I have a 99 XK8 convertible I bought in dec 2014 (last year) with 44k miles. Love the car! The top has been slow to close and recently would stop in the middle of coming up or wouldn't come up at all. I took it to the local jaguar dealer to inspect and make recommendations.

They also were to replace the dome light mechanism which had come loose.

They could not find any problems with the top mechanism, they said. They opened and closed it a few times and added fluid. Replaced the plastic dome light assembly.

I picked the car up, and the very next time I tried to lower the top, I heard a hissing noise, then all the top fluid leaked out around the new dome light console and onto me and the gearshift and seats.

Should I find the dealer at fault here for not doing their job properly with inspecting the top more thoroughly and giving me alternatives on what to do to repair the slow working top?

 

Welcome to the forum Bonneau,

I've moved your question from General Tech Help to XK8/XKR forum. Members here with the same model will be able to help.

Please follow this link New Member Area - Intro a MUST - Jaguar Forums - Jaguar Enthusiasts Forum to the New Member Area - Intro a MUST forum and post some info about yourself and your vehicle for all members to see. In return you'll get a proper welcome and some useful advice about posting to the forum.

Graham

 

Bonnaeu, Just go down the page and see a thread about convertible tops, it has over 600 reply's so not hard to spot. This will give you all the info you need to know and some you don't. You can skip over a good part of the technical stuff, but great to understand what and why of your top.
The dealer should be responsible for the clean up at the least, sorry for your issue, but the dealer will be very high to replace the hoses and rebuild the front latch.
You didn't give a location, there may be members in your area to help.


Wayne

 

Bonneau,

You have encountered the all-too-common "green shower". Highest probability is that it's a failed fitting on one of the two hydraulic hoses that operate the convertible top latch. If so, the hoses must be replaced.

Probably not provable one way or the other as to whether the dealer working in there triggered it, but again it's a common failure.

In the short run, you can cap the hose ports back at the pump and continue to operate the convertible top, albeit with the latch being operated manually. See "manual latch" link below.

Investigate all your options before choosing a repair strategy. Significant time and/or money involved.

Good luck.

 

This is as mentioned a common problem with the hydraulic roof system on the xk8. This link should help you better understand the issue.

Link JagRepair.com - Jaguar Repair Information Resource

 

From a strictly legal aspect I'm not sure what the dealer obligation would be in this sort of situation. I'm not sure if they can reliably predict when/if a failure of this nature would occur.

However.....

Given that this is a fairly common problem it would've been smart of them to at least inform you of the possibility of failure. it would've protected them from (at minimum) some embarrassment and having to face an unhappy customer. Plus, it would've have been an opportunity to upsell some work-- providing income and profit for the store---which, after all, is the name of the game. I was in the dealership business for 30+ years and, I assure you, I'd give the service advisor a thorough dressing down for missing the opportunity. After all, his/her job is to 'advise'.

On the flip side, repair shops are continuously criticized for (what often appears to be) 'overselling'--- suggesting that something needs repair before it is broken, etc. This tends to make them a bit gun-shy. BUT, an experienced and well trained advisor can make such suggestions without coming off as a shyster.

In this case the actual failure of the mechanism isn't their fault but I'd expect them to 'do something' to help patch things up with you, the customer. A 'negative' situation, professionally addressed, can often be turned into a 'positive'.....and actually result in an *increase* in customer satisfaction and loyalty. Any business has a chance to put their best foot forward when problems arise. It's the best opportunity for them to prove they are a quality operation.

Cheers
DD

 

I have had numerous circumstances where I would bring my car in to the dealer for some service and I would get it back and something else would be wrong or something went wrong that should have been checked during the routine maintenance/inspection. The most egregious was with a BMW I owned. Normally had to bring the car back to the dealer for not only failing to fix the problem that I had brought the car in for but also breaking something else in the process. This happened with the Jaguar when I brought it to the dealer for the convertible hose replacement and when I got the car back the clock/nav would not turn on (turns out the accidentally clipped some connection).

In your case you were specifically asking them to check out the top operation and it seems suspicious that you would have a hose or connection failure immediately afterwards.

Doug

 

Not so suspicious, really. We all know that sudden failures of the hydraulics are rather common.

Cheers
DD

 

They topped up the fluid. That should have indicated a leak was happening someplace, and they obviously didn't find it. Now, it rears its ugly head. This "green shower" is nothing new to us Jag owners, and your dealer sure as heck should know what to look for. I dont find them responsible, but I do suggest they could have done more to find the leak. It aint rocket science.