03 convertible top needs assistance to open

Y

Yuj

Member
Hi guys, so I'm having another issue with my car right now. I searched through previous posts, but I couldn't really find anything too definitive on this. Right now, when I hold down the top open button, the first stage will unlatch the top. After that, there's the small gap between the windshield and the convertible top and I can hear the motor pulling but nothing is moving. It will not go down unless I give it a small shove with my hand. After the small shove, the top motor pulls the convertible top down perfectly fine. Putting it back up has been mostly okay, except once or twice when I need to press the top close button a second time to fully close the top.

Anyway, do you think it could be the top motor dying (it did rain quite heavily in the past few weeks) or could the area where the windshield meets the top just be sticky or something? Any help or suggestions would be very appreciated!
 
Probably the motor dying, but given that once started you can get it moving I'd lubricate all the fram hinges and see if that helps.

May be leaking fluid, but for that your top off and investigate anyway, so try the hinges first.
 
X2 for lub’ing all the roof frame hinges, then light oil on the latches in roof front frame (which were failing to fly out on mine) plus clean the slots and rollers in the windscreen top rail, cured mine and it shoots up/down now. Worth a try, good luck :thumbsup:
 
I had a similar problem, where my top was opening but sticking and struggling a bit on the left side. In my case it was as easy as cleaning where the roof meets the windshield; that section of rubber just needed some tlc and gummi pflege. After that, no problems.
 
Hi Yuj,
I am having a similar problem - but in reverse. The top retracts fine. Going up, it strains to move more than a foot or so. If I do not help it, the electric motor overheats and shuts down for ten minutes or so. I have to help it up until it reaches the front clamps.
Note that this started immediately after my second motor replacement. The motor died when I was in Seattle - there were many pine needles clogging the drains. It was very expensive, around $1700, to replace the motor. The motor seemed to work harder (and was noisier) but the top worked okay.
A few months later, immediately after moving to Santa Barbara, it failed again. Leading up to the failure, it started to take longer and longer for the top to raise up.
The local dealer replaced the motor on warranty (the dealer in Seattle did not follow the BMW bulletin for sealing the motor) but refused to look into anything that might be affecting the speed at which the top raised. (I asked them to check the hydraulic fluid and lubricate the pivots while they had the top off.) They said the warranty only covered the electric motor incorrectly installed by the Seattle BMW dealer.
I lubricated every pivot I could find but could do nothing regarding the hydraulic oil.
I need to fix this as it bothers me every time I drive the car. However, I am loath to use the local BMW dealer due to their attitude. Has anyone had the same problem? How did you fix it? Is there any convertible top repair shop in the Ventura/Santa Barbara area (or even LA) that people would recommend?
Thanks,
Markus
 
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