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FIX: XE sewing machine rattle in passenger cabin (TSB)

84K views 153 replies 46 participants last post by  Raj  
#1 ·
So having left my car in at Harwoods Basingstoke to have a couple of warranty issues sorted, I was intrigued to find that despite me not really expecting a fix, the technician had agreed that mine was noisy and applied a TSB which he reckoned would cure it, even though it was outside the expected VIN range. They claim that has fixed it and from what I can tell thus far, it has... :D

The culprit? As mentioned as one of the theories in the sewing machine thread, an earthing strap (causing noise transfer from the high pressure fuel pump)!... I took some pics of the TSB which was included in my document pack (click the images to view the bigger versions on my Google Drive) which will hopefully allow those of you suffering a similar affliction to point your dealership in that direction, even if your VIN is outside the TSB range... Clearly it could be something else, but it's a cheap initial fix for them to try! NB the XE is an X760 (260 is XF, 761 FPace).

Note also that there are several variants of the XE affected, not just the XE S...







 
#2 ·
Thanks for the info, i am sure it will help with members and there ticking noise, luckily mine is OK so far at 7600m
Glad that you have yours back , i bet its quicker than the XJ , just love the XEs in paddle mode off the lights , seems more ferocious than
in Ds as you pull away in first rather than second-enjoy :D
 
#3 ·
I've not tried it with the paddles in 1st. If you're in S I would have thought it would use 1st from rest too...? I know my old XKR uses 2nd in D so it's not a new thing...
 
#4 ·
It's a shame it took Jaguar nearly 2 years to admit that the S had this problem. I complained a number of times about this and was continually fed the usual "it's normal" line.

I got rid of my S a couple of months ago and this was one of the reasons for me doing so. I was disappointed with Jaguar's customer service as I'd initially hoped it would be a cut above other manufacturers.

A real shame as otherwise it was a great car. I'd struggle to justify buying another Jag.
 
#5 ·
mistral_blue said:
I've not tried it with the paddles in 1st. If you're in S I would have thought it would use 1st from rest too...? I know my old XKR uses 2nd in D so it's not a new thing...
I did on my previous in 1st and it had several "shunts" from the rear wheels before the traction control kicked in and it launched.
Not sure it was any faster overall than doing the standard take off in 2nd.
Good news is though the new one squirms slightly on take off in 2nd but launches far better than the previous one.

comet said:
It's a shame it took Jaguar nearly 2 years to admit that the S had this problem. I complained a number of times about this and was continually fed the usual "it's normal" line.
I got rid of my S a couple of months ago and this was one of the reasons for me doing so. I was disappointed with Jaguar's customer service as I'd initially hoped it would be a cut above other manufacturers.
A real shame as otherwise it was a great car. I'd struggle to justify buying another Jag.
The thing is though that they didn't all have that problem!
It's clear from the OP's post that the ticking in the cabin may well have been down to the earth strap which has been on a general recall for breaking in other XE's.

If you look at the other threads it also mentions the noises outside the car particularly when cold.
My previous had this issue when cold but it soon went when it was warm.
It may well be the dealer was referring to this as being normal.

The good news is that Jaguar must be looking at noise or the NVH thing as there is now quite a lot of thin foam sound deadening lining the engine bay on my My 18 and definitely no ticking inside or outside on startup.
 
#6 ·
comet said:
It's a shame it took Jaguar nearly 2 years to admit that the S had this problem. I complained a number of times about this and was continually fed the usual "it's normal" line.

I got rid of my S a couple of months ago and this was one of the reasons for me doing so. I was disappointed with Jaguar's customer service as I'd initially hoped it would be a cut above other manufacturers.

A real shame as otherwise it was a great car. I'd struggle to justify buying another Jag.
It is a shame but I had the same experience with a new VW. It took 2 years and a technical bulletin from VW in the USA to come up with a cure. The UK were useless.

I have my car booked in to have this carried out along with numerous other faults. I'd like to stress to others with a similiar noise that the technical bulletin applies to all XEs and not just the S.

This will be Jaguars last chance at keeping me as a customer if this does not give me the results I'm hoping for.
 
#7 ·
BAIKAR said:
I'd like to stress to others with a similiar noise that the technical bulletin applies to all XEs and not just the S.
Good point, I've edited my original post to highlight this in bold! :!:
 
#9 ·
mistral_blue,

Thank you so much for this!!!

Took the car over to my local dealership, handing over a print out of the bulletin to their service department where I have been complaining about this since I had the car. The same people that thought I was essentially complaining for no reason now were completely embarrassed when I handed over an official JRL warranty repair bulletin. Something they should have bloody surfaced themselves!

The issue is now completely gone, even when putting it in S first thing in a cold morning - Can't hear it any more at all!

