So I have had my black mistress for a little time now, and I would like to share a few things that may be a problem/fix or they may be some weird safety function.

First, I live in a building where there is valet and usually I will let the valet guys park the “R”, this may have something to do with these issues, maybe.

One day I go down to the garage and get in and realize that the side view mirrors are still retracted. I try to restart the car, re-set the alarm, nothing works.

As you guys know the visibility in these cars is not the best on the sides to the rear (blind spots). So my only solution was to drive with the top down, this was in December, ergo friggin cold. On this particular day I had to drive the wiffy to work (05:00) and there wasn’t any dealers open until later that morning. I live in CA so my idea was to call the east coast (3 hrs later) and get some help, nope, the dealers I talked to didn’t seem to know much about the car. Finely my local dealer answered my phone call and told me “a, yeah, that sounds like something that you are going to have to come down to the shop. Yeah, not something we can do in the field”.

So off to the dealer I go, shivering and ignoring the goofy stairs, pointing and giggling from passer bys.
As I drive up to the service bay I see what looks like the techs standing around, drinking coffee, waiting to clock in. I get out and ask one of the techs is there anything I can do? He says “let me take a look”. Almost immediately the mirrors pop out.

Problem; [/b]side mirrors locked in retracted position.
Fix; [/b]push both mirror buttons at the same time.

On two separate trips to the detailer I had two crazy electrical problems. First, while the tech was cleaning under the canopy cover (the thing that opens and closes to cover the top when it’s down) the cover closed slightly onto the canopy and was non-responsive to the button. Again Jaguar dealerships were no friggin help.

Problem;[/b] roof half way down/up but will not respond to the button.
Fix; [/b]gently open the metal cove to the upright position (by hand, from the center) then gently with both hands simultaneously lift the front and push down on the back, the roof easily retracts this way and you can now secure it with the cover by using the button.

Note, if you can’t be gentle and you have to lift or push hard, you are doing something wrong or have a different problem. Don’t force anything that way you shouldn’t break anything.

The second problem I encountered at the detailer was with the driver’s seat, it was stuck all the way forward (they moved it as to clean/vacuum under it). I tried all of the usual, start it, set the alarm, check all fusses per the owner’s manual diagram, even call Hawaii Jag for service (this was late in the day and HI is 3 hrs behind me, it was that or the UK) they were as much help as NY. and CA.

Problem;[/b] driver side seat stuck
Fix; [/b]take the key fob out of range of the car for one minute. These cars do not like to have the fob sitting inside with the car off.

I hope none of you guys have any of these problems, but if you do I hope this can help.[8D]

 

No comments from anybody? Not even Jagtech? Has anyone else witnessed these issues? Has anyone else seen other weird issues?

Let me know. [sm=smiley33.gif]

 

I am aware of the mirror and the seat issue.

The Convertible top issue though must be presented with caution.

Sometimes the top will stop prior to pressure being release from ram, therefore you will have pressure when you attempt to raise or lower the roof.

To counter this, you must use 4mm hex head (behind rear seats center) and open convertible top pump valve 1 turn and 1 turn only. More than 1 turn may cause damage to seal inside pump. Then pull cable to release ram pressure.
Roof all the way open is how Folding top module knows it is in a reset position. Bear in mind, there are many many different scenarios for why the top became inop. From the luggage seperator out of position to a faulty microswitch.
Always use caution working around the top.

PS> wasnt aware you were awaiting an answer. Thought you were just posting your knowledge for others benifit. Thought that was cool of you.

 

I guess I wasn't waiting for an answer, I just thought someone might say something. I was and am curious if this had helped anyone or if there are any other issues (wierd) witnessed by others that could provide dialog for the rest of us to use.

I was a little suprised not to hear from you, being a tech. thanks for doing so and maybe helping to start the intended dialog.

 

I am surprised to just hear about the mirror issue. Does this happen on all Jag models or just the XJ? Why do the mirrors stay folded in and what is the fix if this occurs? It seems like a major safety issue.

 

It's an XK, not an XJ. However, it's not necessarily a 'hard' fault. If you don't have the mirrors set to auto-fold when you switch off, you can manually retract them by pushing both buttons. To unfold them, you press both buttons again. So "press both buttons to unfold" is not some sort of magic trick, it's normal for those of us that don't use auto-fold. I don't need it where I normally park, so I have it switched off to avoid unnecessary wear & tear on the motors.

There's still the question of why it didn't unfold automatically; I'd suspect a temporary gremlin in the startup of the driver's door module that controls both mirrors, possibly due to a slightly low battery.

 

Ngarara is correct. The folding side mirrors is a feature on the car. I will push both buttons to retract the mirrors if I'm pulling up to a drive thru ATM machine or especially in my garage at times. It's very handy and a nice idea. Your valet obviously was aware of the feature because he could only retract them by pressing the two buttons together. By setting them to retract when locking the car it gives you an idea that the car is locked.

 

Its not a "problem" - it's a "feature" !
If you over-ride the 'auto-fold' option by manually folding the mirrors (I do when I enter my narrow garage) it (temporarily) over-rides the auto feature until you manually unfold the mirrors again. As the Tech did for you.
And, as mentioned, you can permanently over-ride thru an option on the display.
I think its well thought-out. Could be highlighted better in the manual tho....

 

Original poster: Please NOTE: all of these "faults" can be symptoms of a failing battery, or simply low voltage!!! The symptoms of low voltage in these cars are random: various warning lights, windows, door locks, seats, roof, touch screen...not responding as intended. All of them fixed by replacing the battery or (better): putting the battery permanently on a battery minder like the CTEK - just plug it in when the car is not in use. Problems disappear. These things happen on cars with batteries older than 3-4 years, on cars used infrequently, on cars used for short trips or a combination of these. This is not a "Jaguar issue" - many new high-tech cars have similar high power needs.