Rich Askew

Hi Alan, There are a few videos around on You Tube, this one's fairly typical I paid just over £400 incl VAT a couple of years ago. My 2.2 XF was 4 years old and with 80K miles on it so thought it was an investment worth making! Rich.

Hi Dakota, Your model is the same as mine, although mine's a 2014 '64' plate. I regularly do 20 or 30 mile commutes, the longer ones including 10 miles or so of the M5. I get around early 50s for these trips. If I head off to the Midlands to see family I can easily see 58+ with the best trip (filling up a mile before the motorway and stopping a mile off at the other end) managing to get 62 mpg indicated on the screen. Mine's had a Bluefin remap and I use Cruise Control for these types of trip. Around town I'm looking at early 40s and very high 40s cross-country on 'A' roads. It's a very economical vehicle for it's size! Best regards, Rich.

Something stirred in the remaining 'grey matter' cell ... Click the 'Cancel' button on the right-hand side of the steering wheel twice. That makes my Oil Level show - but it might not have had the full amount of time to drain down to the correct level so could be a misleading short cut! The Oil Level will also show if you have the bonnet up and click through the trip computer stalk button too. Try the WD40 first. I had a couple of door lock mechanisms replaced, both offside, and lost the 'double beep' the doors locked correctly and the mirrors folded afterwards. It was about £125 each mechanism at Swallows Jaguar.

Hi James, Swallows list the ZF Service for a 2.2d XF as £375.00 + VAT. I haven't had mine serviced by them but when I have had it carried out that would appear to be about the sort of price we get charged down in the South West ...

Hi John, Quite a few video / guides on you Tube for the process. I saw a European one a year or two ago with some guys from ZF going through the work required but can't find it immediately to hand right now. One can be found below. Temperatures for the second part of the fill up seem to be a common theme from what I can remember - along with cycling through gears at the right time to get all the fluid in! The Jaguar guys I use in Somerset are based in Axbridge, just down from W-s-M. Swallows Jaguar https://swallows-jag.co.uk/ who advertise as being ZF Partners. They've always been ok with me, even advising me to put off work that could wait a year instead of fleecing me there and then like some others ... Best regards, Rich.

Hi Ian, I'm not sure if yours will be the same as mine but they're both 64 plates. Check the handbook under the 'Touch Screen' section (p64 in mine) and you should find 'Home Menu Shortcuts' under the 'System Settings' section. That gives, on mine at least, the choice of adding two shortcuts to the main screen. 'Take me Home' is one of mine. You might need to deselect the one you already showing and, of course, choose a 'Home' location for the SatNav to take you back to! Hope that helps ... Rich.

Late 2014 2.2 Premium Luxury. I get around late 40s with mixed driving. Cruise control on the motorway can be up to high 50s.

Osmium Blue. Freshly coated and waxed ...

Hi all, There's a You Tube video of the modification process here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux9H5QdTtjA I bought the hex heads from eBay at £2.60 for ten and a couple of gas struts at £17.95 the pair. It opens fully every time right now in springtime ambient temperatures so will hope for the same in a colder winter too! Rich.

Thanks Peter, This was from an eBay advert but linked to extra information on the firm's own website Auto Reserve Jaguar . The photo shows a 115/85 but I had a 135/80 arrive yesterday, it was also £79.99 all in from eBay but considerably more on their site! Gas strut mod to allow full boot opening today and then LED lights going over the number plate on Monday. Mudflaps sometime next week on arrival ... Best regards, Rich.

