ok i have 3000 miles in one week on my xkr - when the dealer delivered that car stunk the worst. i immediately thought bad gas cause i only use the best chevron 93. well it still stunk but not as bad. then one day i discovered the smell was less if i drove the car in sport mode manual shifting only. so then i was in houston for the third time in a week from dallas. a painter on a job told me to try shell gas and so i did - i have virtually no smell at all now.

i am still puzzled how any smell at speed gets into the cabin with me in the first place. i will further be on guard but for now it seems shell gas is the trick or at least better to where i don't notice it as much.

mark brown
my xkr photos > www.7xr.com

 

That's 2000 miles in 39 hours. After a trip like that , the the worst order in the cabin wouldn't be the sulpher.

 

no doubt about it " i stunk " but the guy who was traveling with me was so drunk his beer smell took first place. you know you stink when you can smell yourself and say whats that smell.

i think i am blowing out the cats pretty good i can tell now that he car is twice as loud as when i first bought it. i have run it for few burst of 135 and many burst up to 110, which is a speed this car seems to really like. maybe i will get rid of all the muffler packing etc. m

 

Mark and Rusbel, you both have the new style XK and still the smell in those? I thought perhaps it was backdraft in the 04 and that the restyling of the new xk's may have resolved that. I absolutely love the Jag XK, it the most beautiful,sexy and luxurious car I have ever owned but cannot believe that there could be a problem such as exhaust fumes in such a high end car. I resolved my fume problem last week by getting rid of the car. I do miss it and was considering a new style, but if the same old thing maybe its time to move on and try something different. Anybody have any experience with a C6 vette?
dave

 

I have owned 3 vettes all c6 two z06 and none of them are as nice as the Jag XKR. If I have to I will jerk the Cats off the car completely and weld up all the slip joints in the exhaust system to get this thing to not stink.

pics of my cars

 

Mark, I was very sad to see my car go. I still miss it very much but could no longer keep the car maintained and in repair out of warranty. I also have a Datsun 280Z which, if the gaskets dry rot behind the tail lights causes fumes to enter the car. It is the areodynamics of the car which causes fumes to back draft forward and into the car. I suspect that this is as well the case with the XK. You can blame the cats for making the exhaust smell like sulphur, but cannot blame them for the exhaust smell entering the car, and in my case through the drivers window. Believe me, I had given this a lot of thought in trying to resolve a serious problem which I wanted to correct.
FWIW
dave

 

That abslutely sucks, and it's hard to believe that such an obvious problem has not generated more complaints and the need for a solution.

 

No knowledge of this being a concern from a trusted source inside the loop, although the issue of fuel blends was raised.

 

well i put the xkr into the shop the other day and its still in there will be three days they say. so we will see what the outcome is - but i bet the smell isn't fixed because like it was stated - you can eliminate the smell of the cats but the FACT the smell is getting into the cabin is what the real problem is.

maybe i should try trucker pipes shooting up in the air with those flaps or maybe side pipes or pipes coming out the the hood of the car like old dragsters did..

 

I have the exact same problem with my 2003 XKR, the dealers all can't offer any explanation and I have simply had to wait and wonder whether my car might blow up one day... maybe this "performance car" was made for cruising and not for hard driving... so much for the R-Edition. I had a 2001 XK8 and it never gave me the nightmare's i had with my car. One disappointment after another exasperated by incompetent dealers and massive bills. What's Jaguar come to? Where is the client consideration? I'm sure we don't appreciate strange smells in the car and other defects.

