OV9

Delphi wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:49 am New XC40 arrived yesterday morning. I've fired off an e-mail to Volvo Customer Care and hopefully they'll see the utter insanity of having a profile and customisation system that is essentially useless as supplied.

Good luck. I’ve only contacted Volvo CS once, but my “ignore customer” response rate sits at 100%.

And in case you were in any doubt - the scenario you describe is indeed ludicrous.

nuttinnew wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:42 am
Three two-hour poos is pushing it.

Or not pushing it.

Jimmy Choo wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 8:27 pm

nuttinnew wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:42 am
Three two-hour poos is pushing it.

Or not pushing it.

A prolapsed rectum is not worth the risk.

Dave!

Sundayjumper wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 4:47 pm

Jimmy Choo wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 9:25 am Stop timing my poos!

He’s been weighing them too.

Has he taken over the old Jobbie business from.... Alistair?

The Vantage has been parked outside all week as I've not reorganised the garage to accommodate the Bristol AND the Aston yet. FML.

I drove the Vantage yesterday and got a "check brake light" error. I checked the brake light and there's a load of water in the ns one And it's one big sealed unit Although apparently not completely sealed as it turns out

It's all LEDs in there. There's some bloke that repairs the lights for £200 a pop which is a lot cheaper than a new unit but rather galling when a normal light would just need drying out and a dab of sealant.

But to be fair to the car, I've had it nearly four years now and apart from the thermostat & the bonnet switch immediately after I bought it this is the first thing that's actually gone wrong.

Well, yes, but how many miles has it done in those four years...?

Jaguar XJ8 Wurther's Original Edition

I put a new rear number plate on it today, because it was offending Jimmy and he was bullying me online <sadface>. It was delaminating and looked shit, but it was the original dealer supplied plate from July 2000. It will live on in my random pile of old number plates somewhere in the back of my garage.

When I went to buy it, I noted the sunroof wasn't working. Seller described it as "a bit temperamental". I've not had a sunroof in a car for donkeys years so wasn't really bothered if it worked or not. But I thought I'd drop the roof panel and have a look, see if it was anything simple. The big gaping hole where the motor should have been was a bit of a giveaway, diagnosis wise. CBA to fix it.

Cooling system - I had a feeling there was an issue with this, as I'd never seen the two rad fans run. It doesn't overheat, but I'd not let it sit and idle much beyond 90 degrees because seemed dangerously pointless. There are two fans, controlled independently in conjunction with a "control box" in the front bumper, which takes input from the A/C pressure sensor and the coolant temp sensor. With the A/C on it should run the fans in low speed all the time, and kick into high speed if the temp goes over 90 ish. With the A/C off it should start the fans in low speed at around 90 ish and kick into high speed around 110 ish. None of this was happening. The A/C system needs re-gassing though.

I found out if you pop the A/C pressure sensor connector off and ground two of the pins, you can test the control box and make it run the fans in both speeds. This I did and it checked out. So the fans are good and the control box is good. I know the temp sensor is good because I tested that. So it's quite possible it all does work but just needs regassing to bring the pressure sensor into the loop, or possibly regassing and a new pressure sensor. Both simple jobs. Issue downgraded to "unconcerned".

Interior - fixed both door cards that had been previously removed by an ape by replacing the fixings and putting them back in the right places. One was so butchered it's still got a bit of movement in it, but only a new door card will fix that, so it'll do as it is. Carpets still need a good wash, and drivers seat leather needs a good clean and treat. The rest of it is in very nice condition, save for the seat belts which need puling right out and mildly bleaching to get rid of some grubbyness.

Suspension - front shocks were replaced in 2019, the rears probably need doing they're getting a little bouncy. It feels like there's some play some front end bushes somewhere but it drives straight, pulls up cleanly in a straight line if some stupid c*nt in a camper van pulls out of a junction right in front of you. ABS also works. FFS. Given it's a big old luxury barge it corners surprisingly flat. I amused myself by stuffing it into a roundabout at a very unseemly pace and it just went round.

