Problem With Top Motor

S

sbbaron

Member
I'm new here and trying to get some information regarding a problem with my 2004 Z4. The car has fewer than 50K miles and is just 1 month out of the extended warranty. The soft top motor whirrs and the top unlatches, but it won't go down. BMW said the hydraulic pump has failed, and they want $2,400 for the part and labor. They said the part itself is $1,447.02. I'm trying to check out alternatives to bring down the cost. Does anyone have any info to help me on this? Thanks!
 
sbbaron, welcome to the forum.... :thumbsup:
I have moved your topic to it's own thread in "General Z4 Discussion"
Top motor/pump failure is pretty common.
Take a look at this link maintained by our forum tech...
http://www.shipkiller.com/
 
Your hydro motor has gone..

the part is not 1200 anymore as that one is now not sold, its about £250.

you can fit it yourself if your ok at following lego instructions.
 
When you say it unlatches, If you give it a gentle thump from either edge, does it start moving on it's own? Mine was doing that which made me think some of the hinges and latches just needed some lubrication. I oiled the latches above the windscreen and since then it's been back to normal. Might be worth a try before forking out for a new motor - glad I did cause it saved me a fortune! Only thing to watch out for is oil leaking in to the cabin where the sunvisors are - I wrapped mine in kitchen roll and left it over night to soak up any oil seeping through.
 
koolchris99, thanks for your feedback. Converting 250 pounds to American dollars = $380, more than $1,000 less than the price from the BMW dealer who sold me the car. Please forgive what may be stupid questions - this is not my thing at all - where do I find the part at this kind of a savings in the United States?

Thanks, too, JimmyPop. When the top failed I took it to a local auto repair place which provides service for my kids cars. They greased all the fittings and the top worked for them, but once I took it home the top went down once and up once, and that was it. It would unlock and lock, but there wasn't enough power to do the job.

Tonight I dropped the car at a convertible top place and they will give me an estimate for repairs, knowing I'm not yet comfortable with having the work done. I'm VERY un-mechanical so want to be sure I've explored all the options, and of course I'd like to not pay the $2,400 BMW wants to do the repair.
 
sbbaron said:
koolchris99, thanks for your feedback. Converting 250 pounds to American dollars = $380, more than $1,000 less than the price from the BMW dealer who sold me the car. Please forgive what may be stupid questions - this is not my thing at all - where do I find the part at this kind of a savings in the United States?

Thanks, too, JimmyPop. When the top failed I took it to a local auto repair place which provides service for my kids cars. They greased all the fittings and the top worked for them, but once I took it home the top went down once and up once, and that was it. It would unlock and lock, but there wasn't enough power to do the job.

Tonight I dropped the car at a convertible top place and they will give me an estimate for repairs, knowing I'm not yet comfortable with having the work done. I'm VERY un-mechanical so want to be sure I've explored all the options, and of course I'd like to not pay the $2,400 BMW wants to do the repair.
Click to expand...

Welcome to the Forum,

I made a Google search for you .... do give this a try :) Good Luck

http://data.bmrparts.com/bmwparts/4083.html
 
sbbaron said:
Thanks, too, JimmyPop. When the top failed I took it to a local auto repair place which provides service for my kids cars. They greased all the fittings and the top worked for them, but once I took it home the top went down once and up once, and that was it. It would unlock and lock, but there wasn't enough power to do the job.
Click to expand...

That's a pity. I'm still under my AUC warranty so wasn't too concerned if there was a problem with the motor. I hope you manage to get it fixed for a more sensible price than BMW are quoting you!
 
Thank you so very much for your help with this. I'm getting some good info which will help me to decide what to do. Again, thank you! Susan
 
Thanks, People! Just followed the Bavarian Auto Recycling link and called them. They don't have a used hydraulic engine/motor/pump/whatever in stock right now so I'd have to wait a few weeks, BUT... the part would be $250 and have a 6 month warranty. Called the BMW Parts Dept and they said about $1,400 new which confirms what their Service Dept told me. I mentioned hearing about a new/better/less expensive motor but they said they've never heard of it. It'll be interesting to hear what the convertible top guy tells me this evening, and I'll share the info with y'all in case it helps someone else in the future. Thanks again!
 
sbbaron,

hope you got my e-mail messages alright and that they do help. Remember to check about rust and a drain hole to be drilled as shown in pictures of the link I e-mailed you. Hope they did not end up in your junk box. It was 261 posts from another site.

