Well, I have been lurking this forum for a few days, and have decided to join.
I just bought a '96 XJR. 90k miles, 1 owner and got it for 4k, I am quite pleased.
I have ordered a "leaper," I was pretty bummed out when I saw it was missing.

Pretty much every question I have had has been answered on here, but a couple.

If anyone has a minute and knows a bit on these subjects, I would love to hear from you.

1. My cruise control light comes on, but when I push "set" it doesn't hold.
Any idea what would cause this?

2. What is "Valet Mode?"

3. I was expecting a supercharged engine to really push this car, but, LOL, I wouldn't call it quick. My Infiniti J-30 feels like a rocket in comparison.
However, the ride is awesome, and I love the feel of the car. I guess the weight vs. power would make acceleration a bit of a challenge, but what is top end speed on a car like this? (I doubt I will ever push it there.)

4. Sport Mode: What difference does this make?

5. Any advice for a rookie?



-Fenja :-)

 

Congrats on your Jaguar
1- If you have an owners manual take a look at it so it should have "how-to"
I forgot how to use it
2- Valet mode is when you hand your keys to someone (not the master key that's a bigger one ) enables / disables to access certain stuffs like trunk .
3- You drive an XJR and say not quick ?
4-Sport Mode is for you then namely regarding above part lol . It helps you accelerate faster and use higher ratio of revs than normal mode . I mostly use Sport Mode too
5- Advice ? If you maintain it properly it should serve you very well And use OEM parts

 

Thank you Cadillac.

After further reading on the forums I am going to have the secondary fuel pump/fuel filter and SC actuator looked at.
It just feels a bit sluggish.

No owner's manual unfortunately.

 

These cars are reasonably quick on the highway, but are not really designed to "dump rubber". Buy something else for that; they are for gentlemen, (and ladies) of taste and discrimination, and have that element of discretion and elegance so missing in todays motoring world.

Note that the superchargers don't last forever, and yours could need a rebuild.

 

I've not driven a J30 so I have no basis for comparison. A properly running XJR will do 0-60 in 6.5 seconds. Not rocketship territory by today's standards but competitive at the time. You should feel at least some oooomph pushing you back into the seat. If not, something is wrong. Top speed is 155 mph, according to magazines road tests of the day.




Firmer shifts, and the transmission stays in the lower gears longer.




If there's no sign that the lower radiator hose has been replaced, do so. It is not the type of thing you want to do by the side of the road or if stuck in a small town....very labor intensive. If you're on the original hose it's past the "use by" date.

Cheers
DD

 

Well I owned a '96 Infiniti Q45...The 278hp Japanese behemoth that was supposedly "fast" and I have to say it does not even come remotely close to the quickness of my non-supercharged Jaguar XJ6. You may have a bad fuel pump or clogged injectors or something along those lines.

 

Frasier: Thank you for the feedback, I am way past "dumping rubber."
I drive the speed limit these days, I just like to know when someone passes me on the highway it is with my permission. ;-)

The car seems sluggish and I want it to perform as it should.
I got the number of the mechanic that the original owner has always used, and he said his guess is that the injectors are clogged as MTZGR77 said.
The old fella that owned it never drove it over 40 miles an hour. The mechanic begged me to push the car a little to "burn out" the deposits.
I am going to take it to him next week and let him do a fuel system cleansing, as he says the secondary fuel pump, fuel filter and SC are all fine. He thinks the engine just isn't getting enough gas. We will see... I will report back.

Doug: Thank you! I will have him replace that hose.

I appreciate all your time folks!

 

Be prepared for a big bill on the lower radiator hose. Here's what the job entails:

http://www.jag-lovers.org/snaps/snap...?id=1110599606

The lowest amount I've heard for this job is 10 hours of labor. It took me about 16 hours. The hose itself is about $100 as I recall.

I've heard, but not confirmed, that some have been able to replace the hose without remove the intake manifold.

Have him clean your throttle body, too, while he has easy access to it. Also, there are two small cooling hoses that go to the throttle body....change those at the same time as they are impossible to reach otherwise.

Cheers
DD

 

I see most of your questions have been answered. However, I also have a 1996 XJR, little less miles than yours, but I too thought the same thing when I picked it up a year ago. I knew it would be nothing like the pre-owned V8 XJR my father leased a couple years back. That is night and day difference. The weight of the car definitely plays a factor. It sure isn't a drag car, but mine definitely moves quite briskly and always leaves me smiling.

