1998 Jaguar XK8

WHY HASN'T JAGUAR BEEN ORDERED TO RECALL THE 1997 THROUGH 2002 1/2 MODELS FOR THE TIMING BELT TENSIONER PLASTIC GUIDE ISSUE? IT HAS BEEN REPORTED HERE IN THE PAST, AND IS WIDELY KNOWN ACROSS THE INTERNET. I WOULD JUST LIKE TO KNOW WHY NHTSA HASN'T CONSIDERED THIS DESIGN DEFECT TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR A RECALL WHEN IT IS CLEARLY A MAJOR SAFETY ISSUE. *TR

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 JAGUAR XK8. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHEN DRIVING BETWEEN 35-50 MPH, THERE WAS A GROWLING NOISE COMING FROM THE TRANSMISSION. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE VEHICLE WAS HESITANT WHEN ACCELERATING AND THE NOISE DOES WOULD NOT STOP UNTIL THE VEHICLE REACHED 50 MPH AND ABOVE. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE FAILURE WOULD ALSO OCCUR WHEN DECELERATING. THE DEALER INSPECTED THE VEHICLE AND ASSUMED THAT THE PLANETARY GEARS WERE FAILING AND THAT THE TRANSMISSION SHOULD BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 50,600 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 50,700.

IN TWO SEPARATE INSTANCES, MY 1998 JAGUAR XK8 HAS STALLED WHILE DRIVING AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. IN BOTH CASES, I HAD STARTED THE ENGINE FROM COLD AT ABOUT 50 DEGREES AMBIENT TEMPERATURE, DRIVEN ABOUT THREE MILES IN CITY TRAFFIC, AND THEN ENTERED THE FREEWAY. WITHIN ABOUT 1 1/2 MILES, AT A SPEED NEAR 60MPH, THE CAR STALLED. AN ENGINE MONITORING SYSTEM MESSAGE READ: 'ENGINE STALLED" AND "CHECK ENGINE". THESE MESSAGES WERE NOT PRESENT PREVIOUS TO THE INCIDENTS, NOR AFTER I RESTARTED THE VEHICLE. I WAS ABLE TO PULL OFF THE FREEWAY. IN BOTH CASES, I TURNED THE IGNITION SWITCH TO OFF, AND WAS ABLE TO IMMEDIATELY RESTART THE CAR. NO FURTHER INCIDENTS OCCURRED IN THE MINUTES/DAYS FOLLOWING THE EVENTS. I USE PREMIUM UNLEADED FUEL FROM CHEVRON OR UNION 66. THESE TWO INCIDENTS WERE SEPARATED IN TIME BY ABOUT 2 MONTHS. I AM NOW VERY CONCERNED ABOUT DRIVING THE VEHICLE, AS THESE INCIDENTS EXPOSED ME TO POSSIBLY DANGEROUS SITUATIONS. THE LOCAL DEALER HAS OFFERED TO 'DIAGNOSE THE PROBLEM' AT MY COST, WHILE ALSO INDICATING THAT THEY HAVE HAD SOME SIMILAR COMPLAINTS THAT THEY ARE LINKING TO HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF ETHANOL IN THE FUEL. THEIR ADVICE IS TO WAIT A COUPLE OF WEEKS FROM NOW WHEN ETHANOL LEVELS WILL BE REDUCED AND/OR SWITCH TO REGULAR GASOLINE! AFTER SOME RESEARCH, I NOW FIND THAT THIS SITUATION HAS OCCURRED FREQUENTLY AMONG JAGUAR OWNERS, AND POSSIBLY OTHERS. TO ME, THIS SEEMS TO BE AN ENGINE MANAGEMENT ISSUE THAT WOULD BE CONTROLLED BY THE CAR'S COMPUTERIZED EFI SYSTEM. *TR

1998 JAGUAR XK8 HAS A HISTORY OF STALLING ON THE FREEWAY AT SPEEDS OF 55-60MPH. THIS OCCURRED TWICE (PRIOR OWNER - 38,246 MILES) - PRIOR OWNER TOLD BY JAGUAR THAT AUTOMOBILE HAD BEEN REPAIRED BY REPLACING THROTTLE. SAME INCIDENT OCCURRED AT LATER. ON-LINE INFORMATION SHOWS THAT SEVERAL OTHER 1998 XK8 OWNERS HAVE THE SAME ISSUE THAT ENGINE TURNS OFF WITHOUT WARNING - THE CAR HAS A DESIGN FLAW. THERE HAS BEEN RECALLS REGARDING THE THROTTLE. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THE NHTSB HAS NOT FORCED JAGUAR TO REPAIR THIS 1998 XK8. THE MODEL, 1998 JAGUAR XK8, HAS A DESIGN FLAW AND IS A SAFETY RISK. *TR

