2002 XJSport 104,500 Mi
Hi All - My 2002 XJSport has had trouble since last winter with shifting out of park when cold, very sticky and difficult to move but once in gear it runs fine and the transmission shifts smoothly. This summer when the car is hot on several occasions, the engine would turnover in Park but not start. By moving the shifter to neutral and it did start and once the engine starts it runs fine - so far. After further investigation, several posts suggest that the problem is the neutral safety/rotary switch (ZF-LJA6201AD) is either failing our out of alignment. I ordered the part from Autohaus AZ for +/- $500 and plan to take it to my Indy shop this weekend for installation. The question I have is regarding the removal and replacement of this part. Does anyone know where the there is a step-by-step description of this procedure and how long it should take? Do I need to remove the center console? Is there any other related part which might be reasonably be changed at the same time? I'm not that concerned about costs but as this is my daily driver I can't live with the possibility of a no start situation if I'm far from home at some point so I want to do whatever it takes to fix the issue. Any thoughts would be welcome. Thanks - Steve

 

The rotary switch is bolted to the side of the transmission and is accessed from beneath the vehicle. The free download of JTIS at the how to section will provide the install and adjust procedures.

 

Hi All - It's now been one month since i had the rotary switch replaced on my 2002 XJ Sport and I wanted to report back to the Forum on the results. Previously as mentioned at the time I had experienced two instances within a 10 day period on a non-start. The engine would turn over easily but would not start when the shifter was in Park but by moving to Neutral in both instances the car started normally. Based on some other posts that I saw it seemed likely that the rotary switch was failing - which after 16 years is not surprising. I purchased a new one ( ZF-LJA6201AD ) and had my local Indy install it. It took an hour to remove the old and install the new. So far so good and have had no further non-start issues and the j -gate lights up properly in every position when I move the shifter. The only minor issue is that on cold(er) mornings the shifter is still a little sticky at first but loosens up as the engine warms, but not a major issue at all. Overall I am pleased with the result but not a cheap fix since the rotary switch itself was over $500 plus installation. On the whole it was money well spent.