Old Peter

Welcome to the club, Declan. I had trouble with the EGR valves on my car and found eventually that an additive from Millers worked perfectly well. A shot of Millers Diesel Eco plus every two or three fill ups worked for me and my 2.7 Diesel is the predecessor of the 3.0 litre Diesel you have in your car. Regards, Peter.

If a battery is getting old, and the battery on the s type last 5 years or so, it dies, and that's it. My last battery was 4 years and 11 months old when it stopped holding a charge. Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Richard. The fuel consumption you will get from a diesel depends very much on the length of the journeys that you do. As a comparison I have just checked the mpg on my s type which has the 2.7 diesel V6 engine, and it is 20.4 mpg. In the past three weeks I have only done short runs and that high mpg doesn't surprise me. I will probably do a longer run this afternoon or tomorrow and I expect to get about 40 mpg. The best mpg I have had is 50.2 which was driving to Sheffield on the A38 and M1, with a 50mph limit on the M1 due to road works. Driving down to Devon last year for a holiday, I got 46 mpg, which is normal on a long run using Cruise Control. I also use premium fuel which I find gives me a better mpg. Regards, Peter.

Hi Ross, At a guess, it could be the injectors, or an electrical problem. Does the engine amber light come on? If you have a OBD2 Code reader it will give you a diagnostic code. It could also be the fuel pump. It may be that you will have to get a good mechanic to look at it. Regards, Peter.

welcome to the club, Ross. The first question is what engine have you got in your x type? But it does sound like a fuel problem. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Lee. I don't know if a Reversing camera could be installed as a retro fit, unless of there Jaguar Models have one as an optional extra. I do agree that they are useful as SWMBO has on one her 3 year old Toyota Yaris Hybrid. If you find out, let us know. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Clark. It is great to see so many Jaguar owners from the USA in the club and enjoying these great cars. The club is about sharing experiences and is a friendly and helpful place to be. I think you will enjoy your Jaguar Eperience. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Max. You are following the same system as myself for buying a car. First decide upon the model you want, and then write down the specification most desirous. Having done that, start looking. I finished up emailing Jaguar dealers to see if they had what I wanted, and eventually found one that had never been advertised and was tucked away in the rear of their showrooms. The price was right , the mileage and service record was good, Good luck in your search. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Martin. Carole is quite right. Some dealers will give you the code over the 'Phone, but most like to see your driving licence. Regards, Peter.

You can be lucky with the auxiliary heater. I sometimes get a whiff of diesel but it is gone by the time I am off the driveway. Peter.

Welcome to the club, Gary. The XF is a nice comfortable car and the 3.0 litre V6 is an uprated version of the tried and proven V6 2.7 Diesel [as used in the s type] to meet EU6 requirements. It is well equipped with sensors to give advance warning of any issue that might pop up. Use premium diesel, and remember that the battery will probably only have a shelf life of 5 years or so. Enjoy your Jaguar! Regards, Peter.

This is not a difficult question, but the answer can vary from person to person. In 1963, when I was still driving motorcycles, I sat the Motor Cycle dealer/mechanic restoring a Jaguar M1 in the yard at the back of his premises. I also saw it when restored. He was offered a shedload of money, but he refused. He said driving a Jaguar was not about money. He would loan it to Jaguar Deaers for a display occasionally. Where it went to I do not know as I moved house, jobs, etc, but I thought I saw it last year after it had been given to the Motor Museum in the Lake district. From that date I wanted a Jaguar. A change of jobs brought a company car, no not aJaguar, but a Ford Escort, followed by 9 others and then Austin/Mprris Models before 5 years of Rovers and a Toyota Avensis. I retired when the S Type first came out in 1999, but following my principle of not buying a car until it had a few years under its belt, and I bought a Rover Sterling which I kept for 11 years, and when that started to get tatty with 122k on the clock, SWMBO told me I had to have a Jaguar, and our first Jaguar was bought, a 2005 X Type 2.5AWD. I kept it for 18 months when it was "borrowed" by three gentlemen who got free accommodation for 8 years in one of Her Majesty's premises. SWMBO responded with her usual sensible conclusion, saying that we should turn a disaster into an opportunity and that I had to get the S Type, which she knew I wanted. Three weeks and much work on the lap top. and after emailing several main dealers I had a phone call form a relatively local dealer saying that they had a car that fitted my requirements. A few hours later an S type with all the bells and whistles on my list was ours. Even after owning a Jaguar for 18 months, I found the S Type 2.7D a pleasure to drive, and even with 55 years of car ownership the experience was unique. Some people think that Jaguars are expensive to run, but my experience is that it is not so. Even the fuel usage when driven properly is pretty good. The S type is not a boy racer's car, and those young members of the club also know that it is not an old person's car. As Bill Lyons said when the Mark 2 and the first s type were both launched "Grace Pace and Space" a and the younger members enjoy the Grace as well as the Pace. I have had Morgana for over 4 and a half years now, it is a great drive, and I do like to with off the radio and listen to the quiet growl of the big diesel. Regards, Peter.

That is the problem with Xenon. Expensive! I don't do a lot of night driving these days, and when I do it is usually within 40/50 speed limit areas between Sutton Coldfield and Lichfield. Peter.

I just went to Halfords and had two bulbs replaced to give me a 20% improvement. £40. Peter.

