Edited on 2011-02-01 12:10:08

Edited on 2011-02-01 12:05:44

Edited on 2011-01-28 11:18:30

Edited on 2011-01-28 11:13:21

Edited on 2011-01-28 11:12:08

I got a great deal on my 99 XJ8 and before I could go to the DMV it gave me a message "STABILITY CONTROL FAILURE"! The car powered down (I also get a "restricted performance" message and the engine ran rough). I turned it off and restarted it and it ran fine but a few miles down the road it happened again! I need some help understanding this. I don't know what to do.

I've always wanted a Jag but now I'm thinking I made a mistake.
Can someone please help me with this and help me change my mind about how I feel about my purchase?

Thanks everyone.

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Submitted by salbrecht.ctc@… on Sat, 07/02/2011 - 07:49

Hello Steve A,

We had a similar problem on my way from Chicago back to NH. Every time we hit a sizable bump in the road it would trigger "stability control failure" and safe mode. We stopped in a mall parking lot and I cleaned the wheel sensors. No luck. We turned south to limp into Indianapolis and was treated very well at the Jaguar dealer. There was an excellent technician that was extremely knowledgeable. (Guess who?) After some searching and diagnostics he discovered a service bulletin 303-58 that recommended replacing the tin electrical leads with matching gold leads so that there was not a metal mismatch between the throttle position sensor on the throttle body and the electrical lead. We drove back to NH, hitting bumps in NY, and no problems. It has worked perfectly. We also updated by firmware during the visit to expand the error code details going forward.

Submitted by jpbii@yahoo.com on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 03:39

Do I really have to start a new thread? This one isn't very specific by topic. I mean come on. It's titled as "Re".
Well my question is about cruise control on my 99 XJR. It simply does not work! And I do a lot of road trips. I MUST set my cc so I don't have to keep gazing at the speedo to make sure I'm not in danger of a ticket. A beautiful car like mine (well of course I'm partial and proud) will draw any bored trouper's attention. Anybody have any advise? 99 XJR, 110,000. Have additional issues about all the warnings, but right now? I want my gd cc (by the way, cc = cruise control. And I think most of us know what "gd" is).

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 00:50

Hi Steven.

When it goes into "stability comtorl failure" the throtle is useless but it idles rough and as I'm coming to a stop it wants to lunge forward.
I take a closer look at the trotle body and the electrical conections and see what I find. Thus far I haven't seen anything that seems to be out of place.

Submitted by stevejag@sbcgl… on Mon, 05/16/2011 - 00:37

Steve,

As I mentioned earlier, I don't think your Stability Control is activating. I think you have a throttle body fault that leaves you with no throttle response. This kind of fault causes the throttle cable/pedal to do absolutely nothing, no matter how far you press the pedal. It will idle perfectly, just won't respond to the pedal. There are possibly corporate fault codes stored that would maybe confirm that, but it requires connection to the dealer diagnostic equipment to read them.
There are companies out there that rework or exchange throttle bodies. That would be cheaper than a new one from Jaguar. In any case, I think further diagnosis by someone familiar with the Jaguar engine is warranted.

Good luck!

Submitted by jpbii@yahoo.com on Sun, 05/15/2011 - 21:27

What a tremendously valuable transaction you gentleman have posted here.Thank goodness for this club and most importantly, the knowledgeable information that is shared here. I'm still the newbe guy and I value every bit of the infomation that you experienced guys share here. I am doubely blessed! I own a Jag, and I have everybodies help and tolerence of my lack of experience with the most beautiful cars in the world! I have some current issues with mine. But I think proper procedure here demands that I start a new thread about my cruise control issue.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Sat, 05/14/2011 - 10:30

Okay friends, I'm over it.
The Stability control keeps kicking on slowing the engine down.
If theres anyone out there that knows how to disconnect this feature please let me know or this Jag wil be mine no more.
I have done everything that has been suggested and then some so all I want to do it get rid of this feature.

It's been fun but I will not go down this road again.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Sun, 02/13/2011 - 17:17

Well friends it's been since the 1st of this month and still the problem has not returned.
Thank God!

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Wed, 02/09/2011 - 12:03

Just a note that so far so good. The problem has not reared it's ugly head.

Submitted by vogelbp@gmail.com on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 21:22

Steve,

Those sensors could certainly have played into your stability control failure issue, but they shouldn't (and from what I can find, can't) have anything to do with your restricted performance issue.

