This started about a week ago and sounds like bits of plastic foam being rubbed together. I suspect it could be a tube or hose/pipe in there rubbing against some plastic part or other.
I removed the wooden panel in the middle then unscrewed the 3-instrument cluster (oil-pressure, clock, battery charge) and then the black plastic vent component.
That's as far as I've got so far and the "squeaking" noise is still there. So now I'm not sure how to get at other things in there because what I can see seems a bit difficult to remove.
My questions therefore:
- has anyone experienced this as well (I've seen similar cases in the forum but not really the same) - I don't think it has anything to do with noise caused by the vent inlets at the front of the windscreen because it's a squeaking noise and not a rattling.
- how can I get at the areas behind what I have removed already without having to take the whole facia etc apart (I'm very good at taking things apart but lousy at getting them together again)

Thanks very much for any help/ideas

Redan

 

Check out the condition of your upper front shock mounts as they squeak (more metal on metal) when they get too flattened out and it definitely sounds like it is coming from the inside the dash...

 

Last year to my surprise I found mice in my boot (trunk). Now I don’t suppose........

 

Redan,
Oddly enough, I have just recently encountered the same problem. A squeak/chirping sound from the dash area. It’s NOT the defrost vent (another common problem for X100 owners). It happens only when the car is moving, but goes away when I depress the brake pedal, and returns when brakes are released. Is your situation similar?

I recall a mention of this in another thread from some time ago, but can’t find the info now. I did go out to the car and manually depress the brake pedal, and heard the offending squeak, just not as loud as when driving. I’ll make an attempt today to squirm under the dash to identify any loose bolts or obvious other causes for the squeak. Absent that, I’ll just liberally apply a spray lubricant to the area :-).

Perhaps someone who had a similar problem will respond...

 

Check your front shock mounts. Don’t beat around the bush. Those mounts really do cause an annoying squeak when they’re starting to go.

 

So, taking giandaniel’s advice, went out to the car to investigate squeak under dash, but checked the shock mounts first. Front left mount squeaking like mad. I assume that the braking pressure compresses the shock into the mount, and thus temporarily stops the squeak as I mentioned above.

This is why we check the forums! I’ll replace both front mounts...

Many thanks.

 

Also, shout out as well to blindside in this thread...credit where credit is due.

 

Thanks everyone, will check this out

 

I think I can actually help with this problem. A friend of mine had a squeak/rattle coming from the centre, or center if your american, of the dash. Drove him nuts trying to track it down. Even bought specialist listening device to try and track it down. He got there in the end. Something simple too.

Going to find if he actually posted the solution. BRB.

I cannot find any reference to the noise on the forum. He told me about it when we met up. This is his profile on the other forum. https://www.jaguarforum.com/member.php?u=39588 Send him a pm/email and ask him. You can tell him FrankC pointed you in his direction. He knows a lot about these cars. Worth a try?

 

WD-40 the top of the shock mount REAL good. Let it sit for a couple of hrs and do it again. Make sure you get it all the way around. Squeak gone....

 

This is good as a diagnostic aid, but as a fix will last weeks at most.

 

Went under the dashboard 3 separate times looking for that squeak!
One Labor Day morning visit here made my life a whole lot better.
Thanks to you and the collective brain trust that reside here.
Again many thanks!

 

TSBs we got when I worked at the dealer.

bob

 

+1 on the front shock mounts. I had a very loud, annoying squeak almost constantly. Once Brutal replaced the front shock mounts, it was gone.

 

My 2005 XK8 had developed a squeak which appeared to be coming from the dashboard, but likely was from the motor compartment. It wasn’t the struts or the support bracket as they had been replaced. Bouncing the front end yielded a squeak on both sides. My service provider replaced most of the ball joints. And eliminated most of the squeaking, but not all. Found a post on this thread involving removing bolts, securing the braces, replacing the nuts, and using Loctite on the threads.

My car is stored for the winter and unless we get another warm spell, I’m not likely to attempt this fix until spring. Minnesota Winters being what they are.

But this seems to be simple and logical way to get at the problem. Jaguar technical bulletin 910.05

 

Failed upper front shock mounts often produce a noise that sounds as if it is coming from the dashboard. Depending upon how badly they have disintegrated, the noise can range from a squeak to a metallic banging....

 

Actually check the top mounts rather than rely on your otherwise reasonable point quoted above. The commonly fitted aftermarket units have been known to fail right out of the box, this was a big reason behind the development of the poly top mount rebuild kit.

 

The most common failure is the shock mount itself.
Check to see if you have a total of 5 threads showing above the nut in the center of the mount. The inner washers on some of the replacement parts is shy of having the hole in the center large enough to go all the way to the shelf on the stem of the shock as designed. They set on top of the rounded part of the stem and bang around.
The solution is to remove the whole shock assembly and ream out the hole to 12MM if it hasn't already made the inner bushing start to crumple.
You can try to tighten the top nut up, as getting the right torque sometimes the shaft will spin before it's completed and some think it's tight, which it isn't. A air wrench might bring it down to the 5 threads if that's the case.

 

Thanks for the response, I checked, and I have at least five threads showing. The shop that installed the new struts and mounts is pretty good.