10.0

really awful
Crashes / Fires:
9 / 0
Injuries / Deaths:
3 / 0
Average Mileage:
36,463 miles

About These NHTSA Complaints:

This data is from the NHTSA — the US gov't agency tasked with vehicle safety. Complaints are spread across multiple & redundant categories, & are not organized by problem.

So how do you find out what problems are occurring? For this NHTSA complaint data, the only way is to read through the comments below. Any duplicates or errors? It's not us.

2003 Jaguar S-TYPE engine problems

engine problem

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2003 Jaguar S-TYPE Owner Comments

problem #17

Sep 062013

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • 71,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

My 2003 Jaguar S-type was recalled in 2004, recall #42036 (R513) power train: Automatic transmission. I purchased my Jaguar as the second owner 1 1/2 years ago. I have had trouble with the car. For instance when I attempt to pass another vehicle on the highway and try to speed up the transmission slows the car down significantly. If I am traveling at 55 M.P.H and accelerate the car will immediately slow to about 30 M.P.H or less. It is very scary! and could result in a crash (as the warning stated on the recall)! the repair shop ran a computer diagnostic on my car. The code on the computer states "the transmission needs re-programming of the transmission control module as the transmission is slipping into neutral under load." The shop said there was an open recall on the car and the dealer needs to update the computer software to correct the problem. The car has no stickers saying recall service was ever done on it. The dealer said they cannot perform the service under the recall as the recall as there is no open field action on my vehicle although there is a currently open campaign. The dealer stated the manufacturer has the recall listed as completed. In contacting the manufacturer opened an investigation stating the recall was completed 03/09/05. 4 days later Jaguar called back and said they need a letter or email from NHTSA stating tread's recommendation to manufacturers to "diagnose the impairment, thus nullifying further recurrence of the impairment." Are you able to assist me by giving me something in writing to give to the Jaguar manufacturer explaining their responsibility in correcting a recall as stated in the transportation recall enhancement accountability and documentation (tread) act ? if the recall problem with my car was completed it was not done correctly as the car is repeating the same dangerous problem. Thank you or your assistance!

- Eagan, MN, USA

problem #16

Jan 092015

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • 120,032 miles
My vehicle accelerate when applying brakes. Took it to a shop and was took something was defaulting with my master brake cylinder and the brake booster. Cost nearly 1600 to fix. Cal the manufacturer about a recall related to this but was told my car wasn't related to the recall.

- Florence, SC, USA

problem #15

May 242013

S-TYPE

  • 80,000 miles
While approaching a stop sign and applying my brakes the car involuntarily accelerated on to incoming traffic. The car was revving at high speed and could not be stopped. I had both feet on the brakes but car was not responding. I headed toward high curb avoiding cars and pedestrians in hopes of slowing car before I was to hit dipsey dumpster, on the side of the road (I had chosen to hit them in order to avoid involving other cars and pedestrians) when I hit the curb at high rpms, the impact damaged the right front wheel and under carriage of automobile. The acceleration stopped. It was a terrifying experience. This malfunction has been registered by other drivers. Of Jaguar. It is a safety issue that Jaguar needs to address. I am lucky that I did not kill anyone or had serious injuries to my passenger and myself.

- Santa Ana, CA, USA

problem #14

May 242013

S-TYPE

  • 80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The contact owns a 2003 Jaguar S-type. The contact was braking for a traffic stop when the engine rpms increased and the vehicle abnormally accelerated. The failure occurred as the contact was still applying the brakes. The contact was unable to stop the vehicle and crashed into a dumpster in order to stop the vehicle from accelerating any further. The contact and the front seat passenger sustained minor injuries. A police report was not filed of the incident. The vehicle was towed to the dealer to have a diagnostic performed. The black box was reviewed but the dealer was unable to retrieve any information. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The VIN was not available. The approximate failure and current mileage was 80,000.

