Owners have filed 98 complaints on the Jaguar XK8, covering 1997–2003. The system named most often is Engine And Engine Cooling (25 reports). Worst years by volume: 1998, 1997, 1999; cleanest: 2003, 2001, 2000. 5 reports describe a crash, 1 a fire. On average the car was 6.9 years old when the problem happened.
What breaks on Jaguar XK8
Grouped by the system owners named — percentages are shares of all 98 XK8 complaints. Open any row for the full reports in owners' own words.
Engine And Engine Cooling 25 Read
Failure of the secondary timing chain tensioners. This results in the need for a complete rebuild of the engine. I am told by the dealer that they have seen a few of these since it is poorly designed. When you research this on the net, it appears that the problem is known to jaguar owners and occurs too frequently for…
Fumes enter the cabin: shortly after I took delivery of the jaguar and numeroous times thereafter my wife and I expereinced serious health problems while riding in the car. These problems were only when the sunroof was open. The first symptom was bad headaches. Eyes begin to feel dry and there is difficulty focusing.…
Vehicle stalled intermittently. There had been incidents where vehicle died in the middle of the road, and consumer lost control of steering and brakes. No injuries reported
Power Train 13 Read
Informed by jaguar service dealer in cerritos on 02/07 and 09/27/13 that transmission had failed and required replacement. Conducted online research during the last two months and discovered that the auto was demonstrating the exact failure as 1999 jaguar xk8 (recall no. 478 - replace transmission), as follows: "it is…
After slowing the car, the transmission downshifted in a harsh, sudden manner, and then the car accelerates abruptly and surges forward with a "clunking" sound. An amber warning was displayed on the dash saying "gearbox fault". If someone was in front of the car when it surged forward they might have been struck
While driving at 10mph, the transmission failed which caused loss of acceleration almost causing a rear end collison. *jb
Vehicle Speed Control 9 Read
2001 jaguar xk8 experienced sudden acceleration when the brakes were depressed.*mr as a result the consumer collided with a vehicle which was stopped in front of his. The accident caused property damage to the other persons vehicle
I was recently made aware that an extremely dangerous condition that occurred with my 2001 vehicle was something that should have been prevented. It was considered a recall item on jaguars in model years 1997- 1999 (jaguar service action number: s514, subject: throttle closed position operation, reference: 13/05/04…
The contact stated while driving 20 mph, the engine stopped running due to a tensioner failure on the timing chain. The conditions were dry and sunny. There was no accident nor police report filed
Fuel System 7 Read
We can smell gasoline in the passenger area of the car. It happens whether the windows are up or down, whether the air conditioning is on or off, whether the convertible top is up or down. Usually happens in hot weather, but then again we have only owned and driven the car during the summer. The manufacturer feels…
Sudden loss of power. This is due to the stabliity control chip located in the throttle body going bad. When the wheels break loose, a sensor sends a signal to the chip in the throttle body to slow the engine so it does not over-rev. This chip according to the dealer is malfunctioning and 'firing' on its own resulting…
I own a jaguar 1999 xk8- it has repeatedly gone into the "limp home mode" while on the freeway twice causing cars around me to crash while avoiding me. I have had the car into the dealer multiple times and spent thousands to fix this problem but it still recurs. I have just had a different shop work on it and have…
Service Brakes 6 Read
When applying the brakes on wet pavements traction control failed, causing vehicle to go into a skid, resulting in a collison. Manufacturer notified
When applying the ABS brakes in normal conditions the pedal resisted, causing extended stopping distance which resulted in a collision. Please give any further details
My wife an I have a 2000 jaguar xk8 convertible and the plastic hydraulic lines ruptured above the interior light spraying hydraulic oil everywhere inside the car, including on us, I contacted the manufacturer and after a month or constant calls they didn't feel it was a problem of theirs and I should pay the…
Visibility 6 Read
The inside rear view mirror on the 2000 jaguar xk8 failed before I purchased it in march. It is an auto chromatic mirror that is supposed to dim at night. However, when it failed it clouded up the mirror and it is very difficult to see, there are 2 images, and it doesn't dim at night. I spoke to the dealer and the…
My rear vision mirror failed. It fogged up and began leaking an oily substance. I couldn't see; it was raining and I had a perilous journey home
Windshield wipers failed. Mjs
Suspension 6 Read
The right and left control arms were found to be defective after consumer noticed the two right front tires were wearing out. Manufacturer offered no assistance
Dt: consumer states: brought in vehicle due to defective convertible top. Found out the lower control arms brackets that are connected to the frame were breaking. They were attached to the frame and were coming loose. Mechanic told consumer to stop driving vehicle right away. The front two tires tread was worn. This…
While driving at any rate of speed vehicle will pull to the right or the left. When appyling the brakes the vehicle severely pulls to the right, cause unknown. Please give any further details
Electrical System 5 Read
Electronic control module
While driving at los angeles freeway at 55mph and with no warning vehicle got shut off, causing consumer to pull off the road. This problem was intermittent. Dealer has inspected vehicle several times, and problem still occurring
Throttle position sensor contacts fail due to design flaw causing ECU to go into limp mode. ECU unable to determine pedal position, causing incorrect fuel metering and incorrect shift pattern
XK8 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Electronic Stability Control | — | — | |
| 2001 | Air Bags | 2 | — | |
| 2000 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1999 | Air Bags | 1 | — | |
| 1998 | Electrical System | 1 | — | |
| 1997 | Electrical System | — | 1 |
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 | 64 |
| Average complaints per series | 1.5 |
| Worst single series | 5 complaints |
| Average age at failure | 6.9 years |
A model average of 1.5 hides a worst series at 5. 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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- No ads, no tracking — and much more
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 XK8?
By complaint volume, 1998, 1997, 1999 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 XK8 years are the cleanest?
2003, 2001, 2000 have the fewest complaints on file. For recent years that can simply mean the cars are young.
How many complaints does the Jaguar XK8 have?
98 owner complaints filed with NHTSA, covering 1997–2003. Of those, 5 describe a crash and 1 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.