Probably it is, Mark, The battery in my car was 4 years and 11 months old the Christmas before last, and the Parkbrake Fault came on 5 times in two days. I fully charged the battery but found it wasn't holding the charge. The man who has the Auto Accessories shop round the corner tested it and told me it was on the way out. A new battery was fitted and all was well. There is also a good procedure when starting a modern car. Switch on the ignition and then wait till all the dashboard lights go off before starting the engine. Similarly when stopping -- wait 10 seconds on tickerover before switching off to let the turbos [for diesels] stop. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Terry. I am not too au fait with the XF, but I do know that the battery can cause a problem now and then. There are some members with brilliant electrical knowledge, and hopefully someone will be along soon. Good luck, Peter.

Welcome to the club, Mark. The post from Harv was over two years ago and there has been much discussion on the EPB "Handbrake Fault", and the method to reset has been put on the Forum. I know it off by heart now. Another thing about the "Handbrake Fault" is twofold -- cold weather and a battery that could do with a charge. It has happened to me twice in the last year and both times the battery was low and the weather cold. Regards, Peter.

Hi Paul, I use Google and find it OK, but I am no expert. I see you got back into the site -- eventually. Regards, Peter.

Hi Ron, I was quite involved with the parts manufacturers, and mostly in the Black Country. They were all members of a Trade Union, and never had a dispute that involved a strike, due to their Full Time Officers who led rather than "Let the Lads Decide". I have visited practically all of the car plants [except Jaguar, strangely] in the UK, and saw their operations. All efficient and well managed. I also visited the Kremlin, as the offices at Longbridge were called, finding the the Shop Stewards had their own big office across the corridor from the Board Room,with their own receptionist. I also met Red Robbo, with whom I was not impressed. It took the courage of Pat Lowrie to sack him for something trivial, and Robinson would have won a tribunal, but chose to have a mass meeting to call for a strike. When he found that the workforce was against him, he realised that was then end of his "job" at Longbridge. things settled down when the rather astute and reasonable Jack Adams took over his job and declared peace. Jack Went on to become Deputy General Secretary of the TGWU. But all too late for the British Auto Industry. I did have a Toyota Avensis as a company car in 1998,and found it not too desirable, with little power and garish and poor trim. I did write to Toyota, and the 2000 model was re-engined, and the upholster and trim was improved, so much so that SWMBO now drives a Toyota! Regards, Peter.

Lucas could have been a top company had there been a desire to get that place. They had a unique play in the British auto industry until the management decided to put making money before making electrical components. A part that cost £1 to supply would cost about £8 if there was a recall by the Auto Manufacturers because of a faulty part. Quality began to get worse and not better, and those who remember the Auto Industry in the sixties will remember electrical failing in cars. And I will make a point about "the Unions" which should be "those two or three unions in the auto industry" - Most of the Trade Union Movement, including the TUC were aghast at the lack of leadership in some of the unions -- "Let the Lads decide" when an argument arose. The Shop Stewards -- just a small group really with too much power were pandered to by a management that were living the life of luxury, chauffeur driven company cars, wine with lunch served by liveried butlers are just two examples. It was John Egan in th eighties when he took over Jaguar Cars that started to actually talk directly to the workforce. I will also make another point and I am not defending the Unions in the Car Industry. When the Japanese Car Makers in Swindon, Washington, and latterly Derbyshire built factories they had the same unions to work in those factories, but a different management. The car industry in the UK were once the second largest in the World after the USA, and by far the largest in Europe. When the Management started to make money rather than cars, the workforce followed suit. The demise of car making in the UK started from the top. This might appear a bit of a rant, but it is something I researched very thoroughly. If you read John Egan's book "Saving Jaguar" plus another book not yet published "The Cars that Saved Jaguar" you will understand. Peter.

Hi Wayne, I worked in the Steel Industry almost all my working life, and from Lancashire to North Wales, to Sheffield and finally to the West Midlands where I remained after I retired, I got to know many of the different accents and indeed dialects. I now live in a small town called Sutton Coldfield which became part of Birmingham. Most of my working time was spent in the Black Country, an area where they made steel, were iron founders, and created more smoke than the rest of England. The accent/dialect of the Black Country turned Birmingham into Brummagem, Toys R Us [the Toy chain] into Toys Am We and many more. And Lucas --- I could spend hours telling you about Lucas. We are in the middle of a very cold spell here at the moment but know that the daffodils will be out soon! Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Wayne. Nice to see more club members from the USA. There does seem to be a special relationship with Jaguar and drivers at the other side of the herring pond, and in the warm climate of some of the States, it must be great to drive with the roof down when half the country is covered in snow. It snowed here last night. Meanwhile enjoy your. We make good cars in Brummagem [ Birmingham]. Regards, Peter.

Hi Dan, My family name is the same as a Native American nation, and when I was in Arizona, the man who ran the cafe where I went for breakfast asked me my name, and when I said Lightfoot he said "You don't look like a Lightfoot". Lightfoot is a common name in North Lancashire. Peter.

Hi Dan, I grew up on rear wheel drive cars and although I went through the years of FWD, and even on an X type with AWD [2.5 litre] I found the s type a really good road holder. My s type, which I have had for nearly 5 years, has never cease me a problem, and the only expenditure I have had other than tyres and fuel, and alloy wheels refurbishing, was a water pump replacement. My model is one that was rarely sold in the USA, the 2.7 twin turbo V6 diesel, with plenty of Pace, as well as Grace and Space, in the words of Bill Lyons, who styled the earlier car. The warmer climate of Georgia should assist in a good refurbishment of the X Type. I was in Arizona a few years ago and did see an S Type in Phoenix. Regards, Peter.

Welcome to the Club, Dan. We do make some good cars in the UK. The x type is a very good car, a few traces of Ford ---- nothing wrong with that ---- and in the hands of a good mechanic like your self, you turn it into a head turner. It is a nice colour as well. My S type is the same colour. Regards, Peter.