I have a 2010 XJ SWB which has always had an annoying knock in the roof when the car went up a ramp. Today for no apparent reason the rear glass roof panel just shattered with a loud bang but there was no reason or impact. I was driving down an open road with no other traffic.

I returned the car to the dealer who agrees there was no obvious impact but want to carry out tests on the suspension and roof frame. Which suggests a torsional/ stress problem although the dealer was non commital. At the moment the dealer is addressing as a warranty claim. Interestingly Jaguar U.K have no replacement glass panels in stock for some reason.

Anyone else experienced such problems ?

 

Wow. In US (as you can read here on several other threads) the roof popping issue has been the biggest annoyance, but I don't remember reading anyone here with the glass shattering. At least in US, this could become a serious legal problem for Jaguar. Post your last 5 digits of the vin number of your car for others to have an idea what "batch" of cars might have this issue as well.

 

Hi, thanks for the reply
the Vin number is:03560. I hope this helps.

 

I had a sub 2000 vin and had it replaced with a 15k vin. I have had roof popping and pillar creaking issues since day one. I bought my first car almost 2 years ago and I JUST got the 2nd replacement fixed and completely quiet (thank God). They had to disassemble the entire passenger side assembly and had my car almost 2 weeks. Before that, same thing. Roof poop/creak/banging going over any bump that was bigger than a slow 'speed hump'. It was so annoying. Good luck getting it fixed.

 

Thanks for the info. Mine has been in two weeks for repair. Jaguar state the problem was a fault in the glass manufacture. I am sceptical. I hope to get the carjack within the next few days.

 

I have mine fixed. ( supposedly) 3 times. The last time was 2 weeks ago. Quiet as a mouse first week but starting to notice a slight pop in the mornings and another rattle. Same as last 2 times. Quiet than it starts creeping back. Never been told it was a glass manufacture problem. First time rattle kit applied. Then it came back creaking on turns and driveways. Third time I took it in it was rattling bad over rough pavement. 2 nd and third time. Screws and bolts tightened and torqued etc. I'm tired of this. Please tell me how you got jaguar NA to replace the car?

 

I have mine fixed. ( supposedly) 3 times. The last time was 2 weeks ago. Quiet as a mouse first week but starting to notice a slight pop in the mornings and another rattle. Same as last 2 times. Quiet than it starts creeping back. Never been told it was a glass manufacture problem. First time rattle kit applied. Then it came back creaking on turns and driveways. Third time I took it in it was rattling bad over rough pavement. 2 nd and third time. Screws and bolts tightened and torqued etc. I'm tired of this. Please tell me how you got jaguar NA to replace the car? Early 2012 build.

 

My car was returned to me today after over two weeks in for repair. Unfortunately the problem is worse than ever as there are now numerous pieces of glass rattling around in the roof. They broke the glass panel when removing it from the roof and couldn't get all the broken glass out. It goes back in tomorrow when they will attempt to remove the remaining broken glass. However they tell me that it is difficult to remove as they can only get the roof lining down 6 inches unless they take out the front and rear windscreens. I am now worried that there could be glass rattling around ad infinitum. Not very impressed.

 

Your car needs to be replaced. Please someone who has had there car replaced by jaguar NA for roof problems. Please describe the process. How was it done and how long did it take.

 

I had my car replaced... after 6 months of constant returns to the shop, constant videography of me in the vehicle while it's malfunctioning and even then, you would think that no one believed me or I was making a big deal out of small things.

I wont requote everything wrong, but you can see a thread created by me last year, it gets into the details. HOWEVER. I had to fight to get my car replaced. I bought a demo, which technically isn't a new vehicle, it's used and being such, doesn't qualify under the Lemon Law. When I say I had my car in for four whole months, I am not lying. Long story short, I started contacting the VP for Jag NA (whose info someone posted on here). I shot him an email and left him a VM. His assistant (or someone like that), called me and said, 'we are going to give you a new vehicle, go into Jag, make sure none of the issues are on the new car, drive it for a week and we'll swap them out. A week later, I get a call from the same lady telling me that my old vehicle is fixed and to go pick it up and that I am required (REQUIRED mind you) to return said vehicle by the end of the day. It was 4pm and I was in Gainesville...

