Old Peter

Hi Ronn, There is aJOC sticker. If you contact Steve [Admin} you will be able to get a pair. I like them! Peter.

Hi Alan, Have you an OBD2 scanner? If so, just erase. I have just has the same with Code P0402 ---- EGR Valves. Peter.

Welcome to the club, Peter. I am no electrical expert, but earthing and wiring misconnections are often the cause of malfunction warnings. Regards, Peter.

Hi Graham, It is not just chemicals in Teesside, but also a major steelworks [which I know very well] with the largest Blast Furnace in the UK. Add to that, there is the coast and if it lived close to the coast the car would get a good sandblasting when it is windy. I would look for a good detailer --- they are often mobile -- and get him to do a professional job. Regards, Peter.

Hi Jimmy, Have you checked the fuse? Other than that it could be a loose connection or bad earth. Regards, Peter.

Hi Barry, and welcome to the club. You can download the Owner's Manual from the internet -- and it is free. You will enjoy the Jaguar experience, and I hope you enjoy the club. Regards, Peter.

Hi Graham, There was a recent survey on tyres and the top brands surveyed on the aspects of stopping, noise levels, and fuel usage were Goodyear, followed by Vredestein, a Korean tyre whose name I cannot recall, and then a few other such as Bridgestone and Pirelli. I have never liked Avon as I had sidewall cracks on a motor cycle tyre in 1963! You don't need to change all trees at the same time, but I always change both front tyres at the same time and the rear tyres similarly. I have a local Halfords --- just a tiny place --- at which the staff have been there for a long time, and they put on a pair of Goodyear tyres [245/40/18 assimetrico XL for £257, which included wheel balancing etc. You can always look at Halfords site which does a great review of each tyre giving the EU scoring levels. I still have Pirellis in the rear as they still have 5mm of tread and are in good condition. Some people do not like Halfords --- but a lot depends on the service you get. Regards, Peter.

Hi Nigel, Does the new battery work OK? If it does and the warning does not go out I am guessing that you would have to remove the message manually. I would use an OBD2 code scanner and delete the message. I had a similar message "Service Required" prior to having an OBD2 scanner, and was ablate remove by a tricky bit of jiggery pokerry. Regards, Peter.

Hi Kath, and welcome to the club. I used to live in Flintshire when there was the big steelworks at Shotton. I have had a few issues with the electronic handbrake, and you also seem to get the ,message that something else's also unavailable. It has been mostly in the winter and at most inconvenient times. To release it you have to disconnect the battery, first remembering to have your radio code ready. Leave it for ten minutes and then connect the battery again. You will get the alarm going off, which ends when you lock the car and open it again. You then have to put on the footbrake and release the handbrake. You then have to switch on the Radio and you will have to put in the code. Other settings - brightness, satnav etc will also have to be done. Batteries play a great part in the working of the S Type, as there are so many, and eventually you will have to get a new one. In the meantime I would put the battery on a trickle charge for a few hours each day, if you can. When a battery starts to fail, the car is clever enough to shut down certain operations that it doesn't think you need --- rear screen demister, radio etc. When you next get under the car and find the cable for the handbrake, a squirt of WD 40 could be given or some light oil, to keep it well lubricated. Regards, Peter.

Well done, Christine. The annoying issues are a major irritant! Peter.

Welcome to the club, John. I don't know the detail of doors on the XF, but usually give a squirt of WD40, which is cheap. It could possibly need the removal of the door card to see if something is not connected properly. Regards, Peter.

I filled up with a tankful of Standard forecourt fuel, and on an 150 miles drink with a mix of lanes and motorway I got 39.6 mpg/ A similar journey a couple of weeks earlier with a tankful of Shell Vitro gave me 46.2 mpg. The other thing to get better fuel economy coupled with less tyre noise and better stopping distance is the make of tyre. I have changed my tyres at the front from Pirellis to Goodyear -- the same spec but quieter and better stopping distance. It is worth looking at the Halfords Website, as they give you the Euro details of every tyre they sell, which is vast. A recent survey put Goodyear top with Vredestein second. Peter.

There is a vacancy for someone willing to organise a meet in God's own county.! Peter.

Hi Chris, and welcome to the club. The x type is a nice car, and made in Lancashire, too. I used to have one. There are loads of members who drive x types and who are very good at maintaining them. Just put in the best diesel rather than the cheap stuff and you will get great mpg and a nice ride. Regards, Peter. Lancastrian in exile.

