Our 1997 Jaguar XK-8 is currently unusable. It died at the side of the road after stumbling and stalling a couple of times. The information screen gave two warnings: "Stability Control Failure" and "Engine Failure". It would restart, but would not stay running.

The dealer tells me that he has read codes P1229 and P1242 and that this indicates a bad throttle body - $1950.00

The car had the throttle body replaced in 2004 with about 65,000 miles on it; it now has about twice that. The last replacement was needed because the car would stall at 60 - 70 mph. Not a happy experience on the interstate as the only way to restart was to turn off the key (locking the steering) and then restarting.

Any thoughts/suggestions? I trust the Dealer, but I know that replacing parts is easier than figuring out why and how to prevent the problems.

Submitted by joshbartlett@r… on Sat, 05/25/2013 - 11:24

Update-
BBA has returned the throttle body to the dealer without doing any repair. We (the Dealer and I) are told that this particular throttle body has a vacuum control component that they cannot reproduce on the bench so that the only option is full replacement with a new part. They were good enough not to charge a bench fee, but I really would hve thought they would know what parts they can rebuild and which ones they could not. This would have saved the time and expense of two-way shipping.

Does anyone have any more wisdom that could be added to this story?

Submitted by joshbartlett@r… on Thu, 05/23/2013 - 07:57

I have contacted bba-reman and they sound great. I am told by them that their replacement/reman/rebuild products are guaranteed for as long as I own the car.

I have asked the shop to R&R the part and they have agreed; I will come back with a report when the job is finished.

Thanks, folks, for the helpful suggestions.

Submitted by chris@chloan.com on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 18:35

I have had a 1997, 1999 and now 2003 XK8's. The 97 and 99 both had throttle-body related problems including going into "Failsafe" mode without power and/or complete stalling out. Often would restart after turning off engine and waiting a few minutes, but problem would happen again anywhere from a few weeks to a few miniutes later. In the last two years the 99 would have problems every 90 days or so. Replaced the throttle body twice with used units. Seems that the throttle bodies are themselves problematic- they do not last. That yours has lasted for 8-9 years is pretty impressive.

Submitted by dgbelanger@att.net on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 16:02

I have the highest regard for Steven Petry's opinion but here's another (expensive) alternative.

I have a 4.2 L XK8 coupe and several years ago it failed after a rest stop. It would start but die. The culprit turned out to be the fuel pump. A friend who has a '97 coupe wound up having his replaced, too, but he was in CA when it happened. I say expensive because it's in the tank and you have to rmove th tank , back seat, etc. About $1800 at the time. The preceding Fall ('09?) I got a "Reduced Performance" message on the way to a Concurs in Oklahoma City. I continued driving but couldn't go over 70. I pulled in to the dealer on a Friday afternoon and they fixed it under warranty in less thatnan hour.

I suggest taking it to a dealer and getting the correct interpretation of the fault codes.

Dave Belanger-JCoH

Submitted by stevejag@sbcgl… on Thu, 05/16/2013 - 15:31

There isn't really anything you can do to prevent a fault like this, everything fails at some point. I'd say the time span you mention is about average.

The only option other than replacement is to have the throttle body repaired. Look up bba-reman.com on the web and click on the US Flag. You can then see a US phone number and call them for details. We've used them before for throttle body and module repairs. You might ask your dealer and see if they are willing to do the R&R and send for the repair. Some will and some won't. Takes about a week and cost is about 1/3 that of a new part.

Good luck!