Convertible Roof tear

[grish]

Originally Posted by warmtoes

Watch the top go up and down and make sure no part of the top rubs against the rubber gasket that is underneath the tonneau cover. Mine started to do that after they replaced my top. It slowly wears away at both the rubber gasket and the top.

I'll have to check mine out... but in any case I'd wait for the warranty to almost run out and get it replaced then.

[singular]

Originally Posted by grish

I'll have to check mine out... but in any case I'd wait for the warranty to almost run out and get it replaced then.

The wear in mine took about 200 down-ups to start showing up.

I had it replaced last fall, but have had a lot of rain this winter, so I haven't had it down a lot since then. Now that the winter rains are gone, I suspect that I'll know if the replacement 'took' in another month or so.

My point is that if you wait till the end of your warranty to replace your top, you may need to replace it again when it's out of warranty. While it's under warranty, there's no limit to the number of replacements their obligated to do.

[warmtoes]

Originally Posted by singular

The wear in mine took about 200 down-ups to start showing up.

I had it replaced last fall, but have had a lot of rain this winter, so I haven't had it down a lot since then. Now that the winter rains are gone, I suspect that I'll know if the replacement 'took' in another month or so.

My point is that if you wait till the end of your warranty to replace your top, you may need to replace it again when it's out of warranty. While it's under warranty, there's no limit to the number of replacements their obligated to do.

singular has a good point and in reality, it shouldn't rub against the rubber gasket. Have it aligned properly and you won't ever have to worry about it rubbing through.

Note, this is different than the other issues people are having on the section of the roof that would normally be the c-pillar.

[Seazap]

Over 8,000 miles and Ive been keeping my eye on mine and no wear yet. I hope the 2010's have a fix installed.

[BackinBlack]

I started to notice creases on both sides of the top after we got the car when the top would come up but it was minor. Like in the pictures from others, it's a very specific area on the sides. Then the other day it was like someone took a pen and stabbed the cloth. I took it in to the dealer and they are replacing it. They told me that it's a $5,000 part so they have to order it. It will be in the shop for almost a week. I'm glad the dealer is fixing it but at the same time anxiety is creeping in. It’s literally 2 weeks out of the show room! I hope this is the last of my problems but the fact that other have had similar issues makes me wonder what BMW is doing about going forward. They gave us a 328i while the car is in for repairs but it’s not the same. Also since as a consultant I travel during the week it will be two weeks before I get to drive it again.

[CaliforniaDrew]

Bought the 128 vert in January 2010... I open and close the top a couple of times each day... Saw this this morning:



So it does not seem that BMW has any real solution for the issue.

Will see what they say about this...

[BackinBlack]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDrew

Bought the 128 vert in January 2010... I open and close the top a couple of times each day... Saw this this morning:



So it does not seem that BMW has any real solution for the issue.

Will see what they say about this...

Ohhhhh my god!!!! That is exactly what my top looked like after having the car for two weeks (400 miles on the car)! It’s been at the dealership two 1/2weeks now. They are completely replacing the top and all mechanical parts. By the time I pick it up it will have been at the dealer longer than I have owned it! They will replace it but get ready to wait. They told me that since the top is 4K plus it needed to be ordered and they also spent a few days going back and forth with the engineers in Germany to figure out if this is a major defect. After seeing the same exact hole in your top it could be a major problem, only time will tell. On top of that they called to tell me that since it was a new top it needed time to stretch and it would not close correctly until it had time to stretch. I hope they know what they are doing since I doubt they replace tops all the time. Maybe I have it back this Friday.

[BrokenVert]

My top hole came out a year ago, I had somewhere around 1500 top actions and I stretched and snapped a few chords and burned out a drive motor. The little hole was repaired and you cant even see it now.

And to the ACDC fan above me, my dealer outsourced my top's skin repair to a very reputable and experienced car upholsterer. They didnt do it themselves.

[JimD]

Mine is 8 months old and gets exercised maybe 4-5 times per week (I don't drive it daily, I also have a SUV but when I drive it, the top is often down). So more than a hundred times so far. No signs of any issue.

