Today's cars have so many gadgets and features that it is hard to remember all of them, and sometimes even easy to be completely unaware of some of them, even after prolonged study of the owners handbook. Even the radio/CD/cassette player has so many programmable features that I have to read and re-read the manual every time I need to change or adjust a feature. So I thought a thread like this may be useful, maybe there will be things posted that some of use are unaware of.

I'll start with:

1) Opening and closing windows (and sunroof)

Did you know that if you turn the door lock counterclockwise with your key, and hold it, all four windows will go down. Useful for airing the interior on a hot day. (The key would be turned clockwise in a RHD car)

And did you know that if the key is in the ignition in the I or II position, if you press the central locking button, and hold it, the doors will lock and any and all windows, including the sunroof, will all simultaneously close if they are open. Useful for closing all those windows after you have aired the interior on a hot day!

 

OR............

Brake Lights:

Did you know that unlike most US vehicles, the X308's brake lights will not illuminate when the key is not in the ignition. They only become activated when the brake pedal is depressed and the key is in the ignition in the II position, or with the engine running.

 

OR.......................

Reversing:

Did you know that if you place the door mirror adjustment toggle lever in either the right or left position and put the car in reverse, if you press the rear of the round mirror adjustment button, the passenger door mirror will tilt down to give the driver a view of the passenger rear wheel. Once the gear selector is taken out of reverse the door mirror will automatically return to its original position.

 

OR.............

Rear Reading Lights

Did you know that the rear reading lights in the X308 will only function if the key is in the ignition in the I or II position. If a reading light is left on, it will automatically turn off when the key is removed from the ignition, but it will re-light when the key is re-inserted in the ignition and has to be manually turned off to return it to its completely extinguished mode. Unlike the driver and passenger overhead "map lights" which operate regardless of ignition key insertion, and will stay on until manually turned off and will flatten your battery if inadvertently left on while the car is unattended.

 

OR.............

Lumber Support.

Did you know that the front seat lumber support button is not activated unless the key is in the ignition in the I or II position.

 

OR.............

Tape Cassette non-eject mode

Did you know that if you don't want the cassette tape to eject each time you switch to radio or CD mode you can set an option to leave the cassette in the player when not in use.

Simply press the "AM/FM" button and the "Tape Eject" button simultaneously and this will take you to the Set-Up Mode. Now press the "5" button on the keyboard and it will bring up the "Yes"-"No" option for turning the auto-eject mode on or off. With the auto eject mode in the off position the cassette tape will not automatically eject each time it is turned off, but you can still manually eject it with the Tape-Eject button when needed

 

OR..............

Automatic Volume Control (AVC)

Did you know that you can turn on or off the Automatic Audio Volume Control. The audio system has a feature that allows the audio volume to automatically increase with the speed of the car to compensate for the increased ambient noise of the car.

To turn this feature on, with the radio on, press the volume knob and hold for 2+ seconds. This activates the screen option of turning the Automatic Volume Control feature on or off. To select "ON" momentarily press the volume knob. To select "OFF" momentarily press the volume knob again. With the AVC mode in the "ON" position you can adjust the sensitivity from 1-5 by turning the volume knob.

 

Nice write-up. I was just thinking recently about how on the XJ40 you could pull up engine codes on the display. Would be nice if modern cars had this. Why pay for a scan tool?

 

Great write-up CK, I wonder how many knew all those... certainly I didn't know any except about opening the windows with the key in the door. I'll wait for the next round,... have you finished the handbook yet lol.
Paul

 

Thanks guys, I'm hoping these snippets of info are useful to forum members, and also hoping others will post some other snippets that I can learn from too.

 

OR.................

Auto Headlight Feature

Did you know, that if you select the auto headlight position on the light control stalk on the left of the control column, the sidelights and headlights will automatically come on when light levels drop below a certain level. You can leave the headlight switch in this position and the headlights will come on during low light levels, and remain off during the daytime. The light level setting can be adjusted using the knob on the back of the rear view mirror.





The light level setting are controlled by a sensor on the back of the rear view mirror, and if you would like the side lights and dimmed headlights to be automatically on all of the time while driving, (daytime as well as night time), you can just place a small piece of black electrical tape over the sensor eye on the rear view mirror. This way, with the headlight switch always left in the "Auto" position the side lights and headlight will automatically come on when the car is started, and go off when the car is turned off no matter what the light level conditions giving you automatic daylight and night time running lights/dimmed headlights.

