Faults:
As others have noted, there are multiple issues with this vehicle. Some of these concerns are a part of a car aging, but many others are unique to this Jaguar.
I have had three separate window regulators go out. The first repaired by Jaguar ($650), the second at a local import car center ($450), and the third by myself recently ($100, though dealer quoted me $800). The later took me 2 hours in labor to fix, quite the "service charge" for Jaguar. In addition, my plastic sunroof "regulator" mechanism fractured and Jaguar quoted me $4500 to fix. I purchased the part and put in myself for $450 and 3 hours of labor, with no problems since. Another nice mark up for the dealer.
I have had the parking on the incline issue as well. My son parked on a hill and forced the car into drive, breaking the shifter cable mechanism, another costly expense and now we always put the parking brake on before shifting the car into park.
I have replaced the ignition coil after the "check engine" light came on. I then had several trips back in to the dealership for the "check engine" light after this was repaired, though eventually I had a free oil change for my time.
I have had several aspects of the front end drive linkage replaced, with more to come based on my last visit. Thus far, $1500 has been spent with another $1300 in the works if I choose to use the dealership.
Most recently I have had the "failsafe engine mode" warning light appear. After looking at a number of websites and talking to the dealership, I had removed the throttle body, which was incredibly dirty and had a stuck damper. I sprayed out the throttle body with a cleaner, which cost me $5, without the return of this warning light. Again, the dealership indicated the repairs would range potentially from $150-$800.
I have purchased online the Jaguar service manual for $10. Since I have made this purchased, my repairs on the Jaguar are much more reasonable, since I am doing the work myself and apparently not paying the dealership between $150 to $1200/hr (as in the case of the sunroof) to repair my vehicle. This was an incredible cost savings to myself and allows me to take the sting out of owning this vehicle, and actually enjoy driving it. One obviously needs to be comfortable with working on a vehicle, which can be enjoyable and relaxing, since it's not like doing brain surgery (though apparently that is the rate we pay the mechanics at the Jaguar dealership!)
Finally, I contacted Jaguar directly about these concerns. Their mantra was the same each time, "you're vehicle is out of the warranty period." I finally was able to talk with an individual to indicate to them that I was not requesting any type of warranty work, but wanted them to be aware of the ongoing problems with the vehicle that they have manufactured. Some of these problems, window regulators, a vehicle stuck in park, and ignition coils seem quite unique to this vehicle. Eventually this one individual was able to hear that, and was able to direct me to a resource at Jaguar to register a more formal complaint. I am in the process of doing so at present. I will see how this will develop over time. At present however, Jaguar does not appear to be too receptive to hearing about the issues other folks may be having with their product. Possibly the news of Toyota and the "stuck accelerator" may be some incentive for this company. I won't hold my breath, however.
22nd Oct 2010, 17:14
I did a quick google search on this, and found out at least one company is remaking the part that breaks.