Jaguar XJ common problems & fixes (X351 2010–2019, X350/X358 2003–2009)

Written by the C4R team from DVSA data and owner reports. Fact-checked 2026-10-13.

30-second verdict

A used Jaguar XJ gets you a fast, refined luxury saloon for modest money. Check the diesel's oil and DPF, the air suspension and the electrics first. It suits high-mileage drivers who can budget for big-car parts and tyres. The 3.0 V6 diesel is by far the most common engine; it needs long runs, on-time oil changes and a cambelt every seven years or 112,000 miles. Owners mostly report electrical and infotainment glitches. Our pick is a 2016–2019 X351 3.0 diesel (300PS, eight-speed automatic) with a full history and every recall closed. X350 and X358 cars have air springs at all four corners, so budget for suspension work.

Generations at a glance

UK trims on the X351 included Luxury, Premium Luxury, Portfolio, Supersport, R-Sport, Autobiography and XJR. Sources for the table: Wikipedia: Jaguar XJ (X350), Wikipedia: Jaguar XJ (X351), Jaguar's 2013 model year announcement, Jaguar's 2016 model year XJ release, Auto Express's used XJ guide, Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide and Autocar's X350 XJR guide.

Known issues

What Car?'s owner survey puts the 2010–2019 XJ at the top of the luxury class for reliability. Electrical systems away from the engine are the main complaint, and diesels draw more engine-related reports than petrols. The points below are the ones worth checking at a viewing, most important first.

1. Fuel-diluted oil and DPF trouble (3.0 diesel)

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: an oil level that sits above the maximum mark or keeps rising between services, DPF or engine warning lights, and reduced power.
• Which cars: X351 3.0 V6 diesels of all years (275PS 2010–2015, 300PS 2015–2019), especially cars used mostly for short trips. Owners of X350 and X358 2.7 diesels (2005–2009) report the same rising oil level and blocked filters on town-driven cars.
• Why: the diesel particulate filter (DPF) is cleaned by burning off soot with extra fuel. If that regeneration keeps being cut short, fuel can reach the sump and thin the oil. Autocar separately warns that the V6 diesel can suffer crankshaft bearing failure. A Jaguar engine supplier told Prestige & Performance Car it sells many 3.0 diesels to owners whose engines failed after regeneration problems put fuel in the oil. The car also needs a service reset after each oil change for regeneration to work properly.
• Fix: a Jaguar-capable diagnostic check of soot loading, sensors and regeneration history, then fresh oil and a fix for whatever is stopping regenerations finishing. A failed bearing means a rebuilt or replacement engine. Early diesels can also have carbon-clogged valves on the secondary turbo system, which specialists can sometimes clean rather than replace.
• DIY difficulty: 1/5 to check the oil level; 5/5 for engine work.
• Check when buying: check the oil level before the test drive, look for oil changes on time with a service reset, and ask what journeys the car does. On the drive, listen for any knocking from the engine and make sure no DPF or engine warnings appear.
• Evidence: Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide; Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide, written with independent Jaguar specialists; What Car?'s owner reports of DPF repairs and diesel warnings; JaguarForums.com X350 advice published by CAT magazine.

2. Air suspension sagging or warnings

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: one corner or the rear of the car sitting low, a suspension warning, a compressor that seems to run constantly, or a hollow rattle from a worn damper mounting bush.
• Which cars: X351 cars have air suspension at the rear only, with coil springs at the front. X350 and X358 cars have air springs at all four corners, so there is more to wear out.
• Why: air springs and struts age and leak. On the X350, owners say a leaking strut keeps the compressor running and wears it out sooner, and specialists also point to the valve block in the boot. JaguarForums.com advice adds that the X350's front ride height can drift over time, because only one front corner has a height sensor.
• Fix: find the leak or failed part with diagnostics before buying parts. Prestige & Performance Car quoted about £850 to replace an X351 rear air damper. Coil-spring conversion kits are sold for the X350, though Autocar does not see them as ideal.
• DIY difficulty: 4/5.
• Check when buying: look at the car on level ground before it has been started, then again after the drive. It should sit level, rise promptly and show no warnings. Ask whether struts or the compressor have been replaced.
• Evidence: Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide; Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide; Autocar's X350 XJR guide (leaky struts, compressors and the valve block); JaguarForums.com advice in CAT magazine.

