Newbie - F type Owner..to be

[Smart22186]

Hi Guys & Gals,

Excited to join this forum as a brand new owner of a second hand Jaguar F-Type! (well on Friday that is)

This is my first time owning an F-Type, and I couldn’t be more excited. Before this, I had a 3.0 V6 XES, which was an absolute blast to drive—when it wasn’t giving me a few headaches, that is! The XE had a couple of major engine issues that kept me on my toes, and to top it off, someone decided it was too good not to steal. And if that wasn’t enough, it seemed to be a magnet for other drivers—had more than my fair share of “love taps” from others on the road. Despite all that, I loved that car!

But now, it’s all about the F-Type. I’m looking forward to learning from all of you, sharing experiences, and hopefully avoiding some of the pitfalls I encountered with my XE. Any tips, tricks, or advice for a first-time F-Type owner would be greatly appreciated!

Got a few things lined up for my new Toy, Think an SVR spoiler is on the cards? Apple Car Play is Needed - And maybe a few other small things..

Car has all the paperwork except the initial "spec sheet / Purchase Invoice" which is really annoying - I'm not sure if this is because it was possibly a Branch Manager car or something to do with that .. but would love to know if anyone has a way to find out what the car is officially equipped with? - From car vertical it looks like the car was owned by Tamworth Jaguar for 3 years

 

[Kev]

Welcome to the forum and the joy of owning an F-Type!

Good luck with trying to find an SVR rear wing complete with wiring etc. and coding it in as it'll be north of a few thousand. Have a look here for the parts and list prices

 

[NaCl]

Welcome, and congrats!

Curious to know more about your XES as it was one of the cars I was considering while searching for an F-Type. What were the engine issues that you faced with it?

 

[Smart22186]

Welcome to the forum and the joy of owning an F-Type!

Good luck with trying to find an SVR rear wing complete with wiring etc. and coding it in as it'll be north of a few thousand. Have a look here for the parts and list prices

Anyone tried this ? > https://www.vehiclerevolution.com/products/jaguar-f-type-active-spoiler-carbon-fibre-svr-style-2014-2019

 

[Smart22186]

Welcome, and congrats!

Curious to know more about your XES as it was one of the cars I was considering while searching for an F-Type. What were the engine issues that you faced with it?

So to focus mainly on the engine issues,

The first major problem I encountered with my car happened about three years into ownership, just as the engine warranty expired. I was driving spiritedly on a summer evening along some country roads when suddenly, I heard a loud clanging noise from the engine. It sounded like I was dragging a bunch of empty cans behind the car. Despite the noise, there were no warning lights on the dashboard, and I didn't notice any significant power loss. I pulled over, turned off the engine, and got out to inspect the car, but I couldn’t see anything wrong.

When I tried to start the car again, the same loud clanging noise occurred, so I immediately shut it off. At that moment, I assumed the supercharger had failed, causing the noise. I had the car towed to my local Jaguar dealership in Peterborough. After they removed the sump, they found it was filled with engine debris and were baffled that the car had even started.

The dealership was extremely concerned about what had happened. They measured the oil that was left in the car and found it was nearly empty. This was perplexing since they had serviced the car regularly since it was new, and I had always maintained it according to the manufacturer’s guidelines. I routinely checked the oil levels using the digital display, as this engine doesn’t have a dipstick, and the car had never indicated any need for oil.

Jaguar initially blamed me, suggesting I hadn’t maintained the car properly by not adding oil. I argued that I had followed all the recommended checks and never received any warnings from the vehicle. I even proposed that there could have been a sudden oil loss due to a punctured sump, but they dismissed this, insisting the car had been driven for an extended period with little to no oil, leading to catastrophic engine failure.

The dealership's service manager, whom I knew quite well, didn’t dismiss my concerns outright. He agreed to investigate further by seeing if the car would generate an oil-related fault now that the sump was removed. Surprisingly, even with the car on the ramp and the engine in pieces, the system still didn’t display any warning lights or indicate any oil issues. This indicated a sensor fault, contradicting Jaguar’s assertion that their redundancy systems would prevent any oil-related problems from going unnoticed.

