Hello, all. My 1998 Jaguar XK8 rear view mirror has turned 3/4 goldish and 1/4 clear. I learned from this site that it is leaking. I have a couple of questions about this. Please note: I am a 71 year old woman who will NOT be replacing the mirror myself.

1) I only noticed this problem upon retrieving my car from a body shop, which had done some minor, unrelated repairs. The car had sat, unused, in my garage, for about 6 months, before that. The body shop had kept the car (probably outside during a California heat wave) for about 2 weeks before I retrieved it. I read that, while the cause of a leaky mirror cannot usually be determined, it tends to happen more when the car sits in the sun long-term. Is it unlikely that the leakage was caused by the body shop leaving the car outside for about 2 weeks? (I sort of think it is unlikely, or that I could never prove it, but I wanted opinions. Since I had not driven it for 6 months, I suppose the leakage could have happened during that time, although the few times I was inside the car, I did not notice a bi-colored mirror.)

2) I was looking into replacement mirrors (found a few on ebay) when I came across a post on this site by someone who replaced his mirror with an Autovox T1400 camera. (Post is here:.https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...mirror-219855/ .) Ignoring the cost of the Jag replacement mirror or the camera, which would be more labor-intensive, in your opinion? I would have the work done by a body shop and want to know if the cost of installing the camera would be more (or less) than the cost of installing a Jag mirror.

Thanks in advance for advice!

 

My rear view mirror failed in the same way and I'm sure the summer heat was to blame, so yes, in my opinion its quite likely being left outside to bake might have finished yours off too. You can get your existing mirror repaired:-

https://www.radar-mirror.com/

And here is the definitive thread with everything you ever wanted to know about this problem:-

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...acement-17719/

Repairing your existing mirror, or finding a second hand replacement and doing a straight swap, will be cheaper than installing a completely different camera mirror.

 

I just replaced mine with a non-automatic dimming one from another model of Jag and it took about a minute - fitted straight onto the same mount.

 

What model/year did the replacement come from? Was it also missing auto lights?

 

I think it was from an XJ8 of the same era. My car does have auto lights, but they don't work now because the sensor is no longer there, but I never used them anyway, so it wasn't a problem. I prefer to do my own lights!

 

Really, Blade? You can just stick the mirror portion of certain old Jag mirrors onto the xk8 mirror, and they can be dimmed/undimmed? Is there any (simple) way to determine which old Jag mirror would fit mine? (Other than searching for a known one on ebay, I don't know how I'd go about it.)

Thank you both for your replies.

 

The XK8 and XJ8 Magna Donnelly mirrors are interchangeable if they have the same connectors. (yellow 6 pin for TWILIGHT SENTINEL only)

The later cars with twilight sentinel AND rain sensing have a white (9 pin?) plug connector.

Get the same type and they will fit fine.

 

Thanks. Does this relate to changing out the entire mirror unit with another auto-dimming mirror? What is a "Magna Donnelly"? I see references only to the "XJ8", "XJ6," etc. (Hmm, I thought my 1998 Jaguar had 8 pins. I'd better check.)

 

Also, why don't the XJ8 mirrors for sale on ebay have wires sticking out (or state the # of wires needed), whereas mirrors for the XK8 do have wires? https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fro...nely&_osacat=0

 

CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW (IF) I CAN DELETE A POST?

Also, how do you list more than one car you own? The space I get is too limited for more than one.

 

Magna Donnelly is the manufacturer of the interior rearview mirrors.

Mirror with Twilight Sentinel.

 

Oh! Thanks.

 

Just to clarify, the mirror I fitted from an XJ8 has no electrical wiring to it at all - to 'dim' the mirror if you're being blinded there's the old-school tab at the bottom that you flick. The mounting on the screen is the same, so it's a direct swap.

 

I've just looked up that mirror that Motorcarman posted a picture of, and it's listed as:-

HNC3133AB
Genuine OEM HNC3133AB - Jaguar Interior rear view mirror (HNC3133AB) part for Xk8 Coupe/convertible 1997 - 2006 Classic, Xj 1998 - 2003 (from 812317 To F59525) Classic. Authentic Jaguar Part.

So it looks like mirrors from 1998 to 2003 XJs will also fit. Brand new price is £469.90 including VAT.

 

The mirror shown is for AUTO DIM and TWILIGHT SENTINEL.
Different mirrors if you have RAIN SENSING.
Maybe different mirrors for ROW as this is for the North American market.
We only have those two options for the X308 and X100 4.0 liter.

 

I replaced mine about 3 yrs ago with an Acura mirror Part #76400A02za auto dim mirror.

 

Thanks for this useful info!--I'd like to look into this for my '98 XK8. Anything you can say about how you adapted this mirror to your car? Wires/connector, mount?

 

Yes, I understood that.

 

That's more than I could get an allegedly new xk8 mirror on ebay. Crazy prices!

 

Thanks, Dibbit. Are those numbers (812317 To F59525) VINs or what? Because my VIN looks nothing like them.