Cheers,

Rolf-Dieter
 
ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!! Got that? and GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, too!

Here are a couple of pieces of info...

BMW wanted $150 to do the diagnostic on my roof but cut it in half because my record indicated how upset I was when I found I paid for a 3 year extended warranty that ended 2 weeks early since it was tied to the in-service date, thus I missed the chance for them to do a once over before the warranty expired. At that time I had a slow roof, not an inoperable roof.

Yesterday I left the car with a mechanic who refused to charge me for his time doing the diagnostic. He checked out the part with BMW - the hydraulic pump is $415. When I got to the shop he called BMW back to re-confirm, and this time was told IF it's just the bottom part of the pump that needs replacing, it's a $415 part, but if the whole assembly needs replacing it's about $1,250 ($200 less than BMW initially told me).

So, do I need just the $415 piece or do I have to get the whole thing for $1,250 (no labor included)? Well, even using the VIN number, BMW cannot tell us whether I have the "old" style pump or the "new" pump. If I have the "old" pump, then I need to put in the whole $1,250 assembly for the "new" pump. So how do we know? We have to remove the soft top so we can see the part number on the existing pump.

I am absolutely frosted. I'm still looking for real-world people to provide some insight and guidance. I intend to schedule an appointment with the BMW Service Manager early next week. It may not accomplish much, but at least I'll know I tried.
 
Rolf-Dieter said:
sbbaron,

hope you got my e-mail messages alright and that they do help. Remember to check about rust and a drain hole to be drilled as shown in pictures of the link I e-mailed you. Hope they did not end up in your junk box. It was 261 posts from another site.

Cheers,

Rolf-Dieter
Click to expand...

Thanks, Rolf, will be drilling into the posts over the weekend.
 
sbbaron said:
ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!! Got that? and GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR, too!

Here are a couple of pieces of info...

BMW wanted $150 to do the diagnostic on my roof but cut it in half because my record indicated how upset I was when I found I paid for a 3 year extended warranty that ended 2 weeks early since it was tied to the in-service date, thus I missed the chance for them to do a once over before the warranty expired. At that time I had a slow roof, not an inoperable roof.

Yesterday I left the car with a mechanic who refused to charge me for his time doing the diagnostic. He checked out the part with BMW - the hydraulic pump is $415. When I got to the shop he called BMW back to re-confirm, and this time was told IF it's just the bottom part of the pump that needs replacing, it's a $415 part, but if the whole assembly needs replacing it's about $1,250 ($200 less than BMW initially told me).

So, do I need just the $415 piece or do I have to get the whole thing for $1,250 (no labor included)? Well, even using the VIN number, BMW cannot tell us whether I have the "old" style pump or the "new" pump. If I have the "old" pump, then I need to put in the whole $1,250 assembly for the "new" pump. So how do we know? We have to remove the soft top so we can see the part number on the existing pump.

I am absolutely frosted. I'm still looking for real-world people to provide some insight and guidance. I intend to schedule an appointment with the BMW Service Manager early next week. It may not accomplish much, but at least I'll know I tried.
Click to expand...

sbbaron,

During your appointment ask the Manager about "rust" and the need to drill a drain hole so that water and condensation can drain off. In the e-mails I passed on to you (check your messages on this forum) they talked about that and also posted many photographs along with 261 member posts. They also talked about the roof opening and closing ever so very slowly now, they then investigated and found the rust. You be well off to glaze thru the photos and posts before your Monday morning meeting. If I was in your situation I would pose this question to the Service Manager ... If BMW knew about rust and slow opening and closing roof situations why not advise customers earlier and recommend a fix? Why does one in the end need to replace the pump/motor?

I am glad I traded my 2008 soft top convertible in.

Good Luck in your quest
 
Rolf-Dieter, as it turns out, I do NOT have the posts. I guess I was just thinking of the forum's notifications. My appointment with Flow BMW is tomorrow morning at 7:30am, and I sure hope I get some positive info for a change.
 
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