Roof useage

L

Lawrencez4

Member
 Hampshire
I know that on most forums you always read the worst of the worst.
So I wondered does anybody actually use the convertible roof on their E89 or is it deemed so unreliable most people don’t bother?
I would love to but frankly a bit terrified of the whole thing!
Reassurance or reality most welcome!
Lawrence
 
I use mine most of the time, raining (proper rain), snow or really bloody cold then I wont, but I like to have it down most of the time!

Saying that I have had a few issues with it, firstly I had an hydraulic leak, so due to the age and for preventative maintenance reasons I replaced the lot. Then I had the rear roof panel drop to one side (no idea how that happened), but unbeknown to me at the time it pushed one of the wires into the roof mechanism and trapped and broke it, so that had to be repaired. And then (again no idea how) somehow one of the sensors wires got pulled out and this caused quite an issue as Googling sent me in the wrong direction!!
These issues were over the curse of a few years (9 1/2 years ownership), but on the whole it's been used many thousand of times. :driving::cool:
 
Lawrencez4 said:
I know that on most forums you always read the worst of the worst.
So I wondered does anybody actually use the convertible roof on their E89 or is it deemed so unreliable most people don’t bother?
I would love to but frankly a bit terrified of the whole thing!
Reassurance or reality most welcome!
Lawrence
Click to expand...
'Terrified' lol - that's not good!

I've had the car two years now and only do a couple of thousand miles a year. This is made mostly made up of lots of short journeys into the nearest town as I live in a small village so it's effectively my runaround.

Every opportunity taken to have the roof down in the warmer months as rude not to. However, if cold, wet and/or icy, then it's more effort than it's worth, so don't bother.

Zero issues to speak of so far (touch wood) and all I have ever done roof-wise is to change the salmon relays and lubricate the rubber seals (and fit a SmartTop). Whereas I consider myself reasonably handy when it comes to cars, I don't know that I would have the inclination or patience to tackle some of the roof issues that come up on here. So if not immediately apparent, car would likely end up at the (relatively) local roof specialist who's details I have bookmarked. However, I am not going to not use the roof in case it breaks as that is pointless!
 
Had two E89s now since 2017…around 75k-80k miles I’ve done…hundreds of days with the roof down virtually all the time…had some phantom warnings via damp microswitches ..since I’ve garaged the car no issues…carry a short car cover in case the worst happens..
 
Lawrencez4 said:
I know that on most forums you always read the worst of the worst.
So I wondered does anybody actually use the convertible roof on their E89 or is it deemed so unreliable most people don’t bother?
I would love to but frankly a bit terrified of the whole thing!
Reassurance or reality most welcome!
Lawrence
Click to expand...
I have every faith in my car, but it's always a heart-in-mouth moment when I press the button to drop the top, I'm always thinking 'is today the day'... It never stops me, however, if the sun is shining, the roof is down.

It also has an N54 engine, so I've got far bigger things to worry over anyway. :LOL:
 
Lawrencez4 said:
...So I wondered does anybody actually use the convertible roof on their E89 or is it deemed so unreliable most people don’t bother?
Click to expand...

I run the top at least 1000x a season. I've also taken the effort to replace or refurbish the parts that failed on mine... following the paths that Dave and Robbi have blazed for us. To me there's no reason to have a convertible if you can't use it as one.

1772471859793.png
 
Christopher72 said:
To me there's no reason to have a convertible if you can't use it as one
Click to expand...
Exactly. Otherwise the E89 is just a cramped coupe with a roof that leaks easily; sort of worst of both worlds.
If it helps, the F33 roof is even more complex than the E89. An extra panel and a contraption in the boot to lift the stored roof out of the way for access.
After owning three BMW with folding hard tops, I won't be getting another.

I only have a very rudimentary electric soft top on my Z3 now. One ram, a small hydraulic pump run off an AA battery and two sensors. That's it. It does still leak like a sieve though. :rofl:
 
Christopher72 said:
.... following the paths that Dave and Robbi have blazed for us.
Click to expand...
Although I appreciate the sentiment, I cant take any credit for anything to do with roof repairs. When I did mine all I did was follow the excellent How-To that LordLolzeye wrote up. To say I was nervous would be a massive understatement, it was a huge job for me to do. I don’t do mechanical stuff much any more, so to do this was a big undertaking for me. Give me a wiring loom to make up from scratch any day :ROFLMAO:
 
I put mine down a lot. No reason to have this car if your afraid of using the convertible top. My suggestions are as follows;
1. Buy a BMW specific code reader. "Foxwell or phone based Bimmergeeks Protool.
2. Replace 2 Salmon relays. Cost $25 each. A five year old can do this.
3. Replace 2 boot closed microswitches. Cost $25 each. Higher skill level, maybe 10 year old.
4. Visit RobbiZ4's page of preventative maintenance.
 
Mr Tidy said:
What would you know, you've never owned a Z4! :fuelfire:
Click to expand...
You are correct. I did buy a Z3, though. Then immediately turned it into something much better looking.
Some may wonder what the hell I am doing here. I do.......often. :rofl:

It's not the cars, it's the people I stay for (some anyway). ;)
 
RobbiZ4 said:
I wonder every day if you trust your car, since it's perfectly normal for all four tires to show wear and tear while driving? I'm so worried about my tires that my Z4 is usually parked in an underground garage.


PS:
my E89 roof get's moved about 400 times a year.
Click to expand...
The car is new to me, less than a week old! I love the way it drives, love the fact that is has an array of relatively up to date tech ie Bluetooth streaming etc.
I discounted the SLK because of the unreliability of the roof, so bought a folding metal roof Z4 instead.
I know go figure….
Don’t get me wrong I have no regrets and I think the forum support is awesome. Just getting my head around it and getting the car where I want it to be.
It had over £3000 spent on the roof 18 months ago….
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom