New to me 2006 XJ8 VDP (pics coming)
 

Well, I picked up my XJ today. Drove it from Atlanta to Winston-Salem, and it was amazing!

Having come from a 1997 Lexus LS, this car seems to be a major step up. In my opinion, the XJ is quieter than, rides just as good as, handles better than, and is much much faster than my LS. And since it has low miles, there are no rattles inside! The small speedometer belies the amazing power and grace this car has. Push the gas and before you know it, you are going 100mph, and not on purpose!

I was a little disappointed in features that it is lacking. I was certain that adaptive cruise control was standard, but this one doesn't have it. Also was hoping for an aux input. Perhaps even bluetooth. Doesn't have any of these. I was expecting the Alpine stereo to be a little better, too.

But I am still ecstatic! It is black on black, and the exterior is pretty damn near perfect, but apparently the rear bumper and trunk lid have been repaired, but the quality of the repair job is impeccable. The engine bay looks like that of a brand new car. Literally. The leather is probably the richest leather I have ever touched with my own hands. At night with the convenience lighting on, the car just looks so welcoming and classy.

And the gas mileage at 70-75 mph was 29mpg. Simply amazing! And, for now, the air suspension does not sink and does not fart and sigh when shutting off the car!

However, the car is not without its faults. It could use an alignment, and there is a small amount of water in the trunk. But these should be sorted out soon.

I can't believe I went through with this purchase, but it was totally worth it! Look forward to many years of luxury motoring in a Jag!

By the way, does anyone know where the typical sources for water leaks are in the X350 trunk? I am getting worried about the drops of water in the trunk, because there is a lot of electrical equipment in there (amp and fuse boxes, battery)!

Where does the water seem to be collecting in the trunk? Are there any puddles or damps spots?

A common place would be around the spare tire area. Something to check is to make sure that all of your trunk seals (and lid seals) are in good condition and arent cut, cracked, crimped or damaged in any way.

Also check the taillight seals. Water can get in there pretty easily when it rains and you get spray and rain water coming in.

It appears are just a few drops near the battery/amp in the front (rear of car) right area of the trunk. I wonder if it's really the seal, you would think that water has specific channels to flow down instead of going into the trunk.

However, there seems to be a slight kink in the trunk seal right in that area (would think it would still seal properly with the trunk closed), but short of getting in the trunk and having somebody use a hose to see if water is getting in the trunk or not, I have no idea how to figure out if that's what is causing the problem.

Well, leak solved. The ventilation tube for the battery came undone. That would explain why there was only a little leak and not a completely flooded trunk, why is a battery leaking water anyway???

Here's a quick cell phone pic I took in my gf's parents' house's garage. I made her dad move his Honda Pilot out of the garage. :D

Good Luck with your new car, glad you are happy.I love black on black, its what I have, but is is a pain to keep clean, whats the saying , looks great when wet or just waxed, I had a friend with a black Audi A8 that carried a full detail kit in the trunk, I thought he was OBCD till I got mine.

With regard to the water in trunk, it is not from the battery.They do not leak water, did you taste it?, well at least touch a drop to your tongue, if you die it is from the battery, in which case you dont have to worry any more, if you are alive it is water and read on..................
It is either due to sloppy repair on accident damage or a production fault from the factory.There are some cases of drain vents for sunroofs, trunk lid seals, rear light seals etc...
Try and see or trace a pattern or trail that the water has run, then see if you can duplicate with running water from outside to that area.Make sure all and any plugs are sound in the body in that area.
One of the problems with finding a leak is that although water always runs downhill it does not appear to on a Jag, lol.If you get lucky with this, great, if not , it is into the trunk with you.
I have had water in trunk (in Oregon this soon becomes a good sized paddling pool), collecting in spare wheel well, evidently some cars were not welded or sealed in the body frame box sections allowing water to enter, I was able to inject sealant under the rubber gasket around the glass ( oddly enough, this rubber in itself is just a finish trim piece and in not supposed to seal at all, just like the front glass the seals are all done with mastics glass to frame), took me a long time to source the leak.
Remove the spare wheel, mop up all water, get in the trunk and close it,have a flash light, then have a friend with a hose on low apply water in a slow sequence from the top to the bottom around the glass, then the trunk lid, then the lights.
This is the only way to isolate a leak in the trunk as far as I know.
Good Luck, and get on it asap, there are a lot of electronics in that area.

PS, I did replace my main trunk seal first as I thought this was the obvious source but it was not my issue, oh and distilled water does not stay distilled water for long when it is put in a battery.
*It is now sulfuric acid.*

Don't nonsealed batteries have distilled water in them? The drain was completely disconnected, and the "highest" hint of water was on the plastic fuse box--just below the spigot of the drain from the battery. This indicates to me that the water was leaking out of the battery drain, which had been disconnected. I also tried pouring water around the seals and watched it as it drained off the back bumper and onto the ground. Nothing went in the trunk.