3. Worn front suspension bushes and uneven tyre wear

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: clonks from the front over bumps, knocks from front or rear, and tyres wearing on their inner or outer shoulders.
• Which cars: all generations. On the X351, specialists name the front-most bush of the front lower control arm and the upper wishbone bushes and ball joint. On the X350, the front lower arm bushes can split and the rear lower bushes often fail.
• Why: the XJ is a heavy car on large wheels, and its rubber bushes wear with mileage and potholes. X350 owners treat the wishbone bushes as a service item, saying they last roughly 30,000 to 50,000 miles.
• Fix: replace the worn bush or the complete arm, then have a four-wheel alignment. On the X351, a camber adjustment bolt runs through the control-arm bush, so alignment after the work is essential. Anti-roll bar drop links and mounts can also knock.
• DIY difficulty: 3/5 with a press and alignment access.
• Check when buying: look across the full width of each tyre, drive over broken roads with the radio off and make sure the car tracks straight. Tyres for 18 to 20-inch wheels can cost up to £250 each, according to Auto Express in 2019, so a car needing four is worth haggling over.
• Evidence: Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide; Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide; Autocar's X350 XJR guide; JaguarForums.com advice in CAT magazine; Auto Express's used XJ guide on tyre prices.

4. Electrical and infotainment glitches

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: a slow or glitchy touchscreen, sat-nav and infotainment faults, DAB reception dropping out, electric seat adjustment not working, or doors that will not lock or unlock with the central locking.
• Which cars: all X351s, with early cars the most criticised. Auto Express says the screen on early cars is slow by modern standards, and that things were much better by 2013. The 2016 model year brought the faster InControl Touch Pro system. X350s have their own electrical faults; Autocar names a poor earth behind the headlights as one cause of widespread trouble.
• Why: there is no single fault. Owners describe many small electrical issues, and Parkers mentions software glitches on this complex car. Auto Express reports owners losing DAB reception when the heated rear window is switched on. Door latches can fail, stopping a door locking or unlocking with the central locking.
• Fix: start with a battery and charging check and a full diagnostic scan, and check for software updates. Diagnose wiring and modules properly before replacing expensive parts. One specialist told Prestige & Performance Car that second-hand door locks are not worth fitting.
• DIY difficulty: 2/5 for basic checks; 4/5 for module diagnosis.
• Check when buying: pair your phone, enter a sat-nav destination, tune the DAB with the heated rear window on, work every seat motor, lock every door with the key and remote, and check the tyre pressure monitoring reports all four wheels.
• Evidence: What Car?'s used XJ reliability report; Auto Express's used XJ guide; Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide; Parkers; Prestige & Performance Car on door latches; Autocar's X350 XJR guide on the headlight earth.

5. Coolant leaks from the header tank and pipework

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: a falling coolant level or traces of pink coolant around the expansion (header) tank and the hoses near it.
• Which cars: X351 cars of all engines; the diesel also has coolant pipework in the centre of the V that can crack. The X350 has a similar weak point at the bleed pipe on the expansion bottle.
• Why: a small bleed-pipe outlet on the plastic header tank can fracture. On the X351 diesel, specialists also report leaks from the coolant housing in the middle of the V and from the water pump outlet. On the X350, owners also report the electric auxiliary heater pump leaking with age.
• Fix: replace the cracked tank, housing or pump, then refill and bleed the system properly. Prestige & Performance Car put a new X351 header tank at around £90.
• DIY difficulty: 2/5 for the header tank; 4/5 for the diesel's V housing.
• Check when buying: with the engine cold, check the coolant level and look around the narrow hose by the header tank's pressure cap for pink residue. Ask whether any coolant parts have been renewed.
• Evidence: Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide; Autocar's X350 XJR guide; JaguarForums.com advice in CAT magazine.

6. Panoramic roof frame corrosion and creaks

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: corrosion on the roof frame around the glass, a roof that does not slide smoothly on its tracks, or creaks, pops and rattles over rough roads.
• Which cars: X351 cars with the panoramic glass roof, which Auto Express lists as standard from the entry-level Luxury trim upwards.
• Why: the frame and steel tracks of the roof can corrode. One specialist told Prestige & Performance Car that Jaguar has recorded the repair in a technical bulletin. The creaking is a separate complaint that Auto Express flags on test drives.
• Fix: if caught early, specialists clean off the corrosion, treat and repaint the area and cover it with trim tape, which takes a few hours. Badly corroded roofs may need the whole roof cassette replaced.
• DIY difficulty: 3/5 for early treatment; 5/5 for a cassette change.
• Check when buying: open and close the roof and blind fully, look closely at the frame edges, and listen for creaks on a rough road.
• Evidence: Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide; Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide (roof tracks can corrode); Auto Express's used XJ guide (creaks and rattles).

