| Re: Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America
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Originally Posted by PearlYamaha 
Any known issues that I am overlooking or to watch out for?
Every input and comments is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
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If you want to experience real Jaguar “wafting” along, this car will disappoint. The air suspension is something out of this world and provides one of the best and smooth rides ever. With the spring conversion they will have ruined the ride and most likely the handling too.
Yes, the air suspension system is complex, but everything on these Jaguars are complex. The good news; by and large these cars are pretty reliable.
My best friend and spanner mate Peter is on to its third. He always has the diesel and keeps the, till they have close to 500k kilometers on the clock.
Interestingly the X350 suffers from the exact same problem as the X308 I have. Mine doesn’t have air suspension, but it does have electronically controlled dampers instead. Some people replace those too, and again it ruins the handling.
Overall this looks like a pretty good one, with a well documented service history. Driving a Jaguar is an unique experience, stepping into my Jaguar always brings a smile onto my face. As you will be using it as a second car I would look for an original car, rather than this modified one. You will never know what you miss out. Don’t worry about the air suspension. All of these problems can be fixed.
I picked up this pretty good list from Jaguarsforum.com Quote:
General Issues
Air Suspension
Seems to be one of the most commonly discussed. Depends a lot on where your car is located in the world.
North American vehicles seem to blow out air-shocks much much more than those cars in UK/EU, don't as why cause it makes no sense. Replacement air-shocks are available from Arnott, either re-built or thier own version.
Air compressors will wear out. Mine went at 90'000mi. You can get a seal kit from bagpipingandy, or if you want to replace the whole compressor these are available from Arnott. They will wear out eventually, but will fail much faster if you have a leaking shock and the compressor is running all the time to compensate for the leak.
The air suspension also looses it's calibration on the front over time, because there is only one sensor on the left front, the right front will go a bit high after a while. The re-calibration is fairly simple with the right tools.
Suspension Bushes
The wishbone bushes on our cars should be considered a consumable item. They will wear out, i'd say every 30'000-50'000miles. The individual bushes can now be purchased in the aftermarket, so there is no need to buy complete wishbones & arms.
Heater Core & Pump
The heater core in our cars blocks up eventually which means less heat getting to the drivers side (regardless of LHD or RHD) if you're lucky it can be flushed out. If not then it's dashboard out to replace the core.
The electric Auxilliary Heater pump will eventually need replacing, around 100'000 miles. It can also start to leak externally, so you can loose a little coolant.
ZF Transmission
Some have been faultless, some have been problematic. Anything from "The Lurch" to the "Barking" at downshift. Also "surging" due to the torque converter clutch. Most have now been resolved by oil/filter changes & re-flashing the software. Several X350's have needed replacement transmissions because of solenoids failing in the TCM. Generally the transmissions are good, but you only hear about things that go wrong on a forum
The transmission is supposedly "sealed for life" so there is no fluid change scheduled into the offcial service procedure. If you notice the "The Lurch" "Barking" or the "Surge" then it might be worth getting the fluid/filter changed, and the TCM re-flashed. Others will say that as a precaution you should have the fluid/filter changed every 50'000miles.
Throttle Position Sensor
The TPS has a limited lifespan, could be anywhere from 50'000 miles to 150'000 miles. It depends a lot on the environment) hot climates will reduce the life of the part. Replacements are not available in the aftermarket, BUT the sensor is shared with a lot of othe cars, so you can pickup a throttle body from an X-Type or S-Type 2.5/3.0 for a fraction of the price & just swap the sensor.
Corrosion & Rust
It's an aluminium bodied car, so no issues with rust or corrosion right? Ah, no...
The alloy body can get "filiform corrosion" in some places, typically the inside lip of the front wheel arches, the bottom corners of the doors, and around the bottom of the rear window. There are several reasons for this, but fortunatley it does not spread like conventional rust, & is reasonably easy to repair for specialists in alloy panels
Rust on the other hand can be an issue for cars in cold/snowy climates where ther roads are salted. The front & rear subframes of the X350 are steel and will rust over time when exposed to salted roads. Also anything made of steel under the car will be affected (bolts, nuts, suspension parts, etc.) It's worth getting under the car & having a look at the steel parts if you are in the UK, northern Europe, northern states of North America or Canada i.e. where the roads are salted in winter.
Thermostat
The thermostat's in our cars do not last forever. Consider a preventitive swap-out after 8 years or 100'000 miles.
Driveshaft / Propshaft center bearing & couplings
After 120'000 miles or so the center bearing in the propshaft tends to get a little loose, giving a slight "thud" when you get on & off the throttle. The center bearing cannot be replaced, only the entire propshaft.
The rubber couplings at each end of the propshaft should also be changed preventatively after 10 years, as the rubber will perish with age. These are not available for the X350, but the S-Type ones are identical.
Transmission Cooler Lines
These also have a habit of wearing out & leaking. Should be checked after 100'000 miles at every service
Full Service History?
You need to be aware that an X350 at 95'000 miles, even if it's been service "by the book" will be on it's original spark plugs, transmission fluid, power-steering fluid, differential oil, drive belts, and possibly even it's coolant. Make of that what you will.
Alloy wheels
The OEM wheels made by BBS are not the strongest, and can often be bent by potholes. This is not an issue unique to Jaguar, but seems to come up fairly regularly.
Supercharged Specific Issues
Valley Hose
There is a $10 rubber hose under the supercharger which can fail. If this happens the whole supercharger/charge-coolers/intake needs to be removed to access the hose. It may or may not happen. Pot luck. $1800 labour to change a $10 hose.
Brake Rotors
The early XJR & SuperV8 had Brembo brakes. The OEM rotors are poor & warp regularly, giving a shudder under braking. Aftermarket replacement rotors of a "performance" nature are much better & do not warp like the OEM ones.
Diesel Specific Issues
EGR valves
The EGR valves will eventually block/jam up with crap. Expect these need replacing at 100'000 miles.
Diesel Particulate Filter
The DPF should not need any servicing, but sometimes they get so full that they are totally blocked & need replacing, especially problematic for "city cars" which don't get a good motorway run to clean out the DPF.
It also happens that the pipes running off the DPF can develop leaks, which can cause a lot of "unrelated" issues. So always check these pipes at every service.
Engine oil level
Keep a constant eye on the oil level, over time it starts to rise as diesel gets diluted into the sump. When you do an oil change don't fill the sump all the way, just a little over the "low" on the dipstick. If the sump gets full then the service message on the dash comes on, and it can happen within a few thousand miles.
Flex-joints before the cat converters
Are known to start leaking & you get diesel fumes in the cabin. These flex joints are welded to the pipes and are not available as a spare part from Jaguar, however are available in the aftermarket or can be sorted by an exhaust specialist.
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Last edited by Jeroen : 26th October 2023 at 12:28.
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26th October 2023, 08:41
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Thanks