When I first got mine I had throttle body cleaned out as well as both fuel pumps/filters checked out. All was well. It still doesnt have that instantaneous response when you hit the throttle though like my past '98 750il. Must be that British/Ford engineering vs. those Germans...

XJR still feels like a rocket compared to my 93 XJ6.

 

Well, I took the mechanics advice and I have been pushing the car the last few days, and it has gotten much more responsive. I think the clogged injectors theory holds water.

Gotta say I am a convert. I love this car.
My others are going to collect dust for a while I think.

Stereo system goes in on Tuesday, going to have the pros do it. I usually install myself, but this looks a bit imposing for me.

Have yet to really master the auto lock/unlock thing when getting out of the car, it likes to keep me inside. The auto setting for the seat, steering wheel and mirrors is still winning it's goal of confusing me.
I am sure time will lead me to the answers.

But yeah, much quicker today than 5 days ago.

 

Are you installing an aftermarket radio? I'd like to hear details on that one day.

Not sure what to say about the locking. On mine all doors lock when I put it in "D" and all unlock when I open the door. What is yours doing, exactly?

The memory system for the seats, mirrors and steering wheel is known to give problems. Mine isn't 100% functional...but I can't quite remember what aspect isn't working. I am the sole driver of the car so it hasn't been a priority issue for me.

There is also an "easy exit" feature which moves the seat and wheel when the ignition is turned off. I found this too be annoying in the extreme so it leave it turned "off". The defeat switch is one the side of the steering column.

Cheers
DD

 

When I put in D, they lock, but the driver's door kinda likes to fight a bit. I will give it a few more days and see if I can out smart it.

I may take your advice and turn that easy exit off.

I take the car in tomorrow to have the aftermarket stereo put in.

These guys do very good work, and are familiar with the x300s.
I am curious how they will get the wiring harness run through the car so I can put an amplifier in. I'd love to replace all 6 of those little tweeters, but I may just have them do the front 2.
They are going to customize the curved slot where the oem stereo was, that is $150 right off the bat.

I will get the details to you when it is done, and a pic or two...

 

Power issue solved. It seems that the throttle cables were stretched and the springs in the throttle body were bad. The secondary fuel pump is not engaging. So... the parts are ordered and I have my first $1000 repair job. I guess that is the Jaguar experience, eh? :-)

Still worth it so far...

 

Do you have the Harmon Kardon system? If so, the two tweeters at the top of the dashboard aren't even hooked up...the wiring is probably there, though.

Cheers
DD

 

They aren't hooked up? Are they in there?
I saw the ones in the rear window are empty are the ones in the rear doors hooked up?
Geez...
I do have the Harmon Kardon, but it is way past it's prime.

 

The HKs use 9 speakers: 1 woofer, 4 door speakers, 4 tweeters. The tweeters are in the rear doors and the front A-pillars.

On my '95 at least the dashboard tweeters are plainly visible. The Jaguar shop manual specifically states that they are not used with, nor should not be hooked up to, the HK system....

<shrug>

Does your OEM radio still work or is it having problems (they often do)?

Cheers
DD

 

It is working, but not in very good shape. The sub buzzes and the speakers crackle. I am an audiophile, so I can't tolerate it for long. Was going to have the aftermarket stereo installed this week, but I am going to do a few other repairs first.

 

I re-read the OP and noticed that the previous owner had never exceeded 40 mph. No wonder the car is sluggish, it has clogged up from under-use !! Here in the UK there is something called a "Chinese Decoke", which basically consists of a good thrash at high speed for about 50 miles.

Hope you are happy with the car. Yours was made in the Browns Lane factory at Coventry, now closed. Jaguar moved there after WW2 from a rather primitive factory in Foleshill, in north Coventry. All the post-war classic Jaguars came from the Browns Lane site. All the current Jaguars are now made in Birmingham at another historic factory site, Castle Bromwich, which once was the largest Spitfire factory in Britain, turning out thousands of these fighter planes in WW2.

 

I love it Fraser. Read above, the reason for the sluggishness is the throttle... having it repaired on Tuesday...

I tried the dechoke, it was what put me onto the throttle. ZERO acceleration after 90 mph. Seems the 2nd stage isn't working, hence no secondary fuel pump jumping in. Mechanic says it is probably operating at about 180 horse power instead of 322.

 

OK, throttle repaired. WOW! Much more like what I expected. Way more responsive, and will push you back into your seat now.

I love this car.