tberg,
glad you were able to get it fixed. Now only I could find a shop like that in the MD/VA/DC area. Mine is terrible. Probably the worst pics on here. Raised issue with Jag NA and they are willing to cover 1/2 the cost. Dealer will replace for $3K so that still leaves me with a $1,500 tab. Still unfair because for their defect product. And as Cancre stated, you can't even get a confirmation that new dash will have staples. I'm willing to try an upholstery shop at this point. Any recommendations in the MD/VA/DC area? thx

 

Teego,

What is the year of your XK, and how long have you owned it -since new? Your dash looks almost the worst of all of the pictures I have see. When did you first notice this? You don't even live in a extreme climate and to see this much damage is disturbing. Are you still under the original warranty or the Jaguar CPO one?

 

v8cat,
It's actually a 09 XF SC. I bought it at 40K 3yrs ago and noticed a bubble on dash but didn't realize what was happening until the grill on the speaker on dash cracked and it has deteriorated since then and that's what will happen if you don't get it repaired with the new dash with staples. By then I was over 50K so outside the warranty. I discussed with dealer at that time and they quoted me at $4k to repair. I don't have the CPO warranty. This is my 2nd Jaguar and can't believe they won't issue a recall. I mean, it can become hazardous if it continues to rip and obstruct the drivers view, right? That's what the rep stated.. "it's not a safety hazard", but I beg to differ. I'm sure me trying to glue it down won't help. Dealer rep stated that he thought Jag NA paying 1/2 the cost was a good offer based on year of car (2009) and mileage. I'm now over 100K but this has been there since 40K.

 

Thanks for the info! I think maybe you are doing pretty well from Jaguar without having to go through anymore grief or trouble. That's just my opinion from what you have said above. You should see what GM offered Buick owners in the 2000s that had the top of their dashboards pop-up out of warranty - nothing. Of course a Jaguar is much different, and you expect more from them. It does suck though that an up-scale luxury car has a problem like you experienced. On top of that, it is a known defect involving many Jaguars. I wonder if Jaguar builds the leather covered dashboards or subs them out, and they should be able to tell customers if the replacement dashes have the defect fixed or if they are NOS with the same problem. Let us know what you are going to do.

 

Teego,
Since Jaguar is willing to give you $1500 toward having it fixed, ask them if they will remove the dash and re-install it for that amount. If yes, just have them remove it, take it to any upholsterer or auto upholstery shop and they will not have any trouble stretching the leather back, glueing it, and anchoring the leather with staples all along the perimiter edges. This is predicated on there not being any rips or tears. The repair is not difficult and shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to do. As I stated, my upholsterer didn't even want money for the repair. The removal and re-installation of the dash, however, is the difficult part of the task.

Unfortunately, I don't know of any upholsterers in your neck of the woods, but I'm sure there are other forum members who have had furniture re-upholstered and were satisfied with the work, who could recommend someone in your area. The process is essentially peeling back of all of the leather, cleaning off the old adhesive, applying new adhesive (one like the one mentioned in my post), anchoring leather to top of dash and around center speaker with upholstery staples.

Then take the dash back to the dealer and have them install it.

Let me know if there is anything I can do to help.
Ted

 

Thanks, Ted. I will ask the dealer if they will remove like you stated but something tells me they wont. Jag NA is paying 1/2 the replacement cost so it would seems strange for them to remove and reinstall and collect the $1,500. But who knows, I'll try.

So I have until Friday to take the offer from Jag NA. I really wasn't planning on coughing that up right now but at the same time don't want to miss the opportunity on a new dash. I worry that mine has separated so much that it may be hard to stretch all the way back to put staples in. Do you think its too bad? or is the leather easily stretchable?

I had my XJ6 interior roof replaced by an upholstery shop a few years ago and they did an awesome job. Only if I can find them now. They also do leather interior customization so I'm almost sure they'll be happy to fix it and take my money.

So new dash for $1,500 or get it repaired for I'm hoping 1/2 the cost ~$750??

I'll keep you'll posted on what I decide. Thanks for all the help.

 

Looking at adding another SUV to the collection and have been looking at 2012, 2013 & 2014 Jeep Overlands which feature a full leather interior, doors, sills, dash, etc and several of them even with super low miles have bubbled, pulled & shrunk leather on the dashes. These are cars only 1-2 years old so not unique to Jaguar apparently.

 

Actually, with such a well-known problem, over many decades of building high end cars (not just Jaguars), I am surprised car manufacturers don't use one of the many, very good, artificial leathers available for the dashboard. As an example, I prefer the MB TEX artificial leather in the Mercedes I have owned. The MB TEX is very comfortable and visually similar to leather. Upkeep is virtually non-existent compared to leather. In 15 years of owning MB TEX equipped Mercedes, I have never seen damage or significant wear. Upkeep is just keeping them clean as necessary.