7. Automatic gearbox: shift quality and sump leaks

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: a lurch or clunk when pulling away, harsh downshifts, surging at steady speed, or oil weeping from the gearbox sump.
• Which cars: X350, X358 and early X351 cars use a six-speed automatic; X351s from the 2013 model year have an eight-speed ZF unit, which Autocar rates as more reliable.
• Why: JaguarForums.com advice says the X350's six-speed is sealed for life, with no fluid change in Jaguar's official schedule, and Prestige & Performance Car found the X351's ZF gearbox is not normally serviced either, though some specialists recommend it. X350 owners say most shift complaints were cured with a fluid and filter change plus a software update, though some gearboxes needed replacing. The sump pan, which includes the filter, can leak.
• Fix: a fluid and filter change with a reset of the gearbox's learned settings, plus a new sump pan if it leaks. Recommended intervals vary: Autocar suggests checking for changes at 35,000-mile intervals, while one specialist told Prestige & Performance Car about every 80,000 miles or ten years.
• DIY difficulty: 3/5.
• Check when buying: drive from cold and again when hot, with gentle and firm acceleration and slow traffic. Shifts should be smooth with no flare or bang. Ask for proof of any fluid change.
• Evidence: Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide; Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide; Autocar's X350 XJR guide (sump leak); JaguarForums.com advice in CAT magazine.

8. 5.0 V8 timing chains and carbon on the valves

Label: Inspection point

• What you notice: possibly nothing until a fault develops, so listen carefully for rattles when the engine starts from cold.
• Which cars: X351 5.0 V8s, naturally aspirated and supercharged, including the XJR.
• Why: carbon can build up and make valves stick. The timing chains can also fail, although specialists gave Prestige & Performance Car mixed reports: some had replaced many on V8 XJs and others had not.
• Fix: sticking valves may respond to a fuel additive, otherwise the cylinder head comes off for cleaning. Chain replacement quotes in that article ranged from about £1,700 to about £4,000.
• DIY difficulty: 5/5.
• Check when buying: arrange to hear the engine start from cold and walk away from any car with a chain rattle unless the price reflects the repair. Ask for records of any chain work.
• Evidence: Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide, based on interviews with several independent Jaguar specialists.

9. Aluminium body corrosion and costly crash repairs

Label: Reported by owners and independent specialists

• What you notice: corrosion spots or bubbling paint along panel edges, poor paint repairs on the corners, or moisture inside the rear light clusters.
• Which cars: corrosion is reported mainly on X350 and X358 cars, at the boot lip, the lower rear corners of the rear doors, the front wheel-arch lips and around the rear window seal. Their steel subframes and fixings can also rust on salted roads. Every XJ in this guide has a bonded and riveted aluminium body.
• Why: aluminium does not rust like steel, but it can suffer filiform corrosion, and steel bolts corrode where they touch aluminium. Bonded and riveted panels make major accident repairs a specialist job.
• Fix: specialists in aluminium panels can treat surface corrosion. Seized steel fixings often snap when undone, which adds labour to suspension work.
• DIY difficulty: 4/5.
• Check when buying: inspect the edges listed above, the body corners and the rear lights. Be wary of an X351 with accident damage beyond the bumpers.
• Evidence: Autocar's X350 XJR guide; JaguarForums.com advice in CAT magazine; Prestige & Performance Car's X351 guide; Autocar's nearly-new XJ guide (body corners, repairs and rear light moisture).

Recalls (DVSA data)

These are the Jaguar XJ records in the local DVSA recalls CSV (downloaded 2026-10-07), summarised in our own words. Refs, launch dates and build windows are copied from the file. Several campaigns covered only a handful of cars, and a car built inside a window is not necessarily affected. Always check the exact registration on the GOV.UK vehicle recall checker and ask a Jaguar dealer to confirm every campaign is closed against the VIN.

X351 (cars built from 2009)

X350 and X358 (cars built 2002–2009)

DVSA notes on these rows: no row has an end date before its start date. The build windows for R/2004/003 and R/2009/047 open before X350 production began in September 2002. They are shown as recorded, and because DVSA gives the model only as XJ, a late previous-generation car could also fall inside them. Three older XJ records (R/1994/085, R/1999/044 and R/2003/113, for cars built 1994–2000) cover earlier generations and are not listed here.

MOT watch-points

No C4R pass-rate or failure-rate figures are given here, because we have not computed them from DVSA's anonymised MOT data for this model. Read the individual car's record on the GOV.UK MOT history service and look for advisories that repeat from year to year.

• Tyres: uneven wear on the inner or outer shoulders points to worn suspension bushes, and big XJ tyres are expensive.
• Suspension: worn control-arm bushes, drop links and anti-roll bar mounts, plus damper or air-strut mounting bushes. On air-sprung cars, a corner sitting low needs explaining.
• Brakes: the X351 has an electronic parking brake. Specialists warn that rear pads fitted without the proper service mode can drag, so after a drive with little braking, check whether one wheel is much hotter than the others. On early X350 XJR and Super V8 models, JaguarForums.com owners say the original Brembo discs warp and cause judder under braking.
• Emissions: since May 2018, a diesel with a DPF fails the MOT if the tester sees smoke of any colour from the exhaust or finds the filter has been tampered with.
• Lights: check the rear clusters for moisture inside, and make sure every lamp works.
• Exhaust and corrosion: What Car? owners mention the exhaust among their faults, and X350 diesel owners report leaking flexible joints that let fumes into the cabin. Steel subframes, brake pipes and fixings can rust on older cars.

