Just wondering how long the shocks last before they get soft. I have 40k miles on my xkr and feel the ride is now very hard and skips over bumps where it used to be compliant. The dealer says the shocks aren't leaking and all the other suspension components are good and that it is riding properly and no electric codes for the suspension. The dealer always tells me nothing is wrong for everything so I value my own judgement more as I drive the car every day. How long before the shocks just wear out?

 

I changed my front shocks, not because they needed them, but because we were having trouble eliminating a seemingly suspension-related noise.

The car had about 70k miles on them, and I haven't noticed a huge difference in ride quality, but it does seem to ride somewhat better. If I had to do it again, I would not have replaced the shocks, though. They weren't bad enough to make a difference.

 

Thanks for that info. How much did a pair of shocks run?

 

It depends what kind of roads you are driving on. With all freeway driving they could last almost forever. Driving on crappy roads, they could be shot in 20,000 miles.

OEM Jag shocks are over $1000 each. Billstein equivalents (lifetime warranty) are ~ $300 each.

Jaguar usually won't warranty them unless they are leaking. They are specifically excluded from their CPO warranty after 50,000 miles. I heard of someone spraying WD-40 on the shock tubes (so they look like they are leaking) to get shocks replaced under warranty.

 

Are the shocks separate from the electronic dampers or is it part of the shock? At 40k miles and going into New York city on the horrible roads there is a good chance they are shot. It definitely feels like I'm riding on rims and the car rocks back and forth when I'm braking.

 

A '14 shouldn't need shocks. I have similar 'problems' but haven't looked into it very far. The CATS system with the electronic shocks just powers a little solenoid valve in the shock itself when it wants to change the ride. Since it's not throwing any codes the first thing to check is to see if you are getting voltage to the shocks at different times. If it stays the same the CATS ECU may no be seeing the input to make it shift from firm to soft. I wouldn't throw money at it until I know which half of the system isn't working.

 

Jaguar's parts catalog and Service Manual call them "Shock Absorbers". I think their marketing literature call them "Electronic Dampers". That sounds more high tech than shock absorber. They are the same part.

At 40K miles, in urban America anyway, I would be surprised if they were shot. Forty thousand miles in Tiajuana, Taipei, or maybe even South Central L.A., they could be gone. I would not drive a nice car in any of those places. I have never driven in New York.

Do you have 19" or 20" rims?

 

Put a slow motion camera next to a bump. Drive car over bump, review footage?

 

I changed my shocks at about 110,000 miles when the ride degraded a lot. There is a vendor on ebay that sells oem Jaguar stamped shocks for 2010+ XKRs for about $350 for ALL FOUR SHOCKS. This is less than the cost of one shock from Jaguar. The part numbers changed for 2013-14, however, I am certain they're the same specification.
The vendor's name was Britsh Parts Place, I believe.

 

What should I be looking for in the video to determine what's going on?

 

I have the 20" rims, but with the electronic dampers is was always a very comfortable ride over the bumps. I guess its more likely the solenoid valve.

 

I'll mention that to the service tech. I did notice on two separate occasions when it came out of service the shocks were working and the ride was comfortable but then it quickly went back to hard and stayed that way.

 

How old are your tires? Worn out tires can make you think your suspension is shot.

 

On a 2014 I'm not sure, I believe it uses a variable charge on fluid with dispersed magnetic particles.

There are three things with traditional units:

Loss of fluid, a deadzone where just the spring is acting. Delayed travel before dampening kicks in.

Loss of bump valving resistance. Damper does not act with needed force on upwards travel.

Loss of rebound valving resistance. Damper does not act with needed force on downwards travel.

If all three in combo, you would see the tire bounce off the ground and back if you hit a bump on just left or right.

Bump and rebound have different rates. Because of the sports nature of the factory setup, if it wasn't getting the bump and rebound out quickly and resettling the suspension to rest one effect is too weak.

 

That's a good question. I have the Michelin PSS. The backs were worn out and they said it was messing up the ride quality. I changed the rears and it was better but I was still getting skipping over bumps and a rough ride in both suspension settings. I was also told that I have a bent rim on the driver side front which hasn't been fixed yet. I don't know if that would mimic bad shocks too.

 

So could it have these issues without having a leak? Could I set up a camera on a tripod on the side of the road and film in slow motion as i go over the curb with one tire? Or I have rumble strips in my community made out of Belgium blocks that I could drive over but that would be both wheels at the same time.

 

I don't think a video is going to work. All the electronic system is doing is opening another port for oil to flow through the piston of the shock so it reacts softer. Literally, it's just opening a valve so the only thing you'd see is the tire moving in the wheel well further and depending on the speed difference needed to actuate the CATS I think you'll see more difference from speed than the CATS.

Back pinning the electrical connector and reading the voltage to the shock while running down the road should show if the CATS is telling the shocks to change state. Relatively easy to check I would think. Alternatively reading the coil resistance in the shock will show if the wiring is fried. Still i don't see all four going and think the ride would be unstable if one or two weren't working.

 

That makes sense. I hope the dealer has the capability to do this. They just look for leaks and drive it and say it is fine. But when i go around corners it feels unsteady and skips over bumps now so it breaks traction easily.

 

I'd say its a very good possibility that bent rim is causing all sorts of issues. All Jags seem to be very sensitive to balance, alignment, and pressure issues and a bent rim would definitely cause balance problems. Balance problems will cause a harsh ride, handling issues, noise, wheel hop, etc. Especially considering its the front driver's side, I'd imagine you would feel nothing but the problems with that wheel.

I recently had to get my tires rebalanced and the difference is night and day. It felt like I had square wheels before. The first shop didn't do it properly or it threw a weight or something.

 

Yesh, I have a pair for every day of the week..