Owners have filed 49 complaints on the Jaguar XJ, covering 2003–2011. The system named most often is Service Brakes (6 reports). Worst years by volume: 2011, 2006, 2004; cleanest: 2003, 2007, 2005. 4 reports describe a crash. On average the car was 6.8 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jaguar XJ
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 49 XJ complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Service Brakes 6 Read
Upon entering garage of home, while pressing on brakes preparing to park, engine accelerated forcing car to crash into a ladder in front of concrete wall; although husband pushed full force on brakes, the car seemed to race forward. No one was hurt, front right bumper plastic panel popped off. Earlier on same day,…
The contact owns a 2011 jaguar xj. The contact stated that when shifting into drive, the vehicle suddenly accelerated with the brake depressed. The brake pedal was depressed with extreme force and the contact shifted into park before the vehicle would stop. The failure was experienced several times. The vehicle was…
As I was going down a slopping street at approximately 30-35 mph, I stepped on the brakes to slow decline but car surged forward, immediately gaining speed up to 58 mph. When I leveled out at the bottom of the hill I was able to pull over to side of road by tapping on the brakes until I came to a complete stop. Second…
Suspension 6 Read
The contact owns a 2005 jaguar xj. The contact stated that the ABS light illuminated on the instrument panel and the front end of the vehicle started to shake. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and it was determined that all of the control arms were rusted and needed to be replaced. The dealer stated that the…
Suspension fault
I am 82 years old my vehicle is a 2005 and I have had the brakes replace three times. The bushing, rotors and brake pads were replace. I only have 45,000 miles. I have been having problems since day one. The glove box won't open at times, trunk does not open, replace lower control arm, leaking bushing. The battery…
Engine And Engine Cooling 5 Read
The engine stalled without warning just before I was about to make a left-hand turn
The contact owns a 2006 jaguar xj8 (n/a). The contact stated that while driving approximately 50mph the vehicle began to overheat and the power steering failed. The vehicle was towed to a mechanic who stated the belt tensioner and crankshaft were defective. The vehicle was taken to a jaguar dealer. They stated that…
2006 jaguar vdp l wb would not exceed over 10 mph and warning lights illuminated on the dash. Experienced two massive fuel leaks. *kb the dealer claimed they replaced a seal to fix the fuel leak, however 2 weeks later the fuel leak resurfaced. The dealer then stated the left fuel pump flange was still leaking and the…
Power Train 4 Read
The contact's husband owned a 2011 Jaguar XJ. The contact stated that while her husband was attempting to park in a parking space and the brake pedal depressed, the vehicle independently accelerated. The contact attempted to decrease the vehicle's speed by going over a bump however the vehicle continued to…
A seris of issues plaque this model. Changed throttle body twice but car keep showing stability control not available, throttle body actuation issues with p2119,p2118 codes among several others. Car shakes and shuts down in the middle of driving. At idle, the car rev meter goes up and down and then shuts off. I have…
I was driving through Kroger shopping center and I drove between two cars and my car suddenly accelerated and I had to stand on the brakes to avoid hitting a man loading groceries into his car.This was a frightening experience, which I'm afraid will happen again and I won't be so luck.I purchased the car Oct 14 2022…
Electrical System 4 Read
The cars power and engine shuts down completely without warning. I then have to restart car again. It happened now 4 times so far since I own the car
This vehicle has had numerous"unusual" issues from "stick-to-your-fingers" control buttons that were changed under warranty to a faulty alarm system that goes off randomly once activated,to exceptionally slow touch screen functions that can only be controlled via touch screen;placing driver in hazardous situations…
Serious safety issue with the epb electronic parking brake not disengaging (especially in the xj models), therefore, deeming it impossible to drive the car, and being stranded with no way to drive home or anywhere in an emergency. This issue appears to be electrical in nature, involving the parking brake module. This…
Engine 4 Read
I have a 2011 Jaguar XJL Supercharged with 65,000 miles that has a knocking noise and is in restricted performance mode. The timing chain and tensioner were replaced by a shop, but that did not fix the issue and I’ve been told there is internal engine damage. The internal engine damage has not been identified. The car…
The contact owns a 2011 Jaguar XJ. The contact stated while driving 75 MPH, the vehicle began to decelerate independently, prompting the contact to pull over to the shoulder of the roadway to have the vehicle towed. Several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to an independent mechanic, who…