I hope that the combination of your ministrations has resulted in a long period of trouble free driving. These cars are just marvelous when they're working correctly, and the Jags of this vintage (thank you, Ford!) are far more trouble free than many of their predecessors.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Wed, 02/02/2011 - 21:05

Well he it goes my friends.
IT'S RUNNING GREAT! No problems since I cleaned all four wheel sensors. I've shown my Jag no mercy and have driven normally and stomped on it and still nothing. I find myself trying to make it happen and it still runs like a champ.
Gracnted everything that I did had to be done but the sensors was had to be the cause of my problems.
Lets keep our fingers crossed and hope it doesn't happen again until they need ckeaned again.

Thanks you everyone for your input and support.

Steve

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 19:53

Hi Brian
I did get a scan tool and cleared the P0102 code about 2 days ago. I am now getting the P1000 code but it seems that everything s working fine so far.
I'll post tonight or tomorrow and let you know if all is or is not well after we go for another drive tonight.

Submitted by vogelbp@gmail.com on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 19:02

Steve,

Keep us posted on the OBD codes the car is throwing as this continues. At this juncture I'd clear them all if you haven't already so that you know that the ones you're seeing going forward are current rather than historical.

Ian,

Will do, but you also need to get yourself a CAN/OBD-II reader as it's virtually essential to chase down a diagnosis. Might I ask if your car has had its brake fluid changed, religiously, at least once every two years? These cars are notoriously sensitive to detritus in the braking system and since the ABS system is part of the larger ASC scheme any burps with the braking system very frequently "spill over" into stability control failure messages.

My ABS warning light has been coming on as part of the stability control failure symptom cluster lately. I only wish I could remember if this was the case in the past. I am accustomed to the occasional spurious message, but I tend to look at what's going on with everything when I get them. I can't remember if I had simultaneous ABS warning light or not.

Just FYI, it appears that the Diagnostic Trouble Codes (DTCs) related to this particular sphere of issues clears itself after a relatively low number of restarts of the car without the issue showing up again. My last occurrence of this was only about a week ago and I just tried reading the codes and there are none stored (though I perpetually get the P1000 code, which I long ago discounted as something not real). There are other DTCs that hang around much longer.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 18:27

After geting back from the DMV (what a nightmare that was) I jacked up the car, pulled the wheels off and removed, washed and reinstalled the wheel sensors. It took all of an hour. Drove about 14 miles on the streets looking for as many stop signs as I could find. Ran it up to 70 plus mph on some of the long streets (a lot of power by the way) and let off on the gas. Not being as nice as I had been but actually trying to make it happen again and still nothing. We're taking it out later today. I'll let you know if I am either a happy camper or going to do something drastic.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 10:42

Edited on 2011-02-01 10:46:24

Hi Steven
It runs rough but (as I found out) it is in safe mode keeping the driver to further accelerate. It never stalls just slows the car down.

BTW, I just sold my 61 T-Bird convertible but the square bird has always been my favorite T-Bird.
Send some pics if you get the chance.

Submitted by stevejag@sbcgl… on Tue, 02/01/2011 - 08:53

You said originally the engine was running rough when the trouble occurred, is that not the case?? ABS sensors will not cause a rough engine.

Just curious.......

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 23:44

Edited on 2011-02-01 10:43:56

Edited on 2011-01-31 23:47:54

Well after reading some post on other sites the ABS sensor may be an issue. I will take them off and clean them tomorrow and see if that works.
I really like this car. I really think it's bautiful but I don't think it likes me very much. I'll just have to change it's mind.

http://forums.roadfly.com/forums/jaguar/jaguar_xj8/8120075-1.html

http://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=37434

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 21:48

SO!
On the way to dinner just about 200 yards from home it flippin happened again.
WHAT THE HELL!?!
I broght it home and took the Vette.
I'll sleep on it tonight and try something else tomorrow because I'm over it for today.
Stay tunned.
Aarrrggggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 17:46

Okay here it is.
I haven't put on 100 miles but I did drive it 30+ miles with no problems. Normally I couldn't drive to the grocery store without a problem.
So, problem solved? I don't know yet but so far it looks good.

I hope what I did solves anyones problems that they either have or come up in the future.

I will post in a few days and let everyone know how it's doing.

Thanks to everyone for posting their thoughts.

Cheers!

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 17:34

Okay here it is.
I haven't put on 100 miles but I did drive it 30+ miles with no problems. Normally I couldn't drive to the grocery store without a problem.
So, problem solved? I don't know yet but so far it looks good.

I hope what I did solves anyones problems that they either have or come up in the future.

I will post in a few days and let everyone know how it's doing.

Thanks to everyone for posting their thoughts.

Cheers!

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 16:11

UPDATE!!!.
I bought a new battery (950CCA) and threw it on the charger to give a full charge before installing it. MEANWHILE, I took the air intake hose off from the throtle body to the air cleaner for inspection and here's what I found.
I previously found a small slit on the hose from the valve cover to the air intake. I used some good electrical tape to seal it.
Today after taking it all off, on the underside of the air intake hose I found some wear were air was being sucked in. I sealed it and will re-install it later today.
Hopefully between that and the low voltage the battery was producing, this will solve the problem.

