Old Peter

Hi Stewart, I don't think the gearbox is a service item, but rather a sealed for life unit. Some owners feel that an oil and filter change should be part of the automatic gearbox maintenance. Regards, Peter.

Hi Martin, My last Jaguar was a 2.5 AWD petrol, with a manual gearbox, which I had to get used to after 11 years driving an automatic. On the odd occasions I didn't change down at the right time I got a similar vibration at lower speeds ---- the car was telling me it was in the wrong gear. It sounds as if you have got the same problem coming from the opposite direction. The automatic gearbox is allegedly sealed for life but many owners, more expert than myself, have found that a change of oil at about 60k has worked wonders and given them a bit more reace of mind. The 6 speed auto is a very good gearbox and worth looking after. Regards, Peter.

Hi Richard, I have just gone to my car and tried taking the key out with the car in Park and the handbrake not engaged. What happened is that when I took the key out the brake immediately engaged. When I got the car the salesman told me that people mostly left the car in park and didn't bother with the handbrake, which is apparently not so. I locked the car, and then opened it and it showed the handbrake as engaged. Regards, Peter.

Hi Stan, The handbrake disengages automatically when you put the car into Reverse or Drive. When I know that I will be waiting a long time, such as Road Works with temporary traffic light, I usually put the car into neutral and engage the handbrake. Taking the battery off is not a bad idea, although you do have to reset a few things when you connect it again. When I laid up my caravan for the winter I used to take the battery off and keep it on trickle for every other week or so. Regards, Peter

Hi Neil, Jag Repairs, the David Manners group, and Rimmer Bros I have seen mentioned as good suppliers of Jag parts cheaper but just as good as the main dealers. Even ebay sometimes has the parts you need. Good luck Peter.

Hi Richard, When I bought my s type I was told that some people never used the electronic park brake but just put the car into Park mode. I do use my park brake, but have had "Park Brake Malfunction" displayed twice. On each occasion I have had to disconnect the battery for 10 minutes to allow the computer to reboot. It does seem possible to leave the car in Park mode for some time. Why the remote door lock does not work mystifies me, though. Regards, Peter.

Hi Mark, I have never come across that one --- yet! It could be worth deleting all current stored destinations/way points etc and resetting the sat nav. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Bernard. Lots of informative and helpful people to share experiences with. I enjoyed my x type AWB 2.5 petrol, too. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Alex. It looks as if you are going to have an interesting and rewarding time [hopefully]. Regards, Peter.

welcome to the Club, Tariq. You will find a lot of friendly people on this Forum. Enjoy you Jaguar. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Paul. Regretfully I am past getting my hands dirty, but you will find someone who may have ideas on what has gone wrong. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Kevin. Two questions that you may have answers to already. Are the sensors nice and clean? Are all the connections to the module clean and connected properly? Other than that, the module could be acting up. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, David. These cameras are great ideas, but I am afraid I know nothing about them. I had a brand new car scatted with a key or nail from one end to the other. But it wasn't a Jaguar, just an Austin. There are a lot of helpful members who will have the information you need. Enjoy your Jaguar. Regards, Peter.

And another thought, Kris. Find out the name of the Top Man/Woman in the Company. You can get that from Google. That is how I won my case against my insurance company. My claim had been turned down when my car was hijacked, or car jacked as it is now known. I was told that I could appeal and go to the Insurance Ombudsman. I told them I was not going to the Ombudsman, but I would have a little chat with Jim *********. I did give the young lady the impression that the chat would be over a couple of cold beers. The next morning I had a phone call from the company from a very senior young lady who said that she had investigated my complaint and that she had decided to settle the matter with me. I had a cheque in three days. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Sydney. I will look out for that leaping cat. Regards, Peter.

Hi Kris, A slight but maybe useful bit of information . I googled "auto gearbox -- crash damage". This gave me several useful results concerning a crash which rear ended several cars. Although it took place in the USA and although it wasn't a Jaguar it was an all wheel drive car which has of course a prop shaft which could have been pushed forward even slightly and could have caused gearbox damage. Should the matter finish up in the Courts, [certainly in the UK] Balance of probability would be the criterion rather than absolute proof. It could be worth looking at. Regards, Peter.