...so anyways. I return the vehicle and I am shown the work order reports that assure me the car has been gone over with a fine toothed comb. That a Jaguar NA engineer flew into town and worked on my car for two whole days. As God as my witness, I only cared that I got what I paid for and was happy to hear that and keep my car (it was white/black and not very common). So we get in the car to head home and half the stuff they were supposed to fix, were still untouched. To top it off, the car let me lock the keys in the car, something it's not supposed to be able to do. I had to call a cab, get a very long and expensive ride home, call a lock smith to break into my house (keys were in the car), cab it back with the spare and let myself in. About a 4 hour ordeal. I was pretty pissed at that point. Left a VM with the service manager and got a call back from the GM a few days later, saying they were looking for another car for me.

Let me say that I have been super polite this whole time. Never yelling. Ever. If saying I was going to have to sue was being threatening, well, after 6 months of nothing and being nice, I was getting no where.

To finish my story. I don't know what the specifics were regarding my new car, but I know they treated it like a trade and Jaguar NA gave my dealership some $ to play with to make it work. I got a very high VIN replacement vehicle. It even had the rear seat entertainment upgraded in it which was nice.

Since then. This car has 80% of the original issues. Bluetooth and roof being my two biggest pet peeves. They did the roof fix twice. It was a lot better, but still creaked. Nothing I couldn't deal with. Then, 'it' started. A tapping noise, much like a pencil on the window, tapping, over and over again, constantly. I took it in three times. They could never duplicate it. So I started videotaping it. Got it on camera really good. They had my car two weeks. Finally, it's fixed and quiet. There are still electronic gremlins in the car. Screen switches off, a lot. My entire radio went out on a 3 hour drive home two weeks ago... I had to put my phone in my visor on speaker so I could listen to music.

Overall. I have been very displeased. Two years of owning this vehicle and I've gotten exactly 2 months of quiet enjoyment. The other 18 months was spent in service and hating my car. The only reason I still have it, is because I haven't been able to list it for sale until this month, as it hasn't been working properly. I did casually list it online, but didn't get anyone to bite on it. I love the car deep down, but it is such a source of contention for me I resent it. I think about the alternatives and there really isn't anything as sexy or equipped that I like, that 100 other people in my neighborhood don't already have.

 

New2Jag,

That is indeed a sad story. I'm not sure why it is so difficult for Jaguar to get their cars right. I'm starting to think it's a cultural thing. Every country that has their own car brands and factories are very different from each other, not just in design but also in engineering.

I love British cars, and sometimes I look at Bentleys, the GT Mulliner has the W12 German engine that will run 200,000 miles before showing any signs of fatigue. Japan offers the Lexus LS, it has been built like a tank since day one, with no-nonsense electronics, and the new 2013 model has a really nice nav and sound cluster.

Jaguar has the design and all the British class, but with several engineering and electronic flaws. Mercs, Porsches and Beamers are always the same clinical cars, I don't care about them much or at all. Italian cars are temperamental, horrible to service and expensive to maintain. American cars are out of the question, they just don't have the fit and finish.

So in the end, it really boils down to tolerance. I'm at a stage in my life that I really don't want to be annoyed and bothered by car problems. I absolutely love Jaguar designs, but, if I can't use the car day after day without being reminded it will need a dealer visit anytime, it's a natural thing to gravitate towards Lexus or other less problematic brands. I do own a LS-460 that I purchased brand new, and even though I get bored with the plush ride and sometimes I also get annoyed with the 8 speed transmission, I have to confess that I really enjoy to just put gasoline and go. Out of the 6 years I have this car, I visited the dealer 6 times, for regular oil changes and one recall. All cars I had in the past were never this problem-free. I always realize how important this is when I have to get out and go in a hurry, and everything works, all the time, always, year after year.

Will Jaguar ever get to this level? I truly hope so. But I tend to believe it might not happen for cultural reasons. Maybe the British are not as obsessed about reliability like the Japanese are. I really don't know. I feel sorry for all you had to go through with your XJ, and I want to believe you're the exception to the rule when it comes to this brand. There must be a reason after all, why there are not many Jags out there.

 

I still wonder just how many unresolved roof issues there are on these new XJ models. Mine was fixed permanently ages ago and is quiet as a mouse--I don't even have any other squeeks or rattles at over 25,000 miles which is unusual for any car. I certainly sympathize with those that have an ongoing problem, but I really believe that this is not an issue that should negatively brand Jaguar as some of you are intent to believe.