The contact owned a 2011 Jaguar XJ. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle decelerated independently. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the roadway and had the vehicle towed. The contact stated that several unknown warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was towed to…
Vehicle Speed Control 4 Read
2008 jaguar xjl consumer stated vehicle lost cruise control. *bf the consumer stated a warning that read "cruise unavailable park brake default" illuminated on the dashboard. The consumer stated he pulled over to read the owners manual and it stated the park brake default could result in serious damage to the vehicle.…
Well there a problem when you have no speed all of a sudden. And there a problem with some electrical and fuel can someone help me with what's going on if there a recall or not? I believe there something wrong like a recall and I have to deal with it. So what can I do in regards of getting this matter taking control.…
Unintended acceleration when braking. Description of incident august 5, 2010 I did not drive the car, it was parked in front of my apartment. August 6, 2010 at 12:15pm I drove from my apartment to the pebble beach lodge parking lot (approx. 5 miles and 10 minutes). At 4:15pm and after a long lunch at the lodge I drove…
Visibility 3 Read
The contact owns a 2011 jaguar xj. The contact stated that the heated windshield distorted his vision while driving. The street signs and lights also appear to have a halo and become blurry. The contact spoke with the manufacturer about the problem and stated that since the vehicle was leased there was nothing that…
This is a design flaw. My jaguar xj has electrochomatic mirrors and they are supposed to lighten and darken with the reflection of lights. At night it is very difficult to see out of my mirrors. Once when I was driving a car's lights were shining in my rear view mirror and it darkened the mirror so much that I almost…
Driving down the interstate and the sunroof just shattered. I see that this has been a problem in the past but jaguar say it wasn't a issue for my car. Nothing hit the sunroof. I remember driving over a particular segment in the interstate that has a dip and then it shattered
XJ years to avoid — and the clean ones
Complaints per model year. More reports usually means more cars on the road as well as more trouble, so read the crash and fire columns alongside the count.
| Model year | Complaints | Top system | Crashes | Fires |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2008 | Service Brakes, Hydraulic,vehicle Speed Control | 1 | — | |
| 2007 | Electrical System,wheels,service Brakes | — | — | |
| 2006 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other,fuel/propulsion System | 1 | — | |
| 2005 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — | |
| 2004 | Power Train | — | — | |
| 2003 | Engine And Engine Cooling | — | — |
The same model year, different builds
Every complaint carries the first 11 characters of the VIN — plant, year, body and engine. That is a production series, and complaints are spread across them very unevenly.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Distinct production series | 42 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.2 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.8 years |
A model average of 1.2 hides a worst series at 3. Enter a VIN above to see the numbers for that exact build instead of the model as a whole.
Owners reported these. Find out if yours is one of them.
- Complaints matched to the exact production run, not just the model
- What the car is worth given what tends to fail on it
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How we count
Every figure here comes from complaints owners filed with NHTSA — 1,100,006 of them, covering 1,982 models built between 1981 and 2026.
A complaint is an unverified report: someone wrote down what happened to their car. It is not a confirmed defect and not a recall. What makes the volume useful is the pattern — when thousands of owners of the same build describe the same failure, that is a signal no marketing brochure will give you.
Two things we do that the source does not. First, we compute the age of the car at the moment of failure from the incident date and the model year. Second, we group complaints by the first 11 characters of the VIN — the production series — so a bad plant run does not disappear into a model-wide average.
Frequently asked questions
What are the worst years for the XJ?
By complaint volume, 2011, 2006, 2004 drew the most owner reports. Bear in mind that popular years put more cars on the road, so check the crash and fire columns too.
Which XJ years are the cleanest?
2003, 2007, 2005 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jaguar XJ have?
49 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2003–2011. Of those, 4 describe a crash and 0 a fire.
Are these complaints verified?
No. They are unverified reports from owners. NHTSA publishes them as filed and investigates only a fraction. The value is in the pattern, not in any single report.
Can I check complaints for one specific car?
Yes — enter its VIN above. We match the first 11 characters, which identify the plant, year, body and engine, so you get complaints on that exact production series rather than the whole model.