Mine do as well. I believe it is beyond a certain speed the system is assuming you are "maneuvering" and is switching front on. When I pull into my garage front is on. When I pull in in front of my office parking spot, it is on only occassionally. Beats me.

 

Glad to hear things are going well. My VIN is in the mid-12K and I have no issues either, but also a great dealer.

Tons of things to love about the car and I look for reasons to drive it a lot. Other things are just minor and I have adjusted: trunk closure, no place to put sunglasses overhead, small front console storage, lack of functionality with right steering wheel control (for now), etc.

Funny story, I was driving around town looking for a parking space after I dropped my wife off at the post office. An older guy who drives an 04 XJ8 was about to get into his car and pull out of a parking space. He stopped dead in his tracks, came over to my car and was practically drooling. He talked about liking the botanical green color, the London tan seats, the fact that it was Supercharged. He went on and on. By this point we were blocking traffic, there were several other cars behind me. I politely asked if he was pulling out of the parking space. He said, "oh yes, I just needed to marvel a bit first at your ride."

 

Same here. Great dealer makes the difference.
Love your story. I got a lot of head turning but nothing like you got. Don't you just love when that happens?

 

Along with the valets fighting to see which one gets to bring up your car even though it's usually parked right in front.

 

heres a good one...last summer wife and i went for a cruise on the boulevard and people were taking pictures and videos of the car while down there. wherever we go get the compliments and asked what kind of car is that. always told what a beautiful car!

 

Where have I been? None of that yet. Ohhh....the crazy Chicago winter. Darn.

 

Regarding the nav disclaimer and deactivation while driving, in my last car (Lexus SC430) there was an "easter egg" buried in the navigation software--a specific series of screen touches would open a programming menu that (among other things) allowed the nav system to be operated while driving.

Do any of the Jaguar techs out there have knowledge of a similar programming menu in the XJ and care to share? Thanks!

 

I too am glad to hear the positive comments that initiated this thread. Since my first few issues were resolved I have had nothing but pure driving pleasure. I will reiterate that your dealership makes all the difference in the world. I too am taken aback from all the attention my Neiman Marcus edition XJL SC commands on outings even from other XJ owners.

 

Pickup my XJL SC Tuesday. VIN ABOUT 9100.

But glad to read good experiences. I am definitely going to question my dealer about updates and the rattle issue And make sure what could be done is done.

 

black xj are you still having 0 issues? I hope so but like you said if you arn't you should share with us because we are coming to this site for answers and to help each other.

 

I don't think this just comes down to one seeing a glass half full and one seeing a glass half empty. There are all different tpes of vehicle owners. I have seen people put up with ridiculuos noises in their cars and not even notice them. My wife never heard the snap crackle pop from the A pillar, drove me crazy. A person with an old computer will probably think the software is lightning fast, anyone else cannot debate that it moves slowly, unless of course they have never owned another vehicle with touch screen. Every car does have its quirks, unfortunately the newer XJ's had many problems and some inherent poor designs that in this level of car should not get past the big wigs.
No one can debate these are the most beautiful cars on the raod (maybe except for Morgan Aero), that they drive great (except when your wheels are bent because they are made of poor quality). Forums are the place to talk about the good and the bad. As a member of 3 car forums I do not agree that all you hear is bad. In fact on both my other forums (Porsche 968 and Isuzu Vehicross, 95% is about praising the vehicles, the rest is trouble shooting (not complaining) about problems.
Glad we have members experiencing both.

 

Well, I also don't have any issues. I had the car since August. I initially had the roof noise problems. The dealer told me at time of purchase that I need to wait 2 days for the car so they can do the TSB or come back.
THe dealer had the car once and then a second time. IN either case only a day or so. I am VERY noise sensitive when it comes to my cars. Very. But after the dealer did do all the work, no more problems. So I simply don't buy the "faulty design" argument. The noises do come down to a few production issues and they are easy to fix (for a good technician and the proper knowledge). They are not caused by any "major design flaw".
My car has a VIN in the 9000's and I consider that early. I want to emphasize: All noises are fixed! The fix lasted for over 3 months or over 4k miles. And that includes our crappy Chicago area roads.
I simply cannot see how the XJ can be claimed to be made of "poor quality materials". Yes, it is correct that Jaguar's production took on a task they barely could handle correctly at first. And YES, they rushed the car onto market and did not test enough to make sure their production procedures are correct.
But it is not that I hear about engines falling out of the car, exhaust falling off and roof panels flying away. The biggest flaw is simply that Jaguar did fail to test their regular production line cars properly, fail to find the flaws and release cars with those flaws. And the result is that they are hurting themselves more then anybody else. It is a GREAT car. The marketing is poor and the car is underrated despite the competitive price. So, yes, Jaguar seems to be bit in disarray. But do wonder a bit about some of the horror stories I read here. I am wondering about the owners, if their expectations are realistic, what their motives are ect. Some of the stuff just sounds a bit too far out. And if all is true, simply get an attorney and invoke lemon law rather then going on for ever. Jaguar WILL work with the attorney under lemon law statue of your state. The attorney will be at no charge to the consumer by law in most states.

 

VERY well stated Gears. This forum needs to cross over form the DARK side.
I know 4 people that have XJ,s. These are some of the pickest people in the world. Bently, RR, AMG owners. Cars in the shop all the time. One I talked to this am. He said to tell this forum to enjoy or get something that will really make you mad. A RR!

 

Sorry for the delay getting back here, I was busy with the holiday weekend. And honestly I got tired of coming back to this board and only seeing complaining. I started to feel like I was "looking for" issues that dont exist on my car after reading some of the posts here.

Anyway - heres a new report on how things have been:

Trunk lid closes and opens every time without fail. Never an issue. - still true no issues

Backup camera pops on immediately when I put the car in reverse. - if you put the car in reverse immediately after starting up - there is a delay. I always give my car a few moments to warm up (unitl RPMs drop down) and as long as i do that the reverse camera comes on right away when going to reverse.

Sirius Radio - activated the system with no issues. Listen to it daily. - still no issues, even after their major update a few weeks ago.

Heated, cooled, and massage seats work perfect (and make me not want to get out of the car) - still no issues.

NO rattling anywhere inside the car. - still no issues here either.

 

 

+1

The whole creaking/rattling/popping thing has been beaten to death.

 

I'm convinced the Arden Sports exhaust is the answer. I'll let everyone know. lol

 

Amen.

 

I found this.

Reverse camera slow to respond from start-up
Concern
Customers may report concerns regarding the time taken before the rear parking camera appears on the FCDIM screen when selecting reverse.
Cause
Due to system resource allocation the park aid camera image is not released onto the FCDIM screen until the system is fully functional, this can take up to 30 seconds from a full vehicle shutdown and subsequent start-up sequence.
Action
No action necessary, the system is functioning within specification.

 

My rear camera appears on the screen within a couple of seconds of selecting reverse, but I do wait about 10 seconds before I move the gear selector from park to reverse when first starting up the car--just an old habit. If I put the car in reverse after I have been driving a while, the camera also comes on within a couple of seconds. Have never had an issue with it taking longer although some have complained about this.