Gearbox Fault Warning

[Blister]

Hi,

I'm a brand new member with absolutely no mechanical knowledge so I hope another member can advise me.

I bought my car 6 weeks ago from a Jaguar main dealer. - A 2008 XType, 2.2 SE Diesel Automatic.

I drove my car locally and it was fine.

Last Friday I drove from Manchester to London using motorways all the way. As I left the M25 a dashboard warning came on. - A stable amber light with the words 'Gearbox Fault' and a flashing amber coil icon. I immediately found a safe place to park and switched off.

Two days later my breakdown service sent a mechanic to assess the car. This mechanic did a computer diagnostic check and told me 2 faults were reported. - There had been a problem with the turbo and then a knock on problem with the car accessing neutral. - The fault did not reoccur when the ignition was switched on again nor during a test drive. In effect the car was operating normally again.

The mechanic concluded that if a fault still existed it was intermittent. Other than that, from experience, he could confirm my gearbox was not faulty and that the fault was turbo related. - He said turbo problems caused the 'Gearbox Fault' warning to display even though the gearbox was not faulty and the car was safe to drive.

I later drove the car back to Manchester without mishap but I am still concerned that I may have an underlying problem.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Did the mechanic tell me the truth?

My car is still under warranty and will be going back to the seller for another check but I would like to be able to ensure they do not 'blind me with science' to evade responsibility for an expensive repair.

Thanks guys.

[Old Peter]

Hi John, and welcome to the club.

 

I am no engineer either, and I would do exactly what you are doing if the car is still under warranty.

 

A main dealer should have a very good diagnostic system and if you mention when they have checked it, and if they and it OK, that the breakdown mechanic pointed towards the turbo.

 

Good Luck

 

Peter.

[Blister]

Thanks Peter.

 

I really want to know if there is anything I need to be aware of so I can ensure my car is 100% after the dealers warranty check.- I'm naturally cynical and suspicious and I don't want to be 'fobbed off' then later down the line find my warranty has expired and I have an unexpected and expensive bill to pay for repairs.

 

John

[Tracharr]

Hi

 

I have a 2008 X type manual and my clutch went @ 22,000 miles which I was obviously not happy about. I complained to jaguar and they footed the £1500 bill. After it was fitted Jaguar gave me a courtesy call and to check I was happy and also advised me that they have had issues with the clutches fitted!!!

[Blister]

Hi Guys

 

Thanks Tracharr.

 

A quick update. - My car went for assessment by the supplying main dealer 2 days ago. They could not make it replicate the fault so presume it is intermittent. I've just had a phone call to say they have had discussions with the warrant company. In view of the circs. the warranty company will authorise and pay for a new turbo / actuator to be supplied and fitted. - No idea what that may be but as long as it cures the problem I don't care. - Car goes back to the shop next week.

 

John

[rodeyorks]

Hi John,

I have an x Type diesel auto 08 reg and had exactly the same problem except it went into limp mode. I took it to a independent Jag specialist with all the right software and they diagnosed turbo problem. Fitted new turbo last week and it is fine. As you say the message comes up as gearbox fault Otherwise this is the first Jag I have owned and really love it to drive and looking forward to coupling up my caravan to see if it tows as well as my previous car, Rover 75 diesel auto.

Cheers

Rod

[Old Peter]

Welcome to the Club, Rod.

 

I used to tow with a Rover 825 Sterling Auto.  I would like to bet the X type will be a touch better.

 

Meanwhile, Just wait for the Caravan season to start, and enjoy your Jaguar.

 

Regards,

 

Peter.

[Liam2016]

I've had a very similar problem - x type diesel, 2008, 2.2 auto, 130k miles, going into limp mode with amber light and gearbox fault on the display. I've had diagnostics done by a jaguar independent dealer (who were convinced in advance that it would be the turbo) but nothing comes up and I've since driven the car with absolutely no problems at all. But it does knock one's confidence a bit... If anyone has any further thoughts or experience on this please do let me know - I've had another thread going on this on the forum too along similar lines. In the meantime I've got a simple diagnostic tool in the glovebox so I can try and get some clue as to what the problem might be if/when it happens again.

Cheers

Liam

[rodeyorks]

Hi Liam, Yes I had exactly the same problem and finished up replacing the turbo. The warranty outfit refused to pay out as they said there was signs of carbon in the turbo. After some words with the garage that I bought the car from, as I had only had the car for a few weeks. The garage were very good and paid for the new turbo. This was all 20,000 miles ago and not had any problem since. My car has now done 112,000 miles and I love it.

Cheers

Rod

[Liam2016]

Thanks Rod. Sounds like I'll have to go that way eventually. 

Cheers. 

[Derrick Houston]

I have s type have automatic diesel 2005 done 97000 miles. I had same warning twice recently when it was raining. First time I thought the gearbox was stuck in 3rd gear as revs going up to 4000 if I put my foot down. Since no problems. Should I get it checked out?

[Anthony palmowski]

On 10/15/2015 at 3:01 PM, Blister said:

Hi,

I'm a brand new member with absolutely no mechanical knowledge so I hope another member can advise me.

I bought my car 6 weeks ago from a Jaguar main dealer. - A 2008 XType, 2.2 SE Diesel Automatic.

I drove my car locally and it was fine.

Last Friday I drove from Manchester to London using motorways all the way. As I left the M25 a dashboard warning came on. - A stable amber light with the words 'Gearbox Fault' and a flashing amber coil icon. I immediately found a safe place to park and switched off.