Imagine the drive when you pick up a business client or a lovely girl that one was trying to make a nice impression on. Climb into the car and off we go... inevitably the compliment arrives as to how beautiful the car is. Then as we drive along, the shocks squeak over speed humps, the plastic hinges coving the metal seat hinge for seats in the car squeak under the weight of the passengers defects, the shocks rattle metallically over rough roads and the suspension mountings rattle incessantly all the time. Then we turn on the music to muffle the embarrassment. as we hit the highway, the passenger requests, "hey lets see what she's got huh, give it some stick...", so off we go, hard on the acceleration and oooooooopsy what's that wierd squawking, ooking noise that transmission is making?!?!?!?!?! Then suddenly, "Hey, what's that burning smell .. arrrrgghh stop, stop the car's going to blow up, I can smell something burning...!!!!!!!". We stop and I consol the passenger that it's alright, the technicians can't find anything wrong then we notice my headlamps and interior lighting flickering (despite many battery changes) and they jump out of the car and start asking me if this car is for real... Their Proton does not give these kind of rediculous problems and er how much did you may for that car?!?!?!?!?!?!? Sure it looks good mate, but imagine having a 5'9" beautiful sexy woman as your wife and you take her to dinner and she farts and burps in public, then she's a shopaholic maxing out your credit cards all the time... man that would be grounds for a divorce people!!!

What has Jaguar done for me about these problems after 6 years of complaining and 2 and half years of my car being in their garages? They can't even offer me a decent trade in deal. The deal they had last put on the table would tantamount to me paying 15% more on the tax free price and surrendering my car to Jaguar for practically nothing. Nice customer relations (NOT).

Well I am still waiting for a response to my letter sent to the Director of my local dealership last week which was cc copied to Mr. Ratan Tata.

I have given them a deadline to come up with something, and if nothing happens to make up for things, I will definitely never buy another Jaguar in my lifetime. If I wanted a high maintenance temperamental car I would have bought a Ferrari F360 or a Lamborghini Gallardo, at least it would have been worth it coz it would have been "more bang for the dollar"!

I bought a Jaguar for the understated conservative prestige, the promise of customer care quality associated with a marque that is Appointed to Her Majesty the Queen of England and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales Charles Philip Arthur George; as well as for "the strive for excellence" slogan used in Jaguar ads giving rise to assurance of the marque's reliability.

Its like I woke up after a whirlwind infatuation with the car, a 2 week romance with the dealer, a quick honeymoon only to end up realizing I have ended up with an average wife who is useless when I could have had Alessandra Ambrosio (an equivalent to ferrari/lamborghini for some of us) who anyone would forgive maxing our card out or even farting and burping in public ha ha ha ha ha ha I'd swear on it!

Sorry my sense of humor is a bit skewed from the whole experience with Jaguar.

I'll post a new article on the subject as things develop... the saga continues and lone jedi warrior fights on.

 

If this discussion is to have any value, I submit that we should first start assembling some facts. Here is the incomplete list of facts that I have been able to compile from the posts in this thread:

Govatos has an '06 XKR. Coupe? The odor he smells is not sulphur from his description.

brdave had a 2004 XKR convertible. He smells something, not identified as sulphur.

eagle XKR has what year? What body style? What kind of smell?

h2o boy has an XKR convertible, what year? What kind of smell?

Mr T. has a Saab. Best of luck with that upcoming "A Team" reunion.

rusbel has a 2008 XJR. I'll presume that is not a convertible.

Mark Brown has a 2008 XKR coupe. He identifies a sulphur smell in the cabin.

dafelix has a 2003 XKR. My apologies Mr. Davidson, I read your posts but I'm not sure exactly what sort of odor you are smelling. Coupe or convertible?


I believe that is the total of all the cars that have been identified here which are producing noticable odors of some undetermined cause(s) in the cabin during their operation.

The first point evident from these facts is that we are talking about a variety of body configurations. That does not speak to the cause of an odor, but it certainly has a bearing on the effect, and preliminarily rules out the effects of internal or external aerodynamics.

It would be of great benefit if each contributor here restate the following, with as much brevity as possible:

Model year/ engine type
Body style
Condition when odors detected:
Cabin sealed up? Climate control on? Widows open? Top down?
Vehicle dynamics at time odor is detected:
Highway speed? Stuck in traffic? Only during or after hard acceleration? Residual odor in car after a period at rest?

I realize that I may have missed some of this information, and some will be repetitive: I am attempting to compile a concise list and examine it for common denominators, if they exist.