Hi Tom, I also have a late 2007 s type and love it to bits. A friend used to change his car [a Ford] every time a new model came out, but he always got the old model, buying new from a dealer at a very reduced price. You have one of the last s types with all the problems ironed out, and also a car that is a head turner. Doing a small mileage will mean that you are going to not subject your s type to much wear and tear, and I would be inclined to keep it till it becomes a classic --- someone said it is that last Jaguar that looks like one. Regards, Peter.

When I had to disconnect the battery the touch screen display had to be reset to get the correct brightness that I wanted. Although there are some drivers who do not like to see bright instrument displays. Switching up the brightness from the settings menu to a certain brightness level can override the nighttime mode, which I have done, as I find that the nighttime mode is sometimes hard to read at a quick glance. Peter.

Hi Jim, Assuming your XF is a diesel, common issues are the EGR valves getting too sooty now and then. There are several cures -- take them off and clean them, which is arduous and mucky --- Wynnes EGR Valve cleaner, under a Tenner from Halfords -- or the cheapest is to press the S mode button and give the car a good blast to get the valves cleaned out, which can be quite enjoyable. The other thing to do is to avoid supermarket fuel and use the best fuel which the engine likes as it gives you a better mpg. XF owners will tell you their experiences. Regards, Peter.

Hi David, I used to have a 2.5 AWD X type until it was "borrowed" by 2 scroats whose accommodation I am now paying for for the next 8 years. It was a great car! The reluctor ring appears to be very easy to replace, and you can get the genuine part from X Type Parts for about a fiver. It is a common problem with the x type. I don't get my hands dirty any more since the days of the lump hammer and adjustable spanner have been replaced by complicated technology, but if you know a bit about cars it seems easy enough and apparently straigtforward. Your description of the symptoms and your garage's diagnosis seems correct. Regards, Peter.

Hi Billyboy, I have just read that Ford and Peugeot are developing the Gemini engine to meet the Euro 6 requirements. In an addition to my previous post, Jaguar's new diesels in the XE are quicker than the 2.7D and the 3.0D due to the use of aluminium now used by Jaguar, giving a better power to weight ratio. So whether Jaguar will use the new Ford/Peugeot engine or manufacture their own larger diesel is yet unknown. Having been retired for almost 16 years, my contacts in the Automotive industry and the SMMT are also spending more time on their Yachts or in their gardens! Regards, Peter.

Hi Jim and Welcome to the club. My s type has a brightness adjustment facility for the touch screen and I assume that the XF has the same. The touchscreen on the S type shows a settings display when you switch on the ignition. The mirrors do not self park on the s type, but there is a button which allows you to do it. I do not know the XF but if only one mirror does not park with the facility on your car, I would assume a misconnection. I would ask the dealer to give you an idea why it doesn't, and if he will fix it. Regards, Peter.

Hi Billyboy, Taunton Jaguar have a better reputation that Grange in Exeter, or so I hear. On the question of engines, the new Jaguar engine plant in Wolverhampton is currently manufacturing engines for the new XE model, and they are 2.0 litre diesel engines, and a 3.0 litre petrol engine for the R version. I think that all these engines are 4 cylinder and concentrate on fuel economy, and will obviously comply with the Euro emissions requirement. The specifications for the XJ still appears include the 3.0 litre diesel. The new model, the F Pace -- modelling on the CX17 concept car will include diesel engines. As yet, I have heard nothing about the use of the 3.0 Gemini diesel [Ford Peugeot design] in the new models, but I think I can safely assume that the new engine facility, which is concentrating on the 2.0 litre diesels at the moment might well design a larger diesel for the new XF and XJ models which will eventually be announced. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Haydn. You will enjoy the S Type, and I hope you enjoy the club, too. Regards, Peter.

Hi Billyboy, I used to go into a factory when I was still working that made the steel used in petrol tank manufacture. I once saw a petrol tank that had a flaw and was returned. It had two baffles in it that stopped the fuel sloshing around. --- Metal fuel tanks I believe are no longer used by Jaguar, but I think that the principle must remain the same. Hope this helps. Peter

Hi Mark, and welcome to the club. The 2.7 Diesel is a very good engine, and does like very good fuel. Disregard the cheaper supermarket diesel and get the expensive stuff from a good forecourt. I use Shell vitro and get 4 to 5 miles per gallon than the ordinary standard diesel with my s type 2.7D. You should also give the car a good quick[ish] run once a month to regenerate the Diesel Particulate Filter, and a good blast on occasion to make sure the EGR valves get a good clean out. But the main thing is to enjoy your car. Regards, Peter.

Hi Bill and welcome to the club. I would guess that there could be a bad earth or a misconnection. Kenny might look in sometime and he does know a lot about electrics. Also there might be a member with a similar car who has had the same problem. Regards Peter.