Two days later my breakdown service sent a mechanic to assess the car. This mechanic did a computer diagnostic check and told me 2 faults were reported. - There had been a problem with the turbo and then a knock on problem with the car accessing neutral. - The fault did not reoccur when the ignition was switched on again nor during a test drive. In effect the car was operating normally again.

The mechanic concluded that if a fault still existed it was intermittent. Other than that, from experience, he could confirm my gearbox was not faulty and that the fault was turbo related. - He said turbo problems caused the 'Gearbox Fault' warning to display even though the gearbox was not faulty and the car was safe to drive.

I later drove the car back to Manchester without mishap but I am still concerned that I may have an underlying problem.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Did the mechanic tell me the truth?

My car is still under warranty and will be going back to the seller for another check but I would like to be able to ensure they do not 'blind me with science' to evade responsibility for an expensive repair.

Thanks guys.

I have had the same problem and cured it by replacing EGR valve 

[rodeyorks]

Hi Anthony, I have the same car and had exactly the same problem soon after I bought the car. Took it back to seller and they cleaned the EGR valve but it did it again a few days later so I took it to Independent Jag garage in Hull and they diagnosed turbo actuator fault. Replaced and car has been fine since and seller paid for repair as I tried to claim via my Warranty Wise but they refused to cover the cost. this was over 50k ago and it drives lovely. This is a great car to drive. Enjoy it.

Cheers

Rod

[Liam2016]

Hi Anthony. 
 

sorry not to reply to your post sooner. I too have had the exact same problem - it happened about 6 times in a few months a few years back, like you fairly shortly after purchase. if you search in my profile or under gearbox or similar in the x-type forum you should find mine and quite a few other threads on the subject. 
 

I like you have no mechanical knowledge at all so appreciate how dismaying and worrying these events are, but my own experience is that it is not as bad as it seems. Most diagnoses seem to point to an issue with either the EGR or turbo - but in my case a check from the garage revealed no problem with either of these items - they did actually replace the EGR in the end but said they could find absolutely nothing wrong with the old one but they had a new one and thought they might as well give it a go. I didn’t replace the turbo as that was pretty expensive and again the garage could not find any reason to go down that road.

Bizarrely what cleared it up for me was actually just a service and Oil change. I had it done on schedule and since then have never had the problem again. I commented on this to the garage and they said it was probably some glitch on the feedback from the turbo or exhaust etc and an additive they had at service might have cleared something. so a bit of diesel injector fluid might well solve your problems too.
 

my advice is also to find a decent independent jag specialist who will recognise all these little quirks with the x type and know the back routes and anecdotal solutions which do often work and save you a packet in the meantime. Or just a good mechanic whom you trust.

if you’re still having problems try a bit of fuel additive like wynns and see if that helps. Or just a routine service before any other costly interventions.

as I say I’m not a mechanic and only speaking purely from my own experience which I hope may be helpful - obviously you may turn out to have a more serious problem but hopefully not. My car was purchased at 108000 miles and not just coming up to 167000 and still going strong.

good luck  

Nathan 

[dsgharris]

hi had the same problem with my 08 plate x type the variable vain on the turbo gets clogged up and can be cleaned with oven cleaner(see on youtube) but you can get you can get home by dissconnecting the actuature rod to turbo ,this stops the gearbox going into limp mode.

regards

david

[Fraser Macdonald]

Hi, I have the same problem with a 2008 X Type I have just purchased. I have the flashing glow plugs indicator and gearbox problem message. Reading this thread I can see that the turbo actuator either needs to be replaced or rebuilt. I rang my local independent Jag servicing and they said that the whole turbo needed to be replaced c. £2K. This is more than I paid for the car so I wanted to know what people thought about what needed to be done and what they would expect the cost would be? Many thanks, Fraser 

[rodeyorks]

Hi Fraser, I have the same model and did have the same problem of showing the gearbox fault and going into limp mode. I only had the car for a couple of weeks so took it back to garage where I bought it from and they tried all sorts of cures including replacing EGR valve. It was ok for a few days but then started with the problem again. After agreeing with the garage that they would be paying for repairs I took it to Jagutech in Hull and they replaced the turbo actuator, although they did say that there was quite a lot of carbon in the turbo vanes. I dont know how much everything cost as the garage I bought it from paid for it. It has been ok since and that was 50k ago !! I`m fairly sure that you can get a recon turbo for about £500 but dont know how easy it is to swap them over. Hope this helps.

Cheers

Rod

[rodeyorks]

Hi Fraser again, Just been looking on the internet and I would have a look at GAP Turbo`s in Birmingham, they seem to know what they are talking about and do reco turbos for about £250.

Cheers

Rod

[Geof Beasley]

Hi people, I had the gearbox fault come on on my 2.2tdi and went into limp mode. At the same time the " DPF FULL" sign came up. Kept the car going, on an empty road and did 8 miles at 3000 rpm. The DPF warning went out, so I stopped and turned the engine off waited 10 minutes and restarted,bingo!

I've had similar problems with a different car with a DPF , so just thought I'd give it a go and it worked! I would recommend you try this if you have the time and patience( and an empty road!  My car is 09 plate six speed box 145000 miles.

[Chris Dez]

I have gearbox fault come on but they can't find any thing at all on the computer been driving round town recently  for about 4 to5 week today took it out to Hexham about 17 miles there and 17 miles back drove ok put my foot down where I could up to 70mph seem OK but I bet tomorrow it will play up again can any one help.

[peter anthony]

Great info from x typers, well done.