I have an image in my mind of somebody in a lab coat, who for the last 19 years, has been stashed away in a smokey lab, testing late-80s technology consisting of a wire cord that's made to run on a two foot track.

I definitely think he needs a bit more time...

Ok, taking off the cynicism hat... I recently saw an amazing thread on the other Jaguar website of a guy who took out the passive restraint system and installed a "normal" seatbelt from a later-model car. Apart from the presence of the track itself, you'd never know it hadn't come that way, in part because all of the installation holes and bolts are already there behind the trim. When and if mine bite the dust, I may go that route.

Thank you, Robert, for keeping us in the loop.
Scott

 

I've been watching this thread with interest. My driver's belt started acting up a couple months ago, then quit. As I was investigating the cause, the tongue that rides on the track came off in my hand! Both it, and the track were worn such that the tabs that hold the tongue to the track were broken off. My solution was to lock the tongue into place, pull the fuse and manually attach and detach the belt from the tongue. The only inconvenience is that now I attach 2 belts (shoulder & lap) when driving.

 

Well, it's taken a little time, but I can now report that I have a functioning passenger side passive restdaint system on my 1990 XJ6. Jaguar of Tulsa hasdone a commendable job of keeping me notified of when the part would be available, and as soon as they were received, he contacted me and we set up a time to have the part installed. This morning, I arrived a little before the appointed time, was treated very cordially, and an hour later I drove out with the new part installed at no cost to me. Good job Jaguar!

 

Congrats Robert!

Do you have an invoice with the replacement part number on it for reference purposes, would appreciate it.

 

The passenger side passive restraint motor assembly is P/N HMD1300AA, Motor Cable ANC.

 

Wow. This is the FIRST example I have heard of Jaguar following through on the life-time replacement of the passive restraint. And there is much rejoicing in the camp! Very good news and very positive outcome. Thank you, Robert, for your persistence and sharing your experience.

Cheers,
Scott

 

Frustrating, indeed, for anyone with these cars. Jaguar put a lifetime warranty on them for a good reason. They are junk. Unfortunately, they still need to work properly for many state inspections. When I worked at the Jaguar dealer, the last I heard was to "send in the original motorized unit and we will release one from parts to send back to you." This meant the car was down for many days waiting on the part. Ridiculous yes. Many parts of that system are covered by the lifetime warranty. I kinda think NHTSA should be involved in ensuring Jaguar does right by these cars. They put that crappy system in and they warrantied that crappy system for life, not thinking about the long term.