11th Aug 2009, 20:14

My 1999 XJR's transmission slipped while making a right turn. The transmission fault warning indicator light came on. It got me home. Light went off after I turned car off and on again. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated about what I might do or expect.

20th Aug 2009, 21:33

My 2003 XJR is only 3 weeks old (to me) with 61k on it. All maint. was performed correctly by precious owner. Driving home tonight the gears seemed to "surge" and the car "jumped" while accelerating (admittedly rater quickly... its new and I was having fun). During the rest of the drive all was smooth but I was also accelerating very cautiously. Any thoughts? Advice much appreciated.

27th Sep 2009, 16:47

09-27-2009 I bought my XJR about three years ago. Has 93,000 miles now and the only money I've spent other than maintenance was on a major brake job. Hey, I guess that's maintenance too.

Suggest anyone who buys one change the transmission fluid, and that isn't an easy job, but I've had no problems.

The original owner had problems with the sun roof. Cost him $3800 including a new headliner. I really like the ride, power, interior fit & finish.

Suggest anyone buying one makes sure it has top rated tires if you plan to use the super-charged power available.

I've owned lots of upscale cars (MB380SE, BMW530I, Lexus LS, etc.) and still have a sports car (996 TT) for the weekends and trips, but this one is a winner. With close to 100K miles, I'm sure I couldn't sell this car for much over $9,000. I'm certain I couldn't fined a comparable newer car for double or triple that price.

17th Apr 2010, 12:32

I have a 98 Jag XJR, blk/blk and have spent $$$ in maintenance due to sheer owner ignorance and neglect. My wife would have me set it on fire and get rid of it... but I'll tell you this: When the car is 'running proper'... there's nothing to compare to it in power, comfort, looks and just sheer highway 'fun' (when no one's around :-) )

The car is a nightmare when not maintained properly - I've learned this the expensively hard way. You would do well to be somewhat religious about maintenance. Learn all you can about your vehicle; go to http://www.alldatadiy.com and obtain a subscription and LEARN. You need a trustworthy and competent mechanic, too. Jag dealerships have taken me on unnecessary $$$ baths when I wasn't up on my game or knowledge about 'what' was going on with my vehicle... you owe it to yourself (and your wallet or purse) to LEARN about your Jag. It won't kill you... it'll help you.

If you're not comfortable with having a non-Jag dealership or mechanic handle your maintenance or incidents, then I suggest you pull the master mechanic aside and make some worthwhile appeals to his/her ego and BEFRIEND them and HONOR them for their wisdom insight and 'personal time' service. I've replaced the original transmission, engine and supercharger... and the thing runs like a JAGUAR. Great cars to own... but obscene levels of CARE must be paid to these types of vehicles, or you will soon be confronted with one heckuva bitch-cat on your hands (and in your pockets, too!) Trustworthy advice:

Change the oil in your supercharger every 10k-15k miles (or less)...

Adhere to ALL maintenance schedules - religiously.

Learn about your car : http://www.alldatadiy.com online subscription is worth $20 a year... do it!

Don't waste gas and time (or risk potential life & limb) racing strangers who wish to test your vehicle's mettle. YOU know what your car can do with 370 HP, and there's nothing to be gained by demonstrating the obvious at the risk of increased insurance premiums due to speeding tickets OR getting twisted in an auto accident... Leave the proving ground stuff to the professional drivers! :-)

Lastly...

DRIVE the car... again I say DRIVE the car, isn't that why we bought them? I own 3 vehicles, but drive the Jag DAILY to the office... 46 mile round-trip commute every day... and with all the corporate crap, backstabbing, world disaster, crime, kid's college tuition payments, mortgage and just about any other maddening thing that can happen in a day... it's good to know you can climb into your temporary "space" armed with a supercharger that begs to be used (when needed) and just 'go in peace' on your way to the next hassle, honey-do list, fraternal org shin-dig or ferry the teenager to the next athletic event... when it's all said and done - one can ESCAPE quite nicely for a while in a Jag... and I think that's an OK thing.

BTW - I wouldn't fool with a Jag dealership when it comes to replacement ANYTHING major on a Jag (98-2004) - you can troll the internet and FIND the parts and service providers you need at a REASONABLE sum of money to get your car operable or checked out. My replacement transmission came from a salvage yard in CA, Mercedes Benz trans for $2400 delivered to the installer (LQK was the vendor), but I ignorantly opted to have my engine replacement work done by the dealer their cost for the engine was $8k... only to learn later that one can find a Nikasil engine for under $2-$3K... long block too!

Well, that's MY experience and MY take on the matter of driving and owning a Jag XJR. Take care of the vehicle and it will take care of you. Despite my stupidity and ignorance in the front end of my ownership, I'm happy with my Jag, and "escape" quite handily and nicely on a daily basis when she's given the attention she deserves.... :-)

21st Jun 2010, 03:40

Well I'm in the process of buying a used XJR that needs work.

My first car was a 1988 XJ6. My dad got it at an auction. It ran great, got it home and was told if I wanted to drive it I had to take it apart and put it back together. 6 months later, 16yrs old, and driving a Jag to High School. All new gaskets and electrical system Lucas with all the relays clean, purging the self leveling system hydraulic boost system was a long experience. But I learned how to fix any car, 1998 XJ8,2004 Crossfire, 1988 190e 2.3 16v, BMZ 3 series. Now going back to Jag.

21st Jun 2010, 19:15

OK, I found out that the Benz trans in the XJR are famous for failing, and the Jag dealership will want to replace it at $13k. However, I found a great Benz transmission specialist that told me it is the conductor plate holding the electronic solenoids. The connections are exposed to the tran oil, and as shavings collect in the oil they magnetize to the connectors, and short out. Once the car is turned off, the shavings fall back into the oil, and the tran fault turns off until the next time they collect and fault the tran into safe mode again. There are new plates available. The repair cost me $500, and I have put on another additional 50,000 miles without problems. I did drop the rear end at 90k, and just lost a head gasket at 94k. All in the life of a performance car. I still love it and it drives like new. I paid 18k with 42k miles on it 3.5 years ago.