I will update and let you know.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 16:10

UPDATE!!!.
I bought a new battery (950CCA) and threw it on the charger to give a full charge before installing it. MEANWHILE, I took the air intake hose off from the throtle body to the air cleaner for inspection and here's what I found.
I previously found a small slit on the hose from the valve cover to the air intake. I used some good electrical tape to seal it.
Today after taking it all off, on the underside of the air intake hose I found some wear were air was being sucked in. I sealed it and will re-install it later today.
Hopefully between that and the low voltage the battery was producing, this will solve the problem.

I will update and let you know.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 13:51

Well it looks like I may be on my way to buy a new battery. After leaving the car alone for 24hrs plus, I hooked up the charger to it this morning and it read as if I had left the headlights on for 30 minutes. Mind you I had charged it for about 12 hours (trickle of course) the day before and it now apears that it didn't hold the charge.

I'll let you know when I install the new battery what my findings are. The next step as Steven Petry said is to check the relays.

Submitted by is.grant@ieee.org on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 12:16

Brian - when you solve the intermittent Stability Control Failure IÔÇÖd be infinitely grateful if youÔÇÖd let me know at is.grantatieee.org. I have a 1998 XJ8 with almost 100 k miles, about 50% of starts I get no error messages, about 25% I get the yellow ABS icon for about 30 seconds and then it disappears, about 10% I get the full icon plus Stability Control Failure messages, and very rarely I get the Engine Failure - limp home mode (forget the exact words) message which I see elsewhere in this string may be an ignition unit, very helpful. I do have to turn the stability control system off with the dash pushbutton as otherwise it intermittently cuts acceleration when the car is warming up. IÔÇÖve tried switching my ABS computer for a rebuild but got no change in behavior, so assume the problem is upstream in the logic chain.

Submitted by stevejag@sbcgl… on Mon, 01/31/2011 - 11:23

Steve,

What you describe in your original post really sounds like a throttle related issue, whether the throttle body itself or the power to it. The easiest thing to begin with is relay power troubles. In the ECM box near the RH bonnet latch there are several relays, the throttle motor relay among them. Replace all those relays and also the one in the LH engine bay fuse box that is closest to the engine, that is the IGN on relay. They like to burn contacts and cause power feed troubles. The key to my thinking here is the repeated turn the car off and restart and you are good for a short while, that's an intermittent, relays are known for that.
Second, you reported a P0102 fault. It is very, very rare for that code to show up unless someone has outright disconnected the Mass Air Flow sensor. When poking around and checking things it is easy to unhook that sensor without realizing the key is on. Bingo, P0102. If nothing else, clear it and see it it comes back right away after a short drive.

Good luck!

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 23:47

I did find a tear on the air hose from the valve cover to the intake hose that is in between the MAF sensor and the throtle body which can scew up the computer. I patched it up but I'm going to take a closer look at it and see if there is something that I missed.

You're right about what newer cars need as far as voltage. My Corvette is always at 13.6- 13.8 volts and is happy there. I did have a problem with it what it was at 12.2 volts but after I gave it a new battery it is now a happy camper.

I'll post my finding tomorrow.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 23:41

I did find a tear on the air hose from the valve cover to the intake hose that is in between the MAF sensor and the throtle body which can scew up the computer. I patched it up but I'm going to take a closer look at it and see if there is something that I missed.

You're right about what newer cars need as far as voltage. My Corvette is always at 13.6- 13.8 volts and is happy there. I did have a problem with it what it was at 12.2 volts but after I gave it a new battery it is now a happy camper.

I'll post my finding tomorrow.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 23:18

Well I left the charger on yesterday and went out. I got back rather late and checked the charger meter. On trickle is was good but when I switched from 2 amps to 6 amps it indicated that it still needed a charge. I disconnected it for the night and haven't checked it today. I will check it tomorrow morning and see what it reads. If it is low, Auto Zone has a battery for $139.99. 950CCA. Hopefuly that will do the trick.

I'll let you know.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 23:13

Well I left the charger on yesterday and went out. I got back rather late and checked the charger meter. On trickle is was good but when I switched from 2 amps to 6 amps it indicated that it still needed a charge. I disconnected it for the night and haven't checked it today. I will check it tomorrow morning and see what it reads. If it is low, Auto Zone has a battery for $139.99. 950CCA. Hopefuly that will do the trick.

