Now, if the system is similar to the X300/308, the ‘not in park’
switch only comes into play when you shift from ‘P’, which I cannot
do, so that particular switch may not be at fault. I can hear some
relay or other operating behind the RHS of the dash as I try to
shift out of park and assume (only) that the not in park switch is
doing its job as the stick moves a little.
My Stuck In Park problem comes in cycles. I have had it again last 2 days.
I am beginning to regret selling the old XJ6 S3 for this modern heap
of trouble.
It is not that it has a few faults, but that the reasons are obscure
and Jaguar Australia are in no hurry to help.
They can only suggest go to a dealer when I quiz them about my intermittent limp
mode headache. Now I dare not drive more than 20km from home.
I have spent 30 years designing, making, selling and troubleshooting
complex electronic products.
We do spend effort making the products easy to diagnose and fix when
they go wrong.
That is an important design consideration.
I would know 10 times as much as any Melbourne dealer when it comes to
diagnosing electronic problems.
- There must be a module controlling the Park inhibit.
- There must be small number of input conditions for the module to
decide if you can or can’t get it out of park. - There must be a design engineer who drew up and documented a
schedule for these exclusion conditions.
So if you can’t get it out of park:
4) There is an item mechanically broken.
There is no feedback to the module about breakage.
You just cannot operate the lever. Fair enough, we fix it.
5) The module is faulty. We repair or replace it.
6) The module is o.k., but an input is non compliant.
Well, tell us which input and we track it down.
This is kid’s stuff. This should not be complicated.
This is how my small company tackles such a problem.
We have a USB port on our products.
You start a cycle of operations usually by pressing a button.
You can download the “debug” info into any old PC from the USB port.
You do not need any special software, just standard Microsoft Hyperlink or similar.
As the cycle progresses the debug info scrolls down the page.
A lot of it is plain English about what happens.
Some if it is just code numbers.
It is a list of steps in the software as the cycle progresses.
Customer emails us the plain text file.
The cycle stops for a fault, we know exactly where.
If the cycle goes to the end but the expected result is wrong we can
see 95% of the time why, and tell the customer, who could be anywhere
in the world.
We airmail him a new relay or I.C. or whatever it takes.
95% of the time that fixes it.
Even if the product is 10 years old we just do not charge for any spare
less than $50, it costs us that much to raise an invoice and
process payment.
Our customers keep coming back and buying.
Jaguar would die for the customer loyalty we have just through pure
and simple common sense.
It takes only a small effort, and it really boosts the bottom line.
Our German and U.S. based opposition is also good but we do better in
many countries. We are not especially clever.
So why can’t Jaguar not flash up on a screen a number of clues as to
why the car is stuck in park ?
Their software guys would do it easily, kid’s stuff.
So I need go to a dealer and pay $100 for him to change a relay or
clean a connector ?
Is dealer gratitude to Jaguar more important than customer satisfaction ?
There is enough software and electronics in the car to land it on the
moon if it had a rocket motor.
You should not even need a scanner to check fault codes and suggestions.
A great pity, I do not see Jaguar under Tata doing any better unless
they make every Jaguar owner sing its praises and make the legions who
buy BMWs and Mercs take notice.
If all else fails I have a conversion customer who works high level
in Jaguar and he may be able to help.
Send him to Australia.
If he is management/marketing send him to a Gulag.
Regards
Steve
My next car will be Chinese. With luck it will be agricultural but fixable.
Of course I do have my XJ-Ss. They fail at times, but have never left me stranded.
Very fixable without needing a dealer.
Richard Dowling, Melbourne, Australia.
1979 XJ-S coupe + HE V12 + 5 speed, 1988 XJ-S V12 convertible, 2003 XJ350 3.5L V8