XJR sunroof
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Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 2
Likes: 1
From: Greensboro, NC
XJR sunroof
I recently had an issue with a sunroof on a 2001 XJR. Fortunately it is sorted out now, but thought I'd post the details in case anyone runs into the same problem in the future.
The sunroof tilted as designed, but stopped sliding. At first it seemed to slide back maybe half an inch then stop, but after messing with it for a few days it would barely budge. I took it to the Jaguar dealer, who of course spent an hour looking it over to tell me they needed to replace the entire sunroof. This repair would be 9 hours of their labor (~$1000), and a new part. But here's the kicker, they can't get the part and tell me I need to find it myself and bring it to them. The idea of a random guy being more capable of finding an obscure part than a certified Jaguar dealer is shocking, but it is what it is.
Anyway, after searching for a couple weeks, I found an allegedly working assembly for about $150. It was guaranteed to work, but since it was out of state, shipping costs would pretty much make it pointless to send back even if it did work. Fortunately, I decided to find some cheaper labor before ordering it, and took to an independent Euro car shop. They said they wanted to charge me $130-200 (depending on time) to diagnose themselves. Even though the dealer had assured me it needed to be replaced, I bit the bullet and paid them to form their own opinion on it. A day later I got a call, during the two hours they spent, they noticed the sunroof out of alignment, simply adjusted it, and now it's working perfectly...
I got pretty lucky, although it's pretty frustrating knowing the Jaguar dealer either doesn't know their cars anywhere near as well as they should, or, more likely, want to squeeze as much out of us as they can even if they aren't working in an even close to efficient manner.
So moral of the story (which everyone here already knows), get a second opinion! And if your XJ sunroof stops working, don't let the dealer replace the whole thing before having someone more honest take a look!
The sunroof tilted as designed, but stopped sliding. At first it seemed to slide back maybe half an inch then stop, but after messing with it for a few days it would barely budge. I took it to the Jaguar dealer, who of course spent an hour looking it over to tell me they needed to replace the entire sunroof. This repair would be 9 hours of their labor (~$1000), and a new part. But here's the kicker, they can't get the part and tell me I need to find it myself and bring it to them. The idea of a random guy being more capable of finding an obscure part than a certified Jaguar dealer is shocking, but it is what it is.
Anyway, after searching for a couple weeks, I found an allegedly working assembly for about $150. It was guaranteed to work, but since it was out of state, shipping costs would pretty much make it pointless to send back even if it did work. Fortunately, I decided to find some cheaper labor before ordering it, and took to an independent Euro car shop. They said they wanted to charge me $130-200 (depending on time) to diagnose themselves. Even though the dealer had assured me it needed to be replaced, I bit the bullet and paid them to form their own opinion on it. A day later I got a call, during the two hours they spent, they noticed the sunroof out of alignment, simply adjusted it, and now it's working perfectly...
I got pretty lucky, although it's pretty frustrating knowing the Jaguar dealer either doesn't know their cars anywhere near as well as they should, or, more likely, want to squeeze as much out of us as they can even if they aren't working in an even close to efficient manner.
So moral of the story (which everyone here already knows), get a second opinion! And if your XJ sunroof stops working, don't let the dealer replace the whole thing before having someone more honest take a look!
Veteran Member
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,053
Likes: 80
From: NYC
Moral is, don't take any 15+ year old car back to the dealer, ever.
My roofliner was replaced and I think they removed my sunroof as part of the process (they relined the two sunroof interior halves too) and the total job was only $300. $1k in labor to swap a sunroof is a horrible rip off - if it takes 9 hours to swap a sunroof their mechanics need to find a new career...
My roofliner was replaced and I think they removed my sunroof as part of the process (they relined the two sunroof interior halves too) and the total job was only $300. $1k in labor to swap a sunroof is a horrible rip off - if it takes 9 hours to swap a sunroof their mechanics need to find a new career...