Jaguar XJ (X351) Touch Screen Problems, Software Update
On the X351 a blank or rebooting touch screen is usually a software hang that a full shutdown clears. If the screen goes off and on by itself and a knock on the unit brings it back, it's the ribbon connectors inside. Updates are where the expensive damage happens: a map or software update run on a weak supply can brick the controller, so it needs a proper power supply.
How bad is it · Safe to drive
Safe to drive — you lose the screen functions
Nothing mechanical depends on the screen, but navigation, audio and the climate screen controls go with it. Don't start a software or map update until the power supply is sorted.
Which one applies to yours depends on your symptoms, your model year and what has already been done to it.
Likely causes, most common first
Read the check cost before the odds: a free check that rules a cause out beats a likely guess that costs money.
Loose ribbon connectors inside the touch screen unit
A poor internal connection in the screen unit, not the supply voltage, makes the screen and everything on it cut out and come back.
Screen, radio and every screen function go off and on — every few minutes or once a week — and a firm knock on the unit brings it back. A new battery helps for a while, then the fault returns.
Unplug the power lead first, then open the unit and look at the ribbon connectors.
Reseating the ribbons cures it; if a connector gets damaged, a replacement ribbon plus the rear board from a 2012 unit — which also brings the later software.
The screen software hasn't finished booting
The infotainment sometimes fails to complete its start-up cycle and leaves the centre screen black while the instrument panel comes up normally.
Black centre screen at start-up, sometimes with the buttons still working when touched; the light under the volume knob is off.
Wait a minute — it often reboots itself in 30–60 seconds. Make sure the screen-off option hasn't been selected.
A quick reset: switch off, get out, press the lock button on the door handle twice so it double-locks, wait 30 seconds, open up. A longer cure is leaving the car an hour to sleep; a dealer software update has made it much rarer.
An update that bricked the controller
Programming needs an approved external power supply, and diagnostic software won't run below 12.5 V. A map or software update that drops out on a weak supply can leave the infotainment controller dead.
The screen went blank during or right after a dealer update or a map install and never came back; dealers quote around £3000 for a new controller.
Ask whether a power supply was connected during the update. A programmer can sometimes reset a bricked unit so the update can be run again.
Worth trying a reset with a programmer before buying a module. If it was a dealer update, take it up with the dealer principal or JLR customer care.
Audio module fault on Gen 2.1 cars
On 2010–2015 cars with the hard-disk system, analogue radio, Bluetooth, USB and CD/DVD all live in one audio module, while DAB is separate.
DAB plays but analogue radio, Bluetooth phone and navigation don't, and the screen itself still responds.
Pull the audio module's power plug for 30 minutes (surround off, climate panel four screws, module four screws), check the battery, then try a known-good used module of the right level.
A used module of the right level plugs in and reads the car configuration. A new one from a dealer was about £2400 plus VAT.
The order to check them in
The point of the order is money: each step either rules a cause out or makes the next one worth doing. Green is free, amber costs a little, red is the one to arrive at last.
Know which system you have
2010–2015: Gen 2.1 hard-disk system. Later cars: InControl, which glitches and reboots more. CarPlay by software update needs the 10.2-inch Touch Pro from the MY18 facelift.
freeWait, then the double-lock reset
Give it a minute. If it stays black, switch off, double-lock from the door handle, wait 30 seconds and open up.
freeCheck the battery
Reboots on the earlier system point first at the battery, especially if other electrical faults show up. See the battery page.
free to testKnock test
If a firm tap on the unit brings the screen back, stop chasing software: it's the ribbon connectors.
freeBefore any update: a power supply
Never run a software or map update on the battery alone. A map update copies about 22 GB and takes 4–5 hours with the engine running; it pauses at ignition off and resumes at the next start.
a power supplyDealer software update
For repeated black screens at start-up a dealer software update can make it much rarer, though not always a full cure.
a dealer visitWhat it usually isn't
Don't spend money here first:
On jagaux.com
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Ratings, fuse numbers and torque figures vary by model year and market. Read the legend on your own car before pulling anything, and use the figures in the manual for your car, not the ones in a video.
Check your VIN: exactly which car you have and which bulletins apply to it.