Hi Kris, I think that you will gather that Mick and Trevor do not like Insurance companies.. I am not that keen on them, either. I had an issue with my insurance,and I eventually got them to settle my claim. I do expect they will have their revenge when I come to renew. But back to your problem. I think you might need a report from and engineer or possibly a technician who would know more about this fancy electrical whatsits they put in cars nowadays. I will try to gather some information for you from people I know and see if I can get a strong opinion. Meanwhile there is a saying "Nil illegitiis carburundum." If I had a Coat of Arms that would be my motto. Regards, Peter -- another Pom, but smaller and older.

Welcome to the club, Stuart. There are a lot of knowledgeable members on the Forum who will assist. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Kris. You will find that there are a lot of friendly and helpful people in the club who will always assist when they can, but I don't think thee are many who have have taken on Insurance Companies. Being a bit of a nitpicker when dealing with officialdom my best advice would be to put everything in writing, even writing up immediately telephone calls, and keeping copies of all letters you send. It is much better to be a pain in the backside rather than having a pain in your wallet! Let us know how you get on. Regards, Peter.

Hello Scott, I think all cars with a lot of electronic equipment will have a problem from time, although in the 20 months I owned an ex type I didn't have any problems at all. My s type which I have had since last June and is the auto diesel, has only had one electrical problem which was very easy to cure. The electronic handbrake has stuck twice, and all you needed to do was to disconnect the battery for ten minutes, which reboots the computer. You then have to reset your settings, radio, electric seats etc. The s type is a joy to drive, and is a bigger and heavier car than the x type. My petrol engined x type returned around 33 mpg on a long run, and about 25 mpg around town, whereas the 2 litre and 2.2 litre diesel x types would return in the high 40s. I like the auto box on the s type which suits the diesel and also in town driving, and returns around 30 mpg in town and a bit over 40 mpg on longer runs. On body styling both x type and s type have their strong supporters, so it becomes a matter of personal choice. The diesel was introduced on the s type in 2004 and there are quite a few good ones around that have been looked after. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Scott. There is a wealth of experience that you will find on this Forum, and of course, some of it differs. I bought my first Jaguar two and a half years ago, a 2.5 Litre petrol SE all wheel drive. It was a really nice car, with a manual gearbox in Radiance Red. Unfortunately, two scroats also thought it was very nice and I was car jacked off my drive. The X Type is a very nice car, and the two diesel versions are very frugal. I now own an S Type 2.7 Litre Diesel SE, which is also quite frugal and a joy to drive. There are some members who have the 3.0 litre Petrol version which was the engine of choice in the USA and it is a very good car, too. The other engine used by jaguar pre 2004 was the 2.5 litre petrol engine, which is also not a bad engine at all. There are al lot of decent Jaguars around within your budget and hopefully you can find one with a full service history that is nice and clean with no adverse history you will enjoy the experience. Be prepared to travel a bit to find a good one. Regards, Peter.

Here is an example of costs: Diagnostics: Main Dealer £69. Independent Garage. £30. The mobile mechanic I use £20. Same job, same equipment, same diagnosis. Pete.

Welcome to the Club, Lee. Basically the difference between the two is the length. The LWB is 5.2 metres long whereas the SWB is 5.09 metres long. You get an extra 4" or so in legroom in the rear. Big cars! Regards, Peter.

Hi, Dave, I think the only exterior difference between the Sport and the SE is the grill and the grill surround. there are some interior ones more or less to do with the trim. Otherwise they are identical. Regards, Peter.

Hi, Mick. On the topic Terraclean [a separate topic], Jim has used it on several cars and thinks highly of the service. I have been put in touch with a local Mobile Terraclean mechanic, and have asked him about the EGR valve cleaning service. I have also said that I am interested also in a full diesel Terraclean in a couple of months. It seems to do wonders with the emission issues on a diesel. I am waiting for his email, and will let you know that result. I have relooked at the Ed China video, and the product does seem something that is useful. In my first few years of car ownership I used to do my own servicing, on both mine and my wife's various cars with a fair amount of success, but when the Company car came I was required to use a dealer while they were under warranty, and as they were changed annually that was all the time. You get out of the habit and after I retired my wife sold her Red EFI Escort Convertible, so I didn't have a car I understood to play around with. Now with my 80th Birthday coming up, I don't get oily hands or get underneath cars any more. Regards, Peter.