Fault File
All models / All cars / Coupés, convertibles & GT / Jaguar XK

Jaguar XK

All generations and engines together · 6,281 MOT tests in the 2025 data · typical mileage at age 7: 32k

Reliability verdict
CBy miles

Graded against its peers

Middling among coupés and convertibles per mile driven. Watch suspension and wheels. A fair used buy, provided its MOT history has no repeating suspension advisories.

First-time failure at 50-60k miles
17.5%
Across 955 tests. The average for coupés and convertibles is 17.9%.
Typical mileage at age 7
32k miles
How far the average car has gone by seven years old. Low-mileage models can look better by age than they are.

Generation

Split by first-registration year. Cars registered in a changeover year can belong to either generation.

What owners report

Reported

Owner folklore from forums and the motoring press, with how well each report stands up. Most of it never shows up in an MOT, which is why this section exists at all.

Fuel injector failure damaging the catalytic converter

Emerging

Owners of the naturally aspirated and supercharged 5.0 V8 report injectors failing and dumping unburnt fuel, which then cooks the catalytic converter. It has turned up from as low as 22,000 miles and as high as 40,000 miles, so it is not purely a high-mileage problem. Repairs that catch it early are injector-only money; leave it running rough and you are paying for injectors and cats together, which pushes well into four figures.

Reported 22-40k miles · no manufacturer acknowledgement found · source: Honest John

Timing chain and tensioner wear on the 5.0 V8

Emerging

A rattly, slappy noise from the front of the engine on start-up points to a stretched timing chain or worn tensioner, usually once a car is past the 100,000-mile mark. It is not a five-minute job on this engine, chain replacement quoted around £4,300 at a dealer, so an independent specialist is worth pricing up as an alternative. No recall or TSB has been confirmed for this specifically, it is a wear item that shows up with age and mileage.

Reported from 100k miles · repair around £4,300 at a dealer · source: Honest John

Touchscreen and infotainment failure

Emerging

The centre touchscreen can freeze, blank out or stop responding, taking sat-nav, climate and audio controls with it since so much is routed through the one screen. Reported across the car's life rather than tied to one age band. Replacement or repair has been quoted at £800 to £1,400, which is a nasty surprise on a car bought on a tight budget.

Cost £800-1,400 · source: Honest John

Water ingress into the footwells

Emerging

A blocked air conditioning condenser drain lets water back up into the cabin instead of draining outside, leaving damp carpets in the front footwells. It is a known nuisance fault rather than a structural one, but tracing and clearing the drain is labour-intensive and has been quoted at £1,400 or more when a garage has to strip trim to get at it. Worth checking for a musty smell or damp carpet edges on any car you view.

Repair £1,400+ when labour-intensive · source: Honest John

Battery drain and electrical gremlins

Disputed

Some owners report batteries going flat overnight or after a few days parked up, blamed variously on the electric parking brake module, Bluetooth staying awake, or general standby drain from the car's electronics. It is not consistent enough across owners to call it a pattern fault, and a fresh, correctly rated battery cures it for plenty of people, which is why it splits opinion. Worth a fitted-date check on the battery and a current-draw test if you are unsure.

Reported intermittently, not universal · source: Honest John

Front suspension knocks from bushes and drop links

Partly in the MOT data

Owners describe clonks and creaks over speed bumps and on full lock, usually traced to worn front wishbone bushes, anti-roll bar drop links, or the adaptive CATS dampers losing their damping feel with age. The measured MOT data for this model shows suspension as the standout fault category, which lines up with what owners describe, though the data cannot say whether it is bushes, links or dampers doing the failing. Budget for a proper check of the front end on a test drive rather than assuming a squeak is nothing.

Reported from around 60k miles · ties to the model's measured suspension-fault signature · source: Honest John, MOT data

What to check on this car

Ranked from this model’s own MOT record, then from what owners report.

Saveable checklist

From this model’s MOT record

The physical checks its own defect data says are worth your time, most telling first.

Rubber boots and gaitersRuns high on this model On full steering lock, look in behind each front wheel at the concertina rubber boots on the driveshafts and steering rack. Splits, or grease flung around the arch, mean dirt is getting into a joint that costs far more than the boot protecting it.Recorded on 6.6% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 1.4%
Bushes and ball joints Drive slowly over broken tarmac with the windows down and listen for clonks from either end. Back at the car, have someone rock the steering wheel while you rest a hand on each front wheel; play you can feel through the tyre is a worn joint.Recorded on 6.8% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 9.0%
WheelsRuns high on this model Look at each rim for kerb damage and check no wheel nuts are missing. A steering wheel that shimmies between 50 and 60 on the test drive often turns out to be a buckled or badly balanced wheel.Recorded on 3.7% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 0.9%
Underneath, with a torch Get down and look at the sills, the subframes and the rear suspension mounting points. Flaking scale and bubbling matter; light surface rust does not. On older cars this is the one check that finds the fault that scraps them.Recorded on 5.3% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 4.3%
Brake pipes underneathRuns high on this model Follow the metal brake lines with a torch where they run along the sills and over the rear axle. White crust or flaking metal means they are corroding, and the online MOT history usually shows the same advisory creeping up for years before the fail.Recorded on 3.4% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 1.6%
Dampers Look for oil misting on the damper body behind each wheel, then push down hard on each corner of the car. It should settle in one bounce. A floaty or crashy ride on the test drive is the same fault felt from the driver's seat.Recorded on 3.7% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 2.7%
Coil springs Look through the wheel spokes at the bottom coil of each spring; when springs snap it is usually there, and the break is visible. Step back and check the car sits level too. A dropped corner is often a broken spring.Recorded on 1.4% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 5.0%

