I bought an XF for my son and he says he is used to the lines in the heated windshield.
I am thinking of buying an XJL and my wife finds them very annoying.
We live in Wisconsin and it seems almost all jags here come with heated windshield.

What percentage of Jag XJL owners don't have a garage? This is absolutely a stupid idea by Jaguar.. The lines are annoying. I don't want to factory order a unit (I would not get a good deal that way).. I need an awd and here, they all have the heated windshield..

Have enough people not complained to the jaguar that they should offer free "downgrade"?

 

You have a son. Let's presume your wife is over 40 and has presbyopia.

From that start, she may be wearing corrective lenses which are "over plussed". Quite common in prescribing lenses if a great deal of care is not exercised in the examination because over plussed correction is subjectively better to the patient. Unfortunately, it causes a closer focus.

The lines fade away from sight once the user is used to them and they focus down the road instead of closer in like they might in the showroom.

On the other hand, as you admit, you are considering a packaged product at a price. The product is packaged in your locale to local tastes. In Wisconsin, that is likely to include the heated seats, heated mirrors and heated windshield. By now, perhaps even the heated steering wheel.

As you also say, you can pick the options as long as you are willing to forgo the savings. But, you are not.

Garaged or not, eventually the car gets driven outdoors. That's where the heated windshield comes in handy. Especially in Wisconsin. It is very effective at demisting evenly without localised patches. Just ask your son about this aspect rather than whether they bother him.

Your other alternative is to buy the car in Florida or California. But then, the dealer may not be so happy about servicing the vehicle.

 

jaguarxjl,

I had a Land Rover as a loaner with the heated windshield and found it unbearable, annoying.
Have them replace it with a regular windshield.

 

Sure ... buy a brand new car that had the windshield installed at the factory under controlled conditions and immediately have it replaced under field conditions.

 

I started this thread - mainly out of frustration - to see if these lines are bothering anyone else, after a few months of use. I would prefer to hear from people who actually own a Jaguar/car with such a windshield. Theoretical observations are pretty much useless to me (and others?).

"Over plussed" or not, we shouldn't have to worry about the prescription and it is reasonable to expect a clear windshield, even if it is an inexpensive car. Any car.. I was so excited about buying the xjl for my wife and this windshield issue made it a frustrating experience. We came out of the dealership, with distress. I think the xjl is the best looking car, in its class.

I hope Jaguar makes cars with cooled seats (heating would be a part of cooled seats) package. I don't care about the steering wheel. While it is nice, I can live without it. I had two identical LS 600 Hls. Just sold one to buy the Jaguar xjl.

The lexuses had heated steering wheel and often I would forget to turn it on. That's another dumb idea - by lexus.. not having a mechanical button for the steering wheel heater, with default on. Fortunately Lexus has mechanical button for seat heater (which makes it convenient that we don't have to turn them on at start up). I don't recall but does jaguar have mechanical seat heater/cooler switch? Or do we have to turn it on, every time we start the car?

Plums, do you have a car with heated wind-shield? Do you really find it useful in winters? Or are you just making "theoretical" observations? None of my cars had electric heated windshield and I never missed it. Only my 1986 Taurus had it and I don't recall it being very useful. It had actually a thin film and not lines. The jaguar heater/lines, I would assume, was also ford technology. I am surprised that they went backwards.

I would miss the electric heated outside mirrors of course. They are essential, in winter.

I don't think replacing the wind shield ($3300) is such a good idea. Such a waste of money! Has anyone had to replace it, out of frustration? Considering the brand, they should really offer free replacement to the owners!

My son has single vision and he said he got used to it under 2 months. It doesn't bother him anymore. My wife and I both have driven his car for a week and she found the lines to be extremely annoying and I found the lines to be just annoying. Hence the title "this is a stupid idea".

So... I really would like to hear from jaguar owners who have experienced this first hand. How are you dealing with this? How is your spouse dealing with these lines. Is everything ok after a month?

 

plums: Good observation.. We both wear progressive lenses. You helped me understand why I found the lines to be less annoying than my wife! We were actually arguing about it.. I say "its not so bad" and she was basically going to whack me! lol.. Thanks.. good obersvation.. her correction is affecting her more..

 

Note to administrator: Any reason you have turned off Edit and delete functions for me (and others too?). I am unable to edit my post. Please turn them on.. thanks.

 

I believe as a new member, your account is restricted until you meet the requirements posted in the new members section

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/n...gned-up-22253/

 

do all xj's have them? i have a 2011 xjl and i do not see any lines in the front wind shield. the windshield was never replaced.

