I've read quite a few dreaded roof noise and I noticed that my car ( SWB Diesel XJ Portfolio, MY2014 ) does make a "clonk" noise on the roof, from time to time, on bad surface roads when the cloth curtain is open.

When the roof is fully"ish" open, it doesnt make any clonk noises over potholes, when its closed AND the cloth is closed, it makes only a noise if a severe pothole AND I'm going fast"ish" - ie, over 90-100km/h ( 50-60 mph for those over the pond ) and very very very rarely.

However, if the road surface is not so good ( side road ) and the cloth curtain of the roof is recessed, it does make a bit of "clonk" and "plonk" noises - however, here and there, not as bad as some youtube videos I saw. Ie, I can go over a few potholes and bumps and doesnt make a sound and then for one mile it plonks and klonks for every imperfection.

Seems that the glass roof isnt "settled" ? or that it sits on bare metal, no damping whatsoever ?

My car is under warranty still, should I take it for them to see it ? Is this the usual roof popping noise ?

 

is this the problem "that should not be named" ?

 

It seems to be normal, or "Within spec" as Jaguar would say, or "By design" as Microsoft would say! :-)


Jokes aside, mine does the same time to time, over potholes, or turning quickly. It is NOT the usual "roof popping" issue that people refer to. I would also recommend trying the insulation tape option in the roof popping thread, and see if that makes the problem go away.

 

I had this problem as well, exactly as you describe, with the noise seeming to come from the rear sunroof (I have the long wheelbase). It was most evident when backing out of my driveway or on other uneven planes - say where the rear wheels were on level surfaces and the front wheels weren't.

The dealer recommended a lubrication service on the roof. After the dealership **** rape jokes had subsided in my brain (I'm out of warranty) I agreed to give it a try ($200). It worked and my roof is now noise free, which was worth the cost to me. I assume there's a contact point between the glass and the metal that's designed to move and they simply silenced the friction between those surfaces.

Good luck!

 

Just an update here : I called Jaguar Portugal and I've booked the car for warranty servicing on the sunroof on the 31st - they said that they need the car for a week or so, they need to change the hooks, liner and the lot.

The shop manager said right away "oh yes, the clonk noise. bring it in, we will fix it".

so we shall see ! will update after !

So the noise wasn't coming from the back sunroof ? was from the gearing and stuff on the front one ? the lubrification was done on the front sunroof ?

I looked a couple of videos on youtube and yes, my problem is not even close to what people described - again, it clonks here and there, not drives me mad.

Worst case scenario and since it doesnt clonk with the roof open, I have to drive with the roof open all the time - could be worse, I could live in England. Since I live in Portugal and most of the time is sunny ( today was an oven ! ) , not that bad

Will take it to Jaguar Portugal, under warranty a zillion times until they fix it. I can be a real PITA. Once the warranty expires, I might try the insulation thingie.

But I still got 2 full years of warranty left

 

Update on this : today I picked up the car from Jaguar Portugal.

So they said - yes it had a lot of noise actually, since the lining and one of the elements that retract and extend the rear shade was broken and loose.

Also, something on the A pilar was loose inside ( beats me ) and they fixed it.

Just drove a couple of miles and its HEAPS better indeed.

HOWEVER - they said that supposedly the two "hooks" ( what someone posted a picture with eletric tape over ) should be replaced, however Jaguar UK is out of stock at the moment and will take two weeks or so to arrive - and for me to check the noise.

If there is still some, they will order it and replace it.

Nonetheless they gave a "light" warning - its a bit of can of worms. Sometimes it fixes it, sometimes it just opens up more problems and have to be fixed, refixed and triplefixed...

I just drove the car some miles ( 5kms to be exact ) and seems ok ( and I even drove it over some rought stuff ).

I'm making a long trip ( not by US standards, but by Euro standards :P ) this weekend - 1000kms round trip, so will be a good test

 

so new update : it still clonks (**sigh** ... ) .

good news : it does VERY VERY little and VERY VERY sparsingly.

other good news :was greatly improve, the rear roof and the B pillar rattles are gone for good

superb news : the attitude of Jaguar Portugal - when I went there again, nothing sunroof related ( I bought the plastic molded cover for the trunk and went to pick it up ) and they remember about my car and the clonking noise - asked me if it was fixed. I said well, no. it still clonked on the front. they said straight away "no problem, we will order the hooks - please do remember they were out of stock in Jaguar UK , will take 2 weeks to arrive, will call you when they get here, dont worry, we will fix this". 5*. no "if's". no "buts".

 

I really do despair of Jaguar. This is their top model, and this issue has been around since 2010, yet it is still present on the car. Just what are their body engineers doing all day ? Maybe they are all deaf, so don't hear the noise !

 

So the "magical" hooks arrived ( quite a while ago ) and the car was under repair for two and half gooddamn long weeks.

I trully missed it ( picked it up today ).

It was a BIG job - they replace the entire sunroof assembly, had to order a new one and then the Jag tech, said he heard noises from the A pillar ( Driver side ) , then from the engine mount and then from the resins that hold the wood dash.

So ( and they even showed me the picture ), they pretty much disassembled the whole dash, the pillars, the whole roof.

They replaced one hidraulic engine mount.

I drove the car today and boy, does it feel different from inside.

It does feel like a BIG BLOCK OF WOOD ( or cement. or whatever material you think its solid ) inside.

Nothing creaks, rattles or makes a noise, even in the worst roads I've driven. Nothing.

Kudos Jaguar Portugal, for a job well done. Took you ages, but at least things are fixed.

Well, except the damn usb connectivity with my iPhone but that's Apple problems.