I'll let you know.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 21:59

Well I left the charger on yesterday and went out. I got back rather late and checked the charger meter. On trickle is was good but when I switched from 2 amps to 6 amps it indicated that it still needed a charge. I disconnected it for the night and haven't checked it today. I will check it tomorrow morning and see what it reads. If it is low, Auto Zone has a battery for $139.99. 950CCA. Hopefuly that will do the trick.

I'll let you know.

Submitted by bonnettoboot@e… on Sun, 01/30/2011 - 19:01

Very often the cause of your problem is an intermittant change in the engine feeds. Thees firstb thing I would check is that there are no vacuum or air leaks from the manifold or intake ducting. Take the ducting off and inspect it underneath for holes/tears. When you get a scanner, read and record all of the codes you find, then erase them. Drive the car normally, if some of the same codes reappear then you most likely have problems in those areas. As for the battery, modern cars need an absolute minimum of 12 volts and are happier uo near 14. A weakening battery may have over 12 but when the starter operates it can drop to below 12, check the battery voltage under those conditions and see how low the voltage drops.

Submitted by vogelbp@gmail.com on Sat, 01/29/2011 - 11:22

Steve,

Given what I could find in JTIS on this it does sound likely that a low battery could at least be a possible culprit here.

As you've already surmised, even if the trickle charge works you'll still almost certainly need a new battery. This car has a rather large battery for the size of the car and, based on all the electronica involved, clearly needs it.

I think I got my last new one in 2005 or 2006, so it hasn't "eaten batteries" but it's got to be due for a new one soon.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 18:22

Edited on 2011-01-31 17:46:09

I ended up getting a Craftsman 20890 scan tool. I looks like the Innova so I figure that they made it and Sears just put their lable on it.
Anyway I hooked it up and got a code of P0102 saying mass air flow low voltage. I checked battery and even thought I never had any indication that it would be the problem the battery was still low. I have it on a trickle charger and will post if that works or not. Frankly I hope that all I need is a new battery.

Submitted by vogelbp@gmail.com on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 12:57

Steve,

Be sure to look at Innova's line of CAN-OBD-II readers, too. You can see them at innova.com and they're available all over the web and in auto parts places in many areas. I have a 3130 and it's been great.

Please report back with the codes you get, and be sure NOT to erase them until you complete the repair, as you might want to check them again and things can change. It's good to have the history of what's been stored until you're satisfied that you've fixed an issue.

I notice on another post that "STABILITY CONTROL FAILURE" can be triggered by a weak battery. Mine's old enough now that this has to be on my list of possible causes that will require further exploration.

Submitted by c5cruiser@hotm… on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 12:44

Thank you for the kind welcome.
I am going to buy a Actron 9180 today to help me with my Jag. I am hoping that it is nothing costly since my wife thought it was a poor decision on my part to buy the car.

If you can think of anything else I should look for or do please let me know.

Again, Thanks!

Submitted by vogelbp@gmail.com on Fri, 01/28/2011 - 12:16

Edited on 2011-01-28 12:19:54

Edited on 2011-01-28 12:17:05

First, welcome to the forums and the world of high-end computer-regulated everything automobiles. I have had both of the problems you note and am currently trying to sort out an intermittent "STABILITY CONTROL FAILURE" issue myself.

I highly recommend you go out and buy yourself a mid-range CAN/OBD-II code reader, as it goes a long way toward diagnosing issues with these cars and/or having a clue about what may be wrong before you go to the professional mechanic.

I would be almost willing to bet my bottom dollar that your "RESTRICTED PERFORMANCE" issue will be traced to a bad ignition coil. My 1999 has had four ignition coils fail over the last 5 years or so. When this happens the usual advice is, "Pull 'em all and replace 'em," but I find that a gross overreaction and ridiculously expensive. Failure on these things is utterly unpredictable; I've got originals going strong at over 130K miles and would have spent a fortune replacing them prematurely. If you hook up your code reader and get either a:

P030X - Faulty ignition coil on Cylinder X

code where the X will be a 1 through 8, you then know on which cylinder the ignition coil is faulty. There is also another ignition system code that I have gotten other than the P030X that's closely related, but cannot for the life of me recall what it was. In any case if you have an ignition system code that guides you to a cylinder the first course of action I'd take is replacing the ignition coil and see if that solves your problem. Replacing an ignition coil on these cars is so simple that anyone with functioning hands can do it. All you need is a socket wrench to remove the cover and a screwdriver (or screwdriver bit for your socket - a T-handle socket works fine, too).

Good luck with this. With the exception of the very occasional failure of an ignition coil my '99 XJ8L has been an exceptionally reliable car for me during the six years I've owned it. Don't give up this early in the game!!

As an afterthought, if you get an OBD-II reader, do not be alarmed if you get a P1000 - OBD Systems Readiness Test Not Complete error. My car never fails to show that code even when everything is running absolutely perfectly.