I'm looking at X150 convertibles and I am wondering if the top hydraulics leak fluid or have any other potential issues to keep in mind. I ask because this was a huge issue with my past Mercedes R129 convertibles and the Green Shower problem with my now long gone X100. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

Forum member WhiteXKR is THE EXPERT in all aspects of the X150 convertible top, and is the inventor of a remarkable remote control kit that I installed in my XKR. See his post #2 in this thread, where he says that convertible top hydraulic fluid leaks are uncommon in the X150.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-fluid-139011/

A common issue with the convertible top is separation of the glass rear window from the fabric, but it's an easy and inexpensive DIY repair. Read this entire thread, in particular my posts ##105, 108, 121, and 131:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/xk-xkr-x150-33/window-convertible-top-97478/page1/

 

Stuart, thanks for the info. It's a relief to know the convertible top hydraulics do not have issues with failed pistons. The Mercedes R129 I had made many a wet, oily mess.

 

On the contrary, the owner of my previous (07) vert tells me the driver's side cylinder blew apart late last year. When I had owned it, I'd noticed the top exhibited a large "bounce" when approaching the near full up position. He has replaced the cylinder now so I need to contact him again to see if that condition is gone. If so, the springy bounce may have been a indicator of iminent cylinder failure. I'll report back if that is the case.

 

Actual mechanical issues with the X150 top appear to be few, and far between.
There are no hydraulics overhead, so no 'green showers'.
If you search the forum, you'll find a couple of instances where a cable has become misaligned (above the center of a door window), resulting in the top being unable to fully close, but I believe those were DIY fixes to get it back on track.
The cylinder issue noted above, I think has come up a couple of times, or maybe it was the same owner in different threads (I don't recall). One of the threads had a link to a video (by a rebuild company) on how to remove and reinstall the cylinders.
Overall, the top seems to be well designed and trouble free (ignoring issues that result from having a low battery, luggage separator out of position, or a missing metal clip on the separator that causes a sensor to prevent the top from operating).

 

I heard about this happening.

When I had Mercedes SL, that had more than a dozen hydraulic actuators and cylinders with a shell life less than 10 years, I used tophydraulics (https://www.tophydraulicsinc.com/en/) .

 

Driving XK verts for 11 years and NO mechanical problems with any convertible tops.

 

Great news! Thanks!!!