks every 60K to 80K miles, especially the fronts. Not so much the rears. I've replace both fronts and the right rear with Arnotts. Amazingly, the right rear is still going strong (120K). Now I have to knock on wood since I wrote that.

Suspension rubbers. SuperCar motor in a proper touring sedan. Something has to give. There are at least 4 Ginormous bushings between the front lower arm and the rear lower arm in the front suspension that will need to be replaced around 100K. There are two smaller bushing that will be replaced at the bottom of the air shocks. Probably the same in the rear suspension, but I haven't had a problem there, yet. (Damn... knock on wood again)

I'm currently shopping for an OBDII tool since I'm starting to get the random "check engine" lights. Possibly a bad Mass Air Flow Sensor? (stay tuned)

What else... Oh yeah.. I just replaced the right front wheel bearing. The dealer tried to get me for over $500 for the part. By searching this forum, I found a Timken part for around $130 or so (from Amazon no less!) and had it overnighted via Amazon Prime. The dealer was gracious enough to install my part. The only difference was the wire for the ABS needed to be transferred from the old bearing. I have a feeling the front left will be in the near future.

Transmission: The transmission pan is made out of plastic and will crack at some point. Work with ZF Transmissions specialists out of California to get the replacement parts and oil. Search these forums for the right part numbers or PM me and I'll look through my receipts. It's expensive, but still less than $500 for parts.

Other than all of that, I've loved the experience with this car and don't foresee trading for anything else in the near future. (as long as she behaves, knock on wood... again....)

Mark
2004 XJR, 20" Sepangs, fully loaded, 120K miles.

 

oh yeah. one other one. My windscreen washing reservoir gave out recently. There are three screws around the base. One of the screws is attached to a arm that also holds a bunch of cables from the wiring harness. Best I can tell, the heat stress and the weight from the cables caused the reservoir to open up at that junction and empty any washing fluid I tried to add right out onto the pavement. This is a definite design flaw that I'm surprise more people haven't run in to.

And it's an obnoxious fault since the error code completely takes over the display in the dash. Big yellow friggin' light. Big error message that won't go away. ... which you don't fully appreciate until you are pointing into the sun with a dirty windscreen and no fluid to clean it off with.

Cheers!
Mark

 

Re. the OBDII, different schools around here.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...-33347/page12/
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/g...an-tool-66558/
I am thinking of the Mongoose, the best IMHO, still hesitating between the original one and a clone. Scared by the possible tricks of the clone, will probably bite the bullet for the original!
Cheers

 

Re OBDII:
I bought one that ultimately was shipped via Amazon. Very reasonable. However, when I was having Air Suspension Error messages on my dash display, the reader didn't detect any C codes.

I haven't had much time to play with this; I suspect there is something that I'm not doing correctly. The one I bought was recommended by several folks on this site & the literature on my machine shows that it should be reading the C codes.

 

The installation of the Mongoose seems to be quite sensitive (OS, software, drivers, etc.). And if you decided to go for the clone, then, you face additional issues. Especially important is to not update the driver towards the Pro version of the firmware.