Jaguar XE Forum banner

Car is very jerky for first couple of minutes, normal?

14K views 41 replies 17 participants last post by  BOBCDP 
#1 ·
I've had my XE (2.0TD 180ps R-Sport) for a few weeks now. I've started noticing that when I set off and drive slowly around my local roads, the car feels very jerky. It almost feels like some sort of unstable regenerative braking whenever taking the foot off the pedal.

Is this normal?
 
#2 ·
Have you tried different driving modes. If it's the same in all modes then you may have a bit of a problem. Is the parking brake releasing properly? I found when I had my first test drive it was in a 250ps Sport which had been left in dynamic mode. I knew nothing about the different driving modes at the time and had a hell of a job trying to drive smoothly at the time. I found it very jerky, I now know why.
 
#3 ·
I tend to drive in Eco Mode when being local.

I'm not sure if this is driving mode related as it only occurs for the first couple minutes. When I return to my local roads again after a journey, the issue isn't there anymore even though I'm going slow again. Could it be something to do with the engine needing to warm up?
 
#5 ·
Interesting. I do indeed drive off immediately after the engine has started. How long is the 'cold start' process usually?

With my old diesel (BMW 1 Series, 2005), I don't remember ever having this issue. Does it relate to the technology in newer cars since then?
 
#6 ·
khalo said:
Interesting. I do indeed drive off immediately after the engine has started. How long is the 'cold start' process usually?

With my old diesel (BMW 1 Series, 2005), I don't remember ever having this issue. Does it relate to the technology in newer cars since then?
Everything now is aimed at reducing emissions, and I suspect this is part of it.
 
#8 ·
I have recently bought my 1st xe and its auto as well, i have the same issue, it feels like the brakes are being applied. i live on a slight hill and when driving down the hill and as i approach the speed bumps the car seems to brake.
 
#9 ·
That is definitely not normal. Same car and mine is fine in any mode from cold. Can't help you on the cause but something is not right.
 
#11 ·
I've got the 180D as well, mine doesn't do this. On occasion you can feel it change down to first at very low speed, which does add a little braking effect but only for a second.

Generally, as mentioned in the other thread, I find mine has very little engine braking. I run mine in Eco mode as well - it really suits the characteristics of the 180D engine.
 
#12 ·
Pete McK said:
I've got the 180D as well, mine doesn't do this. On occasion you can feel it change down to first at very low speed, which does add a little braking effect but only for a second.
Changing down to first causing a braking effect could be what's happening here. It only happens for a second each time for the first couple of corners of the road. But the fact that braking effect is felt several times every time I set off is quite unsettling.
 
#13 ·
I think I've ruled out any braking issues. I experimented by switching to neutral as I slowed down and I didn't experience the issue.

Also, in Sports Mode it's feels quite a bit better.

Not gone to a garage yet as I want to understand this better before paying some diagnostic charge.
 
#14 ·
I am experiencing something quiet similar.

While braking from whatever speed it is almost impossible to maintain a continuous deceleration. It describes best, as if the engine / transmission are working against the brakes. Whenever the transmission shifts down a gear, braking gets in a very perceptible way stronger and is getting less as soon as the gear has been changed.

Maybe I haven´t been aware of this in the past and it is absolutely normal. Can anybody confirm?
 
#15 ·
What mode do you drive in and how 'vigorously ' do you drive?

I do find as above it can change down as you brake, but it's only really noticeable at low speed.
The harder you brake, the earlier it will change down - especially in dynamic mode.
 
#16 ·
I spend most of my time in Sports/Dynamic mode, anything else and the gearbox and engine spend a lot of time having a conference as to what should be happening, i.e. slip roads joining dual carriageway or motorway, almost dangerous with the big delay when trying to merge into traffic.
 
