I've had continual headaches with this car. The following all had to be replaced/repaired in the last 18 months: Transmission, Steering Column, Bushings, Sway Bar, Seat Belts Buckles, Radio (twice) and 2 window mechanisms. I'm just waiting to see what will be next.
I enjoy driving this car (when it is not in the shop). I would not recommend this car to anyone. I feel bad saying that being a die hard Jag fan (I also own a completely restored 1956 XK 140 Jaguar).
The real unfortunate part is that Jaguar has NOT stood behind their product, They have not even returned my complaint phone calls never mind actually doing something about the problem.
I have a beautiful sapphire blue 2000 S-Type. I have had over 20 trips to the dealer because of repeated problems. The most disturbing problems just to name a few is having no brakes, and the sway bar having to be replaced twice. The problem is always corrected. However, I am tired of going to the dealership and I never know what is going to go wrong or at what time. I definitely think I should not have to visit the dealership so often. I have written the home office and have not receive a letter or comment about my concerns.
I have had the 2000 Model of the S type Jaguar for over 2 years and it has now completed over 100,000 miles. I have had the normal wear and tear issues with the car, but with the Ford engine and running parts this car has been modeled on have caused so many issues:
Sticky valves, Lambda sensors failure, misfires, the heat exchanger which circulates the hot cold air around the cabin fails when stationary. It blows cold when stationary and returns to temperature when moving again. The sticky boot (Trunk) release is a small annoyance, but the list goes on.
As I said the car has been with me for two years and it has the looks that make it a prestige car. Each item I now have fixed at an independent garage. The main dealers here are technicians not mechanics and each time I had the car fixed something else would go wrong.
The car will be a classic one day, but not this one as I use it each day. I am not impressed with the Ford mechanics in it I'm sure they are great in the ford car, please don't take that the wrong way Fords are good cars.
Its just a jaguar I love them and the newer they get the cheaper they seem. I hope they go back to they way they were.
One good thing... I am not alone. I have sat at the dealership all day several times. Twice for windows not working. Once was after a neighbor backed into my beautiful Jag and the body shop repaired damage, but the back up sensors did not work and needed replaced again (now they do not match the car color, but I am too busy to take it back, Body Shop and Repair Shop in different locations). My a/c stopped working by end of the summer (I just rolled the windows down, they work now). As cooler temps rolled in I noticed I do not have heat either, just cool air on the cool mornings and warm air on warm afternoons. Thank goodness my seat warmer is working! Now I have the "gearbox fault" light on. Sometime ago, the shift did not want to go into reverse (no light then!), but I haven't had that problem lately. I am taking it to a local mechanic today about the "gearbox fault". Also, the side light by the drivers door fell off. The little cheap plastic clips broke, I used that silver tape that is used on ventilation duck work to stick it back, classy! Does anyone have a good way to get the head liner material to re-stick around the front windows? I have asked at auto parts stores. I am using paper napkins from Taco Bell (the color blends in better), rolled up stuffed between glass and liner, it is holding. It is a beautiful car! If you don't get too close.
Duct tape and Taco Bell napkins on a 3 year old Jaguar... now that would be funny if it wasn't so sad.
We have just purchased a 2003 s-type Jaguar. The car is very stylish and a dream to drive. However in the 3 months we have had the car it has been to the shop 4 times and is sitting in the shop for the 5th time as I write this comment.
The trunk leaked, It took two trips to get it fixed. They ended up drilling a hole in a 50,000.00 car and told me this was standard procedure. The rear brakes and rotors had to be replaced at 30,000 miles. The passenger door leaked. The seat switch had to be replaced. Now the suspension is broke, they came and got it today. Too many things going wrong for a car of this stature. Got better service from my blazer.
Like I said fun to drive, But what happens after that magic no. 50,000 miles. Will be trading soon!!!
The best car I've ever owned... in the garage? I have had numerous problems with my 2001 S-Type. I bought it used a year ago with 24,500 miles on it. Currently I just topped 39,000. In less than 15,000 miles and 1 year time I've seen the dealership on so many occasions that I'm now on a first name basis with the head technician. It's been everything from bad battery to transmission problems. It feels great to be going to your "nice car" after work only to have to chase one of your colleagues through the parking lot because your jag won't start. It's almost become an ongoing joke around the office because I spend more time and money trying to keep this car running than I do driving it. My factory warranty ran out in March 2005 so now it's like pulling teeth to get any service done. My jag at the moment sits in the driveway due to the fact that it has to be towed about 40 miles to the nearest dealership and the cable between the shifter and the transmission broke. I took it in for the same problem 3 months ago and they "adjusted" this cable and told me it should be fine. Tow truck for 40 miles = $300 Cable not covered under extended warranty = $500 Knowing that I pay the most in the neighborhood for a car that sits more than it runs = PRICELESS!!!
My 2000 S-Type Jaguar has 55,000 miles the coolant fan comes on regularly, even for short trips. I complained about this to the dealer when the car was under warranty and they told me that this was normal. This coolant fan is running on every stop now. I have people asking me. Is your car engine on?
Also at 55,000 miles my heater stopped working.
Another problem is that the fabric over the windshield post has come unclued. I have seen other S-types with this problem. I contacted Jaguar Manufacture and the refused to take care of the problem. The fabric problem ocurred during warranty, however the parts were back ordered and subsequently the dealer stopped selling Jaguars. I have noticed is southern California many Jaguar dealers have gone out of business.
We bought our S-Type used from the original owner and have had nothing but problems. Window regulators (expect all to fail), J-Gate shifter (the cable doesn't break, the plastic piece it snaps into inside the shifter breaks off), Vacuum leak on topend of motor (rubber hose from intake to motor fails in the hot/oily environment, AC clutch, many squeaks that come and go.
