Jaguar XK8/XKR Rough Idling at Start-Up

On the luxury vehicle circuit, few brands can match Jaguar’s recognition in delivering beautiful, powerful luxury vehicles. The Jaguar XK series lives up to consumers’ expectations in both respects. Their elegant design paired with dependability and performance keeps consumers coming back year after year. The vehicles that Jaguar produces appeals to many different tastes and preferences. While the XK series is widely praised as a brilliant example of the British automaker’s best vehicles, they do have some known issues.

Some Jaguar XK8/XKR owners experience rough idling in their vehicles, particularly on startup. The vehicle turns over with no issue, but as the engine warms it begins to vibrate or shake violently. The vehicle may also emit a light grey smoke coming from the exhaust. Usually, this condition will trip the warning lights on the dashboard.

This issue presents itself suddenly and without other warning issues. The XK8 may not exhibit any problems one day and then have a rough idling issue the next day. Typically this does not happen every time the vehicle is started, perhaps once out of ten times. The best way to research this issue is to download the fault codes out of the engine, which can be performed easily by a local import service specialist.

Several potential causes may be the culprit in a rough idling issue and we recommend visiting your independent Jaguar mechanic to address the issue. He or she will read the fault codes stored in your engine and decide on a course of action that will put less strain on your time and pocketbook than a typical visit to your Jaguar dealership.

Search for a local, independent Jaguar repair shop with Jaguar mechanics that have dealer-level expertise at a fraction of the expense.