TOP Tearing issue

Merlin

It will be interesting to hear the response...

Hi-Step'n370Z

I commend you on your effort!

This is something that needs to be addressed to Nissan, this is not a minimal little glitch. The top is everything regarding the appearance - and resale value of the whole car.

I have had absolutely no problem with my top in any way, but I did have the thought that the issue needed to be addressed regardless.

For those who have experienced this issue, it is has to be devastating. And to the rest of us, we just wait and wonder if it will happen to our Roadster.

Depending on the response you receive from Nissan, perhaps more of us should follow your lead, and encourage Nissan to give the matter the level of priority it deserves.

I would also like to know if this is an occasional problem, or if they all were manufactured with the same glitch that will eventually ruin the canvas on all the Z's. If so, there should be some kind of piece of mind life time warranty on the 2010's for this specific problem.

I don't want anyone to forget the problems that some have experienced with the installation of their new top because, it was not installed to look like a factory install, and were told that the fit will "wear in."

If my new Roadster was delivered to me, with the top looking like the one that was pictured on this Forum after it was replaced, I would not have accepted the car with it looking like that. If anyone needs to have a top replaced, their Z should not be delivered back to the owner looking any less than factory.

Once again vifferman, I commend you for pursuing this with Nissan. Of course, keep us posted.
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Merlin

FYI, I elevated my top issue to Nissan North America a few weeks ago. I have been in discussions with one of their senior customer affairs account execs for a while as I go thru this process. I don't go out and drop major cash for a car only to have these kinds flaws occur and then have to spend an inordinate amount of time and energy screwing with it. What a headache. Anyway, when I asked about whether there are "systemic issues" across the 2010 model for tops, I did not get a straight answer, and haven't received one yet. I would encourage anyone who has a top issue to report it to Nissan at the corporate level and make it an issue. Get it on record. Dealerships will be reporting these issues too, but it is better if you report it directly yourself.

So at this point they have re-routed the wiring harness that is attached to the driver's side hatch arm and made it look like it was done this way at the factory. At least the tech tried. This has stopped the rubbing on the canvas. Now they are going to give me a new canvas top. A Nissan regional tech is going to do the replacement and I have met and talked to him. He seems very qualified and has done this before (but not on a 370Z). The canvas replacement makes me very nervous. I do NOT want to have the issues that Z_U-later had with the new canvas. I have already contacted a consumer lawyer and am in a wait-and-see mode. If the top is replaced and it looks factory installed, I will be happy and that should be the end of this issue. If it is not and this saga continues, I am going to engage on legal fronts. Like most of you, I have a job and don't have the time to keep screwing with this stuff. And we all deserve better from Nissan and the car they are selling. Stand by for more.

vifferman

Any chance you could post a pic or two of the hatch arm with the re-routed wire harness? Perhaps also a pic of the affected area on the canvas? Is the wear in the same area as Z_U_Later's tear and my indentation/crimp?

vifferman

Here's the expected lame response from Nissan...

October 20, 2010



File # 6962899


Dear Andrew Bertsch:

Thank you for contacting Nissan North America, Inc. and allowing us the opportunity to be of assistance. We are sorry to hear about the experience you are having with your Z Roadster and apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Please contact your local Nissan dealer and schedule an appointment, as the dealer is in the best position to diagnose and repair your vehicle. Your Nissan dealer will be more than willing to assist.

File #6962899 has been created to document your concern. If you have any further questions, comments or are unsatisfied with your dealer experience, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-647-7261.

Your satisfaction with your vehicle and your Nissan dealer is very important to us. Thank you for allowing us to be of assistance.

Sincerely,

Nissan North America, Inc.



Vivian Gonzalez
Consumer Affairs Representative
Nissan Consumer Affairs

Parrotguy

I took delivery of my roadster at the end of May. Living in San Diego I have left the top down pretty much the whole summer. I have operated the top maybe 20 times and have no wear spot or crease but I am worried that its only because I have not been operating the top much. The hard protruding frame spot is very noticeable when you run you hand over it, and I'm also worried that because I operate the top so infrequently, the top won't be ruined until I'm out of warranty. I had planned to keep this car for a long time. The fabric inner-lining prevents us from adding some cushioning there.
I am going to send this thread to my dealer and see what they have to say. I'm wondering how many owners are having this issue and don't read this forum and/or haven't looked closely at their top.

Merlin

Here are some images of the top and of the hatch arm. You can see what the tech did to it (move wiring harness and taped it up). The wear mark has not worsened since they adjusted the way the wiring harness was attached to the arm. The fuzz is gone, but the mark is still there.

