XF Boot Won't Open - Help

[Seeker UK]

After 2 months of (unhappy) ownership, my pile of st XF has now rewarded me with a boot that won't open, even though it tells me it is on the display.

If I press the boot unlock on the fob, the button on the boot lid or the button on the dash, it sounds like the solenoid is moving but I can't shift the lid and if I try the key, that doesn't work either. This would suggest that the usual problem diagnosed (broken wiring loom) isn't the culprit. I can't lock the car with the fob / door buttons either - it 'beep-beeps'. Luckily, I can lock it with the key.

Before I return it to Jaguar, through the window of the nearest dealership, is there any emergency boot release lurking anywhere? Or does anyone have any ideas how I can open it? I'd like to p/ex a car that's working.

Many thanks in advance.

[edit]

It's a 2011, 2.2D Prem Luxury, BTW.

Edited by Seeker UK on Saturday 7th February 18:55

[fatboy b]

There's small plastic panel To the left of the boot button that you pop off and use the key from the fob to open the boot.

Sounds like you need a new battery too, so not really a Jaguar problem.

Edited by fatboy b on Saturday 7th February 19:21

[Seeker UK]

fatboy b said:

There's small plastic panel To the left of the boot button that you pop off and use the key from the fob to open the boot.

Sounds like you need a new battery too, so not really a Jaguar problem.

Edited by fatboy b on Saturday 7th February 19:21

Thanks for the reply but I can't open the boot with the key. It doesn't work. So I suspect it's *not* a battery problem.

[fatboy b]

There's a metal key *inside* your fob that will physically insert in to a keyhole behind the plastic panel next to the boot button on the bootlid.

You need a new battery.

[Seeker UK]

fatboy b said:

There's a metal key *inside* your fob that will physically insert in to a keyhole behind the plastic panel next to the boot button on the bootlid.

You need a new battery.

Thanks again but when I stated:

Seeker UK said:

... if I try the key, that doesn't work ...

and

Seeker UK said:

Thanks for the reply but I can't open the boot with the key. It doesn't work.

I was referring to using the metal emergency key in the keyhole. It doesn't work. I cannot get the boot open at all. Therefore, I suspect it's not the battery.

[Triple7]

Can u get into boot through rear seats?

[Seeker UK]

Triple7 said:

Can u get into boot through rear seats?

I don't know. I thought that the only way to drop the back seats was from the releasing handles in the boot - if that's the case, then, no.

[mike_e]

I would have thought the whole point of a mechanical key was to get you inside in the event that the battery is totally flat and won't power a door motor. It's been like that on all cars I've owned to date (apart from a TVR) and I can't see Jaguar being any different but I could be wrong. If the boot doesn't open via any of the normal means AND the mechanical key isn't working then it points to the mechanical linkage between key and lock. If you can hear the lock motor running and it's not opening the boot then it looks like the linkage is busted which will be a PITA to sort.

[Seeker UK]

mike_e said:

...it looks like the linkage is busted which will be a PITA to sort.

That's what I'm beginning to realise and, well, it's going to be Jaguar's PITA.

[The Leaper]

Presumably as you have had the car 2 months it came with a warranty so you should have no problem getting it fixed under the terms. Over the past 14 years with 3 separate Jaguars I've had a number of issues all done under warranty, no problems. Mind you, each car was bought from a JMD so came with a Jaguar warranty anyway.

R.

[Seeker UK]

Final update.

The car went into the main dealer's today for diagnosis and repair. The problem was due to the soft-close motor had seized (why I couldn't open / close boot) and the surround had broken from the lock barrel (why the key wouldn't work). To achieve this required a technician to unbolt the rear seats and crawl into the boot to free the lock.

It's still not completely sorted - it'll take another week before the new motor turns up and is fitted - but at least I can close it and lock the car again.

[Seeker UK]

Not the final update. FFS.

Motor was replaced under warranty a week ago and the day after, the boot seized again, same symptoms.

The car went back into the dealer to fix (again).

The fault is not with the motor but the circuit in the ECU that lives in the boot behind the lining on the driver's side. Water has got in, soaked the ECU and damaged it. They've dried it out but won't reconnect the soft close motor just in case the circuit locks it up again. The water has likely got in either through the hole that the wiring loom passes through from car to boot lid (the rubber tube it sits in wasn't fitted properly) or through a seam in the bodyshell under the rear windscreen or through some vent in the wheel well. Whichever way, it boils down to one thing; poor quality manufacture.

