Storage lid rubs the fifth bow when opening the soft top

vman12

So last year I bought a used 2014 Nissan 370z touring convertible (30k miles). After about 2 months of using the top something made a loud cracking sound one morning when opening roof. Got to work closed the roof. Later that day tried opening the roof and it opened 3/4 of the way, wouldn't go in all the way. Drove to dealer, dealer said the hinge broke. They ordered the hinge. After replacing they said they noticed that there was some trim that was getting caught and caused the hinge to break. So they ordered the trim. After replacing the trim they said the car is ready to come pick up. While in their parking lot I tried to lower the roof and it made some noise. I then closed it and tried opening again. But when opening the lid couldn’t go down as it was hitting the roof. I called the technicians to look. They couldn’t believe it. The tech even said he tried opening and closing like 10 times to make sure it worked before giving back to me. At that point we had to get the lid to go in, so the techs just grabbed the lid and pulled it back a little (I think the tech didn’t have the lid bolts adjusted correctly so the lid was sticking out too much). The lid was now able to go down. I left the dealership without the car. I then get a call from the dealer saying the hydraulic system exploded. How the heck that happened I don’t know since the hydraulics were working fine when I was there. Dealer blamed it on some duct tape that was holding wires in place (I think they broke it but were making up stories so they didn’t have to pay). So now they're telling me I need to replace the hydraulic system for 8k. Since I bought extended warranty and was 2 weeks into it, Nissan had to send their master tech to approve. When the tech came he noticed there is an issues with the roof itself as well, so now they said the entire roof had to get replaced at $19,800k warranty cost. The warranty department said that since my car is only worth 24k I've pretty much used up my extended warranty since the nissan warranty cannot pay out more than car is worth. They ordered the roof from Japan I think. They put the new roof in and told me not to open it for a week until the new material gets set in. After using the roof a few times I started noticing the storage lid rubbing the fifth bow when opening and closing.

The dealership ordered and installed new bungee cords per the nissan bulletin below. Go
Nissan TSB Bulletin: NTB14-063
370Z ROADSTER; STORAGE LID RUBS THE FIFTH BOW WHEN OPENING THE SOFT TOP

After getting the car back with the new bungee cords installed the sides and middle are hitting each other (lid hitting roof). See videos below.

2014 nissan 370z roadster convertible top problems - opening top (NTB14-063)
https://youtu.be/UC9k-5qa1Vo

2014 nissan 370z roadster convertible top problems - closing top (NTB14-063)
https://youtu.be/SsnyQJviv5c

Went back to dealership, they said they tried everything and don’t know what else to do. Nissan sent their engineer and few weeks of sitting at the dealer Nissan said they found multiple z's in united states with this same exact problem. Nissan Corporate called me and said that Nissan engineers are working on designing a fix for this. This will take a few months since they will need to pass inspection and get approvals. Told me not to open my roof until this is fixed. They said since it's winter in Ohio I shouldn’t be opening roof anyway and to wait until Spring of 2019 at which point they hope to have found a resolution for this. So my baby is stored away in the garage for the winter. Really hope they can figure out a fix this spring .

Another thing I noticed that after them installing the bungee cords, the roof is somewhat lopsided now. Passenger roof covers the window (top of window hides underneath the roof). But driver side window closes next to the roof meaning the top of the window doesn’t go under the roof but outside of the roof. Luckily seems there is enough pressure that there shouldn’t be any leaks between window and roof but still looks very weird.

Let me know if anyone has come across a similar issues with their roof. The sad part is that I got a new $20k roof that doesn’t work right.

TJM370ZR

This has happened to me 3 times......all covered under my extended service contract (SecurityPlus Gold)

TJM370ZR

Let me know if they find an "engineering fix".........I have been waiting 3 years for the so called fix they are telling you about. Nissan also doesn't fly out engineers for this issue. It is a BS lie that the dealership is feeding you (I confirmed this with another dealer after the first dealer installed my straps backwards causing top replacement #2).

vman12

yep me too. right before my original warranty ran out i bought the "nissan security plus gold preferred 96 month 100,000 mile coverage with $100 deductible" from santa rosa.

vman12

so what have you been doing for the last 3 years - not lowering your top?

Did Nissan try to buy it from you? I heard if there are unfixable problems customers can ask Nissan corporate to buy it out from them.

TJM370ZR

I use the top daily and we play this cat and mouse game where it breaks after about a year and then they fix it, rinse wash and repeat.

I sued Nissan under the California lemon law and we settled for an undisclosed sum that I am happy with.

vman12

so when the roof keeps breaking do you keep paying each time? Or is it all pretty much covered forever since they gave you a new roof under warranty?

They told me that after my roof replacement the extended warranty is used up and won't pay for anything else. But the roof is under a 1 year nissan warranty itself, so they will keep trying to get it fixed. Just sucks if something else breaks.

TJM370ZR

It keeps happening under the 12 month period so I assume they are doing the work under the parts and labor warranty??

OldGuyFla

This all sounds like a lot of crap. Please keep us all informed as you go along. really sorry to hear of all the problems.

__________________

TJM370ZR

Vman12, do you have a copy/link of the actual service bulletin NTB14-063? I tried finding it online and was not getting anywhere.

vman12

370Z ROADSTER; STORAGE LID RUBS THE FIFTH BOW WHEN OPENING THE SOFT TOP
APPLIED VEHICLE: 2010-2014 370Z Roadster(Z34)

BT14-016
NTB14-063
July 8, 2014

see bulletin attached

Attached Files

1um7 NTB14-063.pdf (178.6 KB, 88 views)

vman12

370Z ROADSTER; SOFT TOP WILL NOT FULLY CLOSE
APPLIED VEHICLE: 2010-2014 370Z Roadster(Z34)

BT14-017
NTB14-064
July 8, 2014

see attached

Attached Files

1um8.pdf (156.4 KB, 39 views)

vman12

370Z ROADSTER;
SOFT TOP REPLACEMENT SERVICE INFORMATION
APPLIED VEHICLE: 2010-2014 370Z Roadster (Z34)

BT14-010
NTB14-025
April 9, 2014

see attached

Attached Files

1uk9.pdf (130.3 KB, 32 views)

vman12

370Z ROADSTER AND MURANO CROSSCABRIOLET;
CONVERTIBLE TOP PARTS SERVICE INFORMATION
APPLIED VEHICLES: 2010-2014 370Z Roadster (Z34)
2011-2014 Murano CrossCabriolet (Z51)

BT14-001
NTB14-007
February 12, 2014

see attached

Attached Files

1uj4.pdf (30.3 KB, 33 views)

TJM370ZR

Thank you!!