I must say it was an even bigger pleasure to see them embarrassed when handing over the printout than the actual fix.......................! :D
 
#10 ·
comet said:
....I was disappointed with Jaguar's customer service as I'd initially hoped it would be a cut above other manufacturers......A real shame as otherwise it was a great car. I'd struggle to justify buying another Jag.
I do feel in Jaguars defence - or any other manufacturer for that matter - that poor customer service or follow up is quite often to do only with the particular franchise or dealership you are dealing with.

I have found Jaguars service levels generally to be a cut above the rest, but within the 5 dealerships that have dealt with over the last 10 years I have had the best experiences of my car driving life with 2 of them but also the worst on record with another - that one involved attempting to sell me a heavily crash damaged and repaired vehicle after I had asked about the cars damage history and being told it was clean. An AA inspection before I handed over any money found the tell tales that I couldn't see myself. That is the kind of thing I expect to get from an alleyway car dealer. But that's not Jaguars fault as a manufacturer and it hasn't kept me away from the brand at all.

Perhaps your experience comet goes beyond your relationship with the dealer you got the car from, but I would hope that a lack of attention from one business wouldn't cloud your view of the brand overall. There are plenty of good places out there!!

Every brand suffers from the same problems in this respect.... Jaguar is not immune....
 
#11 ·
Just to interject my thoughts;

I would agree that there needs to be a clear demarcation between Jaguar itself and the various dealers & their standards. I equally had some great JLR dealership experiences and some horrid ones.

However, there should be a level of accountability that Jaguar should have in terms of end user experience. That is especially on occasions such as these where we are talking some people had this issue for 2 years. Procedures need to be looked at when a problem is clearly identified and somehow gets 'missed' and subsequently ignored within the recall procedures.
 
#12 ·
This particular issue - the ticking noise - is not a recall. Uncorrected, it has no short term or long term implications. It is an action required only if the customer complains about it.

Personally, I am actually impressed that Jaguar would have something like this - an item caused only by how the car was put together which they will change at no cost if you don't like it. A LOT of other manufacturers would not do that if there was no proven safety or reliability issue involved.

As for the 2 years thing, again that is not Jaguar in my mind, that is the result of a sloppy and lazy dealership. I'd imagine half the time they don't bother their arses going into their computers to see if there any fix - they just try to reassure you that it the same on every car - which it may well be in their limited experience.

I have my car a week. During my short flick through topix and the various bulletins on there, I came across this fix. It's been there for ages. If a dealership has been telling owners that it's normal and nothing can be done then it's simply because they didn't bother checking their systems. What other reason could there be?

It makes pure sound business sense to not fix this at all if it's not a risk to the car or driver. Jaguar have decided to offer a fix anyway, but it could only ever be offered to those that actually have it and who don't like it. If they tell their franchises that the fix exists if it's needed I don't really see what else they can do?

I know I sound ridiculously in defense of Jag and I'm not saying they are blame free at all but all I'm getting at is a bad experience such as this is a local problem. Avoid XYZ Jaguar cars Ltd or Joey Backstreet Jaguar or whoever by all means, but avoiding the brand will just as likely leave you suffering the same problems with Johnny HighStreet BMW or ABC Mercedes around the corner.

Sorry if I sound like I'm ranting - I'm really not - I just think perspective gets a little lost on occasion....
 
#13 ·
angra123 said:
mistral_blue,

Thank you so much for this!!!

Took the car over to my local dealership, handing over a print out of the bulletin to their service department where I have been complaining about this since I had the car. The same people that thought I was essentially complaining for no reason now were completely embarrassed when I handed over an official JRL warranty repair bulletin. Something they should have bloody surfaced themselves!

The issue is now completely gone, even when putting it in S first thing in a cold morning - Can't hear it any more at all!

I must say it was an even bigger pleasure to see them embarrassed when handing over the printout than the actual fix.......................! :D
Excellent news, if I have helped one person get rid of this annoying noise by this post it has achieved my aim! :mrgreen:

I agree entirely that blaming Jaguar vs the dealerships is one that requires some thought, Jaguar have addressed the problem and put the TSB to the Dealerships, so they have done their bit as the manufacturer really. That said I don't agree with regards to fixing the problem as a goodwill gesture vs other manufacturers, I do not expect a car costing nearly ÂŁ40k (or indeed any car I buy) to rattle like a sewing machine, the cabin should be damn near silent when running but for the aircon (you can guarantee this would have been extensively tested by the noise and vibration team during the design phase), anything less is a manufacturing defect and should be sorted by the manufacturer. I can however understand why it was not issued as a recall, as it may not be present in all vehicles of course...
 