However...

The ECU cannot be replaced under warranty - damage due to water ingress isn't covered, despite the water ingress is due to a shoddily made car. I am waiting for an estimate for the cost of a new ECU.

I now have a bit of a fight on my hands with the supplying dealer (I won't name them but it isn't the one who has done sterling work fixing it) to get them to pay for a new ECU. The fault occurred only 2 months after purchase so I think they have a duty to fix it. I know that it means all I have lost is the soft close function (I can still open and close like a 'normal' boot) but there is a principle here - I paid for it.

When it is fixed, it's going. It has been the biggest fking disappointment I've ever had for >£20k and the second Jag I've and the second Jag I've had with a series of problems. It is unlikely I will ever consider the marque again.

[Sheepshanks]

Seeker UK said:

The fault occurred only 2 months after purchase so I think they have a duty to fix it.

Yep. Any fault that occurs within 6 mths is assumed to have been present at the time of sale unless the seller can prove otherwise.

[Seeker UK]

Sheepshanks said:

Yep. Any fault that occurs within 6 mths is assumed to have been present at the time of sale unless the seller can prove otherwise.

Thanks for that - where is this written down?

[Sheepshanks]

Seeker UK said:

Sheepshanks said:

Yep. Any fault that occurs within 6 mths is assumed to have been present at the time of sale unless the seller can prove otherwise.

Thanks for that - where is this written down?

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/sectio...

[Extra 300 Driver]

Sheepshanks said:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/sectio...

SOG act will not apply if the boot was working at time of purchase, if it wasn't, or it was an undiscovered fault, then SOG would apply. I would speak to your warranty company, otherwise you may as well only have a warranty which starts 6 months after the purchase of the car.

[MrTurner]

I was told a faulty door handle and parking sensor were cosmetic. I said Bullsh!t, they were replaced under warranty. Give them grief, you shouldn't have to pay if it has a warranty.

[Sheepshanks]

Extra 300 Driver said:

Sheepshanks said:

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1979/54/sectio...

SOG act will not apply if the boot was working at time of purchase, if it wasn't, or it was an undiscovered fault, then SOG would apply. I would speak to your warranty company, otherwise you may as well only have a warranty which starts 6 months after the purchase of the car.

I'm going on the information as presented:

Seeker UK said:

The fault is not with the motor but the circuit in the ECU that lives in the boot behind the lining on the driver's side. Water has got in, soaked the ECU and damaged it. They've dried it out but won't reconnect the soft close motor just in case the circuit locks it up again. The water has likely got in either through the hole that the wiring loom passes through from car to boot lid (the rubber tube it sits in wasn't fitted properly) or through a seam in the bodyshell under the rear windscreen or through some vent in the wheel well. Whichever way, it boils down to one thing; poor quality manufacture.

Edited by Sheepshanks on Sunday 1st March 09:51

[Crafty_]

Extra 300 Driver said:

SOG act will not apply if the boot was working at time of purchase, if it wasn't, or it was an undiscovered fault, then SOG would apply. I would speak to your warranty company, otherwise you may as well only have a warranty which starts 6 months after the purchase of the car.

Surely the ECU becoming waterlogged is an undiscovered fault ? especially if its a failed seam on the body?

[Extra 300 Driver]

Crafty_ said:

Surely the ECU becoming waterlogged is an undiscovered fault ? especially if its a failed seam on the body?

Yes, but fault didn't show itself during the initial warranty period of the car, now this fault has been discovered it is outside the warranty period, from the factory, I assume, and it is with a 3rd party warranty company. They will argue that the boot defect was there at delivery, and is the dealers responsibility, although the symptom of the defect wasn't discovered until the boot failed to open. The actual fault is the ECU being waterlogged, so its a workmanship issue from the factory, again assuming its not has any work in that area so far in its life.

My order of approach would be:

Warranty Co.
Dealer (Fault existed at delivery although not discovered until the boot failed)
Jaguar (Faulty workmanship in production)

Either way I don't see how the new owner should be liable for the correction costs, although it could come down to a gesture of goodwill from Jaguar. Do you know if this is a common defect?