 

There's a minimum post count before they get activated to stop spammers.
You're nearly there.
It's the progressive lenses that are causing the problem.
Either learn to keep your head down (!) or get some fixed driving specs (my choice)
Hate driving with progressives but tend to fall downstairs when I accidentally use the fixed focals since the brain gets used to seeing a distorted world.
I wouldn't be without the heated windscreen.

 

Nearly all the cars I have owned in the last 10 years have had a heated front screen and to be honest I can only see that as a bonus.

Perhaps we should go back to the days when cars had fold down windscreens as after all the glass itself obscures vision to some extent.

I would have thought there's an awful lot more in life to worry about than some microscopic wires in the windscreen and it's certainly better than trying to peer through an icy or misted windscreen.

Anyone who would pay to have a heated screen replaced with a standard screen has more money than sense and should be given a Moskovitch to drive around in until they see the light and find something more important to worry about.

Just enjoy driving a superb car and in a few weeks you won't even notice the lines

 

just found an article that stated it is an option. i suspect the tucson dealer doesn't think it is of much value in our climate , so the don't order one on their in stock vehicles.

 

I have heated screens on both my jaguars and also on my work van. Would not be without them now as have got used to never needing to de-ice the screen.
When I had a heated screen years ago for the first time I did find it annoying for a couple of weeks but got used to it quite quickly , I was finding initially that I was focussing on the wires , if you do focus ahead they do tend to not be apparent.

 

You know of a better solution?

 

I can see that this thread itself could become a heated discussion.

I have come to the conclusion that heated front screens are a bit like Marmite, you either love them or hate them. Sorry don't know if you have Marmite across the pond.

I think in life some of us focus our attention on what is ahead whilst others are more intent with what is right under their noses.

I am now going to drive my XK and see if I can get the lines to annoy me, just so I can appreciate others point of view.

 

I have a Land Rover LR2 and an XJL V8 S/C. The LR2 has the heated windscreen, and I forget that it's there, though, when I purchased it, it was distracting in certain light at certain angles... It sparkles a bit. Overall, though, I bought the LR2 so that I could go to the snow and such, so it's a good thing. I think if you don't focus on the squiggles, they aren't that distracting.

 

Hey mate, to answer your other two questions, yes, the Jaguar XJL does come with cooled seats, though with the 2013 spec I'm not sure as to what package you need to order for the heated and cooled seats. I have a 2011 XJL and it has heated and cooled front and rear seats.

For your second question, unfortunately no, the XJ(L) does not come with a mechanical switch for the seat heater, so you have to switch it on each time you turn on the car. Likewise for the steering wheel heater...thankfully the switch is a nice innocuous paddle switch on the left side behind the steering wheel, so it is very easy and convenient to switch it on/off.

Hope that helps...sorry I can't help you on the heated windshield part. I did see a car with the heated windshield on the lot when I was buying mine, and to be honest, I did not like the lines...but then again, I only sat in it and didn't drive it, so maybe I could have ignored the lines once I drove it and focussed on the road ahead. And no, I don't wear glasses or lenses, but the lines annoyed me anyway! :-)

 

Yep, Fred Meyer carries Marmite. My mother loves it, I hate it. I could care less about heated windshield as well. Unless I was in Canada or Anchorage.

 

Have had them for years on our Land Rovers, and on the XJ. Wouldn't go without the option here in Chicago.
It is true that, at first, you become a bit fixated on the lines. But, as others have said, you learn to compensate for them and they eventually 'disappear'. Likewise, plums is correct with regard to the corrective lenses.

 

Not having mechanical switches for seats is such a pain. I don't understand why some manufacturers don't even pay attention to such details. Many inexpensive cars have mechanical switches! Not having remote start is another point of irritation for me. Who cares about heated windshield, especially if it is annoying/a headache! I would rather have remote start (which I have had installed in my lexuses and other cars). Lexus is now offering remote start for the LS also. I don't think its an option for Jaguar.

I am convinced that my wife would continue to dislike the squigly lines.. Since she has driven my son's xf for 10 days, she knows already that she is not getting used to it. Even the dealer admitted that some people are unable to get used to it and are very annoyed by it.
I am considering placing a factory order without the heated windshield awd or perhaps getting a rear wheel drive car intended for the south. I would rather deal with rear wheel drive in wisconsin snow than deal with the annoying squigly lines of windshield heater for 3 years... or I might just wait for the new S class..