Problems · NHTSA complaints

1999 Jaguar XJ8L problems

Owners filed 9 complaints about the 1999 Jaguar XJ8L with NHTSA between Jul 2002 and Oct 2013. The most-cited component is engine and engine cooling (2).

Complaints
9
Filed with NHTSA
Crashes
1
Reported by owners
Fires
1
Reported by owners
Injuries
4
People reported injured
Deaths
0
Reported to NHTSA
01 —By component

Complaints by component

One complaint can cite several components
  1. Engine and engine cooling2
  2. Engine1
  3. Visibility1
  4. Power train1
  5. Seats1
  6. Seat belts1
  7. Electrical system1
  8. Exterior lighting1
  9. Vehicle speed control1

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.

Data from NHTSA Complaints API · synced Oct 30, 2026NHTSA vehicle page
02 —Trend

When complaints were filed

Does it get worse with age? Complaints per calendar year filed
View as table
Model yearComplaints filed per calendar year
20021
20031
20041
20052
20061
20070
20081
20091
20100
20110
20120
20131

Mileage at failure isn’t a structured field in NHTSA complaint data, so we don’t chart it. Some owners mention it in their reports below.

03 —Owner reports

Top problems in owners’ words

Verbatim from NHTSA complaints, newest first

Engine and engine cooling

2 reports
“MY 99 XJ8L JAGUAR WOULDN'T START AND I TOOK IT TO A MECHANIC--HE SAID 4 OF MY 8 CYLINDERS STOPPED WORKING AND I NEEDED A NEW ENGINE. I DID A VEHICLE SEARCH FOR MY CAR AND FOUND OUT THERE WAS ENGINE PROBLEMS FROM THE MANUFACTURER ITS CALLED THE NIKASIL PROBLEM - DOCUMENT NUMBERS ARE S491V6 OR V5. I NEED TO KNOW IF MY CAR FALL UNDER THIS PROBLEM. I KEPT UP WITH ALL OF THE MAINTENANCE SUGGESTIONS( OIL CHANGE,MILEAGE CHECKUPS)., AND MY ENGINE STILL FAILED AT 87715 MILES. *TR”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Feb 11, 2009Engine and engine coolingODI 10258371

Engine

1 report
“WAS ON US I-280 NORTHBOUND AT ABOUT 8 P.M., GOING PREVAILING SPEED, GOING TO A SOCIAL MEETING, BUT WITH AN ORGANIZATIONAL DIRECTOR. HEARD LOUD POP AND CAR LURCHED FORWARD ABRUPTLY, THEN ENGINE BEGAN TO RATTLE, SMOKE AND BURNT RUBBER/OIL SMELL BEGAN TO INVADE CABIN. HUSBAND TURNED OFF ENGINE AND COASTED TO SIDE OF HIGHWAY AND UP EXIT RAMP SHOULDER. TOOK THE CAR TO DELONG'S AUTO REPAIR, THE ONLY KNOWN AUTHORIZED JAGUAR SERVICE CENTER FOR AT LEAST 50 MILES IN ANY DIRECTION. OWNER, CHIEF MECHANIC, [XXX] SAID WE HAD AN ORIGINAL DEFECTIVE TEMPERATURE GAUGE THAT GIVES FALSE READINGS AND CAR HAD OVERHEATED WITHOUT SHOWING IT ON GAUGE AND THE HEADGASKET BLEW CAUSING CATASTROPHIC ENGINE FAILURE--ON THE HIGHWAY. WE WERE TOLD THAT JAGUAR HAS A COOLING PROBLEM WITH THIS ENGINE AND RATHER THAN FIX IT, THEY PUT IN GAUGES THAT DELIBERATELY DECEIVE THE OWNER INTO BELIEVING HIS/HER VEHICLE IS RUNNING AT A NORMAL TEMPERATURE WHEN IT IS NOT. PREVIOUSLY WE'VE HAD REPEATED INCIDENTS OF "CHECK ENGINE" LIGHT GOING ON AND TOOK CAR TO JAGUAR AND OTHERS. NOTHING SEEMED OUT OF PLACE, DAMAGED, ETC.--MECHANICS REPEATEDLY TOLD US THAT IT WAS POSSIBLE IT WAS A MALFUNCTIONING INDICATOR LIGHT.…”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Oct 3, 2013EngineODI 10546670