Worth doing on any used car

These judge the seller’s upkeep rather than the model, and they are where the haggling money is.

Tyres, all four Check the tread across the full width of each tyre, inner edge included, and look for cracking and mismatched brands. A set of decent tyres is £500 or more on most cars, which makes this the easiest money to take off a price. If the pressure warning light is on, budget for sensors too.Recorded on 16.6% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 20.9%
Pads and discs Look through the wheel spokes at the brake disc. A pronounced lip on its outer edge, or a rusty and scored face, means discs and pads are due all round, a few hundred pounds on most cars. A haggling point rather than a reason to walk away.Recorded on 7.8% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 11.4%
Windscreen and wipers Scan the glass in daylight for chips, especially in the driver's line of sight where even a small one can fail the MOT. Run the washers and check the wipers clear without smearing.Recorded on 1.7% of tests at age 10-15 · class average 2.0%

Because of what owners report

Drawn from the reports above rather than the MOT data. These are the model-specific ones.

Cold start the engine and listen to the front of the block for a few seconds before the tensioner takes up slack. A rattle or slap that fades after a second or two points to timing chain or tensioner wear.
Ask for evidence of recent injector work or a rough idle history, and check the exhaust for a strong fuel smell. A history of misfires or a fuel smell suggests injector failure, and possibly cat damage already done.
Prod every function on the touchscreen: sat-nav, climate, audio source, reverse camera. Any freeze, blank patch or unresponsive area means a repair bill of £800 or more is coming.
Lift the front footwell mats and press the carpet for damp. Wet or musty carpet means the AC condenser drain is blocked and water is backing up into the cabin.
Check the battery's fitted date sticker and ask if it has needed jump-starting. A battery more than 3-4 years old on a car that has sat unused is likely to strand you.
Drive over a few speed bumps and lock the wheel fully both ways in a car park. Clonks or creaks point to worn bushes, drop links or tired CATS dampers, the model's most commonly recorded fault area.
Read the full MOT history for repeated suspension advisories rather than just the pass/fail line. The same suspension advisory appearing more than once means it has been ignored, not fixed.

Open the saveable checklist, tick it off at the car

The MOT data

Measured

Computed from DVSA MOT results, all of Great Britain, 2025. Nothing here is opinion.

How this model wears

Jaguar XKClass average, all tracked models

What testers flag

Share of tests where each item was recorded. The dark tick is the class average across all tracked models; bars are scaled within each group.

Faults with the car itself

The rows that judge the model rather than its keeper. 6,228 tests in this band.

A suspension joint dust cover severely deteriorated
Minor
13.8%class 3.0%
A suspension joint dust cover missing or no longer prevents the ingress of dirt etc
Fail
8.8%class 2.3%
A suspension pin, bush or joint excessively worn
Advisory
6.8%class 9.0%
A suspension component excessively damaged or corroded
Advisory
5.3%class 4.3%
A wheel badly distorted or wear between wheel and hub at spigot mounting
Advisory
3.7%class 0.9%
A shock absorber damaged to the extent that it does not function or showing signs of severe leakage
Advisory
3.7%class 2.7%
A brake hose ferrule excessively corroded
Advisory
3.4%class 1.6%
A spring or spring component fractured or seriously weakened
Advisory
1.4%class 5.0%
A shock absorber bush excessively worn
Advisory
1.3%class 0.4%
Brake pipe damaged or excessively corroded
Advisory
1.3%class 6.2%

Wear, upkeep and luck

Tyres, pads and stone chips say more about how the car was driven and maintained than about how it was built.

Tyre tread depth not in accordance with the requirements
Advisory
18.6%class 23.4%
A tyre seriously damaged
Advisory
15.2%class 11.9%
Brake disc or drum excessively weakened, insecure or fractured
Advisory
7.8%class 11.4%
A brake lining or pad worn below 1.5mm
Advisory
4.2%class 7.3%
Wiper blade missing or obviously not clearing the windscreen
Fail
1.7%class 2.0%
Windscreen or window damaged or seriously discoloured but not adversely affecting driver's view
Minor
1.6%class 2.6%
Brake disc or drum significantly and obviously worn
Advisory
1.6%class 2.8%
A tyre cords visible or damaged
Fail
1.4%class 1.6%

Others in its class

Same segment (Coupés, convertibles & GT), best MOT record first. Compare before you shortlist.

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