2010 Roadster Top replacement issue

Prashiy

My 2010 Roadster's soft top assembly (the whole unit) was replaced by my dealer due to the issues we found with the old top. The old top's fabric had two frayed spots that were becoming actual holes like many people's experience in this forum and the dealer mechanic also said that one of the bows of the top was not operating correctly, so they had to replace the whole top under warranty.

The replacement of the top assembly was done in early November 2012. The service advisor first thought it was just a day's work to finish the task and had me bring the car in the morning and wait until it is finished. Unfortunately, they struggled with the operating mechanism for two days because the newly installed top assembly during the 'close' operation wouldn't get close enough to the top of the windshield for the striker pin to hook and latch itself. It needs to be gently pushed down by 1/2 inch for the pin to the latch and lock. After two days I was informed that the "Nissan Tech Line" technician has advised them to soak the top and see if it works. Unfortunately, soaking the top did not help either. I was then told to take the car home and NOT to 'open' the top for 2-3 weeks but soak the top a few times and park it under the sun whenever possible. I followed those instructions for a few weeks.

When I took the car back to the dealership in the end of December, the top had still not "stretched" to latch itself automatically. I asked them to make sure they are not forgetting any adjustments in the fitting. I was told by the Service advisor in the end that they have tried all adjustments and the Tech Line guy is asking us to soak it repeatedly in car wash and allow it under hot sun and cycle it like this for another 4 weeks so that the top "stretched" itself. So I brought the car back from dealership again.

It's been 3 week since then, I have put the top through multiple self-wash and dry cycles and I still see 1/2 inch gap during the 'close' operation and it still needs a manual push-down to latch itself. It works more like a "semi-automatic" top than an automatic top. I am now frustrated and losing confidence on Nissan USA and also the dealer because I don't know what it would really take to "stretch" the top. I am not sure if they are totally off base and are not aware of some adjustment or haven't installed the top correctly.

First of all, the instructions for the top installation should have stated if there was any need for "stretching". If not there should have been at least a TSB from Nissan for the dealer so that they know it may not be a 'day's effort' to replace the top and there is a risk of follow-up work in order to "stretch" the top by soaking and drying after the installation. Secondly, it is a fabric top and soaking it repeatedly may ultimately weaken the waterproofing. It is 45K car from Nissan and the dealer is also considered reputable in SoCal, Fontana Nissan, as far as what I heard about them from this forum.

I was researching FSM's for this installation procedure and I came across the pages (attached here) where there are instructions to adjust the guide pin to the striker center position and also the 5th bow clearance. But nothing about moving the top close enough to the windshield assembly or "stretching" the top.

I saw some old post from B52EWO, Dsphoto and HybridFusion which talk about similar issues with their newly installed tops. However, I couldn't find details about how it was troubleshot or resolved in the end. So I decided to post the issue and seek help. Any insight on this will be appreciated. Thanks!

Attached Files

RF Fitment Adjustment Procedure.pdf (214.1 KB, 81 views)