I just removed the roof lining from my XF. Another fabulously difficult job on the Jag. Every time I want to remove a part from this car, it seems like that was the first thing to come down the assembly line and they built the rest of the car around it.
A few tips if anyone wishes to learn from my mistakes:

Remove both front seats first. After dropping the headlining and unplugging the associated wiring looms (which are captive to the roof lining shell) the driver's seat would not move, so I had to struggle around it to wrestle the lining shell out. Very difficult.

Leave the sunroof closed. I thought I was being clever opening the sunroof first; once the lining is out, the controls to the sunroof are disconnected so it can't be moved. Because the glass panel drops down as it opens, getting the trim panel out is fantastically difficult. I really don't know how I'm going to get it back in without damaging the new fabric!

If your headlining needs renewing, do it when you're getting a new windscreen. It would be so, so much easier to get this thing out with the windscreen out as the A-pillars, down near the bonnet, are wider apart than the roof so the shell could just be walked forward with two people. Arrange for the windscreen guy to come and take the old windscreen out first and come back with the new one after you've finished the headlining. I wish I had known this last year when I had a new screen fitted.


I looked for videos online to get tips on this job. Only one I found showed a bunch of Indian men doing one- started with them removing all the screws and clips, then when they came to get the thing out and put it back in, the video just cut all that part out and showed them putting the screws and clips back in with the new lining. My guess is the process of getting the shell out of the car and back in again was all too ugly to show!

Now to get the shell and all the pillar trims etc to the trimmer and choose some fabric.

 

Further to this; the motor trimmer whom I was going to use cannot come anywhere close to matching the fabric and has suggested that I try to source original fabric rather than have to trim all 11 pieces with a different cloth, says they will not come up as well as new and that trimming around plastic inserts and the like on the pillar trims will give a poor result. Can anyone suggest a source of the original roof lining fabric?

 

I understand your plight.I had a similar issue with a 2012 XF and I was told here where I am the headliner is sold as a one piece replacement for about $1700 (United States). Suitable quality replacement clothes could be found but the color match seemed impossible due to various degrees of fading in the existing trim pieces.The solution was to go with a color that created a "custom" look. The color chosen coordinated with the accent colors of the interior trim . Maybe that could be something you could consider.

 

The price from Jaguar is not surprising, if anything that is less than I would expect as the shell has several wiring looms attached to it; maybe they don't come with it. I would be very surprised if it were even possible to get the lining here as a part from Jaguar given the car is 16 years old and was sold here in very small numbers. It's looking likely that I'll have to try to pick a colour that is different enough to all the pillar trims that it doesn't look like it was supposed to match, but still looks like it belongs. This makes me nervous- I definitely do not have a flair for interior decorating!

 

You never know this might light a fire in you my friend,after this you'll redecorate your home from top to bottom. - lol
What colors are in your current interior ?

 

The interior is black with light grey headlining.
I've found a motor trimmer who says he has material that is same or a close match, reckons he's done a few of these. Waiting for him to get back to me with photos. If he has something suitable, he'll come and do the job in the next couple of days.

 

Great.
Don't be too afraid to go with a color that gives a different look if it comes to that.
Having a unique color combination would set your car apart from the few that are remaining.

 

Im LOL'ing right now as I just did removed mine to Diag the sunroof and I also referenced the India video and of course they cut out the critical parts.

I was able to get mine out with just the driver seat removed and the passenger reclined. Angling it and slightly folding it (like a taco?) in order to get it out of the rear drive door way, with help of a friend watching the corners

 

Yep absolute pig of a job. Interesting that you were able to taco-fold the shell without creasing it, I'll give that a try when it comes time to reinstall. I'm most worried about the sunroof insert- I think I'm going to have to unbolt the sunroof assembly from the roof and drop it down a bit to get the slide back in. The mobile auto trimmer guy came over with what we had hoped was a close match to the fabric, unfortunately the texture was similar but the colour was way off. I was thinking that it would be better to go with something in a totally different colour, e.g. black to match the seats, rather than a 'not quite' match, but the trimmer pointed out to me that everything else on the roof- i.e. all the light surrounds etc- are grey and would stick out like dog's *****. He had a sample of velour which was close to a perfect match in colour so I'm going to go with that. I figure that if the shade is right, the different texture of the fabric will not be such a big deal.

 

You can manually close the sunroof with an Allen wrench in the center of the motor

 

Good point on how to manually crank the moonroof open and closed.
Here is the S-Type motor and it should be the same as the XF I think?



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Fantastic! I think I knew this but had completely forgotten. Hopefully that will make it much easier. Thanks for the info.

 

I just got the headlining back in the car with the new fabric. The guy who was going to come and do the job at my home failed to show up; he came and had a look at the job, said he didn't have the fabric with him but had some in stock, said he'd be there at a specific day and time and then was a no-show. No message, no call, nothing. Makes me a bit nervous as he looked like he was between prison terms and he has been in my workshop.
I found another trimmer and took the shell to his workshop, he found fabric that was a better match than I could have hoped for, similar weave, just a very slight shade darker against the pillar trims but looks really good. Had to wait just over a week as he had to get the fabric.
Took me about 4 hours to get it all reinstalled yesterday with the help of my wife to hold things in place. To get the sunroof blind back in, I carefully measured the position of the frame and then undid the bolts that hold it to the car, lowered the rear of it and wrestled the blind into the slides. It all closes nicely now.

I have one leftover component that I can't find a home for, wondering if anyone recognises it? I've looked through the relevant sections of the workshop manual and can't see it in any of the diagrams.

 

I don't see it in the parts diagram either?





If one of those parts are it. Give me the number off the diagram and I can get a part number?
Any chance it could be from something besides the Moon Roof?
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I suspect it's supposed to live somewhere around the front overhead lamp unit or the rear-view mirror, it had fallen out as i removed the headliner shell and was in the front footwell. There was another part that did this also but it was from above the sunvisor retaining clip so it had a pair on the opposite side that showed me how to orient it. This looks like it goes somewhere central.

 

Nice! I just did this last summer on my 2010 XF. Had a leak near the sunroof and had a slight crack in the plastic trim for the sunroof I had to calk. I just bent the headliner slightly and pulled it out of the rear door. I didn’t want to bother removing the windshield even though technically that’s how it should be done.

 

Yeah it's do-able, I was thinking of people who might be planning to do the headlining and also planning on getting a new windscreen; do both at once! Mine went back in via the left rear door. Would have been easier with both seats removed.