The subject of fuel variations has been discussed, and this is an absolutely valid factor in the combustion process and the levels of byproducts which leave the engine. Changing fuel blends will show some marked effect if the issue of odor is attributable to engine exhaust. I am presuming that each owner has tried various brands of gasoline to quantify this effect, as Mr. Brown has done. If you haven't, try it.

I received confirmation from a Jaguar Service management associate that the fuel selection is an acknowledged factor and does have an effect on catalyst performance. He is not aware of a pattern of complaints concerning odors in the cabin of any XKR variant, or XJR variant for that matter. He is an honest man with a 20+ year resume in Jaguar service at the dealership level. Irrespective of any professional association, he is my "brother".

The Dealership sales associate I contacted today, in another geographic location, echoed the same lack of experience with this complaint. I requested, and was denied permission to republish the text of that correspondance: no other substantive details were provided to me from this exchange. Here are my statements that I can publish:

"I am an independant Jaguar technician in the Columbus, Ohio area. Consultation with an associate of mine in service management at a Jaguar Dealership did not yield any additional information on the nature of this particular complaint: he doesn't know about any stinking cars either. I'm just trying to find out if this is in fact a legitimate issue before I start making suggestions on how to identify and correct it...IF it exists."

Further:

"So my only interest is in finding a factual basis for this complaint, or in disspelling the credibility of these statements. I call that "fixing things", that's my job, and this issue needs to get fixed one way or the other."

Now I'm not calling anybody a liar, or even an "over-reactor". I am reading of situations that may, when properly evaluated on a case by case basis, have little or no connection. A buning ignition coil will smell like hairspray. Burning engine oil does not smell like rotten eggs.

I have already theorized a number of methods to attempt to quantify various odor sources, to test for contributing factors caused by internal and external aerodynamics, and to isolate engine performance parameters that could have a direct bearing. If this is indeed a common problem, such a test regime will be necessary to identify and correct the cause. That would certainly be Jaguar's responsibility, and is much more easily within their capabilities to accomplish. I presume that these actions would have already taken place if cabin odors were a recurrent fault, since this would indicate an inherent design flaw as their genisis.

Facts, please.

Andrew Bernstein
British Auto Care

 

Jagtechohio,

I had a 2004 XKR with around 30000 miles on it. The smell I had in the cabin was a sulphur smell, very slight with the top down (maybe my imagination) but was very bad after letting off from moderate to hard acceleration with the top up and the drivers window open. All was well with the top up with both windows open or closed.
As said in an earlier post I have recently disposed of the car due to this and several other issues. I really miss that car, it was the most beautiful and elegant car I have ever owned. It was enjoyable to wash and polish her, then just sit and have a beer and admire it's beauty. I just loved the quality of the interior materials, real wood, leather surfaces and wool carpet. Every time I got into the car I would take a deep breath and the smell of the interior was intoxicating.
I would like to thank JagTech Ohio looking into and trying to find a resolve to this issue that I and now I find several other owners have.
Now that my Jag is gone, I want another!
brdave

 

Thanks Dave:

That's 2004 XKR conv, top up, driver's window (only) down, sulphur smell on deceleration.

If I read that on a repair order, first place I'd be looking is for an exhaust leak from the manifolds back.

 

Jagtechohio,

I had a 2004 XKR with around 30000 miles on it. The smell I had in the cabin was a sulphur smell, very slight with the top down (maybe my imagination) but was very bad after letting off from moderate to hard acceleration with the top up and the drivers window open. All was well with the top up with both windows open or closed.
As said in an earlier post I have recently disposed of the car due to this and several other issues. I really miss that car, it was the most beautiful and elegant car I have ever owned. It was enjoyable to wash and polish her, then just sit and have a beer and admire it's beauty. I just loved the quality of the interior materials, real wood, leather surfaces and wool carpet. Every time I got into the car I would take a deep breath and the smell of the interior was intoxicating.
I would like to thank JagTech Ohio looking into and trying to find a resolve to this issue that I and now I find several other owners have.
Now that my Jag is gone, I want another!