Hi Alan, A bit late to this one but I've just had another spare and managed to sort things out with a flat boot floor at last. I bought my 2.2d XF last summer and wasn't entirely happy with not having a spare "just in case." Like you've probably already done, I looked about on these pages and then Amazon / eBay for ideas. Quite a few to choose from and I didn't really research things as well as I should've done - ending up with a 'space saver' tyre but one that didn't sit that well and made the floor protrude by an inch or so. Functional but annoying as I'm a bit OCD when it comes to straight lines etc.! Now I'm more settled with the car and have started to get to know what I'd like to change, coupled with some suddenly available free time (thanks Covid) I had another look at eBay and so on. My first spare was 135/80 x 18 inch. I managed to find one advertised at 115/80 instead so bit the bullet and ordered it up. When it arrived this afternoon I was a bit worried to see that it was supplied with another 135/80 but the rim was much flatter than the one I had before. Cue a bit of relief when this one slotted straight in and the floor dropped back flat with the carpet blending in nicely at last. Mine also has the plastic frame over the sub-woofer so I was expecting a little trouble but everything looks fine this time. The difference seems to be that the supplied first spare has the centre with the holes for the wheelnuts to fix through standing proud of the tyre walls by around 50mm or so, quite probably to move the tyre itself further back in towards the car. This one has a much flatter profile as the centre is within the rolling portion of the tyre itself so the whole assembly is, at most, 135mm across. This one is from a specialist Jaguar spare tyre seller, based in the East Midlands, via eBay and cost £79.99 including the VAT and P&P. I'd best not narrow it down too far and name them on a public forum in case it isn't allowed! I have to say, I'm much happier now. Of course, I wouldn't go driving around for any length of time on it, but the fall back option of being able to get to a repair centre for a new 'real' tyre is there. They also turned it round in less than two days from point of order to receiving the wheel and no hidden surprises (other than having a slightly wider rubber surface to put down if needed) and the tyre itself is a Pirelli with moulding marks still on it and totally unused. Best regards, Rich.

Hi Francis, I'm still new to Jaguar and have a 64 plate 2.2d XF. In theory I should qualify for the lower, fixed price service but I'm very cautious about main dealers and their 'extras.' I had the 96k 'B' service carried out by Swallows Jaguar, an independent based in Somerset, just over a month ago. All in, including branded Castrol C1 oil and filter, air filter, pollen and fuel filters plus scheduled items and recording the online servicing history ended up costing £310 with the VAT. I used to pay £279 all in for my previous Ford so I'm happy to be honest. They're also incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and carried out a few bits with no charge. Mostly checking over tracking and so on - yes, I know that might create paid work for them but the car's only been mine for a few months and it's worth it for peace of mind getting the battery health, coolant state and brake fluids checked out to reassure me. It's obviously way too far away from you to be anything other than a comparison but I've seen others recommend servicing elsewhere in the country and I'm sure there's a thread somewhere hear that mentions likely places to have work done if you can dig about. Best regards, Rich.

Hi Dom, I found a local specialist (30 miles or so away) who do this type of work regularly. Same price as yours so saved a trip to MK or Bristol! Initially I wondered what I'd done as afterwards, when cold, 1st / 2nd and 2nd / 3rd changes seemed to slip and then snatch into gear, plus there was a surge going from 5th to 6th. The company asked me to bring it back for a full day, which was supposed to be Wednesday. Got in it last Sunday and couldn't select any gears, dashboard lit up in yellow like a Christmas tree. Car on a transporter Monday morning and work cancelled for three days while I thought of ££££ signs flashing down the tubes ... Cut a long story short, they called on Wednesday and picked me up to collect it again. They'd originally mentioned that flushing it might cause some debris to loosen but their road test had been fine. They changed the filter / sump for a second time, full change of fluid, loads of diagnostics and clearing of alerts - they also reset the 'adaptation' settings this time. Very helpful with explanations of what had been done, copies of diagnostic sheets to google and 'no charge' for the recovery or secondary work completed. I'm still feeling my way with the car again but the last couple of days has been absolutely fine. Actually, better than that. No slips / snatches or surges in any gear and all the changes have been smooth throughout the range. I'd thought it was a slick, quiet gearbox beforehand but it's noticeably smoother now. Am I glad I had it done? Too soon to say for now but the signs are promising. I'd have preferred not to have the week / ten days of wondering what the hell was going on but I suppose I'm bound to learn lessons with a new car (to me) and not having had an automatic before. Just got to get a slight crimp in the wing sorted out from where the recovery guy was a bit clumsy with the winch now ... Rich.

