Z4 roof not retracting or returning up!

T

Tasty

Member
I wondered if anyone has had issues with the Z4 automatic roof? I noticed that my roof was moving slower than normal so I sprayed WD40 in the joints in case 6 years of use had left them dry.

Today I tried to bring the roof down and it took a couple of attempts to bring the roof completely down. When I tried to bring the roof up it wouldn’t move after many attempts.

In the end I had to lift the roof manually with a friend and allow the motor to do the final clip in. I have my roof up but need to get it checked out tomorrow.

After 6 years of enjoyable ownership I am now dealing with endless issues. In the last 6 months I have had the following problems;
Now on my third set of alloys due to bubbling - £250 contribution needed
Air adjuster valve spindle broken - £200
Driver lock mechanism fell apart - £400
Both backs of seats have now fallen off – tbc
Roof not retracting – tbc
I feel the need for a new thread!

Let me know of any thoughts on roof problem please

Regards
Tasty :headbang:
 
Your roof motor had died.

Look in the How-To/Misc section on how to replace it....

A new motor and housing will run you $500 (US) from the dealer. Cheaper from online sources.
 
Thanks for your assistance I have put in garage today, someone said it may be a design fault does this mean I may be able to claim from BMW after 6 years. I doubt it but will let you know!

Thanks
Tasty
 
Considering they changed the housing (i.e. water proof it), it was indeed a design change. Whether the "old" unprotected setup is classed as a design fault is another matter though.
 
Have had the car in for 1 and half hours investigation, have been told that the hydrolics are not working in the roof mechanism. The pinchers still lock on the top of the wind screen but there is no movement upwards or downwards. I have been told that they need to investigate the nearside unit which means that the whole roof compartment needs to be taken off to investigate why the hydrolics do not work, this alone is £300. Fortunately I still have some good will from a botched door repair and have been told that they will do the works at a reduced rate and look to see if this is anything to do with a design fault and possibly make a claim to BMW.

Looks like a biggy. They suggested I may want to part exchange and look at another car, they wouldn't sell the car themselves as its 6 years old but thought a figure of around £6k would be about right, what a joke! :(
 
Tasty,

I received your email.

I don't think you will like what I am going to say next..

You could call it a design issue but you won't get very far with that argument. They will most likely say you did not keep the drain holes free from debris and with that, not letting it drain properly causing water in your motor housing. That is just one argument.. Since they are going to good will you some of the cost you will pay less than full price for the repair.. You have to remove the top from the car to investigate... AND to replace the hydraulic motor. Since the top it out of the car, have it replaced.

If one of the sensors for the softtop failed, you have to pull the whole top to replace it. That is just the way it is designed.

Yes, BMW changed the design sometime in 2005. The sealed the housing, not just put piece of tape on it... The housing and motor are still the same....

After six years of operation, I would be very surprised if they do more than what was offered to offset your costs.. but you are in the UK and I am in the US, so your dealer may surprise you. Maybe not. A six year old car is considered just that. An old, well used car. Even if it only had 30k miles on it..

A new hydraulic motor and a new housing (the internal foam was waterlogged) set be back about $500.00 (US). If they seal it properly, it should not fail from water intrusion again... If it does fail again, it would be from a failed electronic component internal to the motor. Slight chance, but it can happen.

If it make you feel any better, my friends Saab convertible had is softtop motor went out. The price for a new one: $1600. Just for the motor....

In response to your first post:

Most of those problems are just bad luck. But I am not sure what the "Air adjuster valve spindle" is.

My car is a 03 with a build date of 10/02 also...... BMW stands for 'Bring Money With you"
 
Shipkiller

Thanks for your help on the roof. Where are the drainage holes in the rear, I regularly clear the front drainage holes of debris but wasn't aware of any others. Are these the ones you mean?

Thanks
Tasty

Here is my previous post on the air adjuster valve;

I found the revs were up and down and the engine was making a hissing sound so took it into my garage. My mechanic had difficulty finding the airleak and had to strip the outlet trunking and perform a smoke test (apparently baby oil burns with a white smoke and also smells nice ).

The smoke test found that it was the DISA valve that had broken. The specific element of this part that had broken was the air adjuster valve which fits in the centre of the inlet manifold and adjusts effective length of the inlet tract thereby improving torgue. The AAV was a hollow spindle made from a flimsy yellowpiece of plastic that had broken and was drawing air in. There was a significant amount of carbon that had built up around the black plastic valve which probably helped break this spindle. He game me the part so I could see the issue at first hand. The part cost £131 including VAT which hurt, my mechanic was quick to find the problem and only charged me £80 for investigation and fitting (AJ Robinson, Brighton).

After AJ had spoken to the BMW local dealer (3 garages) he was told that they had never had this problem before. The part has also now been modified.

CheersTasty
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To be honest, 108's bubble (I guess this is what you have) if they are neglected (read washed every other day and cleaned like you would eat off them :) )

Not really a failure. Keeping anything looking new year on year costs money!


DISA valve thingy, well, BMW charge the earth, but EVERY 3.0i engine has one, so finding a good cheaper spare from a scrapper should be pretty easy. 5 min swap job (if you wanted to anyway)


Driver lock mechanism, bit more of a problem I guess. Not sure what you do there.


Seat backs? Sports seats or normal? The normal ones just pop off, so will likely be broken clips? Maybe the seats have been pushed back into something, or pushed back and squished. They really can be put TOO far back considering the space they have to fit in. Damage would ensue from excessive putting them right back. Easy enough to buy new backs, or again, source a pair (on ANY Z4 with normal seats), and clip em on.


So, roof and door. Roof is a common fault too, from blocked drains.

I don't think that is so bad really... try own something French!
 
Ok,

Now I know what you are talking about.

See this post: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=12150

For the drain holes: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=11615

There is a thread up here on the forum for cleaning your drain holes but I don't have time to go find it. I will do that tonight and move it into the How-To section. Until that time, here is a good link for the same thread but in PDF format....

http://www.shipkiller.com/files/BMW_Z4_Errata/How%20to%20UnClog%20your%20SoftTop%20Drains.pdf
 
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