Secrets of the Jaguar XK8 Episode 70. Fill Up confusion

Secrets of the XK8 is a long-running series sharing elements of the XK8 and XKR experience that may otherwise have passed you by. Some nig and important, some small and niche, and some that will just make you smile.
Secrets of the XK8 have slowed down a little of late. Please don't concern yourself that this. is because the series is coming to an end. A huge block is planned as soon as Purdey the XK8 can be put back in her garage where it is easier to film them.👍
Dont forget that entries to our X100 photo competition close at the end of August.
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[@UdoIBress]

Hi John , and good morning . Yes ! The sense of this LITTLE arrow is a BIG surprise to me too.😹

[@ToTheGarage]

Glad to help Udo

[@bernardpullon4632]

It was something I heard years ago but must admit, have never remembered yet to actually look for that symbol. So it was sort of a groan but glad to hear it again. One day I might remember to look.

[@ToTheGarage]

😁

[@bruceboucher2134]

Not a lot of People know this, great

[@ToTheGarage]

👍😁

[@andrewmajor4786]

Thanks John, another little gem. Could have done with that the other day, glided into a little petrol station, looking the part in the Jag, parked up, got out and...Doh! Embarrassingly had to re park the Jag the other side! What a right plonker i felt...but never again thanks to you! 😊👍

[@ToTheGarage]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@hewyn1]

“Groan!” I never knew! Congratulations on reaching 70!

[@ToTheGarage]

👍

[@MaggieMorleyMorgan]

Thanks John! Thought I was clever releasing the flap on the way into the garage Hmmm... That didn't work either and yes guessed wrong. Haha. Stay safe.

[@ToTheGarage]

Weve all been there Andi Trying to pop the cap in the hope we will see it in the rearview mirror😁

[@alexanderthegreat6480]

Very good tip to know! Thank you.

[@frederickhauser2783]

Hi John,Also the double switch,ie fuel left boot right

[@ToTheGarage]

ahhh. good point!👍

[@JLBRADY1]

1) Great job as always, John. 2) Saw the arrow for the first time yesterday! 3) Anyone ever have their hazard lights activate and refuse to extinguish? Yesterday, less than one month into my first Jag ownership, I activated the hazard lights while I was stopped on the highway shoulder...once underway again they would not extinguish no matter how lovingly I pressed/caressed/jabbed the console stack switch. Upon arriving home I pulled every fuse I felt might even remotely turn them off before my battery would inevitably be drained...all to no avail. Deciding that attempting to disconnect the switch was my only option I proceed to take out the console (not a big deal) and then began taking out the six Phillip head screws that secured the stack to it's frame. As I loosed the middle-right hand screw (adjacent to the Hazard switch) the lights......extinguished!!! Even as I type this I am astounded/relieved that, at least for now, the problem has been circumvented. Just wondering if anyone else can shed any light on a similar problem they might have experienced. Good weekend!

[@ToTheGarage]

Ive never come across that one before🤔 I can only imagine the switch terminals fused together or the mechanism got stuck and one way or another you moving the switch stack disturbed it and freed it off? Anyone else seen this before?

[@briansmith6862]

I had this one time on my 2005 XKR. I think I just kept pressing the button until they turned off. It's never done it again, but I was sweating for a moment! But we often get glitches like that. For example, about once a year the CATS suspension will stop working on mine until the next restart. Just things we get used to. BTW, on mine you can't open the fuel flap until the door handles are released, even with the engine switched off.

[@patb9418]

This happened to me with my 2004 XKR. The car was in the garage and hadn't been touched in a few days. When I came in to the garage I saw the hazard lights flashing. I was able to slide a knife blade between the switch and the console to extinguish the lights. I removed the switch, sanded the edges down a little bit, and reinstalled it. I'm thinking that over the years the switch face expanded slightly causing it to activate. Never happened again.

[@harryscott1445]

Hi John, Done it so many times(as a car hopper) and did NOT know about the little arrow...hope you and yours continue to remain safe.

[@ToTheGarage]

Thanks, you too!

[@terryc8164]

Very good John. I was told years ago that the little arrow was a Ford innovation, I hadn't spotted it on our XK8s but I guess it makes sense :)

[@paulhinkley198]

I used to like the old XJ's with the filler cap either side !

[@ToTheGarage]

I would love to have fillers on both sides of my XK8.

[@wolfhalupka8992]

Hi John- never noticed that little arrow ;) and it happens all the time, forgetting where the effing flap is. my daily drive is a VW Tiguan, flap on the right. got an VW Amarok truck, flap on the left, cause that's a commercial vehicle and they have their flaps left. XK8 - flap left, cause the body thinks it should be RHD with the flap on the other side, even though she is an US spec car, so similar to the truck ;) ... so it's not the first time I pulled up to the pump in the Tiguan and had to turn around.... thx! good detective work ;)

[@ToTheGarage]

Thank you Wolf👍

[@garymoores9604]

Brilliant John, I never knew that little secret. Like you I am constantly car hopping and have to have a memory test of which car, which side of the pump as driving in to the fuel station. I just need to something to remind me petrol or diesel now 😜

[@ToTheGarage]

We have all at least been 'close' to doing that😉

[@jagvette1]

In all the years I have been driving I never knew it until my brother pointed out about three years ago, of course being in the US of A it's on the drivers side which is handy, yet my wife's Mercedes has it on the other side which is really stupid considering the Germans drive on the same side as the US of A

[@ToTheGarage]

I wonder who decides which side it should be for each maker and model. Because in an ideal world its split 50 50 left and right so that pumps are equally likely to be available on petrol station forecourts. I know many of the hoses reach both sides these days. but not on vans and who wants to have a hose resting on their bodywork.

[@jagvette1]

@@ToTheGarage I guess the simple answer it put it in the rear middle., like most corvettes, it ain't rocket science :), you need to contact every car company and show them how to be efficient like we are.

[@SidewaysSyd]

Hi John, I've noticed in some other cars (can't recall exactly which ones now) indicates the side the cap is on by showing the pipe on the petrol pump icon on the same side as the filler neck/flap on the car.

[@ToTheGarage]

I think Honda may do that🤔 plus the little arrow

[@mikewindrim8465]

funny though on my two American cars there is no arrow but the filler is on the side of the car that the pump image shows has the hose dangling from it. With the hose on the right of the pump image, the filler is on the right.

[@hillbilly4895]

John old boy, greetings from across the pond...have a 99 XK8 which i purchased from a Jag mechanic about 5 years ago. Discovered (and subbed) your channel a week or so ago and have been bingeing (sp?) hard core ever since. So much so the wife thinks I'm "up to something" and queries me every night on what I'm doing on the computer. Anyway, I have to replace a bulb in the left rear tail light...can't find a "secrets" episode covering that so I'm going it alone but with a renewed man-sized sense of confidence. How hard could it be, right?

[@ToTheGarage]

Thanks for the Sub Hill Billy. Nice easy job on the jag as you leave the lens alone and withdraw the bulbs on a carrier from inside the trunk. You got this Hill Billy. Show it who's boss😁 Stay safe my friend👍

[@hillbilly4895]

@@ToTheGarage On it like a bonnet. Oh, forgot to mention she's a red convertible. (The car, not the misses) Last, can/do you ship your TTG merch to the US? If yes, is it a big deal/problem for you, etc?

[@UdoIBress]

OK........ You ara not alone ! My wife is also not amused by my nightly visits of TTG .

[@ToTheGarage]

no problem at all Hill Billy but I charge postage at cost and for reasons I cannot fathom the U.S. is the most expensive place in the world to post internationally to🤯. Its cheaper to Australia New Zealand and Canada! WHY? Anyway when you go to checkout. the shipping cost is added on and gives you the chance to cancel. Thanks for your support Hill Billy. (Peaked caps will be available from Monday latest🤫)

[@mr.c1845]

I never knew that. However the T4 & the XK8 are both passenger side, in the U.K. So I haven't been confused yet. 😁

[@ljw5768]

But pump hoses will reach both sides anyway! :-)

[@ToTheGarage]

Not over my T4 trophy they won't🤣 Yes service area's have the long reach hoses now, but out in the sticks not so many.

[@MitchGrooms]

hey buddy

[@ToTheGarage]

Mitch Grooms Hey Mitch. 👍 I saw your video of you at/in the lake. Congratulations. Looked like a great day. Is the housing market in your area picking up?

[@MitchGrooms]

@@ToTheGarage thanks mate, yes, we are doing ok,, considering the US crap.

[@leodriscoll2929]

Trunk is similar, it does not seem to open until you open your door first when pushing interior button.

[@gerardbooth40]

Sadly, the 2017 family Benz wagon doesn’t comply with this rule any more. It’s got the full digital dashboard and the arrow is notably absent 😒

[@ToTheGarage]

Booo!

[@markjohnson8502]

I want to know the secret of the tank capacity John. I have ran this thing down to less than a mile to empty. Rolled into a station on fumes. Topped it off to the top of the neck and only put 18.2 US gallons in it. How is that possible when the tank holds almost 20 US gallons?

[@ToTheGarage]

😁 good observation Mark. I dont actually know the remaining capacity when everything is on Zero. Some one out there will have that info though. In the meantime, your figure of 1.8. US gallons is the closest we have👍

[@magnus4379]

Hi John, do you have any experience removing the floor carpets? I have currently removed the center console and driver seat. Seem like i have to remove the door sills and upper rear quarter panel. Any tips on how to do this? Anyhow great video!:)

[@gerardbooth40]

Baseball cap 😃

[@ToTheGarage]

Baseball cap👍 Will be on the web site in a couple of days.

[@ToTheGarage]

Now have the caps, and they are set up on the store. Just waiting for a friend to confirm a test package turned up undamaged before I press the 'Launch' Button. (Literally there is a button😁)

[@gerardbooth40]

To The Garage Great. Now just to decide whether to suggest it as a Christmas present or just press the button myself and have done with it... Incidentally, I’ve just experienced a slight misfire on a light throttle whilst out on a fun run and on my way to the petrol station. It’s only done it once before and that was in March when I had just collected the car and it was low on fuel again. It wasn’t desperately empty just now, but in the red and the light was on. Anyway, a full tank of V Max later and she was fine on the way home. Sh1t at the bottom of the tank perhaps or any other likely causes would you say?

[@WayneHarrison-l1k]

Hi y on xk8 petrol fill on other side

[@domdelicato2426]

John if the servo doesn’t open the flap is there a solution ? Thanks

[@grahamwalker6395]

I'll answer, if you pull the carpet back in the boot behind the filler cap, there is a little lever that releases the flap.

[@ToTheGarage]

Beat me to it Graham👍

[@grahamwalker6395]

@@ToTheGarage saved you the job !

[@Redeye196513]

Re fuelling, as per the XK8 bible by Gary V-R, refill the tank when it gets to 1/4 full, as it aids with engine cooling on this car - and I know an over heating X100 aint a good thing.

[@garyvanremortel5218]

I don't think I wrote that exactly. I doubt that fuel returning to the tank in your pre-2003 XK8 is doing much more than cooling the fuel rail, but it is keeping the pump cooler.

[@Redeye196513]

@@garyvanremortel5218 Re-reading section 10, and you are absolutely right, you were referring to the cooling pump being positively aided by a fuller fuel tank, not the engine. I hadn't realised that fact as it happens until the other day when I read the latest update again. That was was in my mind i think when i posted. Appreciate the correction.

[@garyvanremortel5218]

No lanyard on your fuel cap...

[@mistermikeanson]

Mine doesn't have one either. They fit onto a magnet on the inside of the filler flap when refuelling.

[@garyvanremortel5218]

@@mistermikeanson I think the magnet is on all of them but I thought the lanyard was too. Belt and suspenders.

[@ToTheGarage]

The Lanyard was added after the first 18 months or so. Mine is early enough to have a lot of rare features and omissions. Check out the fact that I have no high level brake light on my boot lid!

[@mistermikeanson]

@@ToTheGarage Interesting - mine is a 2005 model but no lanyard. I wonder if the original broke then?

[@garyvanremortel5218]

@@ToTheGarage I thought the HMSL was only on US cars.