Please advise if interior headliner adhesive has failed resulting in headliner sagging and blocking rearview mirror view-a safety issue. I have 2002 Jaguar XJ Sport and headliner in the back totally failed and sagged; Dealer service mgr indicated 1998 to 2004 Jaguar interior roof headliner adhesive was wrong type ('glue' did not work on foam backing) and new adhesive used (after 2004?). I rec'd reimbursement for this 'latent defect' in design.

 

Seriously Dale, you have a 7 year old car, you can't expect it to be perfect. If the headliner is the only thing you have to worry about, you should consider yourself lucky. "I are an engineer too", and if you think you get everything right the first time, you must be a genius. But if that were truly the case, you'd certainly have better grammar.

 

So you already received remuneration for this issue... what's your question?

And I hope your statement, "I are an engineer" is related to the old joke with that punchline, not simply poor use of grammar... as I, too, am an engineer.

 

i iz a engineer to.

The headliners are made in a compression molded process where material and process are tightly controlled. Is it possible there was an adhesive change that led to this failure? Maybe.

Did the manufacturer knowingly change the material to a product that would fail after 7 years? I doubt it.

Should the manufacturer own the potential failure forever? No.

As mentioned above, the car is 7 years old. At some point the owner needs to take responsibility for the repair and upkeep of the vehicle.

 

My 2004 XJ's headliner also sagged badly after about 4 years. The dealer gave me the same explanation about the glue and told me this was a very common problem on the XJ's, particularly down here in hot southwest Florida, but that Jag was not offering any warranty help.

He quoted $750 to replace the headliner. I went to the Yellow Pages, made a few calls, and discovered who did all the headliner replacements for the dealer. He quoted me $375 for the complete job including the sun roof panal and redoing the passenger side sun visor which was "extra".

They did a beautiful job. It looks great. I'm happy.

 

In many cars 7+ years old. I have a 2001 that has a headliner sagg issue. Had a 90 Jaguar that had the same thing happen. I’ve see other makes and models that have this issue, it’s just heat and time before it happens to many cars..

The foam just deteriorates over time.. If that is the only”big” issue I ever have with my new(er)Jaguar..I’d be a happy man. Just waiting to get about 450 bucks together to have my done. Until then I got much of the remaining foam off the rear area and used a spray adhesive called “77” from Lowes and sprayed it on semi thick for now. Working fine, not a permanent solution but until I’m ready it’ll do.

 

I just replaced the headliner material on my 99 XJ8. It's a chore getting the headliner out of the car, then stripped of old foam, but once stripped, the new material went on fairly well. Unless you remove the rear window, I don't think it is possible to remove or re-install the headliner without bending (i.e., folding) it.

FYI, the headliner color that I found to be a perfect match for the "oatmeal" interior was a color called "Sand Gray" this particular manufacturer's color code "PH1784". Easy to find a supplier on the internet by searching for "automotive headliner sand gray"

 

I wish we could go back to sewn-up headliners using best West of England cloth, with loops for the listing sticks like I had in my old Mark 2 of 1967 vintage. These never sag - NO GLUE !! I suppose they cost too much to make and install.