The Jaguar S-Type to go for is a 2.5 or 3.0 V6 petrol, ideally a manual, or a six-speed automatic only with its software updates on paper; skip a 2.7 diesel that's lived on short trips.
11 known faults, 5 rated high severity in our database; owners report 31.3 mpg, 98% of the official figure. Everything below is built from that data and the archived owner history, not from a press car.
Found a Jaguar S-Type for sale? Check the advert before you go and see it
Paste the Jaguar S-Type advert and we read it against its 11 known faults, the MOT history and the DVLA record, then tell you what to ask the seller and what to look at on the day. Free, about a minute, no card.
Check a Jaguar S-Type advert (free) →A 2.5 or 3.0 V6 petrol is the S-Type to buy, and a manual one sidesteps both automatic gearboxes, each of which carries a serious known fault. You'll put up with a baulky change on the early manuals, but that's about feel rather than failure. If it has to be an automatic, pick a car with paperwork for the gearbox software updates and one that drives cleanly from cold and hot.
On the automatics, the original five-speed box fitted from 1999 to 2002 is prone to failing at about 60,000 miles, so an early car past that with no invoice for an overhaul or replacement isn't one to take on. The six-speed ZF that followed from 2002 has had torque converter failures and repeated software fixes, which is why the paperwork matters so much.
Skip a 2004 to 2007 2.7 V6 diesel unless the history shows long runs and proof of work on its weak spots. Short trips clog its particulate filter and thin the engine oil with fuel, and its tensioner is fixed to an oil pump housing that can snap and wreck the engine. Early 4.0 V8s from before September 2000 need care too, because their bore coating can fail.
The 2.5 and 3.0 V6 petrols are the engines to go for, though they aren't trouble-free: porous cylinder heads have turned up on V6s, and one owner's report links a rumble from the front to the crankshaft pulley damper starting to separate. That damper's worth listening for on the test drive, because if it lets go completely the engine's written off.
The 2.7 V6 diesel has the most against it. Its tensioner bolts to the oil pump housing, and Land Rovers with the same engine had it fail at 60,000 and 88,000 miles, destroying the engine. Short cold trips clog the particulate filter until fuel dilutes the oil, the twin turbos run so hot their oil seals are prone to failing, above all when they aren't idled after hard work, and 2006 cars appear to have had a poor batch of turbos, which a Jaguar bulletin covered replacing.
On a V8, the build date matters. A small number of 4.0 V8s built before September 2000 lost their bore coating from 50,000 to 60,000 miles and with it compression, while engines built from September 2000 aren't affected. Both the 4.0 and 4.2 V8 have had tensioner trouble, which shows up as a clatter from the front of the engine that's worst just after a cold start.
Every automatic S-Type has one more weak spot: the gearbox fluid cooler sits inside the radiator, and if it cracks, coolant gets into the gearbox fluid and can ruin the transmission. The six-speed ZF has also had bulletins for harsh or lurching shifts and for a risk of selecting reverse while in Drive. Some owners of three to five year old cars paid £770 towards a replacement gearbox, with Jaguar covering the rest.
With the boot floor up, go over the battery area and spare wheel well for damp, rust or a tide line, because tired seals round the tail lights and boot lid let water in and it upsets the electrics there. Try opening the boot from the key fob and from its own button, then ask whether the battery goes flat or the alarm sets itself off, since damp boot switches cause both. Then try every window, seat motor and door lock.
On the drive, the gearbox should change smoothly from cold and once warm: a lurch at low speed, a clunk on the downshifts as you brake to a halt, a squeal on upshifts or a downshift you didn't ask for mid-corner all point to trouble. Cruise between 40 and 60 mph and feel for any shudder, and afterwards check that neither rear wheel is much hotter than the fronts, which means the electric parking brake is dragging.
Pull the dipstick on a 2.7 diesel: oil above the full mark or smelling of diesel means dilution. Watch for blue smoke from the turbos and listen for a knock low down in the engine. Then ask for the invoice from the last tensioner job showing an upgraded oil pump, proof of the particulate filter recall, and receipts for the gearbox software updates on a six-speed automatic.
Look at the coolant for a pink or oily tint and ask whether the radiator's ever been replaced, because a cracked gearbox cooler shows up there first. Work the bonnet's safety catch, since road salt can seize it open, and on a V8 listen at the front of the engine from stone cold for a clatter. It's also worth asking whether the power steering pump or propshaft has been replaced, as both have given trouble.
Paste the advert into the free check and it runs these against the listing, the MOT history and the DVLA record before you travel.
It's a sound buy as a V6 petrol with the gearbox paperwork in order, and a risky one as a short-trip 2.7 diesel. What goes wrong depends on the year, because the S-Type changed underneath through its life: the gearbox was swapped in 2002, the electric parking brake arrived for the 2002 model year and the 2.7 diesel faults cover 2004 to 2007 cars.
Cars from 1999 to 2002 have the five-speed automatic that's prone to giving up around 60,000 miles, and some pre-September 2000 4.0 V8s lost their bore coating from 50,000 to 60,000 miles. Early cars have also had ignition coil, window motor, seat motor and door lock faults. Cars from 1999 and 2000 were recalled for front suspension ball joints that could fracture, and some 2000 cars for front seatbelt buckles that could let go under load, so look for proof the work was done.
From 2002 the six-speed ZF brings its torque converter and shift problems, and the electric parking brake can fail to release fully, dragging the rear brakes until discs last as little as 15,000 miles. Grooved or heavily lipped rear discs, or a history of repeated rear disc changes, are the giveaway.
The 2004 to 2007 diesels add their own list on top: particulate filters that clog on short runs, hot-running turbos, the tensioner mounted on an oil pump housing that can snap, and a 2007 recall for filters that could overheat and risk a fire after a slow journey. One S-Type diesel also lost its big end bearings at four years old.
Real-world economy on this generation: Jaguar S-Type 31.3 mpg.
Sellers rarely admit these faults outright
Paste any Jaguar S-Type advert and we check it against the faults, the MOT record and these figures in seconds.
Check an advert now (free) →Owners report 31.3 mpg across the Jaguar S-Type engines with data, about 98% of the official figure, from 274 submissions.
Jaguar S-Type Real MPG by engine →The Jaguar S-Type to go for is a 2.5 or 3.0 V6 petrol, ideally a manual, or a six-speed automatic only with its software updates on paper; skip a 2.7 diesel that's lived on short trips. Our database holds 11 known Jaguar S-Type faults, 5 rated high severity, and the sections above say which generation and engine carry them.
With the boot floor up, go over the battery area and spare wheel well for damp, rust or a tide line, because tired seals round the tail lights and boot lid let water in and it upsets the electrics there. Read the MOT history for repeat advisories and ask for invoices for any work the seller mentions. Then paste the advert into the free check, which reads it against every known Jaguar S-Type fault before you travel.
Owners report 31.3 mpg on average, about 98% of the official figure, from 274 submissions. The known faults page lists a rough repair cost against each fault. Jaguar S-Type Real MPG by engine.
If you used the Honest John car-by-car reviews before the site closed in 2026, this is where the Jaguar S-Type buying advice now lives. It is written from the archived owner reports and model notes (archived page, 39 items read for this model), our own known-faults database, the confirmed service intervals and the Real MPG figures. Every number on the page comes from that data, not from the text. The same data feeds our free advert check.
CarAdCheck is not affiliated with Honest John or Volkswagen Financial Services. What happened to Honest John, and where each feature lives now.
The Jaguar S-Type is one decision. Reading the advert, the history and the seller are the rest, and these cover them.
Looking at a Jaguar S-Type right now? Check the advert before you go and see it.