Top mechanism reliability

L

LenA

New member
I am thinking about a couple of 05 Z4's. Several have the premium package with the power top and one has the manual top. How is the power top reliability or would I be befter off to go with the.simplier car. From what I have read, sounds like the Z4 is pretty reliable overall.

Thanks

Len
 
The top motor placement is poorly designed and is prone to damage from water accumulation. Whether you have a problem depends a lot on how you and the previous owners manage this flaw, and what climate the car is subjected to. Allowing debris to accumulate in the drains, parking outside in a wet climate is a recipe for failure. Clear drains, a garage in a dry climate will likely yield many years of reliable service.

If you do go with the manual top, keep in mind the fabric used does not have a sound insulation layer that the power top does. Z4s have a few weak spots that compromise reliability, as does any car. The drive train is generally solid, the car will not leave you stranded somewhere. Things that go wrong tend to be annoying electrical related things, which can be expensive to fix, considering what's involved. The need for truly major repairs is very unlikely.
 
I've had my Z4 for 8 years and 70,000 miles and in that time, over and above regular service items I have had the ignition coils replaced, replaced the springs with Eibachs after the 2 rear springs broke (a very common failure) the air bag warning light was activated for some reason though no fault could be found and it has never reoccurred and most recently I have a DSC alarm come on which the dealer says requires 2 new sensors, however after the replacing the front pads the light has yet to come back on in about 500 miles of use.

My Zed has been kept outside all it's life but the last couple of winters I have had a Hard Top fitted to the car to protect the fabric roof as it stands idle for weeks on end while I'm away on buisness.

The Z4 is like any car if it's been looked after you should be fine but there is always the lemon out there.
 
I think Richard has summed up perfectly. I too have a hardtop to protect the roof mechanism if the car has to stay outside for any length of time in winter months.

Generally, if looked after, these cars are pretty reliable.


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Thanks for the feedback. The car that I thought had a manual top appears to just have a broken power top. I went to look at it and it had the power top buttons, but they do not retract the top. I also plugged the VIN into the option tracker and it indicated a power top

Len
 
LenA said:
Thanks for the feedback. The car that I thought had a manual top appears to just have a broken power top. I went to look at it and it had the power top buttons, but they do not retract the top. I also plugged the VIN into the option tracker and it indicated a power top

Len
Click to expand...

Thats a bummer. Have a look at the motor replacement articles...one of which even involved just drying out and refitting the existing motor.

Might be worth knocking the price down bigtime if you think you are up to the work.

The other thing to mention is that, in the US especially, in areas where it gets very hot, some Zeds have proven prone to what is generally referred to as 'sticky steering' (plenty to search on the forum) - can be an expensive problem to fix, involving a new steering column and/or electronics, so worth viewing when its hot and checking that the power steering is smooth, especially at speed when power assistance is at its lowest.
 
lacroupade said:
The other thing to mention is that, in the US especially, in areas where it gets very hot, some Zeds have proven prone to what is generally referred to as 'sticky steering' (plenty to search on the forum) - can be an expensive problem to fix, involving a new steering column and/or electronics, so worth viewing when its hot and checking that the power steering is smooth, especially at speed when power assistance is at its lowest.
Click to expand...

So might I run into this problem if I run a Z4 here in Spain? :(
 
I think im right in saying if you go for a facelift model 06 and later the motors are better protected from water ingress.
 
Facelifts utilise an 'improved' sealing tape. (or was it pre-facelifts had no tape?) Some say it just holds the water in better. As these cars age, we are seeing more facelift top motor failures. Basically, if water gets trapped in the tub in which the motor sits, the top motor will eventually fail, facelift or not. There are reports of motor failures even with clear drains.
 
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