Jaguar XK (X150) Check Pedestrian System Fault
On the X150, Check Pedestrian System that won't stay cleared is almost always a failed front impact sensor in the bumper — and often both have gone, one after the other. Read the codes first: B1496 is the left sensor, B1596 the right. If the message comes with a screen full of unrelated warnings, look at the battery and the electrics before the sensors.
How bad is it · Safe to drive
The car drives normally, but the bonnet won't lift in an impact
The fault only disables the pedestrian protection. Nothing gets worse while you drive on it, though a second sensor can fail later and the warning stays lit.
Which one applies to yours depends on your symptoms, your model year and what has already been done to it.
Likely causes, most common first
Read the check cost before the odds: a free check that rules a cause out beats a likely guess that costs money.
Failed front impact sensors in the bumper
Two impact classification sensors sit low in the front bumper. On ageing cars one fails internally and the second often follows; heat can make the fault come and go at first.
The message returns straight after it's cleared, the car otherwise starts and drives normally, and the codes name a side.
Read the pedestrian system codes: B1496 is the left sensor, B1596 the right; some readers report the left one as B1005. A -96 suffix means the sensor itself has failed; unplugging it turns the code into -13, open circuit, which also proves the wiring is good.
Replace the sensor the code names — both if both are logged. Genuine sensors are about £128 each, part C2P17132; an independent fitting both charged about £391, against a dealer quote of £1.2k for one, and another specialist charged £150 labour for a single side.
A flood of warnings: low voltage or the auxiliary fuse box
When Check Pedestrian System is one of many unrelated warnings — tyre pressures, a dimming cluster and screen, airbag and seat heater codes — the sensors aren't the story. Low battery voltage throws codes all over the car, and a failing auxiliary fuse box can do the same.
Lots of messages at once, often with a long crank or no start.
Charge the battery and clear all codes. If the whole set comes back on a healthy battery, have the auxiliary fuse box behind the rear seat checked before any parts are fitted.
In that case, replace the auxiliary fuse box. Don't buy parts hopefully — a fuel pump fitted on a guess changes nothing here.
The order to check them in
The point of the order is money: each step either rules a cause out or makes the next one worth doing. Green is free, amber costs a little, red is the one to arrive at last.
Charge the battery and clear the message
Clear it with the red triangle on the screen. A weak battery can bring the warning up; if it returns with the battery charged, move on to the codes.
freeRead the codes, not just the airbag ones
B1496 and B1596 sit in the pedestrian protection system, not with the airbag codes. The code tells you which side to replace, so you don't buy two sensors for one fault.
a code readerCheck fuse F27
F27, 10 A, in the rear fuse box feeds the pedestrian impact sensors. Worth a look if both sides log faults at the same moment. On North American cars from 2008 that slot is empty.
a fuseGet to the sensors the right way
There are three ways in: from above on many cars, from underneath with only the undertray off (about two hours), or with the bumper and undertray removed together — 9 fixings rather than 22, and then both sensors swap in minutes. On a facelift XKR going in through the splash shield and ducting, the auxiliary coolant radiator blocks the way. A new sensor may need a small plastic lug cut off to sit flush, and its screw holes can sit slightly differently from the old one.
parts and labourClear and confirm
After each sensor its code should move to history; with both done, the message shouldn't appear at start-up.
freeThe fuses named above — where they sit
The highlighted position is the one the procedure talks about. Pulling a fuse is a stop-gap, never a repair: check what the circuit feeds before you pull it.
Circuit descriptions from the Jaguar handbook, 2013 edition, p. 2, 3. Drawing by jagaux.com from the factory electrical guide. Fuse layouts change between model years — read the legend on the lid of your own box before pulling anything.
What it usually isn't
Don't spend money here first:
On jagaux.com
- Jaguar XK (X150) Starting Problems, Won't CrankIf the warning came with a screen full of messages and the car won't start — a weak battery is covered there.
- Jaguar VIN decoderConfirm your exact model year, engine and factory options before ordering parts — free.
Ratings, fuse numbers and torque figures vary by model year and market. Read the legend on your own car before pulling anything, and use the figures in the manual for your car, not the ones in a video.
Check your VIN: exactly which car you have and which bulletins apply to it.