#16 ·
Hmnnn, I think I may have this issue? - I have a loud buzzing from the rear passenger area, whilst driving it's difficult to hear eactly from where but it seems to appear particularly at higher speeds and on rougher road surfaces... could this be the earth strap issue? :?:
 
#17 ·
UV Blue said:
Hmnnn, I think I may have this issue? - I have a loud buzzing from the rear passenger area, whilst driving it's difficult to hear eactly from where but it seems to appear particularly at higher speeds and on rougher road surfaces... could this be the earth strap issue? :?:
The earth strap issue is mainly located in the front of the car behind the bulkhead.
I think you need to go for a drive with someone in the back to see if they can locate it.
With the very hot temps recently things might have come unstuck or need a thump back in place.
 
#18 ·
PhilB said:
UV Blue said:
Hmnnn, I think I may have this issue? - I have a loud buzzing from the rear passenger area, whilst driving it's difficult to hear eactly from where but it seems to appear particularly at higher speeds and on rougher road surfaces... could this be the earth strap issue? :?:
The earth strap issue is mainly located in the front of the car behind the bulkhead.
I think you need to go for a drive with someone in the back to see if they can locate it.
With the very hot temps recently things might have come unstuck or need a thump back in place.
This is a ÂŁ40K motor car... if they can't make one that doesn't "come unstuck" or " need a thump back in place" after a spell of hot weather then they deserve to go out of business
 
#19 ·
Indianajons said:
PhilB said:
UV Blue said:
Hmnnn, I think I may have this issue? - I have a loud buzzing from the rear passenger area, whilst driving it's difficult to hear eactly from where but it seems to appear particularly at higher speeds and on rougher road surfaces... could this be the earth strap issue? :?:
The earth strap issue is mainly located in the front of the car behind the bulkhead.
I think you need to go for a drive with someone in the back to see if they can locate it.
With the very hot temps recently things might have come unstuck or need a thump back in place.
This is a ÂŁ40K motor car... if they can't make one that doesn't "come unstuck" or " need a thump back in place" after a spell of hot weather then they deserve to go out of business
Thanks for the constructive observation.
I was just trying to help with the previous question.
;)
 
#21 ·
PhilB said:
Indianajons said:
PhilB said:
The earth strap issue is mainly located in the front of the car behind the bulkhead.
I think you need to go for a drive with someone in the back to see if they can locate it.
With the very hot temps recently things might have come unstuck or need a thump back in place.
This is a ÂŁ40K motor car... if they can't make one that doesn't "come unstuck" or " need a thump back in place" after a spell of hot weather then they deserve to go out of business
Thanks for the constructive observation.
I was just trying to help with the previous question.
;)
No offence meant... I was just trying to point out that until Jag enthusiasts stop tolerating & making excuses for poor quality things will never improve. Remember how quickly Japanese cars & motorbikes improved when people stopped buying them in the 60s & 70s
 
#22 ·
Indianajons said:
No offence meant... I was just trying to point out that until Jag enthusiasts stop tolerating & making excuses for poor quality things will never improve. Remember how quickly Japanese cars & motorbikes improved when people stopped buying them in the 60s & 70s
None taken and nobody is making excuses and you are assuming it's poor quality before we know the real cause.
 
#23 ·
PhilB said:
Indianajons said:
No offence meant... I was just trying to point out that until Jag enthusiasts stop tolerating & making excuses for poor quality things will never improve. Remember how quickly Japanese cars & motorbikes improved when people stopped buying them in the 60s & 70s
None taken and nobody is making excuses and you are assuming it's poor quality before we know the real cause.
...thanks Phil, I'll try and get a passenger in the back to check out the rattle, as long as they take their shoes off, wear clean clothes, don't break wind and keep their hands off anything anyone is welcome in the back seat! :lol: but right now I'm attending to a minor dent issue, the rattle can wait!
 
#24 ·
Hi All

My recently acquired 18k mile XE-S has a sort of tappety type noise that increases in speed in sync with revs, and is worst at higher revs (under load), and that could be the 'sewing machine' thing although I wouldn't describe it as a rattle (not knowing what the sewing machine thing sounds like - perhaps one persons sewing machine rattle is another persons high speed tappety?)

Does anyone have the VIN range for affected XE's? My car was registered 0/03/2016 so likely to have been built early 2016.

If the earth strap was 'manufactured to the incorrect specification' as per the TSB then surely a specific batch of cars can be identified and all of those cars will be affected?

Thanks
 
#25 ·
Can't help with the VIN range but yours sounds like the classic earth strap issue and it's age makes it in the ball park.
I wouldn't worry about the VIN range too much as we have seen others whose cars weren't supposed to be affected by other issues but still needed fixes.
On the first page of this thread is a copy of the technical bulletin JTB 00483V4 which you can quote to the dealer to get the updated strap which should fix things.