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Hi Peter and welcome to the club. What a fascinating find. I wonder if Tony and Gordon ever had a scrap in the back. Sorry I can't help with details but hopefully you'll keep us updated with your progress. If you know the original number you might see it in old footage of Downing St. I guess there'll be armour plate etc all over it, if you get in a bump with a Fiat 500 I wonder who'll come off best. Cheers Pete

Plus one for battery but it also might just be a speed sensor. I had similar problems on my previous car and a £30 sensor restored harmony. Hope you get it sorted without too much hassle. Pete.

Hi Johnshoo After many years of diesels I decided to go petrol about 7 years ago with a 3 litre X350, I'm on my second one now and touch wood have found the engines to be pretty bulletproof with MPG at mid 30s on a run and just under the 30 knocking about. I'm hooked on the cars now but for me it will always be petrol as I hear horror stories of modern diesels and would worry about blocked DPFs, timing belt changes and inaccessible glow plugs. I do about 6K miles pa, change oil and filters every year and changed gearbox oil / filter and diff oil on both cars. Haven't changed spark plugs yet but that could be a lockdown project for the Summer. I always think I could buy a lot of petrol for the cost of a turbo replacement or a cambelt change but hopefully someone will be along with some pro diesel facts for you to ponder. My cars have been 2004 and 2006 respectively, most electrical problems have been battery related apart from a duff door module ( both cars) and I've never had a problem with air suspension although I could live to regret tempting fate. Happy hunting. Pete

Hi Tim Had the same problem when I updated my XJ sat nav it wouldn't recognise anywhere in the UK because it was set by default for Germany. I can't remember exactly how I did it but somewhere in Settings is a map of Europe and you just touch on UK and all is well. Sorry I can't be more precise but maybe someone with more idea will be along. Cheers Pete

Thanks for that Pete, it's the same one that I got. Cheers Pete

Hi Pete Just out of curiosity, what year did you update to? I updated my X350 but I think 2012 was as new as I could get at the time. Maybe someone has come up with a way to bring it up to date. Cheers Pete (another one)

Hi Jimmy Great title BTW it sounds like a 1920s Chicago dance craze I had the rattle on my X type and replaced the belt tensioner which seemed to be in perfect condition. It did stop the rattle for a while but after a few months it was back. The job is awkward with very limited space but do- able. The 3 bolts that keep the pulley on are difficult to remove as they are very tight and the crankshaft keeps turning even when in gear with the brakes applied. They come out easily if you use an impact gun so might be worth sourcing one before you start. Good luck Pete

Hi Rich. Did you notice if the RPM at tickover has dropped? Other than that, as Joe pointed out maybe a brake binding

Hi Camo Had similar problems with my last 2 X350s. The first one I wasn't flashing the lights fast enough and as you say some work with door open and others with it closed, I wasn't getting the bleep after the final flash, but kept trying and eventually it worked. I believe a hard reset sometimes helps but it didn't work for me. On my present car nothing would persuade it to work and I had to buy a new/ used door module and get it reprogrammed. The module cost about £50 off Ebay then another £30 to get it programmed or there's a company in Kent who will test and repair your own and give a 5 year guarantee for £200. The modules are very specific and you have to get the number off the original one but hopefully it won't come to that. Good Luck Pete

Hi tjn Back to your original question "How to get the fuse box cover off" By coincidence I tried to get mine off today and like yours it didn't want to come off. I googled it and there's a youtube video showing how. The lid was released from the bottom with a plastic blade type of tool but I'm sure careful use of a flat blade screwdriver would do. There's a recess in the centre of the lid which looks like it's there for that purpose but surprisingly they inserted the blade under the lip to the side of the recess. Probably couldn't see what he was doing for the camera. Good luck with the other problem, I replaced the reluctor rings on my last car and annoyingly they were about £45 each. BMW ones are about £15 ☹️ Cheers Pete

Evening all My latest x350 is the first black car I've owned in 50 odd years of car ownership. Being a low mileage car the paintwork is in very good condition apart from swirl marks when the sun shines on it. I'm sure that a good polish would fix it but what type? I've got an electric polisher but I'm a bit reluctant to use it in case I make things worse. Tried Colour Magic Black , Meguiars scratchex and a carbonara polish but if anything they made it worse. Any advice most welcome. Pete

