I purchased my base '05 XF last February. According to the Carfax the car was originally delivered in Florida and spent it's first two years there before coming to the Cincinnati area. With all the talk and treads here about the window failure in the '05 top I am curious if there is a way to tell an original top from the redesigned replacement top. My car had 36,000+ when I purchased it and the top looks almost new, the rear window appears to be very secure. It has me wondering if the top has been replaced at some point and if there is a way to tell just by looking at it.

 

Good question. I don't know the answer. But, mine is always garaged and rarely left out in the baking sun. It's looks pretty good as well. So, maybe it was a garaged car it's whole life. Maybe someone who has a replacement will chime in.

 

If it was replaced by Chrysler then any dealer will be able to tell you, everything that was done by a dealer relating to warranty or recall should be in their computer.

For that matter Chrysler Cares should be able to tell you via e-mail. That site can pull both recalls and the original equipment list for you. (will need your VIN).

Anyone know what "Executive Lease Program" and/or "Mandatory Company Car Equipment" means ?

 

Our replacement, done by local independent shop, ($2400 w/ new fabric "stays"), appears to be like original, although we were told it is aftermarket.
Like Padget said: dealer records would show if they did it. If they did not, you should have about 1 year left under their 10yr/100,000 mi Warranty Extension for 2005's first sold in the "right" places, no matter where it went to after that, if or when it fails. Ref: Service Bulletin 23-035-11 Rev A.
"Chrysler Cares" is certainly an oxymoron, especially for all of the original buyers like us, who purchased our beautiful cars in the WRONG locations!?!
Chrysler intentionally turned us away for life, over a relatively small $ amount & we were even willing to pay a reasonable co-pay! We will not hesitate to share this most unpleasant experience with other folks' for years to come!

 

Our replacement, done by local independent shop, ($2400 w/ new fabric "stays"), appears to be like original, although we were told it is aftermarket.
Like Padget said: dealer records would show if they did it. If they did not, you should have about 1 year left under their 10yr/100,000 mi Warranty Extension for 2005's first sold in the "right" places, no matter where it went to after that, if or when it fails. Ref: Service Bulletin 23-035-11 Rev A.
"Chrysler Cares" is certainly an oxymoron, especially for all of the original buyers like us, who purchased our beautiful cars in the WRONG locations!?!
Chrysler intentionally turned us away for life, over a relatively small $ amount & we were even willing to pay a reasonable co-pay! We will not hesitate to share this most unpleasant experience with other folks' for years to come!

 

Lease............

 

Just finished a web chat with Chrysler Cares (Thanks for the link Pagett). Their records confirm that the car was originally delivered in Florida as the Carfax stated. The selling dealer is now closed probably due to the great dealer purge of '08-'09. Their records show one warranty repair done to the top in 2008 but, it did not show what that repair involved. That repair was done by Kerry CDJ in Milford Ohio which I know was one of the local dealers that Chrysler shuttered in the aforementioned dealer purge. I'm just guessing here but it seems to me that if the top was replaced Chrysler would have that information to avoid replacing the replacement. Agree?, disagree?.

 

I would agree, if not in the Chrysler computer and was in Florida for the first two years then it should be eligible for the recall.

I replaced the top on my Reatta 'vert with a custom fit one in dark blue Haartz cloth & heated glass rear window from E-Z On and all in it was ~$1100 but I bought the top separately through the AACA group and gave it to a local shop for installation.

My experience down here with a lot of glued glass GM top windows has been that if garaged it is not a problem, if left out (and you can tell by the paint damage) it often is.

 

Just to clarify: there has been no "recall", as has been noted here since 2009. In 2011, Chrysler Group LLC, having seen the magnitude of these window detachment failures, & knowing that they HAD to do something; issued their Service Bulletin 23-035-11 Rev A. They call it an "Extended Warranty Bulletin"
for the "2005 (ZH) Crossfire Roadster"; "10 yr/100,000 Mile Warranty Extension". Sometime later they decided that the car MUST have been delivered within the borderlines of 9 specific States in order to qualify for their remedy, regardless of where it went to after that! This in spite of the facts that there is NO difference in the original part and that windows were failing all over the country! Clearly a cost containment measure! At the minimum; all original purchasers should have been included. Many have detached with low mileage and limited adverse weather exposure. Chrysler Cares?!? My A--!

 

When I had the web chat with the Chrysler Cares rep I referred to the service bulletin # you provided lovecross (Thanks for that). Since the one warranty repair was done in 2008 before the service bulletin was issued and the dealer that did that repair is now closed there is no way to know if that repair involved the rear window or something else. That's why I was wondering if the replacement tops look exactly like the originals and can be distinguished from the originals.

 

SOMEONE said that the replacement tops had the window sewed in as well as glued in, where the originals had only glue.

But I cannot confirm that - maybe someone here who has had theirs replaced can.