Timing Tensioner Problems of Jaguar XJ

I own a 2000 Jaguar Xjr and have had multiple issues with this vehicle and the dealer/repair facility not able to diagnose them which in the end left me with a seized motor at only 80k miles. The first problem was the car going into "fail safe engine mode" which means the vehicle would not start whatsoever for some unknown reason. Took it to a repair facility and said it was a linear switch in the j gate shift console. $700. 00 and three months later the same problem persist. Took it back only to find out they cannot diagnose what was causing the car to lock itself out from starting itself. Second I would merge on the freeway and out of nowhere the vehicle would go into limp mode nearly causing a catastrophic accident. Had the repair shop diagnose that and still could not figure out what was going on. These technical faults have been occurring on and off until the vehicle finally had the chain tensioner snap causing my motor to basically seize itself. Contacted Jaguar cars America and said the car is too old and far past its warranty for them to do anything about it. Completely unfair considering there was never even a recall made for the old chain tensioner. Apparently Jaguar re introduced a newer re manufactured chain tensioner that took the place of the older ones they were previously installing. This should have been made a mandatory recall for all Jaguars v8's 98-2000. These cars are basically ticking time bombs if they had not already had the newer chain tensioners installed. I love the car dearly but Jaguar cars needs to recognize these faults and repair them accordingly. It is simply not fair for me to have a vehicle I have meticulously maintained take a plunge on me out of nowhere. The car should not require a whole new motor at 80k. Not even if its been neglected! what kind of engineering is this?!.

See all problems of the 2000 Jaguar XJ 🔎.

I have filed this compliant a couple of weeks ago, but it doesn't appear in the search, so I'm filing it again. I believe Jaguar has a serious problem that should be addressed by a mandatory recall. My 2000 Xj8 has been having surging problems for years and has gone into limp mode on numerous occasions. . . Usually on the interstate. . . Where I have narrowly missed causing serious accidents. The local Jaguar dealer had the car twice, each time for approximately one year. Each time they said it needed a throttle body. After the third throttle body, I called Jaguar in new jersey and they contacted the dealership and walked them through bench testing the throttle body off the car. Turns out there was never a throttle body problem. So after three throttle bodies, the replacements at $2400 each, the Jaguar dealer said they couldn't fix the car. I then sent it to four other mechanic shops. Most had it for at least six months. Each admitted the problem existed, but none could fix it. The ecm and tcms were changed, spark plug wires, spark plugs, ac component, all grounds checked, harness checked, etc. , etc. , etc. Keep in mind the car only has 37000 miles. Finally, while another mechanic was trying to find the problem, the engine locked. The car was towed to another mechanic, who opened the engine and found the timing chain tensioners had allowed the chain to jump two teeth. Apparently, the tensioner problem is well know to Jaguar and its dealerships. Even tech bulletins have been sent, but owners were never notified of the problem directly. Now that I have searched the forums, it is apparent the problem is prevalent. I'm lucky I was not killed in the car. I now have to install a new engine due to this known problem. Maybe if enough people are killed or maimed, we will finally see some action to force Jaguar to fix their obvious design problem resulting from their effort to increase their profits.

2000 Jaguar Xj8 plastic timing chain tensioner broke.

The contact own a 2000 Jaguar Xj. The contact stated that the driver attempted to start the vehicle that was parked in his garage. The vehicle would not start. The contact stated that the driver and passenger smelled a slight burning odor after trying to start the vehicle. The vehicle was towed to a personal mechanic on January 20, 2010. The mechanic stated that the timing chain guides/tensioners failed. The mechanic took pictures of the timing chain. The contact stated that the vehicle was still at the mechanic at the time of the complaint the approximate failure and current mileages was 93,000. Updated 4/30/10 the timing chain guides which was made of cheap plastic caused the timing chain to break and jam into the gear and pistons and then damaged the valves. Updated 08/18/10.