JTO--I have a 2000 XKR with 40K on and I have the same issues as brdave.I get the smell after hard acceleration and when I let off the gas,the smell fills the car.Like brdave, I smell it when I have the top down or windows open.Being a fair weather driver that is most of the time,I dont drive the car from October 30th till April 30th and it sit in the garage if its raining.
By the way the car is a convert.I also have a factory wind deflector installed and still get the smell.Find a local owner of a XKR and take it out and do a hard acceleration up to 100 and then take your foot off and let the car slow back to 65mph and have the windows open or top down and you will get a burnt smell.I have learn to live with it because I don't jump on it at every red light and freeway ramp.

Good Luck,by the way,we need a good Jag Tech up here in Minnesota,GT Cars,which was a great independent,closed its doors this year.

 

Thanks Eagle,

That's 2000 XKR convertible, top up or down, both windows open, smell on deceleration.

If I read that on a repair order, I'd ask is "what does it smell like? Exhaust? Sulphur ? Burning oil?"

Eagle, what do you smell? Have you tried different fuel blends?

Note that the first complaint is a 4.2 L engine, this one is a 4.0L, correct me if I'm wrong but the body styles are identical.

 

I can't recall odor complaints being that much of an issue. I typically didn't deal with the customers directly unless it escalated up to me.

I do recall some isolated instances. The sulpher smell was definitely an issue on some cars. I was told by the factory that certain additives (detergents) added to raw gasoline did have an affect on the catalytics. However that smell shouldn't really end up in the cabin. I'm sure vehicle aerodymanics does a play a role; to what extent I don't know and it would very difficult to assess without a wind tunnel which we all have access too, right? Further investigation did reveal an exhaust leak at he joint(s) right in front of the rear wheel drive shafts, Both cars were XK's.

Oil smell (valve covers), and coolant smell (typically cracked filler resevior tank at the sensor connection) were the most common odors found in the cabin. One unique case was an alternator. It was emitting feints amount of smoke and a distinct electrical (melting plastic) type of order.

The most bizzare was an older woman complaining about a "weird" odor. She had left her windows open and a cat had pee'd on her floor mat. That was a nightmare; professional cleaner using enzyme solutions and using an ozone deodorizer for two days got it to the point where the customer was satisfied. I would have torn all the carpeting and insulation out if it were my car.

 

2004 XJ8, Odor after WOT acceleration.

doesnt smell like sulphur, doesnt smell like oil burning. Kind of smells like heated electronic (like a desktop computer cooling off, or soldering wire)

my father has a 2000 vanden plas and first thing he noticed on the 2004 was the smell at WOT.

EDIT

let me add this, during sparkplug change i thorughly inspested the valve cover gaskets and no leaks whatssoever. no oil anywhere in the cab. I was entertaining the thought that it may be transmision oil runoff from either the pangasket or rubber sleeve while the car is under hard acceleration. what do you think ?

 

Thanks for the contributions, Waz. I searched other forums for similar complaints, and just about every story led to a valve cover ending. That's where this one started when I read about gavatos' odor.

One of the big frustrations in trying to solve problems remotely is the false assumptions that are fostered. A service provider or an owner says, "I checked that, it's fine", and so everyone assumes the problem is somewhere else.

The more histories I read, the more often I think that alot of basic problems are simply overlooked as opposed to being so elusive to determine. Your point about the exhaust leak at the over axle pipe connections is a good example...more than one XK has an exhaust leak at this area, but are they all getting fixed?

One of the more simple troubleshooting ideas on my list for this problem was to wrap all of the exhaust joints with sealing tape as a test. Of course, the easy way to find a significant leak is to block the tailpipes with rags for a minute while the engine is running. A minute is usually all it takes.

 

I found this on another site which might explain the sulfur smell. However, some of the dates (1996) don't add up as well as referring to V6 and V8 engines. Just something to think about.

