Well, this sucks... Just took possession of a 2010 XF R on Wednesday. By Thursday, I was back at the dealership because for one or another reason, this car seems to think the hood is open (and it isn't, of course). As a result, I cannot lock any doors with the remote. What they told me there is that the latch switch is defective and will have to be replaced. Great - ordering parts already. What gives, Jag?

 

Pretty rare problem.

Are you sure you closed the hood correctly?

I drop the hood from about a foot above the latches as for my X Type. North American cars usually require that you slam the hood closed by dropping it from its full open position, primitive and very noisy. Europeans never close the hood in this way. Jaguar actually recommends that you carefully lower the hood until it latches then press in the two places above each hood latch. This is the traditional way to close a hood on European cars. Only North Americans insist on slamming the hood (and the doors) which is really pretty primitive. If you insist on slamming the hood North American style at least lower it carefully to about one foot above the latches before allowing it to slam closed. If you insist on closing the hood as for a Chevy or Ford you will break the hood components again.

Also, on my '09 the hood latch loop on the hood on one side worked a bit loose. 5 seconds with the correct size wrench fixed that issue.

If you want to complain about reliability issues try a Toyota built in America or Canada, or any GM or Ford product built in North America, now they really s*ck.

My XF has been just about perfect and the issue you complain of is very rare, very mundane and not a serious complaint.

 

I was expecting something a little more "concerning".

As technologically advanced as todays cars are I am amazed at how few problems they do have. That is what the warranty is for, because the Auto makers know there will be problems that arise.

 

Yup it's what the warranty is for, at least there is a fix! Get your loaner car and you are good to go....

But some of the fancy electronics in the XF are bound to go, part of why I am leasing....

 

Of course, luckily this is not my first car. Closing the hood is something I have been able to master. Now the trunk is a different story..

Way to categorize everyone - that shows a bit of ignorance, IMO. Just like wherever you're from, there are individuals with various habits here as well.

Incorrect, as I see you tend to be quite often. I drove a North American built Acuras for over 9 years and there have literally been ZERO problems. I'll be glad to say that US manufacturing isn't exactly where German or Japanese is, but far surpassing British.

If so mundane, you didn't need to reply. However, being able to LOCK THE CAR is not a luxury, but a necessity. Given the opposite, NOT being able to lock the car is far from a mundane issue.

Sorry to disappoint you - low expectations you must have

But no, that's about all that has been wrong with it thus far. Having said that, my XF Supercharged that I just sold last week to get the XFR had a list of issues longer than mother of 12's shopping list.


Finally, for you guys who think I was the reason for the malfunction - perhaps I didn't clarify that the issue arose BEFORE I ever opened the hood. Same day I picked the XFR from the dealer, I drove home, and that's when the issue arose.

 

That actually worked out quite well - I dropped it off at the dealer, got a loaner right before having to take a 3 hour drive!

 

I understand you are upset. I can imagine how frustrating it is. In fact, I drive an Acura now and we have had zero problems with the car before 8 years, 100,000 miles kicked in....

I don't even have my Jag yet, and I already expect I am going to have those problems.

I guess I take it for granted that I live 10 min from a dealer, but believe me, I think Jaguar's reliability for "mundane" issues seems to be quite bad. From the satellite radio presets to the fuel tank problem..

People cite Toyota's recent problems as an example of Japanese "unreliability" I think the brake problems are isolated, most people are driving around a Toyota with no problems...

I don't think people were trying to blame you, I mean a hood is a hood.

 

Thanks, dude - I appreciate that! The first fellow to respond definitely had someone pee in his cheerios - not sure what else to attribute it to.

BTW - our other car is an Acura as well - an '07 MDX - I must say, that thing is built like a tank. Had a X5 for a VERY short period before and it didn't even compare.

 

Hi Mosco,

I totally understand, I would be pretty pissed myself after spending that much money and have problems already,

Makes me wonder now if I'm going to have problems with mine at some point

Regards,

Steve

 

Hey Stevo! It WILL happen - had an XF Supercharged before, and small crap always popped up. But drove/handled like a DREAM though!

Looks like you have the same XFR as me - metallic black on black?

 

Hi Mosco, black over ivory, pics on thread called My XFR and pics, do you have any would love to see them.

 

Mosco, if you are so satisfied with the Jap product why buy a Jaguar at all ?

Jaguar have been under Ford since the early 90s, and are now sold on to an Indian company, Tata. Over their stewardship Ford improved the product immensely, Jaguars were absolute cr*p before then, (I know I had one !). Trouble is Ford just could not make money out of Jaguar; not surprising due to the £-$ rate until very recently, hence the sell-off.

However, the market Jaguar are in seems to demand ever more complexity in the cars, and this causes no end of trouble with reliability with the Europe-built cars at least, even Merc and BMW. Having said that, your hood switch problem is very unusual, and has been caused, I suspect, by some bad handling during the journey from Birmingham, England, to your dealer in the US.