 

MB Tex is a very impressive material and also my prefered over leather in Mercedes cars. But I must say the leather in my Rover and also the SuperV8 has held up almost like new.

By the way Jaguar did offer a full vinyl interior for the XK and XKR and it did not have the dash issues the leather ones do.

 

Having been an car dealer (Imported Cars) for over 25 years during my youth, I can attest to the Tex in the Mercedes back in the 60s as being indestructible. It just never showed wear. Regardless how old any car was, once the interior got cleaned up, it actually looked brand new!

 

There are many car makers that have put together long lasting dashboards as well as many that continued to have prolems for years, and some, like Jaguar, that have done both. My 2002 XKR has over 150,000 miles (and my 2002 XJ8 is similar), spends its days baking in the heat of the San Fernando Valley everyday (typically at or over 100F through the summer and fall), and is never garaged at night, and its dash looks brand new. My 2010 XKR with the leather dash, prior to me having it fixed was a mess. I bought that car used and it had the leather dash option, it would not have been my choice were I to have ordered a new car.

 

I just applied Lexol to mine. It must have been dry because it really drank up the Lexol. I think it will be on the annual maintenance list.

 

For those of you who proceed to remove your dash and have an upholsterer re-glue and staple to repair it as I have done, you will have one final issue which is that since there isn't enough leather to wrap around and staple on the underside of the actual dash "board," the staples are on the front edge of the board and show when you're looking in from the windshield. And the plastic defroster inserts don't extend high enough to cover them. I searched and found some 1/2" foldover leather that is a perfect match to the black (warm charcoal) dash both in texture and color. If glued to the front of the dash edge it will cover the staples and simply disappear. I will have photos when I get my car back from its modifications next week. Since it was so inexpensive, I purchased a small role of it and will have enough leftover to do anywhere from 5-7 more dashboards. For anyone who needs this edging to complete their repair, I will be more than happy to send you what you need, free of charge. Had I known I would find an exact match, I would have installed it before we put the dash back in, but there is room to squeeze it in place before the defroster trim piece goes in.

Let me know if any of you need some.
Ted

 

AHHH... after months and months of total disgust, I am now happy to say that my dash is back to perfection. Doing some leg work, I was able to find a mint used dash from the UK for $700 w shipping included. Also having multiple complaints with Jaguar NA, I was able to get a $500 jaguar credit which I used for the labor cost. All in all $850 out of pocket for me. So relieved versus the $3,000 + it was going to cost me for a new one through Jag. So very happy... Now I can finally enjoy this beautiful car again!

Tberg- I was not able to reglue since it was in perfect condition and my upholster did not want to mess up. But i did however have him staple around... thanks again for advice!

 

That's great. I'm so happy you're able to enjoy your car again. Had I not been able to fix it, whether through new re-upholstery or by doing it the way I did, I would have sold the car. I could not have stared at it every morning.

ENJOY!

 

Congratulations on the find and repair. Thanks for the update.

 

I live in Arizona. I recently purchased an 07 XK. Fortunately, it was a garage queen and the dash is fine.


I've treated the leather and purchased a dash mat which I use in the peak sun months and will probably use if it's sitting in the sun any time. It comes with Velcro fasteners but fits well enough that I don't need them. Looks kind of dorky but better safe than sorry.

 

Perhaps I have been too concerned with the dash…I have been out of town for a few weeks for the holidays. I spent a day driving the XKR prior to leaving and today took the car out of its short hibernation only to discover to my horror that the right door panel leather had ballooned, completely separated from the door and upon feeling the driver's side found it too was beginning to loosen in one small area near the door latch. WTF!?!?!?!?!?

As mentioned before, I drive the car very little and it stays indoors and never sits in the sun. UGH!!!!

 

OK you've all succeeded in moving me towards paranoia.

The garage is heated / air conditioned.
I have clay barred, carnauba waxed and spritzed with detailer.
The dash / interior is glowing with a fresh coat of Lexol.
The custom sun shade is in-place.
The Ctek Charger is attached.
The tank is full of fuel stabilizer.
The tires are slightly over-inflated.
The custom fleece lined cover is on.

I'm exhausted and scared to take her outside!

 

No need to panic. But this is a good reminder that ALL the leather on the interior of the car needs to have a good conditioner used on it regularly. The leather on the door panels is easy to forget; the curve of the panel requires the leather to be supple and not to shrink in order for the glue to hold. The beautiful shape of the door panels, and of the dash comes at a price, apparently. The majority of the cases of leather shrinkage still occur in high ambient heat areas but I agree that a car regularly garaged should not be at risk. Leather shrinkage of this sort is not a Jaguar issue. It happens in any kind of car nut the shape of the panel that the leather must conform to might be more complex and "risky" than in some other cars.