Good morning. 2000 xkr. Couple months past annual Jag dealer maintenance. Used for light summer driving. Couple times this week upon starting engine, I’m getting low coolant warning light. Twice it went away when I turned off the engine and restarted. The third time the warning light went away after the car idled for a couple minutes. Supposedly the fluids were topped off during maintenance, and in the seven years I’ve owned the car I’ve never had a low coolant light anyway. My first concern is whether there might be something wrong besides just the coolant level such as some sort of pump function not kicking in right away. Second, if I am just a little bit low on coolant, though I don’t know why the light would go away then, I want to make sure I can tank it up properly. Two photographs below. Is the coolant tank the black thing near the windshield wipers with the knurled cap? A quick peek online suggested orange colored coolant is appropriate for this year and model. I picked up a bottle of the stuff below. Do you folks know if this is correct? Anyway, answers to whether there is something wrong beyond just need to add coolant and whether I have the right type of coolant would be very much appreciated. Thank you kindly.

 

Btw. If i sound clueless about car maintenance... well... yeah. 😏

 

David i,

Is that the same 2000XKR in British Racing Green? First thing, you're not clueless as you're looking at the right coolant tank. Only work on the coolant system when the car is cold. Never hot. The cap should be really tight as it's a pressurized system. Be careful taking it off as you don't want to break any of the plastic and hoses - I hold the tank body in one hand and use a wrench in the other hand to ease it. Check the colour of the fluid - should be green or orangey red. These are two different types which should NEVER be mixed.

Sounds as if you use a local garage so maybe it's best to ask them what coolant they use and safer to just use the same. FYI In an emergency you can use water (distilled battery water preferably) - but only in emergencies. Jaguar do specify the red long life red coolant, but your garage may not have used this as the existing system was green.

When you look inside the coolant tank, if the fluid level is low, top up using the right coolant using a funnel (cutting the top off a plastic bottle works just as well). Check for leaks elsewhere. A trick is to turn the cabin heater on (as it uses the engine coolant too).

If the coolant tank is full, and you still have a low coolant warning, there are 3 possible scenarios
1. Wire contacts in the tank's connection have corroded and need cleaning
2. The tank and sensor has gone bad - IMHO easier for you (or your garage mechanic) to just put in a new tank (FWIW it is possible to replace just the sensor but fiddley)
3. The metal float in the tank is stuck - use a pencil magnet pushed inside to the back of the tank and grip the float and move it about to free it up. Rubbish/Crud is known to block its movement

 

David i,

Are you sure it's orange. Be sure. If it is the long life coolant (Orange), the Brand isn't important but the performance spec is WSS-M97B44-D for our cars.

There is a data sheet for the bottle you bought. See below.
https://static1.squarespace.com/stat...2011-20_3..pdf
So it looks compliant, that is if you're sure that's what's in the car. IMHO it's worth a phone call to your service mechanic to check what he uses.

BTW I run green glycol coolant ..... as it was what was in the car when I got it.

 

Thanks. I won’t rush. I only bought the orange stuff because I saw something about that online. Once we open up the tank will see what color is there. In any case, the light is not on most of the time in the car is running fine. I have a return trip of a couple hundred miles today. The car will be in the garage for a few weeks after that. Before I take it out again perhaps I’ll make an appointment with the Jaguar dealership to have them take a look

 

Today my vehicle's low coolant light came on.
It was serviced at Jaguar Autobahn, towards the end of February 2022.
When I parked it, while sitting in car for awhile with engine off, I got out of the car and saw water and what appeared to feel like oily liquid I promise you this is the very first time, I have seen or experienced this with my car; a leak! I cannot fathom what could be the problem? It was just serviced less than. 3 months ago. Help!

 

Oh forgot to mention I only have 34, 548 miles on vehicle. It has been regularly maintained and maintenanced by the dealership for the last 6 years.

 

Jag U!

A few questions first:
1. Did you have the ACs on as a bit of watery drips under the car is normal condensation from the AC.
2. Do you know where the coolant tank is in the engine bay? It a simple bottle, unscrew the top (when cold) and check coolant level. It’s common for the float to get stuck and easy fix to loosen. Report back
3. If the coolant level is low in the tank, get bit of paper, dip and check colour of fluid, and report back here. It’s either red/orange or green which are different types. Don’t buy/fill with wrong type.

It’s nothing to worry about as you’ve probably caught it early. Even if you have a small/minor leak, it’s manageable.

 

Hi David!
You are awesome! Thank you for a quick response
The vehicle is cooler. The coolant is orange. Funny I was told to replace with purple coolant from O'Reilly's ZEROREX by VALVOLINE. I gave them all of the specs to the car. That is what they came up with. The A/C had been running but I turned it off as I coasted home. I haven't bought any coolant yet. I will be in touch with dealership on Monday by phone also. Perhaps something was missed or overlooked by the Tech on my last warranty visit.
I will be in touch with you, again.

Sharon

 

Mine was doing this when going up and down hills. I kept filling it up because I thought my sensor level was going bad. In the end I found out an O-Ring on the radiator on the front of the car was just perished and dripping a little bit of coolant. Replaced that and never had a problem since.

 

I had similar problem starting about a year ago. Found that even about 1/4 cup low coolant in reservoir tank will set off warning. Replaced tank due to small crack(@90,000 miles). 3 months later, light again. Found leaking line going into radiator. Replaced, no problem for last 2 months. Still keep checking garage floor for leaks. So far, so good.

 

Hi David!
It's been a few weeks since I spoke about my vehicle. Well $900.00 later, the vehicle is fine! I needed a new water pump! I witnessed the water pouring out from the front. I received a second opinion, the same! It was towed to the dealership. It was repaired in one day! Not even 35,000 miles on vehicle and this is what happens. Funny, it was right after the manufacturer warranty ended in February 2022, then it acts up! 5 years and now drama lol. I'm grateful I could get it taken care of! It was manageable! So happy that I decided not to drive but tow it! Thanks to the good Lord, this time I used wisdom!
Thank you!