New Member - Had trouble receiving confirmation email - Just checking to see if I am able to post as a member! Cheers

 

On my 2005 Jaguar XJR I replaced the lug nuts with the appropriate Toyota one piece lug nuts. Gorilla 73138T and Gorilla wheel locks 73631T. This was after a 1/2 day at a garage removing the original lug nuts after the dealer's, non Jag, actually broke one of the original lug nuts trying to get it off.
I have just replaced several front bulbs and even tho my hands are not particularly large it is a painstaking task because of the lack of room. The front indicator bulb was supposed to twist a /14 turn to get out and required a lot of pressure to get it to twist.

 

Did you reglue it or replace it? If you reglued it what did you use?

 

Hello I'm not sure if this is where to post this information but my search for cabin air filters did not come up with a better location. A number of people said that they could not get any proper size aftermarket cabin air filters for the x350 and had to go to Jaguar dealers. I look through many vendors and asked for the measurements of their filters. One vendor, Onyx Enterprises, selling through CARiD.com had Denso charcoal cabin air filters #454-4055 (Made in the Czech Republic) for $18.84 each. It was the same size as the dirty original filter and fit perfectly in my 2005 VDP - so I believe it would fit most X350s. Good luck.

 

Another caution on X350 Jaguars

I have noticed this on a number the x350s and thought it would be worth mentioning. It is quite important to often check around the cabin air filter for debris such as leaves. If debris accumulates underneath the filter and on the tray it can migrate to the drain holes at either side of the car. If these are blocked water can accumulate and cause many electrical problems, including possible damage to the ECU. The filter is fairly accessible on the passenger side of the vehicle – just unclip the long upper prongs securing the filter cover, rotate the top of the cover towards the front of the vehicle and remove the filter. You can get clear access for debris removal by detaching the filter cover by lifting it so the bottom tabs are released. However, the upper prongs are thin plastic and easily broken. I have seen several x350 cabin filter covers taped because of broken prongs.

 

Besides a blown air-shock (happened on a business trip out of town, so paid the $750 to have it replaced by a great independent servicer - Jaguar Alley in Davenport, IA), I have battery issues (there's got to be some on-going drain other than the dash clock) - really need to get a tender, and the most frustrating was the nipple that the coolant overflow bottle connects to is so long that if any pressure is put on it, it will snap - usually at/under the hose, so it is difficult to see that it is cracked and leaking. Was on a trip home from Florida, when suddenly I'm overheating and had to stop and purchase a gallon of pre-mixed coolant to keep re-topping the radiator. As an engineer myself, I find it disappointing that some idiot engineer would make such a poor design choice. Had this been shortened up, it would be less susceptible to getting broken.

 

Since this system uses a fiber optic cable, I wonder if the plastic is swelling in the heat and moving out of location. Not sure what you could do about that, other than keeping it in a shaded area.

 

If you're relatively competent and can perform many of the maintenance/repairs yourself, you should be able to get by relatively inexpensively (it's a car, you know, so nothing's cheap). If you need to rely on someone else to do the maintenance/repair be ready to pay through the nose.


One example: Changing the oil and oil filter. The X350 has a windscreen under the engine. This has several bolts and screws that hold it on (about 6 bolts and 3 screws if I remember). Most oil change locations aren't used to needing to remove such a thing, and will either refuse to do the work, or charge you through the nose to do the work, as will a dealer, it's just that they know about removing the windscreen. However, once you get this windscreen off, the oil drain plug is beautifully located and the oil filter is right in the open - much easier to get to than my other vehicles (mostly Fords, so I'm guessing that the Ford powertrain engineers didn't have a chance to screw this up). Anyway, get the windscreen off, and it's a very easy job. Getting the windscreen back on is a bit of a bear as the screws in the front can be a challenge to get lined up. Use a synthetic oil and good brand oil filter and you won't need to change them as often.

 

I had a similar experience. These covers over the lug-nut itself are stupid. Luckily, when I had the flat and twisted the cover off, it was in Tampa, so I could get a tow and have a dealer get the nut off. Had I been on the interstate in the middle of nowhere, I would have been majorly pissed. First thing that I did when I got home was go on eBay and order some solid chromed lug-nuts. I sold the crappy originals for more than what I had to pay for the new solid nuts. Those who insist on OEM parts for stupid designs like these nuts are just that - nuts.

