Storage lid rubs the fifth bow when opening the soft top

OldGuyFla

vman12

That's lots of good info, thanks for sharing.

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BoilardZ

For what it's worth:
I've had the "fifth bow rubbing" issue since day 1 of my 2017 touring roadster. I did have the dealer replace the bungees within the first couple of months, and it "fixed" the problem for like 3 times of opening the top. Then the top starting hitting the tonneau cover again. I have tried the adjustments described in the manual, but the problem persists. I finally gave up, and just live with the extra noise and clunkiness.
As you'll see from searching this forum, it's a very, very common problem, and most dealerships have so little experience with the roadster that they really lack the skills to work on the top mechanism.
I hope your dealer is correct in claiming that Nissan engineers are designing a fix, but I wouldn't hold my breath. The earlier "fix" of new bungees certainly hasn't helped, in my experience.

vman12

I noticed the lid scratches the roof cover material when opening/closing. The dealer told me not to open the roof until it's fixed.

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BoilardZ

That's a good point. I may take the car in again, and have them change out the bungees again. At least then if the roof fails, I have a record of having brought the issue to their attention more than once.

gbhrps

vm an12,

Use your left hand to hold the door unlock button down to open the roof, and when the 5th bow unlocks and moves up, use your other hand to swing the 5th bow up towards the front of the car. The top will clear the storage compartment.

Yes, it shouldn't be necessary to do this, but until the top is fixed by a tech who knows what he's doing, its your best recourse for not doing any more damage.

I've been using this method for some time now and it works very well. When my toy comes out of winter storage I'll try the TSB solution to see if it corrects the issue on my car.

vman12

The video is new roof and a new bungee. So the new bungee isn't working on my car...

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Rodd

Hi All, I have been following your forum since I bought a 2012 Roadster here in Australia a few months ago and I have just joined up. Excellent forum, so much great info so thank you all. Sound like a broken record I guess but i to am having the same problem of deck lid hitting the 5th bow. I just read the Nissan NTB14-063 and this fix looks reasonably straight forward,adjust coupling nut/move lid hinge forward a bit etc, probably prefer to do this myself than go to Nissan. My question is has anybody actually tried this fix, yourselves or at Nissan and has it fixed the problem.
Thank you

Rodd

vman12

My dealer mechanic told me he followed the tsb bulleting moved the lid as far back as possible and put new bungee cords in, and it only worked for a few times. After which he contacted nissan engineers. waiting till this spring to take it back in. What's worse after he moved the lid back i started getting rattling noises (metal against metal - lock against - striker) from the lid locking system. But the lid was still hitting the roof. he moved the lid forward again to at least get the rattling noise out.

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TJM370ZR

Hi Vman, make sure to pay very close attention to stay within either the extended warranty (CPO/VSC) or within the 12 months parts/labor warranty on these top issues. My local dealers love to promise that there is a fix coming in the hopes that I will slide past the warranty expiration period. Unluckily for them, I will sit in their lobby and demand that they take the car in for repairs so that we stay in compliance. Pretty sure I must be on some sort of "black list" by now hahaha

TJM370ZR

Hi Rodd- I can confirm that my vehicle has been in the dealer multiple times to follow the exact procedure outlined in NTB14-063. Your results may vary but this had absolutely no positive impact in fixing my issues. I also tried adjusting the "coupling nuts" outlined in figure 3 to confirm that they were in the "fully tightened position" and they were. Despite this, the bungees are still too loose which appears to cause the impact between 5th bow and deck lid. I have called a few local top specialists and they all seem to be in agreement that Nissan uses a very cheap bungee strap and that an aftermarket replacement would fix this issue at minimal cost. Putting the Nissan bungee straps in as a replacement would be a complete waste of time and $$$

Rodd

Thank you very much for the reply. Just back from holidays so i will take a closer look at this issue as I have not even looked at this closely it so far. If I find anything useful I will be sure to let you know.

Cheers,
Rodd

HEFFAE

Are you all ready to SCREAM yet!!!! A few facts to contribute - purchased a mint 2016 in 2018 with a few months of warranty left and took it to a dealer in Indianapolis for all the above issues. they had it 48-days straight attempting to fix. To sum your experiences up, they've had it 68 days total in the shop after 8 trips and a new top, etc.

It's been in storage with the same lip service that, "we are working on a fix". I've asked twice for them to buy it back, (declined) and I can't sell it in the current condition. In the meanwhile, we are all paying a high insurance premium for a go-cart sedan convertible - I will keep you all posted too.

Rodd

Ok, thanks for that. You are having a bad run and I do feel bad for you. I really hope something is resolved for you soon. Even if it does I am sure the whole experience will leave a really bad taste in your mouth for these cars and no one could blame you.
My issue is fortunately no real problem at the moment, still loving my car etc but I am concerned of what may eventuate. I'm sure if the hitting gets worse it will put more loads/pressure on the whole system etc. Anyway, taking a look at it shortly to see what i can do.
Cheers,
Rodd

vman12

Have you tried asking nissan corporate to buy it back? Here is the number.

1-800-647-7261

Option 7 - consumer affairs specialist

I opened a case with them to get the new roof approved quicker; which worked. The dealer thought maybe they would buy the car out from me because the roof costs almost as much as the whole car. But when i asked the nissan consumer affairs person i was told nissan corporate doesn't initiate a buyback offer, this is only done when a customer requests it.

So if you call them and ask for it they might do it.

If my roof isn't fixed this spring i will do just that and ask them to but it from me.


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vman12

Has anyone tried the smarttop mod? Per the youtube video it allows you to open/close the roof with a press of a button (no need to hold). I was thinking what if i got the mod and would hold/move the 5th bow out of the way when lid opens/closes. I know that currently i can hold the outside door button to open the roof but have to be inside and hold the switch to close the roof.

https://youtu.be/2BsM2C69lfg

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