JAGUAR XKR Oxygen Sensor

Description: An oxygen sensor converts the status of the engine's exhaust gas oxygen content into a corresponding voltage signal. The oxygen sensor is sometimes referred to as a Lambda sensor on some European cars. Changes in the amount of exhaust gas oxygen result in a voltage change that is monitored by the vehicle's powertrain control module. Many oxygen sensors also have built-in heaters, to warm them to operating temperature more quickly. Prior to 1996, most vehicles had one oxygen sensor. After 1996 vehicle are equipped with two to four oxygen sensors.

Purpose: The JAGUAR XKR oxygen sensor supplies real time information about the engine's exhaust gas oxygen content to the powertrain control module. This information is used primarily to help calculate fuel delivery to the engine, which changes continuously while it is running. If the engine is running lean, the powertrain control module will sense this from the oxygen sensor's signal and increase the fuel supplied to the engine. Conversely, just the opposite occurs when the engine begins to run rich. On OBDII-(1996 and later) equipped vehicles, the sensors are also used to help determine the efficiency of the catalytic converter. The powertrain control module does this by comparing the signal of the sensor located at the inlet of the catalytic converter with the signal of the sensor located at the outlet of the converter.

Maintenance Tips/Suggestions: JAGUAR XKR oxygen sensors have a limited service period, replace as recommended in the owner's manual or when other conditions dictate, such as failing an emissions test or an oxygen sensor related diagnostic code from the powertrain control module indicating a faulty oxygen sensor. Some pre 1996 vehicles have an oxygen sensor light that appears when oxygen sensor replacement is needed.

Failure symptoms: Some symptoms of a faulty JAGUAR XKR oxygen sensor include poor gas mileage, a failed emissions test, "rotten-eggs" smell from the exhaust, poor engine performance. A faulty oxygen sensor will cause the Service Engine Soon or Check Engine light to appear, it's best to have the cause checked out immediately by a professional technician.

WARNING: Neglecting these warning signs can cause expensive damage to the catalytic converter, requiring replacement.

AKA: O2 sensor, Lambda sensor, HEGO sensor, front (upstream) oxygen, rear (downstream) oxygen sensor

Location: On pre 1996 JAGUAR XKR vehicles the oxygen is located in the exhaust manifold or front exhaust pipe near the exhaust manifold. Four cylinder has one oxygen sensor and V6 and V8 may has two, one for each engine bank. On 1996 “MAKE MODEL” and later OBDII equipped vehicles will have a least two oxygen sensors. An upstream or front oxygen sensor located in the exhaust system before the catalytic converter and a down stream or rear oxygen sensor located in the exhaust pipe after the catalytic converter. Some V6 and V8 equipped vehicles may have additional upstream and down stream oxygen sensors.

Disclaimer: Depending on the year and options your JAGUAR XKR has, the above information may not apply. Consult with a professional automotive technician or manufacturer for specifics on your JAGUAR XKR

 

'06 XKR Coupe. 16k when I bought the car, 24k now. The smell only occurs when I accelerate hard, from a stop or when rolling at any speed. When just cruising at any spped, I smell nothing. I usually have the drivers window open a crack. I don't have the best nose in the world, but I would call it an oil smell, but maybe exhaust. So far, I have seen no signs of an oil leak, but I do "suspect" that the oil may have gone down slightly on the dip stick. I've had the dealer check this out 3 times with no luck and have opened a case with Jaguar. My own theory is that under hard acceleration a few drops of oil are dropping on the exhaust manifold and causing the smell.

Looking at JTO's synopsis of this thread (thanks JTO), what jumps out at me is that, save for the Saab, all of the cars are "R" models. This raises the question of whether the supercharger, or something associated with it, is the causing the smell. Does the SC share any lubrication with the engine? Could it have it's own leak which causes the smell? These are questions for folks a lot more knowledgeable than I am.

Someone mentioned in a earlier post that it might be exhaust backdraft. I'm not sure that this makes sense since only "R" models seem to report this problem and the 8 and the R are virtually identical aerodynamically...one of the posters is an XJR.

As I said in an earlier post, I would love to run the car on a chassis dyno with the hood open. I think that would make it a lot easier to identify the problem.

The mystery goes on. Thanks to all for your thoughts and contributions. We'll figure it out sooner or later!