Owners have filed 33 complaints on the Jaguar XK, covering 2003–2015. The system named most often is Vehicle Speed Control (8 reports). Worst years by volume: 2007, 2008, 2005; cleanest: 2003, 2009, 2013. 1 reports describe a crash, 2 a fire. On average the car was 5.4 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jaguar XK
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 33 XK complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Vehicle Speed Control 8 Read
On at least 3 occasions, my vehicle had unintended acceleration and applying brakes did not stop the car. I put it in park to stop. I took it to the Foreign performance (mechanic shop) on 11-29-23 after the first time and they said they fixed it. It occurred again on 12-8-23. I again threw it into park. I called the…
The contact owns a 2010 jaguar xk. The contact stated that the accelerator pedal would become stuck in the open throttle position when traveling at various speeds. The contact would depress the brake pedal firmly to slow the vehicle. She would then shift into neutral because the vehicle would not stop. The vehicle was…
2008 jaguar xk. Gas pedal accelerated car would not stop till put into neutral. Then rear tires spun and smoked did not stop till engine was turned off> check engine light keeps coming on, dealer says it is a sensor, but it has been there several times and light is still coming on. Is this related to toyota recall?
Electrical System 5 Read
The contact owns a 2008 jaguar xk. The contact stated that the headlight on the driver side caught fire and melted the headlight casing. The headlight on the passenger side also began to melt. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed as unsafe to drive. The dealer stated that the headlight assembly…
Jaquar 2007 xr xenon headlights (bilateral!) bulbs within headlamp case actually fully melted. Caused a small contained fire, while car was pulling out of driveway. Driver witnessed this & called for tow after containing rt side fire inside headlamp..brought in for service...ordered new headlights....waited 1 month…
A defect exists in the jaguar xk convertible, which has repeatedly and unpredictably prevented the jaguar from operating, apparently in connection with a concurrent draining of the car's battery. The defect renders the automobile unable to reliably start and deprives the owner of the utility of the vehicle. Despite…
Fuel System 3 Read
The contact owns a 2013 Jaguar XK. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle unexpectedly misfired and then stalled with the check engine warning light illuminated. The vehicle was able to restart; however, the vehicle then went into misfire mode. The vehicle was taken to the dealer…
The contact owns a 2010 Jaguar XK. The contact stated while driving 60 MPH, she smelled an abnormally strong gasoline odor. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to continue to drive the vehicle. The contact also stated there was gasoline was leaking underneath the passenger’s side door. The…
Incident #1 - jan 2013: as I was braking to a stop, the car suddenly went to what I would call "full throttle". My foot was on the brake so I firmly pressed the brake to prevent the car from crashing into my building. I tried pumping the accelerator quickly while practically standing on the brake but that made no…
Engine 3 Read
The contact owns a 2012 jaguar xk. The contact stated while driving approximately 70 mph the vehicle started smoking and stalled in the middle of the highway. The vehicle was towed to the dealer. The mechanic diagnosed that the motor needed to be replaced. The failure occurred three times within two years. The…
We were driving down inter=state 101 when all of a sudden my engine began spuddering and stopped right by an exit. We pushed the car in front of an mc donalds..all of the oil poured out of the engine.we had it towed benedetti bros repair on sebastopol calif..they stated the main oil hose exploded and ruined the…
The contact owns a 2005 jaguar xkr. The contact stated that the oil light illuminated while driving at 65 mph. The vehicle was moved to the shoulder where oil was added to the engine. Upon adding, the contact noticed that the oil had leaked. The vehicle was towed to the dealer where it was found that the oil cooler…
Fuel/propulsion System 2 Read
My wife parked the car in the garage and we noticed a puddle of gas below the car. After determining that we had a real issue we had it towed to an independent service provider. After inspection by the mechanic he noted that the plastic retainer clip on the fuel pump flange (Jaguar Part C2P24406) was broken allowing…
The fuel line became disconnected from the top of the fuel pump and fuel leaked onto the asphalt. . This happened while the car was parked in a parking lot. It was repaired by the dealer who found that the connection point of the fuel line on the "top hat"had opened and that the top hat was damaged. This connection is…
Air Bags 2 Read
When passenger is seated in passenger seat, the 'passenger airbag off" light sporatically illuminates. This means that the passenger is not protected by airbags if a collision occurs. It does not seem to matter if the vehicle is stationary or not. This malfunction has been verified by jaguar dealer
The contact owns a 2006 jaguar xkr (n/a). The contact stated the sensor in the passenger seat for the air bags has failed and if a crash occurs the air bags will not deploy. The vehicle was taken to the dealer and the contact was told he can replace the sensor but he has to pay for the expense because this is not…
Structure 2 Read
This is a 2008 vehicle always garage kept, 50,000 miles, edges of windshield are delaminating, the edges not exposed to the weather and elements. This compromises the windshields strength. Exterior of vehicle looks brand new with no wear and tear. Can submit pictures if you provide e mail address to send to. Jaguar…
While driving the passenger footwell became drenched with water which startled the driver and obviously the passenger who was wet and her shoes soaked in water. The cause is something jaguar is aware of because they have issued a service bulletin TSB jtb001211 which replaces the drain tube from the AC. This is a real…
Engine And Engine Cooling 2 Read
On 1/14/07, took 6-month-old 2007 xk to dealer for knocking sound coming from front of vehicle. Found to be "running as intended," no problem found. Five days later, found car to be completely dead in parking lot after leaving a restaurant. Jaguar roadside assistance jump-started the vehicle the following morning,…
On 12/05 I leased a 2006 jaguar xk8 convertible from madison nj and had it flat bedded to miami. When I 1st drove it I heard a tick tick noise upon acceleration . Called madison and was told to take it to a miami jag dealer. Took it to warren henry jag . Svce manager. Said he didn't hear anything. Had man drive around…
XK 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2014 | Fuel/propulsion System | — | — | |
| 2013 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 2012 | Electrical System | — | — | |
| 2010 | Fuel System, Gasoline | — | — | |
| 2009 | Electrical System,unknown Or Other,engine | — | — | |
| 2008 | Electrical System,exterior Lighting | — | 1 | |
| 2007 | Electrical System | 1 | 1 | |
| 2006 | Air Bags | — | — | |
| 2005 | Engine | — | — | |
| 2003 | Unknown Or Other | — | — |
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 | 29 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.1 |
| Worst single series | 3 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 5.4 years |
A model average of 1.1 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
- The original window sticker and factory options
- Full research report as a PDF for the pre-purchase inspection
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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 XK?
By complaint volume, 2007, 2008, 2005 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 XK years are the cleanest?
2003, 2009, 2013 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jaguar XK have?
33 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 2003–2015. Of those, 1 describe a crash and 2 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.