13th Jul 2008, 08:30
Own a 2001 S type Jaguar with about 70,000 miles driven mostly on the highway. While we've had minor (though expensive) problems still love the way the car drives. Just yesterday the Gear Box Fault message appeared but in the manual this is not addressed. Exactly what does this mean and does the service need to be done at the Jag dealership?
16th Jul 2008, 03:21
I own a 2002 4.2 S-type, which I bought 3 years ago with 40,000 miles. 3 years later and 54,000 miles on the clock, and I've spent over £3500 ($7000) on fixing faulty parts including:
- Front headlamp (stopped auto adjusting)
- Engine coolant cabling and radiator
- Rear parking module.
Latest problem is the electronic parkbrake. Got back from a week's holiday with the car stored in the garage (where it is always kept) and saw a warning on the dashboard saying "Parkbrake fault", break warning light permanently on and a warning claxon whenever the car moved.
Took the car to the local Jaguar dealership (like many of you, I'm on a first name basis here now) and they found water in the boot compartment that has caused corrosion of the electronics. Where the hell that came from is anyone's guess. (The design engineer that decided to put all the electrics at the lowest part of the trunk where any water (leaking or accidental) would collect deserves to be shot.) They reset the electronics and the parkbrake issue was fixed.
When I collected the car, there was still water in the trunk and I don't know why I was shocked to see the problem return a few hours later. I called the dealership and complained that the problem had reoccurred, and asked why they had not drained the water from the trunk - to which they said they only did a diagnostic. Why not fix the damned problem?
It also seems that the rear park assist module corroded due to the same water problem. Probably the first two of many electric issues. Also I'm not hanging around to get transmission, gear box, engine problems that many of you have been facing, and will sell the car as soon as this problem is fixed. Such a lovely car drive, but not at this price!
31st Jul 2008, 23:31
I have a 2001 S-type 4.0. Driver/passenger front window regulators, transmission is going out.
Cloth on each side of windshield is sagging.
Now have to take it to the shop because it is missing horribly.
The car has 119k miles on it. What a mess.
If there is a lawsuit, let me know. sawinc24@yahoo.com thanks.
18th Aug 2008, 14:30
Last month I wrote about the "gear box fault" problem I am having on my 2001 S. Took it to the dealer who promptly told me that it will need a new or "remanufactured" transmission. The car has less than 70,000 miles on it. Cost for transmission around $3700. He also told me to drive it until it just stopped running, but I notice the engine revs up pretty high and I don't want to blow out an engine just to save on a transmission. Does anyone have any good advice for me?
5th Sep 2008, 01:35
We have a 2001 S-Type 3.0 with just over 160,000 miles. Car was purchased in 2002 with just about 20,000 miles on it, and had the 100,000 miles extended warranty as part of the deal.
Overall it held up OK, but we had our share of problems with some of them being fixed under warranty.
Those were window problems (2), and ignition coils (3).
Fixed after the warranty expired were: all around shocks, brakes front and rear, high pressure power steering hoses (2), front end components and front stabilizer bar bushings, transmission valve body, cooling system thermostat & hoses, pcv breather hoses, and many check engine light resets for some weird codes that are coming and going for no apparent reason, to the point that I had purchased a cheap OBD-2 scanner to reset them and not have to visit a mechanic.
In all fairness, there are some some positives about the car like gas mileage in the 23-24 mpg combined, smooth engine power, ride quality and quietness (thanks to the Bilstein shocks), and overall looks and shape.
In conclusion, there are some good things about the car and some bad things, and I am debating to either save for a transmission replacement or to try to find a buyer soon.
My two cents!
29th Sep 2008, 11:37
I have a 2001 S-type and the battery keeps running down. No one can seem to find the problem. I never know if it is going to crank. Thank goodness for my electric starter which I keep in the trunk. A friend read on-line that the cooling fan could be running down the battery and that it would need silicone to fix it. Has anyone had this happen to them? I love my car but I want people to see me riding in it and not just parked at my house because it will not crank!
4th Nov 2008, 15:07
I, too, have a 2001 Jaguar S-type and have replaced the window regulators, J-gate (2300), wheels/rotors, drive train (3000), and now my gearbox fault light just came on yesterday. I got home, turned the car off and turned it back on and the light is not on. but the car is jerking when you drive around 50 mph like it's trying to find a gear. Add me to the class action if anyone is seriously considering it: jaynesouth@gmail.com.
8th Jul 2008, 17:01
I own a 2003 S type 3.0. I purchased it in Aug 2004 as a lease trade in. The vehicle had 22000 miles on it. I purchased the 100000 mile extended warranty at the time of purchase.
I have had my car in the Jag shop at least 4 times for the transmission snatching roughly. While driving just out of no where the transmission will jerk. Each time the dealership told me that the computer just had to be cleared out and reset. I would bring the car home, and in just a couple of days it would be doing the same thing again.
After the 3rd time for the same issue, the service manager told me that if it happened again I would need to replace the transmission. Since it was under warranty I was not very concerned about the cost.
Again the car started shifting rough. I had seen all the many web blogs about the S type problems and the lack of Jaguars service to these problems. So I really felt defeated and just accepted that this was part of owning a Jaguar. Besides the car was not worth the payoff according to Blue Book. So I was stuck paying for a car that the rear end might fall out of.
At 91000 miles, knowing my warranty would expire soon, I took my car back to the dealership for the same item. They have had my car for two days. A Jaguar adjuster came out and determined that there was nothing wrong with my transmission. My driving was the problem. They told me that I drive the car "too hard" for the computer. So they have again reset the computer and they send me on my not so merry way.
Please if anyone knows of a class action lawsuit, let me know. I wish there was some way to force a recall. I paid as much for my used car as I would have paid for a new Mercedes! Jaguar and Ford sell these extended warranties for thousands of dollars on expensive cars, and then don't honor either one. Heartbroken.