Since the car was out of warranty, Jaguar refused to cover the repairs, claiming it was a manufacturing defect. The insurance company also refused to provide a courtesy car, arguing that Jaguar should handle it. I had to escalate the issue, arguing that the vehicle was not fit for purpose since it failed to alert me to any issues. After a lengthy back-and-forth, including involving the Jaguar press team through an online forum, Jaguar finally admitted full liability. They took the car back to their Castle Bromwich factory and installed a new engine over the Christmas period, working on it as the only car in the factory during the shutdown.

For a while, everything seemed fine, but two years later, the car began to experience random misfires and power loss under heavy acceleration. Despite multiple visits to the Peterborough Jaguar dealership and several test drives with technicians, no error codes were generated, and they couldn’t replicate the issue reliably. Eventually, they discovered that the tappets connected to the cam for the high-pressure fuel valve had worn down, which was surprising given that these parts are made from titanium and are supposed to last the lifespan of the car. My car had less than 40,000 miles on it at the time, so clearly something was wrong.

They replaced the tappets, but about a year later, the same misfiring issues reoccurred. The dealership again couldn’t find the fault, even though it was the same problem as before. They recommended taking the car to a specialist Jaguar engine mechanic in Peterborough. After a three-month wait, the specialist stripped down the engine and found that the camshaft for the high-pressure fuel valve was deformed, causing excessive wear on the tappets.

The repair cost about £5,000 and took nearly four months due to parts shortages. Upon further inspection, it appeared that while the engine was technically new, many internal components had been reused from the original engine, showing significant wear. Although this "Frankenstein" setup was concerning, my main issues were the large repair bills and the recurring power loss.

 

[scm]

Car has all the paperwork except the initial "spec sheet / Purchase Invoice" which is really annoying

If you're buying from a dealer they should be able to print off the TOPIx Vehicle Summary sheet for you. It's not the purchase invoice but it will list everything that's on the car, including build date, etc.

And welcome to the club!

 

[MajorTom]

Welcome and congrats to the F-Type!

Wow, those were some rather serious engine issues. These engines can have their issues but I've never heard about problems like yours. The biggest mystery seems to be where and how all the oil could disappear. Really odd also that JLR didn't just fit a complete new engine but reused internal engine components.

 

[Smart22186]

Car has all the paperwork except the initial "spec sheet / Purchase Invoice" which is really annoying

If you're buying from a dealer they should be able to print off the TOPIx Vehicle Summary sheet for you. It's not the purchase invoice but it will list everything that's on the car, including build date, etc.

And welcome to the club!

Unfortunately did not come from Jag Dealer - If I drop my local dealership an email I wonder if they will email it over - I see a number of people on here doing "reg checks???" asking SimpleR? Would this person be able to access that information?

 

[Smart22186]

Welcome and congrats to the F-Type!

Wow, those were some rather serious engine issues. These engines can have their issues but I've never heard about problems like yours. The biggest mystery seems to be where and how all the oil could disappear. Really odd also that JLR didn't just fit a complete new engine but reused internal engine components.

Yeah, I was a little shocked - They provided me with the "invoice" for the records of the car - it was a £15k job - It has every item listed to put in, but how am I meant to know how many parts/pieces / part numbers go into an engine? - Anyway that car was unlucky enough to get taken out by a Toyota Yaris on a roundabout so RIP .. as for the rest of the car and the way it drove - it was a great piece of kit, and I would highly recommend one to anyone.

 

[MajorTom]

Welcome and congrats to the F-Type!

Wow, those were some rather serious engine issues. These engines can have their issues but I've never heard about problems like yours. The biggest mystery seems to be where and how all the oil could disappear. Really odd also that JLR didn't just fit a complete new engine but reused internal engine components.

Yeah, I was a little shocked - They provided me with the "invoice" for the records of the car - it was a £15k job - It has every item listed to put in, but how am I meant to know how many parts/pieces / part numbers go into an engine? - Anyway that car was unlucky enough to get taken out by a Toyota Yaris on a roundabout so RIP .. as for the rest of the car and the way it drove - it was a great piece of kit, and I would highly recommend one to anyone.

Yeah, must have been a properly unlucky car. For the best that it's gone for good then. I used to have an XF with the same engine which also got a new engine at one point so I can relate.

Agreed, the XE is a brilliant piece of kit and must be especially good with a proper engine like that. I've only driven XEs with four banger diesels but was impressed by them nonetheless. I particularly liked a facelift XE I had as a loaner while my F-Type was in for a new diff. Being used to the F-Type's in cabin noise levels it was quite shocking how much more quiet the XE was in higher speeds.