The best part is the shabby treatment at the Jaguar dealer. They will lie right to your face that this failure is uncommon when technical service bulletins for these failings have existed since 2001 at the NHTSA. org website.
I bought a Jaguar last year and have nothing, but problems.
The window regulator broke, transmission also had to be completely fixed, the trunk lever dosn't work, I currently need sway bar bushings (which I can live with if I didn't mind a loud clunking noise everytime I went over any bump big or small), and I just found out today that I have a vaccum leak. I have had this car for just over a year, it's only four years old and still has under 100,000 miles on it. I owned a Lexus GS300 before this and had it for five years and when I got rid of it (I was in an accident) it had 215,000 miles on it and NEVER had any repairs that weren't regular maintenance type of items. Please if anyone is interested in buying a Jaguar, think two, three, and four times before purchasing one, it's been the biggest headache of my life.
I have started a class action lawsuit against Jaguar for the transmission problems found in the S type model year 1999 to 2003. It seems there are hundreds of these cars that have had their transmissions replaced. I had 62 thousand miles and the trans went on the car. $5000.00 to have it repaired. Not looking for a big payday. Just want my money back for having to replace a transmission in a car that seals the fluid checks so you do not have to replace it until 100,000 miles. Please feel free to email to Windows2vinyl@yahoo.com if you are interested. Thanks.
I can't believe that everyone else is having the same problems with their Jaguar S Type. I bought my 2001 4.0 with 39K miles on it. I felt comfortable that the car was still in warranty (3 months left). I also invested in a 3rd party warranty for $1800 which took me to 7 years or 100K miles. After 5 months the passenger door window broke and had to be replaced for around $500. I paid for the repair and submitted the bill to the warranty company for reimbursement. A month later the transmission went. Jaguar said they do not rebuild them and would have to replace it for about $5000. The warranty company would only cover having the transmission rebuilt. I took it to have that done for $3000. I paid for that and submitted that bill to the warranty company. I called to find out where my reimbursement was and the warranty company was out of business. Then my car wouldn't go into gear. I took it back to the transmission place and they told me it was the cable which was a known problem with this car. Not covered. $250 later I'm back on the road. 6 months later the same window I had replaced is broken again. This is unbelievable. Oh yes... my sway bar makes the banging noise also over the smallest bump. Jag says $400 more will take care of that. Oh one more thing....Any of you have the lining on either side of the windshield coming undone?
I own a 2001 S-Type. Like many of you I purchased it while still under warranty. Most of your complaints are similar to mine. The following is the work we have had done to my vehicle since we purchased it four years ago:
-Window regulator (twice)
-plastic piece for the gear shift (I have found putting the parking brake on before I put the car into 'Park' has gotten rid of that problem)
-pump for the water to spray on the windshield (I have given up on repairing it since this is the 2nd time and usually ends up in the shop for a whole week because they cannot get the right part)
-Air condition only cools in the front of the cabin (not in the rear)
-engine light failure (caused by the engine running too lean which was a simple $20 hose, but because of where it was located cost over $1000usd to repair due to labor involved)
-Radiator reservoir tank replacement
-Two sets of brakes (at 72k in mileage)
-Both cloth pieces at the front of the windshield are coming away from the car and sagging.
I will say this it is the best ride I have ever driven, but to keep driving it is costing me an excessive amount of money. I will be trading the car in come bonus time in 2008.
I have a 2001 S-type, owned for 4 years now and had transmission replaced at 40k miles, every window regulator has been replaced, the last one unfortunately not covered by the extended warranty. Should have traded the car in at that time... today the dealership says the ENGINE IS SHOT YES NEEDS TO BE REPLACED!!! 82K MILES. (car wouldn't start after filling the gas tank up at the station, had been running fine up until then) Dealership says the cost is $15,000 for a new engine!! The car is not even worth that much according to blue book. What a lemon... GET RID OF THIS CAR AFTER THE EXTENDED Warranty EXPIRES OR YOU'LL BE IN MY SHOES.
A few weeks ago, the gearbox fault message came up on my 2001 3.0 S-type automatic (56,000 miles) and refused to go off. It stayed on permanently while I was driving, but I wasn't aware of any fault symptoms. I took it in to a private garage for a diagnostic check which showed the problem was apparently the solenoid pack. I then took it in to a reputable (I think!) firm that specialises in automatic gearboxes and they told me that while replacing the solenoid pack would cure the 'problem' temporarily, unless they found the underlying cause, I might have more serious problems. When they checked it out, they found metal fragments in the oil. I'm not sure whee they came from, but the end problem is that they did a complete overhaul and charged me £1700 (about $3,400) with a 12-month guarantee. There is no light showing up any more, but I keep wondering, in view of the fact there was no problem apart from the light, if I should have just carried on driving until I got some real symptoms.
I spent the money to have peace of mind, but as a woman, I was concerned that the car might break down somewhere remote and I would be stranded. Now I keep thinking that the worst thing that could have happened would have been that the gearbox packed up altogether - and that would probably not have cost me any more than I have already paid. Or would it?
Yes, we've just had the same problem with our 2001 S Type Jag. The gearbox light has been showing for about a month & the car is very jerky. It's been into a garage & they've said it needs a new gearbox cost 2k. Is this the going rate? The mechanics have suggested now is the time to sell!!
Also, the brake pads need regularly replacing & wear down to the metal far too quickly... the engine cooler comes on far too regularly, even when using plenty of coolant, & of course, the windows - we try not to open & shut these as they always only just manage to move, & sound like they're about to pack up at any point!! All rubbers seem to be coming away from the body work.
Always been great fans of Jags, but looking at the level of complaints; they're are major faults, which Jaguar don't seem to address & solve.