- Santa Ana, CA, USA

problem #13

Nov 162011

S-TYPE 8-cyl

  • 80,000 miles
The distance of the brake pedal and accelerator pedal are almost the same distance from the car floor and the pedals are close enough that a foot can contact both. After starting the car in a parking lot and putting in drive I stepped on the brake but the car lurched forward and the harder I pressed the brake the faster the car went over a concrete barrier. The cause was, of course, that I was stepping on both pedals. A year later the same thing happened and I rammed and broke a garage door. The height of the brake pedal must be raised about an inch so that stepping on the brake pedal will not allow simultaneous stepping the accelerator. I have contacted Jaguar, North America ref# [xxx]. on my car I have put a 7/8 inch block on the brake pedal to raise the height. If it had been a person ahead of me instead of a garage door I probably would have killed him. Information redacted pursuant to the Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6).

- Hereford, AZ, USA

problem #12

Aug 162007

(reported on)

S-TYPE

  • 30,628 miles
Unsafe unintended acceleration incidents refer to ODI 10195853 exec sec letter customer is thanking us and asking for additional info * the consumer stated there have been numerous accounts with unintended acceleration with her 2003 Jaguar S type engine racing, happening while vehicle is stopped, and the vehicle idling. The consumer further stated that the dsc light stays illuminated but the dealer does not associate the unintended acceleration with the dsc light being illuminated. The consumer stated this is a safety issue and would like the issue investigated.

- Belmont, MA, USA

problem #11

May 072007

S-TYPE

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

Unintended and uncontrolled acceleration safety hazard and defect-complaint ODI 1091253 2003 Jaguar S* the consumer stated he was at a red light, when all of a sudden the vehicle lurched forward and started moving rapidly into the intersection. The consumer stated after the ordeal ended, the dsc light illuminated and the readout said dsc disabled. The consumer stated prior to May 7, 2007 he hit a light post as a result of the unwanted acceleration of the vehicle.

- Belmont, MA, USA

problem #10

Aug 012005

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 21,550 miles
Unintended and out of control acceleration I had stopped the car waiting for a parking place at the clinic. I backed up a few feet to allow a car to back out of the space I wanted. I started to move slowly into the head in parking space with my left foot still on the brake when the car accelerated rapidly with a roar. With both feet on the brake I was finally able to stop the car but not before it jumped the curb at the end of the parking space and hit the concrete base of a lamp post, damaging the front bumper. The engine quickly returned to idle after a few seconds. A person standing at the end of the parking space would have been hit. The car was delivered to woburn Jaguar and identified as a serious safety issue. Woburn Jaguar claimed to have reconfigured the ECM and tcm but claimed they could not duplicate the problem. Jaguar NJ was notified but again offered no help or advice about the unintentional acceleration.

- Belmont, MA, USA

problem #9

Mar 162004

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 7,100 miles
Unintended and out of control acceleration I was slowly pulling out of a parallel parking place with my left foot still on the brake. The car suddenly accelerated with the engine speeding. It took both feet on the brake to bring the car to a stop, just short of a pedestrian in a cross walk. The engine dropped to idle after a few seconds. The car was delivered to woburn Jaguar who worked on it but could not duplicate the problem. Jaguar cars in NJ was advised but offered no help.

- Belmont, MA, USA

problem #8

May 072007

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 30,000 miles
While stopped at a traffic light with right foot on the brake and the transmission in drive the car surged forward on its own at a rapid rate, moving forward considerably more than a car length before heavy braking slowed it down in the middle of the intersection against a red light. The engine than returned to idle just as fast and mysteriously as it accelerated. At no time was the accelerator pedal touched. The stability control system light came on indicating failure of the system.

- Belmont, MA, USA

problem #7

Oct 102006

S-TYPE 8-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 23,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

: the contact stated in January 2006, the vehicle accelerated on its own while reversing, crashing into a cement garage. No injuries were sustained. A police report was taken. The service dealer could not duplicate the problem. In October 2006, the vehicle accelerated on its own and rear ended another vehicle. A police report was not taken. The vehicle was towed to a out of state dealer to try to fix the issue.

- Waynesville, NC, USA

problem #6

Dec 252004

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 20,000 miles
: the contact stated that the vehicle was placed in reverse with her foot on the brake, however the vehicle screeched and shot out of the detached garage where other vehicles were lined up on the other side of the residential subdivision and hit two other vehicles on the other side of the street about 40 feet away. The service dealer inspected the vehicle and determined they could not find any problems with the vehicle. On June 11, 2006, this happened again in a parking lot. During this incident, the vehicle was placed in reverse and again the brakes failed and hit the vehicle behind them. Updated 07/14/06.