Attached Images

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Parrotguy

I took another look at my top in the light of the sun yesterday and noticed there is a crease there and the top is a lighter shade at the spot with the wiring harness underneath. This after using the top maybe only 20 times. I'm going to ask the dealer to re-route the wiring harness.

vifferman

Thanks, Merlin. Now I understand, as your issue is different than mine, Z_U_Later's, and others' where the wear occurs in a more central location. That's bad news since it suggests that there isn't just one common problem, or one fix out there.

B52EWO

I have a 2010 Roadster I purchased used in September with about 4000 miles; it had been bought new earlier this year. The top on the passenger side is wearing exactly as the picture in Z_U_Later's post except mine is reversed - the hole is on the passenger’s side and the dimple is on the driver's side.

I took my car to the dealer two weeks ago and he's ordered a new top so only time will tell whether this will be a permanent fix. The technician is supposed to look at the top mechanism to see what's causing this and I hadn't seen all these post before I went to the dealer so I'll print out all of them so there's no question about this being an isolated incident.

I purchased a new 2004 350Z Roadster and the top started rotting just after the warranty expired. I got no assistance from the dealer so I traded it before the top got too bad. When the 370Z Roadster came out with a new top material, I decided to try it again. The 370Z is such a much improved vehicle over the 350Z so I’ll live with this issue, especially since the dealer has accepted responsibility. I open and close my top at least 2 times a day and usually more on the weekend so I would estimate it will go through at least 1000 cycles a year. If Nissan has to replace the top once a year – so be it. I’ll always have a new top!

Hi-Step'n370Z

After looking at the pic's, I am wondering just what exactly did the wear-through? Those two round nubs look like the culprit, and the harness itself looks worn at the bend, and could also make the wear-through, but rather than assume, I thought I'd ask if anyone at the dealer, or from Nissan, has ever identified the part of the frame that was the actual cause of the wear-through.

Bye the way, how did they get to the frame and harness? The top must have needed to be removed. Was that a big deal to do?

Parrotguy

I took my roadster in for service and asked them to move the wire harness on the top frame support, explaining to them everything on this thread and providing them with the links to this thread. I thought that was a reasonable request. They gave me the standard bs response, that until Nissan issues a warantee authorization they could not do the work under the warantee. I asked for an estimate of the cost to pay for it myself and they said they don't know, whatever that means. I'm going to have to think further about what to do. Write a letter to Nissan? - the problem there is my top is OK - what we're talking about is preventative maintenance. I may also ask a repair shop for an estimate. Meanwhile I don't like to put the top up and down more than I have to. Overall the service department, Poway Nissan, Poway CA, was inflexible, contrarian, and not customer orientated. Not particularly concerned with a happy customer.

370Z_Fan

^^^Try a different dealership if you're not satisfied with their service.

Hi-Step'n370Z

I can understand parrotguy's concern. This issue that has been plaguing our tops is very unnerving to say the least.

Maybe the best way to go would be to just operate the top as often as you like, and see how your particular top handles it. As a matter of fact, maybe it would be a good idea to operate it every day, even if you don't want to, just to see if your top needs the warranty repair.

IF you get an issue, Nissan has shown that they will fix it, and the latest fix seems to involve some improvements - IE: that "pivot pin" upgrade, although I don't really feel that the original pin was the culprit because of the many Roadster's that are fitted with the original pivot pin, but do not have an issue, plus, the more Nissan fixes the issue, the more they learn about how to do it to insure the best long term result.

Because of the fact that only a few tops have been affected, I still think it was an assembly glitch. That one pic of the wire trunk cable that rubbed through the top indicated to me that if your wire trunk cable was not bulging into the fabric, then you're not going to have the issue. I felt around that area and could not feel that cable, so I have to believe - at this point - that I will not have any issue with wear-through, that's just a guess, of course, but it's all I have to go on at this point.

Also, there was mention of a bent frame that caused a problem, which was either an assembly glitch, or other damage between manufacturing and delivery.

So, like it or not, we're stuck with this issue, and all we can do is to go ahead and enjoy our Roadster, and if the problem hit's us, then we go the warranty route.

Don't let this spoil your enjoyment of this great car. It's nothing that can't be handled.
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B52EWO

The dealer replaced my top yesterday.

I was told not to cycle the top for a week or so to allow the new fabric to stretch properly but of course as soon as I got home, I cycled it to see if it worked properly - it didn't. It comes up just short of reaching the top of the windshield and I can see the latches close but, of course, they're not engaged in the slots so the top doesn't pull tight. If I exert just a little force by pulling down on the top with my left hand as the top nears the closed position, it reaches the top of the windshield and closes just fine. I'll wait for the week to pass and try it again. It's possible the fabric is so taut that it's preventing the top from fully closing; at least I hope that's the case. If it doesn’t work properly, I feel certain the dealer will do the right thing - he has so far. They were told to send my old top and the struts back to Nissan for their analysis so it’s getting some attention. I asked them to take pictures but they failed to do so.

I'll send an update next week.