Visibility

1 report
“THE REAR VIEW MIRROR WHICH HAS A DIMMING FEATURE FAILED. BLACK FLUID CAME SPILLING OUT ONTO THE CENTER CONSOLE AND THE RADIO CONTROLS. THE MIRROR BE CAME NON FUNCTIONAL, THERE BY HAVING DIFFICULTY IN VIEWING TO THE REAR OF THE CAR. *TR I MADE CONTACT WITH JAGUAR AND THEY HAVE BEEN NON RESPONSIVE.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled May 10, 2008VisibilityODI 10227219

Power train

1 report
“DT*: THE CONTACT STATED WHILE TRAVELING VARIOUS, A NOISE WAS HEARD IN THE TRANSMISSION AND THE GEARS SHIFTED WITHOUT WARNING. THE VEHICLE WAS DRIVEN TO AN INDEPENDENT REPAIR SHOP, WHO DETERMINED IF A TRANSMISSION CLEANING DOES NOT REMEDY THE PROBLEM, THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NEED TO BE REPLACED.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Dec 8, 2006Power trainODI 10175605

Seats

1 report1 crash
“I WAS THE THIRD CAR IN A FIVE-CAR ACCIDENT. I WAS AT A COMPLETE STOP AND ABOUT 0.5 CAR LENGTH FROM THE CAR IN FRONT OF ME WHEN CAR NUMBER 2, A 2004 DODGE DAKOTA PICKUP, HIT ME FROM BEHIND. MY CAR, A 1999 XJ8L, SUSTAINED EXTENSIVE DAMAGE IN THE REAR, BUT ONLY MINOR DAMAGE TO THE FRONT SECTION, NO DAMAGE TO BODY SHEET METAL; ONLY ONE BUMPER SHOCK NEEDS REPLACED. THE DRIVER?????S AIR BAG DID NOT DEPLOY. MY CONCERN IS THAT THE DRIVER?????S SEAT COLLAPSE INTO THE REAR BENCH SEAT. THE POSITION OF MY SEAT WHEN I DRIVE IS; THE BACK ADJUSTMENT IS SET AT OR VERY CLOSE TO STRAIGHT UP (90 DEGREES), THE HEIGHT ADJUSTMENT IS SET ALMOST ALL THE WAY UP, AND THE SEAT DISTANCE FROM THE PEDALS IS VERY CLOSE TO ALL THE WAY BACK. AS A RESULT OF BEING HIT FROM BEHIND, MY BODY WAS THROWN FORWARD ABOUT 10 DEGREES AND WAS WHIPPED BACKWARDS TO A FULL-RECLINED POSITION (ABOUT 175DEGREES). THE ACCIDENT CAUSED MY SEAT TO COLLAPSE INTO THE BACK REAR BENCH SEAT AND AS A RESULT, I WAS IN A FULLY RECLINED POSITION AFTER THE ACCIDENT. IS THE JAGUAR'S FRONT DRIVER'S SEAT DESIGNED TO COLLAPSE? I DID HAVE MY SHOULDER HARNESS AND LAP BELT ON AND THERE WERE NO PASSANGERS IN MY CAR. *NM”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Nov 28, 2005SeatsCrash reportedODI 10143856

Seat belts

1 report
“WHEN I ACCELERATE FROM 50 TO 60 MPH UP AN ONRAMP MY AMBER LIGHT COMES ON SHOWING "RESTRICTED PERFORMANCE". IT NOW OCCURRS ANY TIME I ACCELERATE TO 65.”
Owner complaint to NHTSAFiled Jun 1, 2005Seat beltsODI 10123818
Data from NHTSA Complaints API (owner reports, unverified) · synced Oct 30, 2026

Complaints are unverified owner reports to NHTSA and are not normalized for sales volume. One complaint can cite several components.