#18 ·
The only time I feel the car change down with a bit of engine braking is with the gearbox in "S".
That's because it selects a higher gear than normal for an "enthusiastic" getaway when you go back on the gas.
Like others I can sometimes feel it engage 2nd (XE's take off in 2nd) when coming to a stop.
Options would be to try various driving modes and see if there's any difference.
Or to get the latest gearbox software done which will also reset the gearbox.
Or if you happen to have a garage with a ramp then get underneath and smack it with a hammer until it gets its head sorted out.
:D
 
#19 ·
PhilB said:
The only time I feel the car change down with a bit of engine braking is with the gearbox in "S".
That's because it selects a higher gear than normal for an "enthusiastic" getaway when you go back on the gas.
Like others I can sometimes feel it engage 2nd (XE's take off in 2nd) when coming to a stop.
Options would be to try various driving modes and see if there's any difference.
Or to get the latest gearbox software done which will also reset the gearbox.
Or if you happen to have a garage with a ramp then get underneath and smack it with a hammer until it gets its head sorted out.
:D
Oh Gawd - not ecky thump again. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
#20 ·
Update:

So I finally got my car thoroughly investigated by my local garage and test driven from cold and warm. This garage happens to have good reviews so I'm fairly trusting of their service.

They are adamant the car is perfect. They say this type of jerking is normal for a sports gearbox, particularly before the car has warmed up properly. The mechanic and his family are Jag drivers which helps here too.

I'm obviously happy with this result but a little surprised that you buy a Jag (or perhaps any modern car?) and you don't get a smooth drive at low speed while the engine warms up. However, my previous car was a BMW 1 Series 2005 and that is my only real source of comparison which is probably irrelevant. All I know is, it never felt jerky in these scenarios.

PhilB said:
The only time I feel the car change down with a bit of engine braking is with the gearbox in "S".
That's the only time I don't feel it. This jerkiness is far less an issue with 'S' mode.
 
#22 ·
Pete McK said:
PhilB said:
...XE's take off in 2nd...
As with XFs, this does seem to depend on which engine you have. Unless my 2017 180D is in winter mode, it always pulls away from a stop in first.
How do you know?
 
#23 ·
FWIW, either I got used to it, and/or there was a noticeable change around 10k miles on my XE.

Braking you used to feel the car go down through the gears and what felt like excessive engine braking in each one.
Acceleration the car would always change up early rather than pulling hard in the current gear - you felt the pause evert time before getting any power i.e. it was really hard to drive the thing smoothly even with careful right pedal use.

Originally I put it down to the car being setup 'sporty' rather than smooth - but something definitely changed ~a year on and ~10k miles on the road.
Call it adaptive gearbox? - I also wouldn't be surprised if there was some sort of running in procedure built in until everything loosens up (in a good way) around 10k miles.

Its head and shoulders a better drive at the moment than when first bought.
Foot of the accelerator and certainly you can feel it changing down through the gears, as the driver, but nothing like a sporty downchange with engine breaking. Foot on the loud pedal and the default (in normal mode) is to pull first and change down later if needed (I'm not talking kick down territory which obv. changes down much sooner, just moderate put your foot down)

Might be just a case of waiting?
 
#25 ·
Indianajons said:
Pete McK said:
PhilB said:
...XE's take off in 2nd...
As with XFs, this does seem to depend on which engine you have. Unless my 2017 180D is in winter mode, it always pulls away from a stop in first.
How do you know?
RPM vs MPH. It's going into lockup in 1st pretty quickly, plus if you manually kick it down to 1st the RPM/MPH match up as per start from rest.

There were long discussions on Jaginfo about this, it does appear to depend which engine you have as to whether it will start in 2nd or 1st. The 4 cylinders do appear to use 1st, 6s and 8s in the XF appear to use 2nd. I have only driven 4 cylinder XEs and XFs personally.
 
#26 ·
Pete McK said:
There were long discussions on Jaginfo about this, it does appear to depend which engine you have as to whether it will start in 2nd or 1st. The 4 cylinders do appear to use 1st, 6s and 8s in the XF appear to use 2nd. I have only driven 4 cylinder XEs and XFs personally.
There were discussions on here as well.
I seem to recall that people using the paddles which give an actual gear indication when they come to a halt found it had stopped and took off in second.

Quick search found this topic (4 cylinder).
https://www.xeforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=7752
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top