Question for the vert owners. Loose stitching

[NL-J]

Hi all,

My roof has a loose stitching on the passenger side, at the base of the C-pillar. I know there's an SIB for it, but I'm just wondering who had the issue and had it repaired? I'm taking the car in next week for it but the dealer never saw it before (guess they never know about any issues lol). I told them about the US SIB and showed it to them as I hope they won't reinvent the wheel and mess up So who had this issue and had it fixed?

Btw. also have to get the roof readjusted as there's a small gap between the seal on top of the A-pillar and the seal on the roof. Guess adjustment at the factory is not what it should be

Thx

Jeroen

[JimD]

I've had no issues with mine so far.

Jim

[Tom K.]

IIRC, some 'verts had a worn spot (tear?) on the rear quarter which were taken care of under warranty. Others (08 models only, I believe) could develop a distortion along the rear center bottom lip which was the subject of a recall which added some felt strips. My '08 had this done and is fine at 24k miles.

But it sounds like your problem is a new one. Good luck & let us know the results.

Tom

[BrokenVert]

I had a similar tear...but I noticed it while the top was out of my car and getting repaired, so I blamed it on the dealer

[NL-J]

Thanks for the replies
According to the SIB it's a sharp edge on the seal carrier for the quarter glass seal that cuts through the stitching when opening the roof. It involves to smooth the sharp edge on the seal carrier and for the stitching there's a repair kit. Was just wondering if anyone had the issue and had it fixed. I'll post the result, hopefully a good one.

I've read about the wear marks btw, besides the top that needs to be replaced there are two spacers that need to be replaced too. They modified the spacers.

[warmtoes]

I believe what you are talking about is what happened to me at the bottom of the C-pillar where the overlap stitching happens. The SIB is for a hole that is worn through in the middle of the C-pillar and is not what I believe you are describing.

What I found caused the stitching to wear was that it rubbed on the rubber gasket when it went up and down. Take a look at this when you are outside of your vehicle when it goes up and down. They had to take my car in and bring it to a place that did repairs on convertible tops. They removed the entire top and had them restitch it up. I also had them readjust the top so it didn't rub on the rubber gasket. Oh, and it was also on the passenger side.

So far, so good.

[MOCKBA]

No issue and car is 2 years old. I do not operate roof frequently though.

[NL-J]

Originally Posted by warmtoes

I believe what you are talking about is what happened to me at the bottom of the C-pillar where the overlap stitching happens. The SIB is for a hole that is worn through in the middle of the C-pillar and is not what I believe you are describing.

What I found caused the stitching to wear was that it rubbed on the rubber gasket when it went up and down. Take a look at this when you are outside of your vehicle when it goes up and down. They had to take my car in and bring it to a place that did repairs on convertible tops. They removed the entire top and had them restitch it up. I also had them readjust the top so it didn't rub on the rubber gasket. Oh, and it was also on the passenger side.

So far, so good.

SIB 541009 is for the stitching

This is from the SIB(actually not sure if it's okay to post complete SIB because of copyrights?),

SITUATION
The stitching on the soft top cover may separate in the area of the C-pillar. When this seam separates, it is visible from the outside of the vehicle, but doesn't cause any immediate functional problems. This condition may be present on the left and/or right side of the soft top.

CAUSE
A sharp edge on the seal carrier for the quarter glass seal has cut through the thread used to hold the plastic retaining flange to the soft top cover.

CORRECTION
Do not replace any parts.

The seam may be repaired.

There's also a pdf with repair instructions for this SIB.

SIB 541409 is for the wear marks.

For the adjustment you mentioned, mine need to be readjusted to. So i hope all works out well. I'm getting a loaner but they have forecasted convertible weather from thursday and on lol.

[warmtoes]

Ahh, I see. I didn't realize they had created an SIB for the stitching. But, the cause described above is definitely not why mine came apart. It was simply mis-aligned so it wore against the rubber gasket when it was raised or lowered. So much so that my rubber gasket wore through so they had to replace that as well.

It's been fine since the readjustment.

[NL-J]

Originally Posted by warmtoes

Ahh, I see. I didn't realize they had created an SIB for the stitching. But, the cause described above is definitely not why mine came apart. It was simply mis-aligned so it wore against the rubber gasket when it was raised or lowered. So much so that my rubber gasket wore through so they had to replace that as well.