Hi all, My Jaguar is relatively new to me, bought in late June. It now has 90k miles on the clock and a full Jaguar Service History. The only thing I have no record of is any servicing to the automatic gearbox - the 8 speed ZF. I know that the documentation mentions that it's a 'lifetime' sealed unit but the lifetime of my car might well be until the gearbox fails and it's too expensive to replace. Has anyone had any experience of how long these gearboxes last and / or what the servicing costs might be? ZF on their website / You Tube channel recommend changing the oil (at least) but it doesn't seem to be part of Jaguar's planned maintenance. I believe that the change needs a new sump / filter assembly which is somehing I'm quite happy to pay for but some advice from any of you with experience would be great. The gearbox itself seems fine so far, changes are smooth and barely noticeable. It's just my thinking from many years of performance maintaining (not on Jaguars or cars) that preventative maintenance is better, and often less expensive, than a rebuild or replacement after a failure! Best regards, Rich.

Hi all, New car to me in late June so took a while to take stock of it and research what needed doing - You Tube has some great videos! Internally - Leather wipes and a protector from Dunelm (seats, dash and doors) after a damned good hoovering. Meguiars Carpet Cleaner and then a Pledge spray on the wood. Bought one of those Halfords window cleaner pads and use 'HG' window cleaner to strip the internal film off. Externally - 'Bug and Tar' remover over the lower half, 'Black in a Flash' on the plastic bits and wheel arches, NXT Metal Polish on the chrome. Car Plan 'Wheel Wash' to remove brake dust. Normal wash mitt with Farecla 'Body Prep Shampoo' then a rinse off. Fallout remover over bottom half to take out any sticky residue. Farecla BPS again with a Clay Mitt all over to get the bodywork back to clear coat. Meguiars Scratch Repair and buff off on any noticeable marks. AutoGlym Resin Polish to cut back on all surfaces then buff off. Turtle Wax 'Sealant' on the dry car then buff off. Meguiars 'Hybrid Ceramic Wax' as a final coating, rubbed in rather than spray and rinse. 'HG' windscreen cleaner, buff off then Rain-X final coat and final buff off. Takes around seven hours (!) so it'll only be done thoroughly perhaps twice each year - Spring time after the winter rigours and again in the autumn when I get enough time and I'm bored! What I would say is that any car worked on like this takes about 15 to 20 minutes to clean off with something like Meguiars 'Wash and Wax' and then a buff off with a cloth in between deep cleaning. It also feels really slick to the touch with bare fingers and glosses up the best I've ever seen with a really shiny finish (I'm loathed to say 'mirror' finish because mine is Osmium Blue so won't reflect like a dark coloured car). It's a bit extreme I know but it means I spot any signs of a damaged clear coat / scratch etc. early and can do some remedial work (if I can) to prevent any real, long-lasting damage. Best regards, Rich.

Hi all, I have to admit I'm no expert but I've had previously Bluefined vehicles and found the difference to be quite marked - although they were Euro 4 diesels and mine is now a Euro 5 (can't just chuck more fuel into them). To be honest, I bought the new Bluefin module while waiting to pick up the new Jaguar because I'd been impressed in the last car. It's been running on it since I got home and I don't really have a comparison with a 'virgin' Jaguar (something I might try) but I have to say it picks up at junctions just fine and I haven't noticed any lag. In the sticks of Somerset we have too many tractors and horse boxes on our 'A' roads to drive it too 'enthusiastically' so I tend to more restrained than the 'Stig.' However, I regularly get mid-50s to the gallon on the commute into Taunton, mid-40s around what little town driving I do and regularly 60+ on motorway drives to Away games. I have the standard Bluefin remap for a 2.2d, with a K&N filter and a ZX1 treated engine. I also have an OBD plug-in and smartphone app to monitor what's going on where I can - PPIs as they used to be called on Fleet Air Arm aircraft in service. 'SuperDiesel' is in short supply down here so I'm trying Millers EcoMax (having run Redex through it previously on occasion) on the next few fill ups. Too early to offer a comment but nothing too detrimental so far. With 90k miles in the five years it's been on the road I'm looking at a service for the ZF Gearbox so if anyone's had experience of that please do let me know. The refurb to the alloys is due at October half-term and I'm expecting to have the 96k Service around Christmas time. Since the car was new to me in July I might also plunge for a change of Coolant and Brake fluid to be on the safe side - although my bank account won't thank me! Overall I'm absolutely loving having a car like this Jaguar (I never thought I'd be able to own one) so I'm looking to keep it for as long as possible and will be happy to pay out to keep it running as well as I possibly can over the next 'x' years. Best regards, Rich.