- Houston, TX, USA

problem #5

Apr 042006

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 27,428 miles
I applied brake & made right turn into parking space. I then applied more pressure to brake to stop car. Car did not stop, but continued to move forward as if I had not applied more pressure to brake. Realizing I may hit curb, I pushed brake peddle down hard, & added left foot to brake pedal along with right foot. Brake pedal lost all resistance, & my feet went down to the floor. Car accelerated forward & crashed into cement steps. Car was towed to jag authorized body shop, then towed to dealer for diagnosis. Dealer sent computer readout to Jaguar engineers to analyze. They could not "find" the problem, so Jaguar told me that there is no problem! just because Jaguar could not "find" the problem, does not mean there is no problem! Jaguar will not disclose to either myself or dealer what parts were tested or results of tests. Jaguar just says car conforms to manufacturer specifications. Jaguar refuses to put in writing that this car is safe to drive. Another indication of a malfunction is that 5 days before the accident I re- leased this 2003 car. Dealer looked at the mileage on it and wrote it on the lease. Then 5 days later when it crashed & got towed to the body shop, the body shop wrote down the mileage upon arrival. ( car was not able to be driven). My insurance appraiser and their investigator also wrote down that same mileage number. The odometer had registered 440 miles more than on the date of the lease, yet I had actually only driven it a maximum of 100 miles! dealer & Jaguar said they have no way to diagnose this & put blame on clerical error. No clerical error could explain 440 miles! Jaguar cannot explain this, so they ignored I!. they can't explain why the car did not stop and accelerated, so they blame that on driver error! noticing so many other complaints from Jaguar owners on your web-site for the very same thing. I believe there is a very serious safety issue that Jaguar refuses to acknowledge and can't fix!

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #4

May 232006

S-TYPE 6-cyl

  • Automatic transmission
  • 27,428 miles
: the contact stated while depressing the brake pedal, the vehicle accelerated as though the cruise control was activated. The vehicle stopped after colliding with cement steps. This caused minor damage to the front end. The vehicle was towed to the dealership where diagnostic tests were performed. The test results were sent to the manufacturer and the manufacturer will not disclose this information to the contact.

- West Chester, PA, USA

problem #3

Sep 122005

S-TYPE

  • Automatic transmission
  • miles
I was traveling in my car at approximately 30 mph. I slowed for a traffic light. As I was coming to a stop (right foot on the brake), the engine began to rev, the rear wheels started to turn propelling me forward. I placed both feet on the brake, pushed the brake to the floor, however the RPM gauge was moving to maximum and the car continued to propel me forward. The rear end started sliding to the left. I slammed the car into park and the tires stopped moving, the rpms dropped, and the electrical system shorted resulting in taking the radio offline and to station 600 am. I was able to avoid the stopped vehicle in front of me by 2 inches. This is the second time this has happened. The vehicle was evaluated approx 1 month ago for the same type of failure, but they were unable to reproduce the event. Of note, on December 13, 2004, the vehicle went into reverse and would not come out of reverse. The vehicle was evaluated by the dealership, the gear shift was replaced, the trans cable bolt had fallen out, it was replaced, and the cable was adjusted.

- Oakland, CA, USA

problem #2

Jun 222004

S-TYPE

  • Automatic transmission
  • 1,700 miles
In the 1 1/2 years that I have owned my vehicle it has been int he shop 15 times for various reasons: Electrical, transmission, front end problems, steering, accelerations etc...Jaguar has been dragging their feet for 4 months in rectifying problems. Consumer affiars is worthless and have accused me of "outgrowing" my car. Not concerned about their customers just doesn't want their car back.

- Chino Hills, CA, USA

problem #1

Mar 012004

S-TYPE

  • miles
While driving at 5 mph vehicle suddenly accelerated. Vehicle traveled about 20 feet in a few seconds. Consumer had vehicle towed to the dealer, leitch Jaguar in carey, nc. Vehicle remained at dealer for four months, but dealer was not able to resolve the problem.

- Raleigh, NC, USA

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