 

OR....................

Language Display:

Did you know, that the information display can be displayed in up to 11 languages. To select a different language, press and hold the miles/kilometers button and then turn the ignition key to the II position. Continue pressing the miles/kilometers button to select the desired language display.

I'm fairly fluent in English, and can order beer in Spanish, but that's about it, so it's not a particularly useful feature for me……..but hey, it's there.

 

OR.......................

Outside Air Temperature Display

The temperature display defaults to the interior cabin temperature. To momentarily display the outside temperature, press and release the "EXT" button, the outside temperature will display for 4 seconds, and then return to the interior temperature display.

If you wish the outside temperature to be constantly displayed, press and hold the "EXT" button until two beeps are heard. You can return to the interior temperature display at any time by simply pressing the "EXT" button.

 

Concerning light sensor sensitivity adjustment behind mirror: That's one I did not know

 

OR..................................

Variable Valve Timing (VVT)

Did you know, that the original X308 4.0 V8 engine (AJ26) and had a two-stage variable valve timing (VVT) system that operated the intake timing thru 30 degrees. The engine was updated in 1998 to the AJ27 which had an improved continuously variable valve timing (VVT) system that operated the intake timing thru a complete 48 degrees.

The supercharged version of the AJ26/AJ27 does not use a variable valve timing system as this is of little advantage in a boosted engine.

 

Carnival Kid--Thanks much!!! Good Pieces.
Makes me long to have my 2001 VDP back for a few weeks to explore these. I also found that when a passenger gets jumpy and pulls the door handle to exit BEFORE the driver has done same or has pressed the unlock button on the console, that door will remain locked until ALL doors are again closed, the handle is released, and the unlock command is recycled. Sorry if this was already covered above or is just a system fault.
Anyway, I always suspected that there's a lot I haven't found about the car when I saw those many broom stick size wire bundles filled with spaghetti size wire!!!!!
Take care, and enjoy!!
NEECAPR

 

OR................

Engine Number Location(s)

Did you know, that the engine number on X308 cars is stamped on two different locations depending on year of manufacture.
The early cars (up until Aug 2000 I think) have the engine number stamped on the engine just to the left hand side of the thermostat housing and can be viewed from the top of the engine.
Later cars have the engine number stamped on the left side of the engine block near the steering column knuckle joint, and can be viewed by removing the left front wheel and using a flashlight to view the number stamped on a vertical rib on the engine block.

The engine number indicates its date of manufacture and is deciphered as follows: First two digits indicate year. Second two digits indicate month. Third two digits indicate day. Last four digits indicate time of day

e.g. 010312-1032 indicates 2001-March-12th 10:32am

(There are other series of numbers stamped in these locations but these are engine bearing reference numbers).

EARLY LOCATION NEAR THERMOSTAT HOUSING


LATER LOCATION ON LEFT SIDE OF ENGINE BLOCK

 

OR..........................

Triplex Window Dating:

Did you know, that you can date the time of manufacture of the glass in your X308.
The Triplex brand of glass in your X308 has a dot-dating code.

A dot over the T R E or X on the word "Triplex" indicates the quarter of manufacture.

T=Jan Feb Mar
R=Apr May Jun
E=Jul Aug Sep
X=Oct Nov Dec

A dot under a letter in the word "toughened" (or "laminated") indicates the year of manufacture.
t=1
o=2
u=3
g=4
h=5
e=6
n=7
e=8
d=9
If there is no dot, it indicates 0


In the example below there is a dot above the T in Triplex, indicating Jan/Fed/Mar.
And a dot below the t in toughened indicating 2001





It is not unusual for all of your different window glass markings to differ by several months.

If one or more of your windows are not of Triplex brand it is likely that window has been replaced. My front windshield was replaced just before I bought the car just over a year ago and it has a FUYAO brand front windshield. Advanced American Auto Glass | Fuyao Glass America

.

 

Oh, so that's why that happens.

 

I tried this one and it worked just as described, thanks CK.
Do you know what all the other numbers do? i.e. 12345678...when you press the am/fm and tape eject simultaneously?
Clive