It's been fine since the readjustment.

Thanks for mentioning that, will tell the dealer about the gasket too Could also be the problem mine has as my roof needs readjustment too. I'd rather do some research about this myself and pointing the dealer into the right direction than having them reinvent the wheel lol, unless of course they are familiar with the problem

[warmtoes]

It is very obvious when you watch the top lowered and raised standing beside the vehicle. I raised and lowered it and pointed out the rub points to my SA and they were able to adjust it enough that it didn't rub anymore.

[nordique14]

I have the loose stitching at the base of the C-pillar on the driver's side.

Thanks very much for the SIB. I will make sure to mention it next time I am in for service.

[AussieAlf]

Originally Posted by NL-J

I'd rather do some research about this myself and pointing the dealer into the right direction than having them reinvent the wheel lol, unless of course they are familiar with the problem

Hmmm...You'll probably be lucky if they're familiar with the wheel

Cheers,
Alf

[NL-J]

Short update:
Took the car in to the dealer this morning. Gave it a quick wash first(do always wash the car before I take it in lol, so they can see I'm taking care of it). Anyway, I can add another issue as this morning one of the lines of the rear defroster failed Told the dealer about it and they will have a look at it. I hope they check the rear defroster first as I'm afraid they'll have to replace the top and it would be a waste of time if they'll repair the stitching and readjust the roof first They had already ordered the repair kit for the roof as well as a 3rd brake light(which according to the SA has had a designe change), there also is a recall for both the coupe and cabrio to get the tail light gaskets changed and maybe even the tail lights themselves! They have all the parts ready so that's a good thing

It's just the stupid rear defroster that annoys me, a week ago it was fine. So I'll bet I have to take the car in again to get the top replaced Another thing I mentioned were the creaky parts, arm rest and the plastic part on the front of the roof.
They gave me a brand spanking new 3dr hatch 116i(yeah that must be a shock for you people in the US) as a loaner, only 71km on the odo. No rattles and creaks in that car though!!

Anyway I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it all works out well and hope to hear some good news later today. It's booked in for 2 days btw. while the weather here is awesome, oh well can't change the weather, just bad luck lol.

[NL-J]

Update,
Picked up the car this morning, jobs done are 3rd brake light replaced, readjusted the roof and fixed the stitching. The rear window defroster couldn't be fixed(surprise) and they didn't realise the whole top need to be replaced for that so they already had the stitching fixed, hm how smart lol. Anyhow, they filed a warranty claim for the rear window at BMW NL. So I expect BMW to get me a new top because I doubt there's another way to get it fixed. The job on the stitching is hm so so, you can see there's work done on the roof as the seam from the repair is lighter in color than the original one(kinda stupid if you ask me), also the part of the roof there is not exactly in line with the bodywork, sits a bit higher at the point where they repaired it, to add to that they also made some tiny scratches in the chrome line trim at the repair spot(Some polish made it less visible though, maybe I'm just too picky, don't know). I'd think though that you would tape the trim before carrying out the repair?
I forgot to ask them though if they found the reason for the loose stitching and they didn't tell me either, so probably will pay them a visit again to ask and comment on the stitching.
The adjustment so far looks to be done well, nog gap between the A-pillar seal and the seal on the roof anymore. Just gave the roof a good clean so I could get it wet to check for leaks.

Seals for the tail lights(recall from BMW) are on order.

Anyway, I actually am happy my rear window defroster failed as I'm expecting a roof replacement for that, so the stitching issue is solved then too I think it's odd they do repair a roof like that on such a new car? I mean when you want to trade the car in for something new, they most likely will see the roof has had some repair and I wonder if that doesn't depreciate the value of the car?

So I hope to hear some good news from my dealer soon that they will replace the roof.

One thing btw, when I drove it this morning it was if some creaks were gone, think they had the roof trim off and fixed that. Arm rest is still creaky.