 

Other than your opener, the post made sense

Why try different things? It's called 'broadening horizons', mate! You HAVE to admit that Japanese reliability is second to none. As far as being fun to drive - that's a whole different story. Sure, there is Acura NSX, Nissan Skyline, etc - but still, not the same. However, for practicality, I would still not get anything before a Japanese car. As mentioned in another post, own an '07 Acura MDX and it is built like a tank, while being VERY comfortable to drive.

I do know the history of Jaguar, and I DO know that the issue is unusual. I just think it is silly that the car doesn't allow you to lock doors as a result, that's all. However, received the call from my dealer, the car is ready, and I'm picking it up this afternoon!

 

Jeez give the guy a break.

Jag will be my first non-japanese car and I'm getting warnings from EVERYONE i talk to about these kind of issues. I'm willing to give it a try, the dealer is 10 minutes away and I don't plan on owning this car.

He wanted to try something new, it didn't quite work out.

 

Mosco, Sorry, did'nt mean to offend you but I suspected although you admired the Jap reliability, there was something missing somewhere, and so it seems I was correct !

As a one-time Jaguar driver of a Mark 2 (a 1967 car) and then an XJ6 (built 1980), I know all about Jaguar quality, or lack of it. Jaguar was really a con-trick for years and years, the company went through some very bad times, and was rescued from bankruptcy by Ford, who paid way too much for the company, like about 20 times too much !

You're right on Japanese reliability from my own experience. I had a Mazda Xedos 9 (Millenia in the US) and it never, but never, needed anything serious doing to it during the eight years I had it. I took it over at 37k and part-exed it for a Rover 75 V6 auto when it got to 128k. The only serious thing it needed was a new air con control unit - £500 from the dealer, but good ole internet turned me up one near London for less than £50. On Easter 2006 while out in the Forest of Bowland, the driver electric window winder failed so we had to come back home with the window down. Had to keep the car at 60 to keep it bearable in our very cold Easter weather. Yet again good 'ole internet got me one for £35, but it was a pain to fit !

Then one day early in 2007 I noticed the rear wheel arch nearside was perforated with rust, so I decided to get the car I had always wanted, a Rover 75 2.5 litre V6, which I still have. It has been as reliable as the Mazda so far, but I have another 4 years to go before I really will know. MG Rover went bust in 2004, so I was thinking of getting the last of the traditional style XJs, the aluminium saloon from 2003 on. Even these have problems but from what I read are mostly manageable.

You are much richer than I as you have bought a new XF, so I suppose the disappointment is greater when faults appear. I see a lot of XFs here in the UK, and the cars are considered as good as the German cars now, but the big Japanese saloons are very unpopular here and sell in very small numbers apart from Lexus. Incidentally, most of the Jaguars sold here are now diesels due to the excessive motoring taxation we suffer from in the UK. Yet the current diesel is more powerful than the old 4.2 6-cylinder petrol, and that engine made me feel like a Master of the Universe in my XJ6

 

Hey Mosco, What was the out come of your hood latch repair? Have you had any more problems? My Xf Supercharged did the hood open thing once but stopped. I checked the sensor and the connector was a little lose. I haven't seen the problem since. I've learn to be careful when closing the trunk, doors, and hood. My park brake light has a ghost in it though..LOL.. It flashes on when I get in and out. I've had no prblems with it. The manual has no warning problem linked to it. I guess little problems are to be expected. Prior to buying my XF I owned a Infinti M45 sport, It had a few strange problems too. The thing ate oil from time to time, The fans would run at high speed even when the engine was cold and every once in a while it blow a fuse for the cooled seat motor. They had recalls for most of the problems. So I guess this is par for the course. A good lesson, Keep a warrenty. (Grin)

 

A lot of our "Japanese" cars are built in North America and suffer reliability problems.

Modern British cars like Jaguar and Mini are incredibly well built. If they do fail it is often the parts suppliers that are to blame. The fit and finish of my Jaguar is superior to any North American built Japanese make I have seen. Besides, Japanese cars ride so poorly especially if they have pretensions to handling. Heck, even German cars ride better than sporty Japanese cars. None can match the British cars for ride quality.

 

Hey Mosco, First off i have to say your pretty darn lucky to own such a machine. Second, I would be mad if my car broke a few days after owning it. Hopefully the jag will continue problem free.

 

@Mosco:

My XF is doing the same thing. Mine also added the "Low Coolant Level" message and to top it off, my driver headlight, turn signal and parking light are not lighting up. Did getting a new latch fix your issues?

 

From the handful of your posts that I've read, you obviously love Jaguar but that seems like a bit of an overstatement. I'm certainly not saying Jags are poorly built But "incredibly well"?

OP - glad you got the latch worked out.