NHTSA Complaint #10492906 — 1998 JAGUAR XJ8L

ABOUT 2-3 TIMES A MONTH, WHILE DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY (AND ONLY ON FREEWAYS, NEVER HAS THIS HAPPENED ON CITY STREETS), ALWAYS ABOUT 10 MINUTES ON THE ROAD FROM A COLD START, MY ACCELERATOR WILL SUDDENLY FAIL TO RESPOND WHILE I'VE HAD MY FOOT ON THE GAS DURING STEADY DRIVING OF 55-75 MPH. NO INDICATOR COMES ON AT THE TIME. I'M FORCED TO MERGE TO THE SIDE OF THE ROAD ON THE MOMENTUM PROVIDED BY THE CAR AS I AM UNABLE TO GET ACCELERATION FROM THE PEDDLE. ONCE I BRAKE TO A STOP & PUT THE CAR IN PARK I GET AN "ENGINE FAILED" INDICATOR AND THE RED ENGINE LIGHT COMES ON. SO FAR, WHEN I'VE TURNED OFF THE ENGINE AND RESTARTED IT, I'VE BEEN ABLE TO START THE ENGINE AGAIN WITHOUT PROBLEM AND CONTINUE ON MY WAY. HOWEVER, THESE INCIDENTS ARE EXTREMELY DANGEROUS GIVEN THAT OUR FREEWAYS OFTEN HAVE NO EMERGENCY LANE TO PULL OFF TO WHEN THEY ARE UNDER REPAIR. THERE ARE VARIOUS PLACES ON OUR FREEWAYS WHERE I WOULD HAVE TO STOP IN A MOVING LANE BEFORE I WAS ABLE TO GET THE CAR TO GO AGAIN. I PURCHASED THE CAR USED FROM A DEALER IN 2001. IT WAS OFF A 3-YR LEASE BY ANOTHER OWNER. I HAD THIS PROBLEM IN THE EARLY YEARS OF OWNERSHIP (AROUND 2002 @ 65,000) UNDER A 6 YEAR WARRANTY AND THE DEALER TOLD ME THEY REBUILT AND THEN ULTIMATELY REPLACED THE TRANSMISSION AT THAT TIME TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I DIDN'T HAVE THE PROBLEM AGAIN UNTIL 2012 BUT HAVE SINCE EXPERIENCED IT ABOUT 6 TIMES OVER THE LAST YEAR (AT 160,000). I CALLED A LOCAL DEALER TO CHECK ON RECALL INFO AND WAS TOLD THERE'S NOTHING CURRENTLY, BUT THAT IN 1999 MY CAR HAD HAD A THROTTLE CABLE ADJUSTER MODIFICATION UNDER WARRANTY. MY RESEARCH ON THIS SITE TELLS ME THAT THE PROBLEM IS THE THROTTLE BODY BEING DIRTY BUT THAT THE ONLY GOOD SOLUTION IS TO REPLACE IT. THE DEALER IS FAMILIAR WITH THE PROBLEM BUT CAN'T TELL ME HOW LONG A REPLACEMENT WILL LAST ME. *TR