Buying one? Our checklist

1. Run the registration through the GOV.UK recall and MOT history checkers, then ask a Jaguar dealer to confirm every recall is closed against the VIN.
2. On a diesel, ask for the invoice for the cambelt, which Auto Express says is due every seven years or 112,000 miles. Almost every X351 diesel is now past the seven-year point.
3. Check the oil level before driving, read the service record for on-time oil changes, and ask how the car is normally used. A town-only diesel is a risk.
4. Hear the engine start from cold. Walk away from a V8 with a chain rattle or a diesel that knocks.
5. Look at the car on level ground before and after the drive. It should sit level with no suspension warning; on an X350 or X358 check all four corners.
6. Drive on broken roads and listen for front-end clonks, then check every tyre across its full width.
7. Test the gearbox from cold and hot. Ask whether the fluid and filter have ever been changed and look for oil under the sump.
8. Try every electrical feature: screen, sat nav, phone, DAB with the heated rear window on, seat motors, locks, cameras, tyre pressure monitoring and the panoramic roof.
9. Inspect the aluminium body edges, corners and rear lights, and lift the bonnet to look for pink coolant deposits around the header tank.
10. Pay for a full diagnostic scan and a Jaguar specialist inspection. Ask whether the keeper received Jaguar's theft-prevention letter under R/2025/488 and what extra security, if any, the car has.

Running costs

• Tax: cars first registered between March 2001 and March 2017 pay by CO2 band, shown on the V5C. Jaguar quoted 159g/km for the 2013 model year 275PS diesel, which falls in band G (151–165g/km), currently £275 a year. Parkers lists 149g/km for the later 300PS diesel on 19-inch wheels (band F, £225) and 155g/km on 20-inch wheels (band G). Autocar notes that 2013-model-year diesels sit in a cheaper band than the earliest cars. Supercharged petrols are far higher: Auto Express gave 224g/km for the 2012 supercharged V6 (band K, £445). X350s registered before 23 March 2006 with more than 225g/km pay the band K rate. Cars registered from 1 April 2017 pay the £200 standard rate. Autocar says XJs from that date were also caught by the £440-a-year supplement for cars with a list price over £40,000, but GOV.UK charges it only for five years from the second tax payment, so it should have ended for almost every XJ by now. Check the registration date on the V5C to be sure. Rates are from GOV.UK.
• Insurance: Parkers puts the 3.0 diesel in group 48 and the XJR575 in group 50, the top of the 1–50 scale. Get a live quote for the exact car.
• Fuel: Jaguar quoted 47mpg (official combined figure) for the 2013 model year 275PS diesel. Parkers gives 49.6mpg for the 3.0 diesel with the standard wheelbase and 48mpg with the long wheelbase, and 25.5mpg for the XJR575. Prestige & Performance Car suggests the diesel manages around 30mpg in town and nearly 50mpg on a long journey.
• Servicing: Auto Express gives an interval of 12 months or 16,000 miles, with the diesel's cambelt due at seven years or 112,000 miles. Parkers warns that servicing, tyres and brakes are costly, and Auto Express put tyres at up to £250 each in 2019.

Sources & further reading

Official data and checks

• DVSA: Vehicle Safety Branch recalls database (data.gov.uk)
• GOV.UK: Check if a vehicle has been recalled
• GOV.UK: Check the MOT history of a vehicle
• GOV.UK: MOT changes from 20 May 2018
• GOV.UK: Vehicle tax rates for cars registered from 1 March 2001 to 31 March 2017
• GOV.UK: Vehicle tax rates for cars registered on or after 1 April 2017

Manufacturer

• Jaguar: 2013 model year XF and XJ (June 2012)
• Jaguar: 2016 model year XJ announcement (June 2015)

Buying guides, reliability and reported faults

• Autocar: Nearly new buying guide, Jaguar XJ (2021)
• Auto Express: Used Jaguar XJ review (2019)
• Prestige & Performance Car: Jaguar XJ X351 buyer's guide
• What Car?: Used Jaguar XJ 2010–2019 reliability
• Parkers: Jaguar XJ Saloon (2010–2019) mpg, costs and reliability
• Parkers: Jaguar XJ engines
• Auto Express: Jaguar XJ 3.0 V6 Supercharged review (2012)
• Autocar: Used car buying guide, Jaguar XJR (X350, 2018)
• CAT magazine: Inside Line, JaguarForums.com advice on the X350 XJ

Background

• Wikipedia: Jaguar XJ (X350)
• Wikipedia: Jaguar XJ (X351)

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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