I got an appointment with Fort Myers Jag dealer this week for the seat belts this week on my 1989 xj40 not working. I will keep the group informed of the results. Hoping for the best!
Sounds good. I’m curious as to what they do. I’m thinking they’ll eliminate the automatic mechanism entirely.
The passenger side attack belt doesn’t operate on my car. Fortunately, no one ever sits over there. Still, I would like to get it fixed at some point.
Brett …
Ohhhh-kay, going to the dealer to repair or replace your 30 year old seat belt system that is under a life time warranty. I’d love to be a fly on the wall on that one !!! Honestly I really would love to be wrong and hear that they somehow honored their obligation.
I repaired my “attack” seat belt passive system twice and gained about 4 or 5 more years of service. I really did loved that quirky retro system that scared every one of my new passengers … but all good things must come to an end and finally I was forced to convert the seat belts to a standard system.
Both my repair of the passive system and my conversion to the standard system are well documented on the forum.
One BIG advantage of my new (to me) standard 3 point system was safety. Being the lazy guy I am I never took the time to fasten the lap seat belt with the passive “attack” seat belts. Even though I knew full well that I would probably slide right under the “across the chest” passive belt in an accident.
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I will settle for a standard set up, one less electric quirk to worry about!
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Do you have a link to any threads about your repair of the passive belt system? I’m working on the passive belts in my XJS (just visiting over this way–hi all!) And am thinking they might be the same or similar enough that your tips and tricks would be of great additional help to me! Thanks!
Douglas …
The pictures and write ups I posted were right around Apr 30th 2011 on the old sites photo album. The post was labeled “Mysteries of the passive (automatic) seatbelt system revealed”. I honestly don’t know how to plug that in to search for it, but I’m sure someone does. Several lengthy posts and around 10 or more pictures.
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Thanks very much! I will have a look and see what I can find! Very helpful and much appreciated.
Think I found it here: http://www.jag-lovers.org/snaps/snap_view.php3?id=1304137435
David …
Unfortunately there’s more to it than just swapping out the passive seat belt system for the standard 3 point one.
Beside having to source the new seat belts and hardware you’ll also need to replace some interior trim pieces.
You can see the difference between the pieces 1, 3, and 4 that you currently have in the above diagram…
… to the pieces that came with the standard system. Getting the parts from a donor car is the easiest way. Fortunately the belt mechanism attachment points are already welded in your car for the standard system.
Let’s hope any required repair parts are still available. I dunno about XJ40s but for many years Jaguar couldn’t/wouldn’t supply repair parts for the XJS belts. I believe that situation was remedied a couple years ago; not sure.
I wouldn’t expect the dealer to perform a conversion to manual seat belts unless Jaguar offered an all-in-one conversion kit that has passed all legal hurdles.
Cheers
DD
Doug …
BINGO ! … You hit the nail right on the head. There is NO way “TATA” the Indian company that owns Jaguar Motors is going to ever band aid a repair to a 30 year old safety system. I can just hear the injury Lawyer’s heartbeats increasing as we speak.
If you haven’t had the pleasure of working with the passive seat belt system it’s quite complicated and involves a lot of parts, mechanical, electrical, and interior trim. I would think the odds of these various parts still being available are … 
David …
Did you have that appointment with the Fort Myers Jag dealer ?
Yes, I dropped her off last Saturday and picked it up today. They now have a list of what I need and now the wait begins. I will be calling twice a week so they don’t put me onthe back burner! I need 1 module passive and 2 motor cable anc, different numbers on the cables so I assume 1 left and 1 right. No idea what the module is.
Maybe tell them that the system from Mercury Villager more than likely uses the same parts? At least get them to check …
What we might do as hobbyists, or what a local independent shop might do, won’t fly at a dealership doing repairs under a recall or lifetime warranty situation on a safety-related item. Corporate Jaguar would have their heads on a platter.
Cheers
DD
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Of course. The only thing I’ve ever got from the local Jag dealer was an overpriced o-ring - and let me tell you $35 plus tax for an o-ring was the cure-all for me regarding the dealer! 
Oh and I forgot - one more thing - the kids bought me a pen from the Jag dealer for Xmas one year - nice pen, Jag logo an all, but with an impossible to source refill…even the dealer couldn’t get one.
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David…
Well at least they didn’t say no. As you can see from the diagram below there are a lot of parts involved in this quirky retro system.
My first problem was that one of the cables broke. After a lot of looking I found one that was EXACTLY the right diameter (or it won’t work) and refitted it. This operated nicely for a few more years and then the track actually wore out … end of game. Generally the driver side will wear out first because the passenger side system only works when someone is sitting in the seat.
By the way if you need a good attorney Kramer’s lawyer, Jackie Chiles, is available …
Thats why I went to the dealer, at least I know what parts I need , now I have to figure out what they are in dealer lingo! I will give them some time though as both belts can be used manually.
David,
I wonder if you tried the Naples dealer first or went straight to the Ft Myers dealer. The people at the Naples dealer are a$$holes. But I only have good experiences with the Ft Myers dealer. Much more helpful then in Collier county.
Ft. Myers was closest.
So it works out for you. Better dealer that’s closer to you. Cool!
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