Roof unlatches but won't go down

[Cjonaldo]

I'm sure this problem has been much discussed, but any tips on this roof issue?

The roof unlatches and the Windows go down but then nothing more. I've moved the dials in the boot as I've seen some mention but this made no difference.

I'm in south east London, any advice on people who would be able to help in getting this fixed? I wouldn't have the confidence or space really to try taking the roof off etc myself. I see there was someone mentioned called "bowser" but don't know if he's still about?

Will most garages take on this work?

I see on previous service history the motor was replaced in 2013 at a bmw dealer, and the bill was over £1200!!

Thanks!!

 

[Number5]

That sounds like your roof motor has failed again.

Bowser, is the man for your Neck of the Woods. He will sort it for a fraction of the previous cost :wink:

 

[Cjonaldo]

Does anyone actually have his contact details? Thanks

 

[Wondermike]

PM him, he'll pick it up.

http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=6090

 

[Cjonaldo]

Cool - I've pm'd him. What are peoples thoughts on the fact that BMW replaced the motor in 2013 for over £1200, and 3 years later it has failed again and needs replacing again. It was paid for by the previous owner, not me...but still!? Surely a job so expensive shouldn't need doing every 3 years if done well? I'm not sure what warranty is given with such work?

 

[C58]

have you tried to give it a nudge to open the roof? i know when mine went i pressed the button, the motor made noise, the roof unclipped then nothing. if i gave it a nudge it would open fully then it would close fine by itself.

to be honest it depends on alot of things, ive heard of people needing a new one every year and some people have had their cars since they bought them new with no issues at all. The main problem is debris clogging the roof run drains meaning whenever it rains the motor is just sat in a puddle of water and over time this issue keeps happening.
a warranty on the roof motor would probably be good for about a year so no joy getting the stealers doing anything for you with it.

theres a topic on the forum if you search where somone managed to get their motor out through the boot shelf, and after a bit of TLC got the thing running again, if its only 3 years old that would be my first port of call before buying a new one and paying for a relocation.

 

[sharpyboy]

Cool - I've pm'd him. What are peoples thoughts on the fact that BMW replaced the motor in 2013 for over £1200, and 3 years later it has failed again and needs replacing again. It was paid for by the previous owner, not me...but still!? Surely a job so expensive shouldn't need doing every 3 years if done well? I'm not sure what warranty is given with such work?

It's a definite design flaw that the roof drains get blocked and fill with water causing the roof motor and pump to fail and BMW failed to sort this when they face lifted the car in 2006. I would recommend that you ask bowser134 about relocating the motor to the boot area to prevent this problem reoccurring in the future which he is going to do for me soon.

 

[Anonymous]

have you tried to give it a nudge to open the roof? i know when mine went i pressed the button, the motor made noise, the roof unclipped then nothing. if i gave it a nudge it would open fully then it would close fine by itself

^^this

I would've though that if the motor was completely gubbed then it wouldn't even unlatch the roof.

 

[Cjonaldo]

I haven't tried with force, but have tried pushing up/back from in the car and it doesn't go back. Similarly to yourself I get noise when the roof unlatches followed by nothing. When you say it would open fully do you mean it could be put down manually? Times like this you wish you had a manual roof like my old MGTF! At least its stuck in the up position and not down! Pah!

I've seen people mention about the motor being relocated - silly question but is the motor in the boot area currently?? Thanks for the help! To be honest after this i'm thinking of selling the car now. I love it but I cant deal with such an expense too regularly. May get the roof sorted then sell up. It is a lovely looking car...I wonder if the roof not functioning would lose me more than the price of the repair on the sale. Probably... :wink:

 

[Cjonaldo]

This is the car btw... I know people love a pic. Ha.

image hosting over 5mb

 

[C58]

the main motor is located roughly above the rear left wheel arch, you can see the top of it if youre sat in the passenger seat and look behind the headrest over your left shoulder.

the reason people relocate them to the boot is that once there it wont get wet again, i have my car garaged and dont drive in the rain unless 100% necessary so havent felt the need to relocate mine.

its a pain having this as a known issue that bmw didnt fix but id have this over a manual roof anyday!

as i said in my last message, do a forum search for the thread where the guy goes through how to remove it through the boot, stick it in gasoline and then bake it and hopefully it will come back to life. knowing the motor is quite new id say its still definitely salvageable and buying a new motor, paying for someone to remove the roof and fit it youre looking at £600 so always try the cheap fix first