TOP Tearing issue

Lee123

I've only had mine about three and a half months. The top was down almost all the time for the first couple months, but now it's up and down a lot. There are no signs for damage at all yet. It's disgusting that people are having problems like this with their tops already. I've had four previous roadsters of various kinds, a couple for around 100,000 miles, and none wore holes through their tops. Maybe I was just lucky.

vifferman

I took delivery of my roadster on June 7, and have opened/closed the top about 5 of every 6 days since. I have a small 3/8 inch crease & some discoloration on the driver's side only, but in the same location as Z-U-Later's problem. I can feel two small nodules, about 5/8 inch apart on both sides (cable ties, perhaps?) in the suspect area. If it weren't for Z-U's nightmare experience, I wouldn't be overly concerned, but now I'm a bit paranoid.

Zaggeron

^
Creases and wrinkles I can deal with -- I expect to get wear lines and so forth that outline the frame. I think that particular spot we are seeing, because of the way it creases, is collecting dirt. Z_U's problem was definitely the result of something rubbing a hole through the fabric. It may be that you can get the crease, and not have the same problem -- at least I'm hoping that's the case.

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2010 Platinum Graphite 370z Roadster:Touring/Sport
2013 Subaru BRZ Limited

John Bradley

Yeah I drive it maybe once a week or every other week always with the top down.. I know that's not as much as y'all it could be awhile before I see any issuses if they ever appear

vifferman

You may recall my earlier posts to this thread. Haven't heard anything of late, and wondered how Z-U-Later and others who reported early signs of his issue are faring. Z-U...did they ever fully resolve your new top installation issues (i.e. the loose front)? Others with indentations/creases/discoloration in the area of Z-U-Later's perforation...any further deterioration, etc.?

I still have a 3/8-inch crease and a small (1/8") indentation (pinch?) on the driver's side. More wrinkles, but no crease or indentation on the passenger side. The driver's side canvas is a bit more taut which may explain both the crease/indentation and the fewer wrinkles.

I will likely visit my dealer for the "free" first service (biting my nails), audio system recall/upgrade, and to discuss the top issue sometime in late September or early October. Because I drive my ZR only recreationally (just 1100 miles in less than 3 months), I fear that the top issue may progress slowly only to leave me with the cost of replacement after expiration of the warranty. Anone know...is the top covered under the general 3-year warranty, or is it subject to the 1-year "exterior trim" exclusion? I've read that warranty twice, and it's still not clear to me.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but it's my new love we're talking about here. Hee!

Joebarchuck

I've had the car for three weeks and I am seeing some fabric fatigue exactly where described by the OP. I will post some pics. I am very worried.

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Red 2010 370Z Roadster: Stillen G3, Stillen Exhaust, Up-Rev Tune (312 RWHP), Eibach Pro Springs, 20mm spacers front and back, Rear Camber Kit, Tinted Windows, GT-R Start Button, Interior Mods

Z_U_later

Vifferman, yes they did resolve all my installation issues but guess what not more than 2 months after the new top was installed I started seeing wear marks in the same location again and it had gotten worse. I'm certain that a whole will apear shortly. I took it back to the dealer and my service rep agreed. After a few calls to Nissan Corp. my service rep got Nissan to fly out a top specialist to take a look at my car, they may have to replace the whole top assembly. They needed to find out the underline cause of what is causing the holes or else it will just keep happening. So the specialist is flying in next Thursday and I will be dropping my car off on Wednesday so he can have all day to look at it. The dealership is providing a loner car. Does anyone know if the lemon law applies here? I think is states if the same problems occurs 3 times and they cant resolve it they have to replace the vehicles or something, I could be wrong.

Zaggeron

Is it wearing from the inside or outside?

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2010 Platinum Graphite 370z Roadster:Touring/Sport
2013 Subaru BRZ Limited

vifferman

Z_U_Later - please keep us fully posted re: the Nissan rep's findings, et al. Hope your nightmare ends well, and soon.

Z_U_later

It is wearing from the inside

Z_U_later

Well they found the problem, it was 2 sharp edges on the folding assembly causing the tear. In order to find the cause they has to cut into the top but the dealer stitched them up, man what an eye soar. Well the good news is that they will replace the top assembly and fabric. The bad news is that it will take a month to order the replacement parts from Japan. Well thats the latest from my top tearing saga. I have to say I am now really worried about the durability and design of the top and top assembly. I hope once this is repaired that the problem dosent come back after my warranty is up because the rep told me that the top assembly cost $13,000 not to mention labor and the fabric too, Im glad it is not coming out of my pocket. This is my first rag top and with how things are going may be my last.

Hi-Step'n370Z

The question now is; are those "two sharp edges" present on EVERY Roadster, or are they an assembly/manufacturing problem that only occurred on a few?

The first good news is that your problem will be taken care of under warranty. Glad to hear it Man.

The second good news is that now Nissan clearly knows about the problem and will correct that error in future production, and will cover the repair under warranty for the rest of the Roadster owners.

The $13,000.00 price tag seems high, that's 1/3 the total cost of the whole car!

IF a tear happens after warranty, there is a chance Nissan will still cover the repair because they know of the "two sharp edges," or, if we have to repair it at our expense, those edges could possibly be filed down/otherwise rendered harmless, leaving only the cost of the fabric and installation.

Too bad you didn't get the chance to take some pic's of those edges, maybe when they do the repair, you can take some pic's of those edges and post them here on the Forum so we all can see just what the heck is going on under the canvas. I know I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for posting the final diagnosis, and I am glad that your problem will soon be over with. I don't think that once the top is fixed you'll have any further tears because the reason for the tear will have been corrected. You should be able to operate the top worry free from now on. Besides, this IS a warranty repair, and if it happens again, they should still cover the next fix.

vifferman

I'm suspect here. If this issue applied only to an early production run, I might accept the "sharp edges" diagnosis; but in fact, both early and late editions of the roadster seem to exihibit the problem equally; and some report no problem at all. My example (just 4 months old, with moderate top down/up usage) shows a noticable "pinch/indentation" but no sign of tearing. I will visit my dealer soon for the iPhone update, and inspection of the top issue. Will advise.

Hi-Step'n370Z

Yes, I agree, this whole issue is very weird to say the least, and frankly I feel it's useless to guess and speculate, which I am plenty guilty of doing.

It would be great if we could get an accurate number regarding who has the tears, and when their Z was made and the average times the top was operated over how many months.

If there's a manufacturing glitch that caused this, I wouldn't think that we have to operate the top a thousand times to find out whether or not we will have this tearing issue.

Seems like operating the top a couple of times a week for at least three months would either create the tear, indicate that it's starting, or indicate that it is probably not going to happen at all.

My Z was made in July of 2009, took delivery December 2009.
Began driving it April 2010.
Top operated around two times a week over the last 5 months.

At present time: No tear, creasing or indication of any problem at all. The top looks just like brand new.

Zaggeron

I definitely have a crease there -- and to a lesser extent on the passenger side in the same area. I did reach between the frame and the top in the area as best as I could and couldn't feel any evidence that it was wearing from the inside -- but it was a tight fit with my fingers and I couldn't be 100% sure. I think that, for some of us, that area is just a crease that tends to collect dust and dirt and make it appear that it is wearing, but if there is no wear on the inside, I doubt it will become a problem.

I'd like to know for sure. Is there a particular position between top up and down with access to that spot so I could verify there is no wear on the inside?

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2010 Platinum Graphite 370z Roadster:Touring/Sport
2013 Subaru BRZ Limited