As for what was in the trunk, I am not talking about a lot of water here--it was maybe 1/4-1/2 cup tops. The car didn't really smell of mildew (I have had really bad trunk leaks before), but it smelled more of a chemical smell. I will see if the smell dissipates tomorrow.

By the way, it appears that there was no damage to the trunk lid, now that I've looked at it more closely. The piece I thought was repaired was the rear finish piece (surrounding the license plate), and it appears to be made out of plastic. There was a slight "ripple" in the reflection off the paint, but it's on both sides in the same place, so I think it's probably just a case of poor build quality/design by Jaguar, IMO.

After digging around in the trunk for a good hour or two, I haven't found any evidence of repaired damage (overspray, bent edges, uneven gaps, etc.), other than the resprayed rear bumper, which is great! I guess I got lucky!

I will get a high pressure car wash tomorrow and let you know whether or not the leak was fixed! Thank you all for your help! I will try to get some nice photos tomorrow so you can see what a beauty it is!

Alan you wont get a mildew smell if it is in the trunk as it is in the wheel well bottom, I had up to an inch of water in mine and it never smelled ( or smelt..can I use either word)?,

Hey , the small amount of water in your trunk might just be water in trunk from an everyday spill, or from lid being open in a storm or ?
maybe you got lucky.
One point with regard to paint finish, these cars have probably the best paint finish bar none, and I do not say that lightly, they are that good, you will see just how good if you ever have to have a body shop try and match that finish, very few can.

Really? In my Lexus I had 1-2" of water and it created moisture in the cabin and a mild/moderate mildew smell. Maybe I just have a sensitive nose.

The Jag seems to have a special vent at the base of the rear window that goes to the trunk for some reason, so I bet it would be even more noticeable?

I am going to get a carwash first thing tomorrow morning and see if I get any water leakage into the trunk!

the "special" vent on the rear parcel shelf is part of the HVAC for the cabin, it does not vent into the trunk.
The point I was making is that in the this area water often trails down metal suraces without touching/soaking carpet and puddles at the lowest point in the wheel well.
I spent a lot of time on this, believe me, anyway you will find out soon enough.
I live in NW Oregon, when it comes to water leaks I know of what I say.....

That's cool :D , jag is in , honda is out lol :icon_wink:
I appreciate his beahvior as well

Well I went through a high pressure car wash today. No leaks, and the slightly sweet smell of what I thought was from the battery is disippating.

Hopefully that is what it was... I will keep checking on it on a regular basis.

Also my hands are extremely dry today and are peeling! I think whatever liquid was in the trunk is corrosive!

LolLol I went to a carwash today and my temporary plate flew off! I had to run back in there. It was all messed up, but I bought a plastic plate cover and now it's never going to come off!

If the liquid in your trunk is from the battery it is not distilled water but rather battery acid. It is very corrosive not only to your hands but will eat through just about anything it comes in contact with. You should clean it up immediately. Search the internet on how to use baking soda to neutralize the acid. Once well cleaned up keep an eye on whatever it came into contact with and keep it clean to stop corrosion. As well you should try to determine why the battery is either leaking, perhaps it had been over topped up, or another condition such as it is being overcharged. Sounds like you got yourself a great car, enjoy it!

good luck
brdave

It looks like it corroded through a lot of the protective sealant/coating on the aluminum in the base of the trunk (looks like it was some sort of protective paint). It simply peeled off when I was wiping it!

What should I replace the sealant with? Anything? Will it become corroded?

Now I am starting to worry. From what I read, a good thing to do would be to pour some water everywhere where the battery acid touched with baking soda mixed with water. Unfortunately, I did not find any drain plugs for the trunk, so I will have to mop everything up with a towel!

Wear rubber gloves and don't get any liquid on your clothing or onto any other areas of the car by having liquid on your hands by touching the body, closing the boot etc.

brdave

Man, this car really does look gorgeous. I need to get a nice camera and start snapping some photos!

The only thing that is kinda annoying about this car is the transmission. Although very very smooth, when getting on the gas, it seems like there is a large dead zone in the pedal travel. Therefore, it is a little hard to get smooth acceleration when you want it. (It's easy to get smooth acceleration with a delay, as you slowly push the gas pedal through the dead zone.)

BTW, the gas mileage is excellent. I cannot believe it, but I got 26 mpg on the way here, and almost half of that was stop and go traffic! My '97 LS400 got 18 mpg consistently on the same commute!