Originally Posted by xdave (Post 1463535)

If you have a 2010 or 2011 XJ you will know the frustration of trying to use the touchscreen it was built with. The buttons are tiny and the touch screen is unresponsive without continually jabbing at it. It is a massive disapointment in an otherwise brilliant car.

I have seen this question pop up a few times on different forums, but haven't seen anyone sharing the way to upgrade that to the much more usable later versions. Which is odd, because it is really, really easy to do. I have now upgraded the system in four X351s from 2010 and 2011 without any issues encountered so far.

All you need is a 2012MY onwards touch screen from a breakers yard. Typical cost is £150. It takes all of 2 minutes to change over.

1. Pop the surround trim off with a flat blade where where the dash trim has its seam about level with the base of the screen. It just lifts off.
2. Remove the eight size 20 hex screws and remove the AC controls and the old screen.
3. Swap the screens over.
4. Replace AC controls, screws and trim.

That's really it - no programming, no security codes, just turn on the ignition and after a slightly longer than normal pause for the first time only the screen will come on with all the options fitted to your car as before. Only this time you only have to lightly touch the buttons to activate them, and the software will be running at the later version with larger buttons, better sat nav controls, and so on. It is so much safer to use.

There is only one thing you need to watch out for when selecting a replacement screen. If you have dual view and want to retain it then the donor screen must also be dual view. Otherwise it's not an issue to fit a dual view screen to a non-speced car (you'll gain the hardware, but will need to code it by modifying the CCF data to make it available for use). The easiest way to determine whether it has dual view is to either get the donor VIN and check the build spec on TOPIx, or ask for a photo of it still installed and look for the button on the AC control panel.

The AC control panel does change along with the touch screen specs on each model year. For example the earier ones did not have dedicated AV/NAV and PHONE buttons. You can however still access all the functionality with your original 10/11 AC panel. On one car I swapped the panel over as the owner wanted the newer style buttons too and that worked fine too, but it is not really necessary. Note that from 2015 (maybe 2016 US) model years onwards the door locking buttons moved onto the door handles themselves. Also note that from 2013 the BW sound system was replaced with Meridan. If your car has one of the premium amp levels the icon will apear as Meridan if the touch screen is later than 2013, however when tested it still operates as before. From 2017MY the touch screens may be different if the new system was specified so always check the donor unit looks like the one you are removing.

Below are some photos of the last 2013 screen I installed, together with the changed AC controls. The final two with the trim fitted are from a 2015 screen fitted to my own XJ. The software is very close but slightly tweaked nav controls and some UI gloss. The main difference is that the nav screen no longer has that annoying confirmation prompt, instead you get one when first starting the car that times out automatically after 15 seconds if not touched anywhere on the screen.

When looking at the label on the rear of a screen, the sideways numbers on the far right are the date code. The first two are the year, the others I suspect are week codes. Anything made after mid 2011 will have 2012 or later software installed.

I am still searching for a display at a decent price.I couldn't find one. As Xdave said I need CW93-10E889-DB to keep full functionality and the dual view option. I will continue watching Ebay maybe I will be lucky.