post face lift roof motor

D

deka

Senior member
After taking the hardtop off just before the weather changed to down pours a good few weeks back i have just had the first chance to put the roof down....

As it tried to make its way back up it gave up the ghost and is now knackered... must be the first of the post face lifts to go and looks like the problem is with all of the roadsters.......

Not a good time for things like this for me at the moment and normally I would have been pissed off but after hunter's boy and the trouble beebub has had it is after all just a mechanical problem and can be solved. :(
 
Bad news, especially as you have a hardtop for the winter months

FYI there have been many post facelift motor problems - in fact I read somewhere the new insulation was more problematic as it collected water more than the previous version




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My roof motor gave up over the winter my zed is a post face lift on a 57 plate,real annoying :x
Am honestly shocked that yours has failed with having a hardtop fitted over the winter,if this is the case its pointless me thinking of purchasing a hardtop :roll:
 
Sure its not just the motor being a bit graunchy after lack of use over the winter?....its not uncommon to have to manually assist the roof in such circumstances - so sayeth the manual
 
Not good news on any age Zed.

I don't think fitting the hard top stops motor failure. If its full of water already then it simply stops more getting in, but of course the period of inactivity may well allow the motor to rust away and siezeup.
 
This year has also been a bit of an exception as soon as i removed the hardtop during the nice weather in march it then continually rained,,, so i guess this may have been responsible
 
That sounds like a real nightmare.

Sorry to hear that. Hope you get it fixed ok, especially with the current weather 8)


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cj10jeeper said:
I don't think fitting the hard top stops motor failure. If its full of water already then it simply stops more getting in, but of course the period of inactivity may well allow the motor to rust away and siezeup.
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My thinking exactly. I'm starting to lean towards hardtops may, under certain circumstances, contribute to motor failure. Occasionally operating the motor generates heat, which can help expel minor moisture incursions. Occasional motion keeps corrosion from building up on interfacing parts. With the hardtop fitted, one is much less inclined to remove it to take advantage of a fine, albeit rather cold day. So instead, that moisture just sits there and festers, and interfacing parts get corroded together.

Much like how one should occasionally operate their air con, maybe occasionally operating the roof system may be a good thing. Of course, if you have a pool of stagnant water in there, it matters not if the hardtop is fitted or not. You're doomed.

I'm not suggesting anyone should bin their hardtop, but before fitting, ensuring the drains are clear and the tubs are clean and dry would be good practice.
 
i cant believe it happens to forum members who have the knowledge to clear the drains. u did get your hardtop quite late in the season though so the winter weather did get its hand in :x

quick question to the guys who have had the roof out. is there no way of drilling a hole in the motor housing to let the water out??? maybe even fit a flexi pipe to run any water out under the chassis ??
 
The problem isn't letting the water out as the housing can leak like a sieve, but more that the motor is wrapped in foam to deaden the sound and it is this foam that obviously retains the moisture that promotes corrosion.
What BMW should have done was properly seal the motor housing in the first place to stop any water ingress.
It was supposed to have been rectified on face-lift cars, but judging by forum posts it wasn't.

chrisj900 said:
i cant believe it happens to forum members who have the knowledge to clear the drains. u did get your hardtop quite late in the season though so the winter weather did get its hand in :x

quick question to the guys who have had the roof out. is there no way of drilling a hole in the motor housing to let the water out??? maybe even fit a flexi pipe to run any water out under the chassis ??
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Maybe its another issue that people need to bring to the attention of Watchdog and see how many other Z4 owners across the country have faced hefty repair bills for a component which has been poorly designed.
 
andysat said:
IIRC in my manual it states the roof motor should be run weekly even through winter.
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Perhaps not a bad idea, but somewhat a bother for hardtop owners. Sure that wasn't for air con? No mention of such in the US version of manual, I just re-read the entire automatic softtop section. YMMV.

FWIW, I'm convinced BMW is in denial about the whole thing.
 
mine was on from september 11th till the end of march and mine worked perfectly first time. would be a pain in the ass removing the hardtop each week
 
chrisj900 said:
mine was on from september 11th till the end of march and mine worked perfectly first time. would be a pain in the ass removing the hardtop each week
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+1

Mine came with a hardtop which was rarely removed by the previous owner. Plus the fact like the above, it stays on from late October till spring each year since I owned it.



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