Has anyone experienced a premature tarnish of the chrome door trim and if so how have you handled. Is is warranty? Are you able to clean the tarnish and if so with what product?

 

Don`t fanny about get it back to the dealer !

 

Thank you Dervdave

I initially took it to Jag dealer and the customer service consultant said it was acid rain environmental and they do not do replace. I can't imagine other jags are running into this problem. I will call manager of service and let him know that it is premature tarnish.

John

 

The door surround is stainless steel (SS). Contrary to common knowledge, SS will stain. The dealer is correct that there is nothing to be done about it short of replacing the pieces and, do one, you must do all.

I have tried every polish known to me, including those formulated for ss, with no significant result. You can take an abrasive pad to the surface tarnish but you will then spend days getting the minute scratches (brush finish) back to nornal.

I can't explain it because I don't understand it. SS is supposted to polish up, but this stuff will not. Maybe it is acid rain. There is a thread that ran on for 3 or so pages about 1 1/2 years ago, I think in the 350 section. Some of those respondents claimed good results but I was unable to duplicate.

I wish you every success but I live with the problem to this day. If you find the answer post it back here. It's worth a Knighthood, at least.

 

Hmmm, dunno if its any consolation guys ( probably not ) but I suffered the same thing with my chrome trim pieces on my doors of my Audi A6 (2007 MY )
I found out some time ago that they are in actual fact NOT chrome at all but seemingly a plastic covered with a "chrome" veneer of sorts?!?!
Anyhow, the acid rain / car wash shampoo whatever turns them a milky / cloudy colour and basically takes the shine off them.

Supposedly all down to acid rain / harsh wash chemicals etc etc ( thats the party line and deffo NOT warranty items )
Having sad that, I'm tight with the service guy AND the parts guys and have had 3 sets ALL replaced under warranty only for them all to go the same way.....

Sounds kinda similar to me ????

 

thank you guys for the responses. I left the situation with my dealer to reconsider and once I get reponses I will advise

thanks

 

My 2010 XF has this issue just starting. As a "daily driver" it goes through the car wash frequently. My 2009 XF is babied and is only hand-washed. No issues with the trim. Possibly a harsh detergent issue as someone has already mentioned.

 

thank you. Ased jag dealer to consider replacing they are to get back to me

John

 

This issue is reported as common by UK owners. Replacement is the only solution they have found and the same issue seems to arise with the replacements.

Most, if not all, "metal" trim on modern cars is actually plastic.

 

Next time you get close to a late-model S-Type, take a look at the bright-work around the windows. You will see the same tarnishing. I have attacked mine with MAAS polish, and that helped a good bit, but still not good enough. Next step is to use the big gun: Simichrome polish. I'm hoping that keeps things looking good enough, at least until the faux metal "veneer" wears through. But don't go look at an early S-Type - the gleam of the real chrome (I think) on the earlier cars will leave you muttering under your breath. These things are built to a price, something Sir William always understood.

 

I feel like a voice in the wilderness. Nobody hears me.

I'm willing to bet a small amount this stuff is stainless. Whatever it is on your cars: on my car it is stainless steel, not aluminum and not plastic.

See post #4 by himself.

 

As far as I know it is not stainless, nor chrome. It is some type of laminate "plasticky" material backed by metal. It fades, and looks "tarnished....that's the way it goes.

 

For what it's worth.

In 2008 I received a Jaguar publication for North America entitled "This is the New Jaguar XF" On page 52 in the section Art of Perfection there is a statement and I quote

"While we've highlighted the one-piece brushed aluminum strip around the complete side window opening on the XF as a remarkable piece of design, its significance as another example of Jaguar craftsmanship is arguably even greater. It would have been easy to have produced it in one, two maybe three pieces and cover the joints with thin caps. We could also have produced it from chromed plastic. But with this car, we wanted an unmached piece of craftsmanship. We challenged our suppliers, and they delivered, says Burgess"

End of quote

The Burgess is Wayne Burgess who is (or was) Senior Manager for Jaguar Design

 

Ho, ho, ho - and I ain't Santa Claus. Check out this other thread on this Forum for the REAL story on that bleedin' trim:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...ad.php?t=29860

 

Our X-type (2007) has suffered the same tarnished chrome as others. It seems to be a plastic laminate over a metallic base. I suspect that moisture has started the oxidation process & delamination is what gives the horrible effect. Polishing will not cure the problem as it is not a "surface" issue. It is disappointing to have such silly ****ling problems on what is not a cheap motorcar. Maybe the new owners will look at rectifying the problem.

 

I see this is a pretty old thread. Has anyone come up with a solution? My new/old stock 2011 Jag XF Premium just arrived from Ohio today, and it has this problem already. It did sit on the dealer lot for a year, so it's easy to understand why it's so bad already.

I looked at the other thread listed above, and it sounds like they have a different material on the S types that they can polish.

Wonder if the XF pieces could be removed and chromed for a more permanent solution? Anyone experienced in chroming here?

 

In your case, there is an easy solution: demand that Jaguar replace all the grossly prematurely tarnished window bright work under warranty. For a 2011 MY vehicle to be exhibiting such degradation can only be due to a manufacturing defect. The warranty on my 2008 S-Type expires in one month's time, and I just had all the window trim replaced under warranty. The SC dealer initially refused to handle it as a warranty claim, so I escalated my complaint to Jaguar HQ in NJ. I had to be persistent, arguing my claim more than once, before Jaguar finally directed the dealer to do the warranty work. In my argumentation, it helped that I could contrast Jaguar's response with my multiple-BMW experiences: similar issues with an M3 and a 335i were immediately dealt with by the BMW dealer as warranty claims, with no "discussions" at all.

In the latest J.D. Power Customer Retention survey, there is a reason why Jaguar has a 31% retention rate, while BMW has a 59% retention rate. At least, Jaguar is improving: in the previous survey, the Jaguar customer retention rate was 16%. Jaguar's ultimately positive resolution of my complaints at least moved me from the "no" column to the "maybe" column. The ownership experience depends not only on the product, but also on how the manufacturer stands behind the product, at least during the warranty period.

 

This thread and others like it has been running for years. The question for me is:
What is this trim material?
Chrome
Aluminium
Stainless Steel - which incidentally is no such a thing

Whatever the material is, it is very hard and does not respond in any meaningful way to any liquid product I have tried. I have tried various polishes, rubbing compounds and Bar Keepers Friend. Nothing touches it.

ScotchBrite pads will get the stains off but then you can't get the cut lines out. I know there are metal polishing firms out there who could deal with it but you must take the trim off the car. One kink or dent in the removal process and you just bought yourself new trim anyway.

Replacing the trim, warrant or no, is a short term solution as the staining will be back soon enough. Can it really be this hopeless?

 

Worked with my 03 S-Type and same results with my XF. Wolfgang Swirl Remover, you can find it at autogeek.net
Wolfgang 8 oz. Swirl Remover Combo, Wolfgang polishes, total swirl remover, finishing glaze, machine glaze
You can use a paint sealer after you are done.
Hope that helps!

 

All,

I worked for a company who manufactured trim for numerous car manufacturers including Acura, Toyota, Nissan, Chrysler, gm and others

The process is called "plating on plastic" and it involves forming the plastic parts using polymer materials which are formed into the specifc part , then inserting these parts in a bath of chemicals which include metals such as gold, silver and others.

When the process is completed you cannot tell the difference between stainless steel and plastic other than the weight.

They can become cloudy if the chemical process is flawed and the acid rain can affect these parts if the process at the manufacturer was not robust enough. Plating on plastic is a "science" and as a result can have many variations in product quality.

Hope this helps.