Jim

[warmtoes]

Originally Posted by JimD

Mine is 8 months old and gets exercised maybe 4-5 times per week (I don't drive it daily, I also have a SUV but when I drive it, the top is often down). So more than a hundred times so far. No signs of any issue.

Jim

It doesn't seem that this is an inevitable issue. I've had my new top since December of '08 and I haven't seen anything like that so far.

[CaliforniaDrew]

So just coming back from the dealership...

They took a look at it, it pinches when the soft top is fully retracted. As stated before, SIB is 54 14 09, and is valid for all cars up to a 10/09 build date.

They are ordering a new roof, and will replace the old one. They have a spacer kit to prevent the issue from reappearing.

Happy with how this is turning out... Props to my dealership!

[Zuzu]

Originally Posted by CaliforniaDrew

So just coming back from the dealership...

They took a look at it, it pinches when the soft top is fully retracted. As stated before, SIB is 54 14 09, and is valid for all cars up to a 10/09 build date.

They are ordering a new roof, and will replace the old one. They have a spacer kit to prevent the issue from reappearing.

Happy with how this is turning out... Props to my dealership!

I had the spacer kit installed with the NEW roof 8 weeks ago and the hole is re-apperaring again..

And that is only the start of it..The NEW roof has started to twist and now doesnt sit flush with body panels..I have a 12mm gap on the passenger side rear quarter where it sits on the folding panel.

Took it back to the dealer AGAIN (only my 14th warranty claim ) and they have diagnosed a faulty retracting arm in the roof and have ordered a NEW roof again from Germany..

[hot_ride]

Wow, this is never ending. I found that 3 of my defrost lines don't work after mine was replaced. Does anyone know if the entire top needs to be replaced again or can they just fix the defrost lines?

[warmtoes]

Originally Posted by hot_ride

Wow, this is never ending. I found that 3 of my defrost lines don't work after mine was replaced. Does anyone know if the entire top needs to be replaced again or can they just fix the defrost lines?

Yes, full top replacement. I had a single line not working and they replaced my entire top because the rear windshield is not replaceable and I don't you would want someone trying to do so anyway because of leaks.

[petah50]

Took my 2008 in for scheduled service. Showed my SA where the top was starting to get the wear showing on the passenger side. No actual tear yet. Just goy word back, they are replacing the top. Parts on order should be here by Friday. I'm glad BMW stepped up and did not give me a hassle.

[jmcgraw013]

+1 I had no issues with my dealer replacing my top. Actually, the new top still beads water like crazy 4 months after being replaced - I still haven't put RaggTopp on it yet.

[NL-J]

Going to pick my car up from the dealer today. They replaced the top because one line of the rear window defroster failed. So hopefully they did a good job and all is okay now

[NL-J]

Well picked the car up this morning, and they did a crap job They damaged the trim on the compartment lid on both sides, found two small dents on top of the trunk lid and on the drivers side C pillar the top doesn't sit as tight as on the passenger side So I was back at the dealer in 30 mins and now they are telling me the damage on the trim was already there, f*****g tossers. The SA will discuss it and get back to me. Needless to say as soon as this is fixed that dealer prob won't see me again and I'm considering another car as well, no vert no more

[NL-J]

Here are some pics,

[BrokenVert]

Just got the car back after the top skin gettig replaced. Apparently they redesigned the top because the new top is much less noisey than the one I bought back in 08

[NL-J]

Originally Posted by BrokenVert

Just got the car back after the top skin gettig replaced. Apparently they redesigned the top because the new top is much less noisey than the one I bought back in 08

Do you have pics of your top, just curious at the C-pillar area. How much time took it btw for them to replace the roof?

[BrokenVert]

Originally Posted by NL-J

Do you have pics of your top, just curious at the C-pillar area. How much time took it btw for them to replace the roof?

It took 3 days, but this service also included a full flush and reprogramming of the dme, 4 replacement window motors, and new rear quarter windows.

Here's a far off shot


a closer shot


here's why the windows were replaced...they ate the gaskets