Gear box fault

[BrianS]

Looking for some help please. Bought my 1st 2.2 litre XF last summer, it's on a 12 plate & I'm more than happy with the car. The problem I am having , is that when the temperature is very cold i.e. frosty, I start the car and when I try to put it in drive, I get a "Gear box fault" message on the com & the gearbox won't engage, this has happened four times over the winter. After I've left the car for a while it's been fine when I get back. Can any body tell me what's causing this & what I can do to fix it.

[Big John]

Hi Brian

Welcome to the club. First port of call with warning lights in the XF is the battery. These cars (as with all modern luxury cars) are a couple of dozen computers all chatting over several networks with a wheel at each corner. If the battery gets even slightly low it can trigger all sorts of random errors. Given we are still in a pandemic I imagine your driving has been limited to a fewer long runs so it could well be that the battery is a bit tired. It is also quite possible your car is still on its original battery and in need or replacement. If you don't have a voltmeter a little cigarette lighter LED voltmeter is around £10 from eBay and a good place to start. If you can either charge the battery using a good maintainer (Don't just take the battery out to charge it can cause all sorts of issues) or take it for a long run with minimal use of accessories.

Hopefully this will sort it but even if it does you may need to clear the fault codes. If not you will need to get the fault codes from either a Jag dealer or a Jag specialist to look for any "real" fault.

Not long after I got mine 2 years ago I got a faulty air suspension warning after I had been sat waiting at a railway car park playing with the toys. After a run problem cleared.

Fingers crossed

John

[BrianS]

Thanks John, I'll give that ago. I've got a volt meter so hopefully won't be a problem.