 

I agree with you totally Rob.
The only reason I discovered the problem was because I wanted to install locking nuts. If it was not for that I probably would have discovered the problem as you did and past my 30 day warranty from the non Jag dealer I purchased the car from.

 

Bought a pair from RockAuto last week for $25 including shipping and they arrived in less than a week. Now the bonnet stays up.

 

That's where I got mine too. Thinking I might need to do the trunk ones soon.

 

Fantastic review of potential problems and fixes. Thanks to all. I might add that very often there are unusual electrical quirks (wiper/lights/engine/warnings) caused by poor grounds to the Al. body. In many areas of corrosion (salt, chemicals) the "posts" on the forward bulkhead (being the headlamps) seem to be the culprit even if they look OK. Good idea if there are unusual (particularly intermittent) electrical problems that defy logic and the OBDI, check these ground. Sometimes they look normal with no corrosion but when you attempt to remove the nut they fall off the bulkhead (remember that they are barely torqued down by Jaguar and do not over torque when replacing if they are OK). Thanks.

 

Great Post Very helpful

 

Something not on your list: "creaking" from the front end. I LOVE my 2006 SV8 - truly a "better" car than my beloved 2003 XJ8 VDP. But I am daunted by the sophistication / complication of this XJ. Anyway- back to the creaking..

I hear it at slow speed when turning or riding over the ridges and ruts in my driveway. Have had the ball-joints replaced .. still no improvement. Any hints??

 

You have renewed all the suspension bushes? They don't last long. Usually you hear clonks from them rather than creaks.


there is a sturdy crash-bar behind the bumper, it is riveted into position but the rivets can come loose. They can be replaced with stainless nuts and bolts. Possibly movement due to uneven roads makes them loose. If you can work out how to grab and tug on it you might get it to creak.

 

I have operated several X350 Jaguars in hot and cold weather. The car that I have had the most problems with the audio cutting off has been located in the north where it is not been warm. Usually turning off the ignition and turning it back on solves the problem. Otherwise it behaves exactly like the instances above - indications on the audio panel appear normal but there is no sound and you cannot adjust the volume. So I don't know if the ambient temperature has much to do with it. Good luck.

 

My XJ6 2004 is getting a few more niggles to put up with for now.

a) when I lock the car, the rear door ( passenger side) is not locking. The mechanical latch on the door is still out and does not flick in. You can open the door which sets off the car alarm. The work around is for me to check if that door latch has pulled in. If not, then unlock the car with the electric key, open the front passenger door and push the door latch in on the offending rear door, Then lock the car up again with the key.

b) The nearside wing mirror, does not close in when I lock the car ( two button presses to fully lock) sometimes. To save wear and tear on the mechanical moving parts ( probably plastic), I sometimes just lock the car with one button press, so that both wing mirrors stay out. problem solved for now until compltete failure. https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/i...icon_smile.gif

Good to keep getting updates on this thread.

 

One tip having owned a 4.2 for 11 years, is when you replace your wiper blades opt for the Bosch alternative. I have found them superior to the the originals, they work very well and being lighter and having the screen washer outlet on the trailing edge intrude less on the view through the windscreen.
As an after thought, I have had my rear bushes replaced and used removable bushes that save an enormous cost on the Jaguar method of replacing the whole wishbone.
I concur with the advice to replace the battery regularly as the wattage needed to turn the engine over and run all the ancillary equipment is enormous.Taking into account that many of the systems require max voltage to operate correctly, it is crucial that the battery can maintain a full charge.

Greytop.

 

is that a blade like this? "Aerotwin Flat"
Jaguar XJ 8 03-10 Bosch Aerotwin Flat Front Wiper Blade Set Pair Windscreen | eBay


I've never seen them.
The ad says it includes pre-fitted washer jets.


I quite like the Jag ones which are marked Trico, still using the metal ones, I haven't yet got used to the flat plastic blades