P6000 tyres. Will not die. Fronts are 10 years old They're a bit worn on the edges and the sidewalls are cracking a bit. It needs a new set really but no urgently so. I've not driven it in the wet yet, though.

Gearbox. Well, this is where Maurice and I might fall out. It's got a noise that probably needs a Jag specialist to listen to. Changes ok though, smooth as you like. The oil was serviced in 2019 about 10k miles ago, and I'm wondering if it's low on oil. I could check this (and change it and the filter) myself quite easily, if only I could get the car high enough in my garage to do it.

I suspect low oil wouldn't make it do this though, only hasten it's demise. I am resigned to the fact it might need a gearbox rebuild which will no doubt top the £1500 I paid for it - but to be honest the rest of the car is so nice, and at this sort of price point it's always going to be a bit of a gamble.

So in summary, a bunch of niggly issues you might expect with a 21 year old 105k Jag, and possibly one big one. But I'm having a lot of fun wafting around in it and getting my mojo back working on stuff.

GG. wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:29 pm Well, yes, but how many miles has it done in those four years...?

4,154. I just checked, especially for you

What's the 'box in these Tim ?

It's a ZF 5HP24 - pretty common for the era

Sundayjumper wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:30 pm

GG. wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 4:29 pm Well, yes, but how many miles has it done in those four years...?

4,154. I just checked, especially for you

Hey that's more than I expected to be fair. At least its over 1,000 a year.

Mine has done a little over 16,000 in the same time, which isn't bad given it isn't used Monday-Friday and I live in the city.

The XJR I drove a long time back went down the road so well, it takes the edge off but you still know all the bumps and compressions are there. Such a fantastic chassis on this era of Jag.

Dave!

GG. wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 6:00 pm Hey that's more than I expected to be fair. At least its over 1,000 a year.

It's very heavily front-loaded I'm afraid. It's only done 159 miles since the last MOT, last July

I used to take it to work sometimes if the weather was good, but all the stuff that's happened in the last 12 months ruined that.

Call it £1/mile on repairs for the last year ? Even that doesn't sound horrific.

After three weeks of the Zoe refusing to connect to the app, despite updating the software, rebooting the system, etc. It just decided to start working by itself again this morning.

Unreliable British cars ? It’s the bloody Canucks !!

V8Granite wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 6:04 pm The XJR I drove a long time back went down the road so well, it takes the edge off but you still know all the bumps and compressions are there. Such a fantastic chassis on this era of Jag.

Dave!

That's how I'd describe my XF in normal mode, and the faster you go, the better it gets.

I wish I could have the engine and gearbox in dynamic and the suspension in normal sometimes as in dynamic mode if you're not really 'on it's the suspension can feel a bit harsh at lower speeds (under 60) around here.

tim wrote: Fri Apr 30, 2021 5:35 pm It's a ZF 5HP24 - pretty common for the era

Not one to be a party pooper but noises it what ours started with, then it got louder, then it started lurching Gearbox filter and oil service didn't help ours sadly.

Hope yours is better as the X308 is ace!

New CTek charger came with the lead to wire it into the battery terminals rather than using crocodile clips. So that's what I've done.

Got the Activa cleaned and habitable.

Suspension all working properly now as well.

Once my brake light bulbs and LHM turn up I reckon it's time to start putting some miles on it

Fit a new boot to car harness to the XF as preventative maintenance, caught it just in time, all the wires were cracked and 3 had exposed cores.

No folding rear seats and no manual boot release so I'm glad I did it! Only 32 quid from Jag so it was worth doing.

Delphi wrote: Thu Apr 29, 2021 10:49 amI've fired off an e-mail to Volvo Customer Care and hopefully they'll see the utter insanity of having a profile and customisation system that is essentially useless as supplied.

The mention of Volvo Customer Care makes me shudder after the many dealings I had with them when we had an XC90. When it decided to chew up its own gearbox for some unknown reason they didn't want to know about it despite it being a fairly regular occurrence with owners and our car having a full Volvo service history.