While on the topic of Sat Nav I wonder if it is possible to get the Sat Nav to accept entries while on the move. It would be handy if the passenger could enter destinations etc. The car is a 2005 X350 with the Denso system. Thanks Pete

I gave up looking for a new clamp and managed to make one up using 2mm thick stainless and a piece of 10mm dia tube . It seems to be working ok and when I get time I'll make one for the other side before that one drops off. If anyone needs dimensions I've made a note of them . Cheers Pete

Evening All I'm trying to locate a new top bracket for the rear height sensor on my X350. It's the bracket that connects the top of the sensor rod to the wishbone. I can't find a part number or a supplier. Maybe a case of cobble something together. Just wondering if anyone has had the same dilemma. Cheers Pete

Now that I'm in my dotage I can't remember when my membership subscription is due. Is there any way I can tell of will I receive an email reminder?

I removed my dreaded Leaper by taking the large plastic nut off then using dental floss to cut through the unbelievably strong double sided tape,Just use a gentle sawing action and work your way around it. What's left of the sticky tape cleans off with white spirits. I took mine off because I was having the bonnet resprayed. I would have loved to have left the B$&&$y thing off but the paint shop were none too keen to fill the holes as they thought they would always show through. I suggested that I could place an aluminium patch underneath and weld it through the holes using the Aluweld kit but they convinced me that the bonnet would distort. I suspect that the Paint Sprayer just liked leapers but anyway it's still there smirking at me every time I look at it, As mentioned by Jon the S Type badge fits perfectly and I got one off Ebay which I'll fit if the smirking ever becomes unbearable. To spray the bonnet BTW cost £330 but they made a cracking job of it. this is how it looks with the badge. A bit BMW for my liking I know Some people are hard to please.

Hi Khalidm Sorry for the ridiculously long time taken to reply. I bought the straps from one of the dealers who advertise on the internet but I noticed recently that someone is selling stainless steel straps on ebay. If I were to do the job again that is the way I would go as the oe ones are quite flimsy. When I find my perfect Sovereign which I have been looking for for about 5 years, I'll be fitting stainless tank straps. Best wishes Pete

Morning all. I have an agreed valuation of £10,000 for my 2001 XK8. It would seem that the insurance company will consider an agreed valuation up to this figure based on photographs and condition declaration forms completed by the owner. My car is a low mileage (38000) convertible in excellent condition and looking at recent prices i think I would struggle to replace it for 10K. In order to increase the agreed valuation I will need to obtain an independent valuation and wonder who would provide this service. Would it be a Main Dealer or an Independent or maybe a club? Any advice most welcome. Pete

After reading horror stories about fuel tanks falling out I thought it might be time to replace my rusty support straps. New straps cost about £13 each plus postage and VAT which brings it up to £50 something. The straps have an eye formed at the front end and a reinforced hole at the rear, the right hand one has a bracket to locate two wiring connectors. A 13mm bolt through the hole at the rear of the strap keeps it in place and a steel pin through the eye at the front located inside a housing / bracket arrangement supports that end. The bolt is no problem but to access the pin in the eye at the other end I had to remove both long underbody splash guards which was an unexpected pain. The housing has a hole at one end big enough for the pin to go through and a small hole at the other. The whole arrangement is very loose and I tried to push the pin through from the small hole with stiff wire but it's difficult to see when the pin is lined up with the large hole. I eventually stuck a magnet over the hole and moved the strap around until the hole lined up and the pin stuck to the magnet . Replacing the new straps was straightforward and everything was given a splash of underbody wax so it should be good for another 14 years. As shown in the photo one of the old straps snapped as I was trying to wrangle it out of its location so they are certainly worth looking at. Hope this helps someone contemplating the same job.

I knew I had some photos somewhere. Sorry they're a bit mixed up but hopefully you can make sense of them. There's a write up on Jaguar Forums in the X350 forum under Flickering lights when turned off.