 

Glad yours was fixed. But you wouldn't feel the same way if you we're still having issues after 3 fixes. Of course it's a stain on Jaguars reputation reliability and design. Check and see how many 2011 and 2012 xjs with low mileage are for sale across the country and how horrible the resale is. I'm sure any cars jaguar replaced for roof problems are now for sale as certified across the country. Poor suckers who buy a used xj with roof problems.

 

Having got the previous aluminium XJ, I have read the posts about the new one with interest; after all, I might think of getting one (secondhand), one day.

I have to agree with one OP that it is a cultural thing. One only has to go to Germany to really see what the difference is between us Brits and the Germans - tidiness and discipline everywhere, everything neat and clean, perfect road surfaces and so on. As I said to the missus whilst driving along through the Hunsrucke hills, "its all a bit too tidy, really" - there you have the voice of a true Brit, (me) - its all too neat !!

I suspect it is the same with the Japanese, but I haven't been there so cannot comment. The main trouble from what I see here in England, is that our autoengineers are constantly trying to be too clever, too often, forgetting that the customer should never be the tester of anything new.

With my X350 car, Jaguar pioneered world-leading technology for aluminium body construction, (far more advanced than the Audi A8 system), and maybe should have stopped and paused there when considering what innovations should be in the new X351 model, the new avant garde style alone should have been enough. But no, they just had to put in an innovative new roof system that in all honesty, based on the posts in this forum, has been a disaster from start to finish. Lets hope they now know how to make it properly. Not only this, but they just had to put in an aero industry-type 'glass-cockpit' for the instruments. Just what happens when this goes wrong ? Early XF owners had to put up with the new rotary transmission control failing to rise thus immobilising the car, so lets hope some lessons were learnt with this device.

I will always shout up for Jaguar, that's how I am, I just love them, but the new owners of Jaguar really should be asking their designers and developers to have a rethink on how innovation should be progressed and installed in the new cars.

 

Mine started popping about two months ago and is getting progressively worse. Pops from all four corners and sometimes sounds like a gunshot scaring the hell out of passengers. Not exactly bragging rights in such a fine looking automobile.

Just hit 12k so I have been waiting to try and do it with the annual service. Have hestitated to take it to the dealer in Tulsa for the simple prejudice that all repair people in Oklahoma seem to be liars and morons. So waiting for a trip to Dallas which will necessate a stay unless it turns out to be a long term issue then I either need a loaner I can take home or an apartment. lol

 

There needs to be an official recall. Jaguar NA told me there has been recall issued nd only the government or some affiliated agency can issue the recall. It would be a lot easier to sue or have jaguar take these cars back if it were an official recall. I'm getting tired of my $ 80k plus car sound like a truck. None of my friends or associates would ever consider a jaguar after hearing the racket mine makes. I really would just like my money back so I could purchase a different brand. We need a class action lawsuit!

 

I got my XJ back after three weeks, repaired, but they had to take the roof panel down 5 times to locate all the glass still rattling around. On the last time they had to remove the whole sunroof to get one piece of glass out that was rolling around in the metal frame of the rear sun blind. When I got the car home I found I couldn't open the glove box so back it went. A fuse had blown under the rear seat for some strange reason, maybe just coincidence but bad timing in my book. Today I traded it in for a new XF 2.2D Portfolio. Not the same as an XJ but at least the roof is all metal !! Don't ask how much I lost in two years of ownership, I am still weeping. Still a major fan of Jaguars but severely tested. Hey ho.

 

Yes the roof. Now, about 2 years later I can say it is quiet. But not without some help from my end. First all TSB's done helped most problems, except one. That last one I quietened down myself by re-adjusting glass panels to exact specs, placing foam strips over rear edge of frame between frame and panel and covering latch hooks with tape. That now made it quiet even over some major twisties and bumps.
On the other hand a friend of mine has the same car, built slightly before mine and he never once had a problem with his roof. I drove his car myself.
So contributing factor clearly seems to be accumulating tolearances (which are tight to begin with) during manufacturing. Hence no clear sorting by built date.
If it makes you feel better, Many Audi and Mercedes are having the same problem. After all the sun roof comes from the same German manufacturer (Webasto) .