Well think I'm going to drop the top now lol, sunny here with 22C and I did wash and wax the car this morning after I picked it up, so it's showtime now lol

[warmtoes]

It's funny you have the exact same issues I had. The third from the top line of my rear defroster had a small void in it from the factory which is why I had it replaced in December '08 after picking it up in June. They did have to replace the whole top because there is no other way to fix it. It was the first one they ever did which is where I believe it become out of alignment which caused the fraying thread and the worn out rubber gasket.

And, I do not experience any creaking after having it for 2 years now.

[HemisphereDancer]

I recently took my '08 128i vert in for normal service. About a month prior to the service I noticed a loose thread that ran from the back of the driver window to the front and hung down about three inches from the seam. I also had the wear mark that has been mentioned on the driver side behind the windows.

I grabbed a loaner and headed out. About an hour later my SA called to tell me they were going to replace the top and liner. They also modified the mechanism for the wear mark.

It took just under a week and I went to pick up the car. It really looked to me that the new moonlight top appeared to shimmer more, but that may have just been the sun that day.

When I got in the car to leave I noticed that the liner above the driver side was not installed properly. Within 5 minutes I was back in the loaner. Late the next day after a fedexed liner arrived and was installed I had my 128 back and the top and liner looked great.

I admit I was surprised they replaced it when I went in and did not just clean up the threads. I was happy with BMW's commitment to my 128. Not as happy at the liner being installed wrong and my having to catch it but it was handled quickly.

Chris

[NL-J]

Originally Posted by warmtoes

It's funny you have the exact same issues I had. The third from the top line of my rear defroster had a small void in it from the factory which is why I had it replaced in December '08 after picking it up in June. They did have to replace the whole top because there is no other way to fix it. It was the first one they ever did which is where I believe it become out of alignment which caused the fraying thread and the worn out rubber gasket.

And, I do not experience any creaking after having it for 2 years now.

I think mine also has the third line failing. I went back and asked if they found the cause of the loose stitching, but they hadn't or didn't check Hope to hear soon from them to have the top replaced.

Originally Posted by HemisphereDancer

I recently took my '08 128i vert in for normal service. About a month prior to the service I noticed a loose thread that ran from the back of the driver window to the front and hung down about three inches from the seam. I also had the wear mark that has been mentioned on the driver side behind the windows.

I grabbed a loaner and headed out. About an hour later my SA called to tell me they were going to replace the top and liner. They also modified the mechanism for the wear mark.

It took just under a week and I went to pick up the car. It really looked to me that the new moonlight top appeared to shimmer more, but that may have just been the sun that day.

When I got in the car to leave I noticed that the liner above the driver side was not installed properly. Within 5 minutes I was back in the loaner. Late the next day after a fedexed liner arrived and was installed I had my 128 back and the top and liner looked great.

I admit I was surprised they replaced it when I went in and did not just clean up the threads. I was happy with BMW's commitment to my 128. Not as happy at the liner being installed wrong and my having to catch it but it was handled quickly.

Chris

The loose stitching on my roof was about an inch in length and they fixed it with a repair kit from BMW. The stitching from the kit is lighter than the original though, so it looks odd. Made a comment on it and they understood but because of the rear window heater not working 100% they filed a claim at BMW anyway. To fix that, the top has to be replaced so that would solve the stitching issue too. Also asked them when I'm getting a new roof to replace the spacers on the top frame that could cause the wear issue with the updated ones as they could get to them easy with the roof off.

[BrokenVert]

Does anybody know the sib number for the wear on the c pilar? I've got a small hole there and my dealers blaming it on me and won't look up the sib

[NL-J]

SIB541409 I also have the pdf attachment, can email it if you need it, it has photos for the procedure and of the changed part on the frame.

[NL-J]

Just got a phone call from my dealer to make an appointment for replacement of the roof because of the rear window heater not working 100% They'll also replace my tail light seals.

I asked them to replace the bump stop on the frame as well(the one who could cause the wear issue) for the updated one. As I don't have the wear issue they cannot claim them.

I'd think it'll be a smart move to get them replaced anyway as they can get to them very easy with the roof off? I guess the newer models will have the new bump stops on the frame?

[NL-J]

Here's a pic of the bump stop I'm talking about. If anyone would care to have a look if they have the new or old one(late '09 or '10 E88)? It's on the C-pillar part of the frame. Left is the new part, right the old. TIA