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 JAGUAR XK8. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE TRANSMISSION IS FAILING AND IS NOT SHIFTING GEARS CORRECTLY. THE VEHICLE WILL BE TOWED TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER STATED THAT THEY WERE NOT AWARE OF NHTSA CAMPAIGN ID NUMBER 99V138000 (POWER TRAIN: AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION). THE CURRENT AND FAILURE MILEAGES WERE 65,000.

TL*THE CONTACT OWNS A 1998 JAGUAR XK8. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE CONTACT HEARD A LOUD SOUND UNDERNEATH THE VEHICLE. HE WAS UNABLE TO SHIFT INTO ANY GEAR. THE FAILURE OCCURRED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC AND IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS A LOCK-UP IN THE AUTOMATIC GEAR BOX. IN ADDITION, THE TRANSMISSION NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE CURRENTLY IS NOT OPERABLE. THE AUTHORIZED DEALER ORDERED THE REPLACEMENT TRANSMISSION. THE FAILURE AND CURRENT MILEAGES WERE 110,000.

THE VEHICLE, WITHOUT ANY WARNING AND INSTANTANEOUSLY AT SPEED LIMIT IN A FREEWAY TRAVEL LANE, CEASED TO OPERATE. THIS HAPPENED ON NUMEROUS OCCASIONS SINCE FIRST ACQUIRED WITH LESS THAN 4,000 MILES USE. EACH TIME THIS CAUSED THE DRIVER (MY WIFE) TO CONDUCT AN EMERGENCY PROCEDURE - HIT THE EMERGENCY FLASHERS, SHIFT TO NEUTRAL, AND RESTART THE CAR WHILE IT WAS DECELERATING. THE LAST TIME WAS ON JULY 14, 2008. THE POWER STEERING, POWER BRAKES, SAFETY HANDLING SYSTEMS, AND ENGINE WERE INOPERABLE. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED JAGUAR DEALERSHIP WHERE THE PROBLEM WAS ACKNOWLEDGED, DIAGNOSED, AND OSTENSIBLY REPAIRED. THE REPAIR WAS INEFFECTIVE AND WITHIN A FEW DAYS OF THE FIRST REPAIR THE VEHICLE FAILED IN THE SAME WAY AGAIN. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN A SECOND TIME TO THE AUTHORIZED JAGUAR DEALER WHERE ANOTHER REPAIR WAS CONDUCTED. FOLLOWING THIS REPAIR THE INCIDENT DID NOT REOCCUR UNTIL JULY 14, 2008. THAT DAY, WHILE AT FREEWAY SPEEDS IN A TRAVEL LANE, THE VEHICLE CEASED OPERATION WITH NO WARNING ONCE AGAIN. THIS TIME HOWEVER IT WOULD NOT RESTART AS STATED ABOVE AND THE VEHICLE COASTED TO A SMALL GORE-POINT BETWEEN TWO CONCRETE TOLL BOOTHS WHILE TRAFFIC AVOIDED THE VEHICLE TO EACH SIDE. THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START FROM NEUTRAL, BUT HAD TO BE PLACED IN PARK IN ORDER TO RESTART. FOR THE THIRD TIME, THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO AN AUTHORIZED JAGUAR DEALERSHIP WHERE THE SERVICE TECHNICAL ATTEMPTED THE JAGUAR "SERVICE ACTION". THE PROCEDURE FAILED, THE VEHICLE WAS TOTALLY DISABLED, AND THE CAR COULD NOT BE STARTED FOR TWO WEEKS. A JAGUAR FACTORY FIELD EMPLOYEE AND A MECHANIC FROM OUT OF THE AREA WORKED ON IT AND NOW REPORT THAT "EVERYTHING IS FINE". THEY HAVE REINSTALLED THE DEFECTIVE ELECTRONIC CONTROL UNIT AND REPORT THAT THEY ARE CONFIDENT THAT THIS TIME THERE WILL BE NO MORE TROUBLE OF THIS NATURE. I DO NOT SHARE THEIR CONFIDENCE. I ASK THAT NHTSA INVESTIGATE THIS PROBLEM AND ASSESS THE SAFETY RISK OF THE JAGUAR CARS "SERVICE ACTION" PROCEDURE. *TR