I know everything has been discussed about these cars before, but I just can't find anything about this concern with the rear seats in my searches, so I appreciate any help.

The rear seats of my 2019 XJL Collection have very uncomfortable protrusions where the seat bottom meets the seat back. The foam is stiff enough that it feels like you are sitting on a bar if you sit upright with good posture. Slouching down in the seat solves the issue, but it is not a good solution.

The front seats are flat in this same area, so they are not a problem. Any chance it looks like my seat bottom and/or seat back are not aligned correctly and causing this discomfort? Anyone find a solution?

Back seat



Front seat

 

I don't think there's anything unusual there. Design intent. Can modify foam used with a local trusted trimmer.

 

Thanks. I'll pull the seat cushion and see if there's something I can do with the foam. Maybe I can replace that portion of the original stiff foam with something much softer that will keep its shape when no one is sitting there but give when they are.

 

Good news, I solved the problem!

I noticed afterward that the right side of the rear seat is more comfortable than the left side with regards to the mentioned protrusion. I put my hand down the back of the seat cushion on both sides and noticed that right side was firmly attached, but the left side lifted up when I pulled on it.

So I popped the 4 latches at the leading edge of the seat cushion and repositioned the back mounting bar at the rear of the left side of the seat cushion so it was correctly held down. Problem solved! Now both sides are equally comfy.

I knew something had to be wrong because the British are very sensitive about their posteriors, so there was no way it was normal for them to design a seat that feels like you're sitting on a raised bar. LOL!

I feel sorry for the original owner that probably owned the car for 3 years with that issue. Not to mention the unsightly rear tow hook that was incorrectly left in place during initial delivery and the dealer also forgot to plug in the connector in the rear fuse box for the driver side door soft close to work.

This forum is awesome for learning about these cars. I would never have known otherwise. Hopefully, this thread will help someone that has the same issue with the rear seat cushion not being properly installed.

 

Quess what: One of the 1st things (after service) when i purchase an used vehicle, i peek under back seat. Usually there are treasures, like coins, small toys, ear rings, etc, and once made previous owner day returning her lost keys.

 

I didn’t find any treasure when looking, but now that you mention it, there's a good chance that the detailers at the trade in dealer popped the rear seat to find the treasure and didn’t put it back properly causing my issue.

We’ll never know for sure when my seat back was misaligned. It could have been a factory install issue, some repair person in there for some reason, or the detailer treasure hunting.

 

When I worked for Motorola, we insisted that a law enforcement officer be present for the initial steps of a two-way radio install or repair in a public safety vehicle. Perpetrators would dispose of contraband between the rear seat back and cushion while handcuffed. Interesting items were often discovered when the technician removed the cushion to run cabling between the suitcase-sized radio in the trunk and the control head on the dashboard.
Far less interesting, but just as amusing, was when I removed this same cushion from my new 1974 Fiat Mirafiori (to run a CB radio antenna ). There I found Italian cigarette and candy wrappers

 

I think every used car picture I have seen of the rear of the XJ has that hook...?

 

I think that seat style is standard: and having had such seats in three cars over five and a half years I haven't ever had a complaint from the rear seat passengers (and it was boutght for the rear seat passengers - as I suspect a lot are). This is what my current one looks like:


... and this is the previous one:

 

Which do you Prefer/like more - the black interior or the ivory...?

 

I thought it was normal when I got the car, although I thought it was out of character for Jaguar to leave a tow hook exposed like you would expect to see on an econobox. It wasn't until I did some searches on here that I learned the hook is part of the dealers pre-delivery inspection checklist to remove the hook and throw it away, and that it's reverse threaded. I wouldn't be surprised if many dealer prep staff didn't pay attention to the reverse thread and just decided it can't be removed.

 

I much prefer the ivory. Rear seat passengers seem to prefer the black ("more like going to the pictures" while they are watching the TVs).

I would have hung on for ivory if 2018+ V8 Autobiographies weren't so rare in the UK: I was looking for two years before this one came up.

 

Do people in your car really still watch TV on the built in screens? Things have changed drastically with video content being lots of "shorts" vs TV shows or movies. It's so much more convenient to flip through video content on your handheld phone or tablet and fast forward easily. I didn't bother to prioritize the rear screens because even with our Tesla that has the latest interfaces for YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, etc. on the rear screen, no one in the family wants to reach for that screen over their phones. So I see built in rear screens as being obsolete now. They have become obsolete in airplanes for the same reason. Now many airlines give free wi-fi to access their content on their mobile device.

 

Yeah... that is what I am going back and forth on - black or ivory...

All black looks very nice, masculine, very "black tie", etc... - but is also makes for a very dark cabin, etc...

Then there is the ivory with black accents - which lightens up the cabin...

Then there is kind of the "compromise" - ivory with black accents and the black headliner...

 

Yup. The eleven year old grandchild watches movies on his side, while the three year old watches Postman Pat/ Meg and Mog/ Thomas/ etc. on hers, both insulated from the Genesis on the car audio by their headphones. The eleven year old also has his phone plugged in so he can YouTube between movies - he uses his big screen for that too. I won't be able to move away from a car with rear screens until this pair have grown out of them!

 

As I noted, I didn't see the point in waiting for something that may never come up (I wasn't willing to compromise on trim level or year): as luck would have it I got the blackest of black interiors - black on black with black headlining.

It is growing on me. The front cabin (that I inhabit) is amazingly still not too dark: I have windows on three sides and in the roof, which helps enormously.

 

Yes good point on that rear hook/eye! It's not a tow hook/eye but a tie down for when the car was shipped from Jaguar.
The dealers are suppose to remove it and throw them away but we have seen a number of cars with them tossed in the trunk.

Jaguar even released a SSM (What ever that means? I know what a TSB is) because it caused so many problems and can apparently damage the car if towed using that.
I have attached the SSM.
.
.
.

 

Thanks for the post!

I didn't even realize there was a front one also.

Maybe because most of them were removed but the rear ones were left in tact...?

 

Yes the front one is suppose to be in the trunk. There is a cut out for it in the foam around the spare tire.
Here is mine installed. Still think it's a bit strange to mount this off to the side? I would think from what little towing/pulling I have done you would want that to be dead center?



After all the discussion I decided it's better to be safe than sorry and find out that when I needed the tow eye it would not fit for some reason?
Car was very dirty for that picture too!
.
.
.

 

I can't think of a car I have owned where the tow hook was in the center, and I have owned a lot. It's probably off to the side so that the hook can be right in front of the frame or subframe rail where it is strongest.