Everything that is wrong with my supercharged Jaaaaaaag (that I know about anyway)

Don’t have good photos of mine yet.
Don’t have good photos of mine yet.
Photo: BaT

No car is without its problems, and this one is no exception. The only thing is, this is a 15 year old Jag so... well anyway lets get to the list.

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Urgent Needs - Safety and longevity stuff

  1. Oil Change - Last oil change was at 106k and it is at 112k now. Overdue and the oil looks like crap. As per my tradition, I’ve purchased another car that takes more oil than you’d expect, in this case 7.2 quarts. That is almost the same as the Alfa (7.1 quarts) and 1 quart more than the Discovery (6.6 quarts). New filter arrived today, so this is high on the list.
  2. Tires - Tries are mismatched, unevenly worn, and dry-rotted. New set of W rated high performance tires are around $800 from Costco. More than I was expecting, but I always expect to buy new tires when I buy a car. No one but me sells a car with good tires, apparently.
  3. Alignment - The tire situation probably doesn’t help, but the car is all over the place when you change lanes. It is... odd. Also the steering wheel is clocked about 6 degrees when you’re going straight. There is probably more to it, but I’m going to pretend that isn’t the case.
  4. Exhaust leak - Somewhere in the engine bay there is an exhaust leak that only really shows itself at high throttle. Not really a functional issue, but it makes me hesitate to get on the gas. It just sounds so... bad. Exhaust needs a complete going over anyway.
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Immediate Concerns - Stuff I want to look into right away

  1. Key fob - Well on my way with this one, but the key as given to me was... bad. The metal is worn, the buttons are worn, the fob doesn’t work, and it just doesn’t look good. Looking to purchase a high quality shell replacement and might look into getting a new key cut down the road.
  2. Bath - Jibbers this thing is filthy! A 400 mile drive in the snow did it no favors and it needs a top to bottom clean. A wax probably wouldn’t hurt but... maybe.
  3. Interior detail - The interior isn’t too bad, but getting the funk of the previous owner out of there would be nice. Also looking into maybe making it smell like pipe tobacco because why not.
  4. Heated Seats - The heated seats are inop. You can press the button once, the lights will illuminate, and then turn off. Then nothing. Thinking it is a fuse, but the weather needs to be warm enough for me to want to go and look... which is ironic.
  5. Full exhaust service - So one of the cats is hollowed out. Just one. Also there is a leak. Also I want to make sure this thing sounds nice. Also I guess the EGRs are known for clogging on these and I have a code for an EGR. All this combines to me needing to look at what my options are for a stem to stern exhaust re-do. I’d like to replace both cats with performance ones and do something to wake up the sound but keep it quiet on the highway. Don’t know what my options are yet, but I’ll look into it... soon.
  6. Spare tire - The spare for this car is missing, which is annoying. Wouldn’t be a huge deal except the trunk floor appears to use the spare as a support. Spiffy. Heading to the junk yard tomorrow to see if the spare from an X-Type would be good enough.
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Deferred maintenance

  1. Supercharger oil change - Apparently this is a thing? Well whatever it is, I’m sure it was never done and that sucker is expensive so... yeah.
  2. Air filter change - Also not sure of the state of it, so it is on the list to do ASAP.
  3. Cabin air filter - See above.
  4. Brake fluid - Supposed to be changed every 2 years, so there is a 100% chance this needs to be done
  5. Rear diff fluid - Small whine coming from the rear. Could be a bearing, could be the diff. Fluid is cheap so I’ll start there.
  6. Any other fluid - I’ll go though the maintenance schedule and see what it due/overdue at my mileage and assess from there.
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Shelved or TBD

  1. Windshield - Unexpected fun, I picked up a ton of chips on the drive home. Like... 10 minor imperfections and two problematic ones. Took it to Safelite for repair because they could do it same day and unfortunately they cracked the windshield. Known risk and I don’t (mostly) blame them, but now I need a new windshield. I’m not terribly torn up about it as I am pretty sure all those imperfections would tear up wipers at an alarming rate anyway. Not urgent, so I’ll probably wait a while on this one.
  2. Floor mats - Minor detail, but I hate being in a car with no floor mats. It came with some generic all weather mats in the trunk that I haven’t taken a look at yet, but if they aren’t custom cut, I’ll likely ignore them. Biggest issue here is what color to buy them in!? Interior is tan, but the carpets and dash are black. Black floor mats seem like a terrible idea unless I want to import myself a Svend, but I also don’t know about... any of it. Maybe a heather black? Also I can’t find anyone selling them with the Jag logo or, better yet, the R logo. (Yes, I want to be that guy). Probably will get shelved for a few months.
  3. Headliner - You wouldn’t notice unless you were in the back, but the headlining is sagging in the back. Unacceptable. I might try and do something fun with it, but likely will chicken out and go with stock.
  4. Rust Treatment - This car spent the majority of its life in the northern US. For the most part it is fine. Lots of nasty looking surface rust, but nothing worrying. That said, it needs to be treated and sealed at some point.
  5. Performance Upgrades - Come summer I’d like to upgrade the supercharger pulley, port the intake, and buy an ECU tune.
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Doggo for your time!

Illustration for article titled Everything that is wrong with my supercharged Jaaaaaaag (that I know about anyway)