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      12-07-2016, 10:23 AM   #1
Bleen
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Roof movement impaired

Thought I'd share the recent developments with my Z.

I got the car CPO back in February, with a few months of original warranty left. The first stop I made after picking up the car, the roof stopped mid way while putting it down. I pressed the button again and it worked. Thinking I was probably not holding the button down at some point, I didn't think much of it.

Except this happened around once or twice a month. One time it just got stuck and no matter what I did, would not open. I called a tow truck but by the time it was dispatched, it "fixed itself". Since the car was still under original warranty, I took it to the dealer. They looked at it for a few days, said they activated the roof a lot of times, and the problem never came up. So I took it back home.

Last Friday the roof got stuck while putting it up. "Roof movement impaired". I had to tow it to the dealer, who said after looking at it for two days, that the wiring harness needs to be replaced. Now, this would not be covered under CPO warranty (original warranty expired a couple of months ago), but since I had got it to them last time while I had the original warranty and I only put a couple thousand miles since then, they would cover it.

I have no idea how expensive this would have been, and I'm grateful for the dealer to cover it on their dime, but this is worrying... replacing the harness means taking a lot of stuff apart, plus the harness itself should be expensive. Worried about reliability in a 2012 car with under 25k miles...

I'll keep the thread updated, anyone that has had a similar problem, feel free to pitch in with their experiences.
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      12-07-2016, 10:47 AM   #2
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What comes to mind is a recent experience we had with my wife's 2013 Z4 in which the windshield washer began to fail intermittently. Turned out to be the body control module which is hidden behind the glove box and controls myriad body electrical functions. I'm sure roof function is among them. It's a fairly common component failure on BMWs (there are lots of used ones for sale on ebay!) and would have cost a little over a grand to replace had the car not still been under original warranty (we bought it two years ago with 19k miles and it was not a CPO car). I'm wondering if your dealer may have misdiagnosed your issue and that the problem is with this module. Just a thought. But I'm also reminded that I've been putting off deciding on what to do about buying an extended warranty when the original expires at the end of January. Guess I'd better get crackin'!
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      12-07-2016, 03:10 PM   #3
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They will not replace the harness, but solder whichever wire is broken. Cost me about $500
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      12-07-2016, 08:48 PM   #4
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They will not replace the harness, but solder whichever wire is broken. Cost me about $500
Interesting. This was at a dealer? When was this? Any other issue with the roof since then?
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      12-07-2016, 09:31 PM   #5
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Quote:
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jparnes1 View Post
They will not replace the harness, but solder whichever wire is broken. Cost me about $500
Interesting. This was at a dealer? When was this? Any other issue with the roof since then?
It was the dealership. I was traveling but if I was at home I would have brought it to my Indy. It's been good since September. Makes me want to carry a tarp in case I get stuck with an inactive roof in the rain.
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      12-07-2016, 09:37 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bleen View Post
Thought I'd share the recent developments with my Z.

I got the car CPO back in February, with a few months of original warranty left. The first stop I made after picking up the car, the roof stopped mid way while putting it down. I pressed the button again and it worked. Thinking I was probably not holding the button down at some point, I didn't think much of it.

Except this happened around once or twice a month. One time it just got stuck and no matter what I did, would not open. I called a tow truck but by the time it was dispatched, it "fixed itself". Since the car was still under original warranty, I took it to the dealer. They looked at it for a few days, said they activated the roof a lot of times, and the problem never came up. So I took it back home.

Last Friday the roof got stuck while putting it up. "Roof movement impaired". I had to tow it to the dealer, who said after looking at it for two days, that the wiring harness needs to be replaced. Now, this would not be covered under CPO warranty (original warranty expired a couple of months ago), but since I had got it to them last time while I had the original warranty and I only put a couple thousand miles since then, they would cover it.

I have no idea how expensive this would have been, and I'm grateful for the dealer to cover it on their dime, but this is worrying... replacing the harness means taking a lot of stuff apart, plus the harness itself should be expensive. Worried about reliability in a 2012 car with under 25k miles...

I'll keep the thread updated, anyone that has had a similar problem, feel free to pitch in with their experiences.
nothing worse in a car than having problems only once or twice and when you get it checked "everything's normal. we didn't replace anything." aaaaaaaaaaand then when the warranty runs out.... u.r.f.u.c.k.e.d.
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      12-08-2016, 09:07 AM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cruisingdownthestreet View Post
nothing worse in a car than having problems only once or twice and when you get it checked "everything's normal. we didn't replace anything." aaaaaaaaaaand then when the warranty runs out.... u.r.f.u.c.k.e.d.
Generally speaking, if you report a problem and have it properly documented while the car is under warranty, you should be covered if the problem persists after warranty expiration. (Within reason)
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      12-08-2016, 09:14 PM   #8
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I bought a 2012 CPO and had problems with the roof hanging. It took over a year to find a way to reliably reproduce the problem (test it while the car had been sitting in a cool garage a few hours) and replacing the hydraulic cylinders seems to have solved the problem. The Factory Warranty had expired and BMW said the CPO Warranty would not cover the repairs. However, since this was a well documented problem which existed under the Factory Warranty they did agree to cover it.

Try to figure out exactly what conditions the problem occurs under and insist the shop attempt to reproduce under those same conditions. With mine they would usually test it after it had been sitting in the sun a few hours. When the hydraulics were warm, no problem. But when cool (like under 75F) it failed every time.
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      12-08-2016, 09:18 PM   #9
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If the problem was the wiring harness I was under the impression that the electrical components of the roof WERE covered by CPO Warranty but the mechanical parts were not.

What is not covered: "convertible top (except for electrical/electronic components);"

You may have to pay a $50 copay.
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      12-17-2016, 06:45 PM   #10
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Update: Car was done and ready, they were initializing the roof... and at that moment, the other side of the harness broke. They need to do everything but on the other side now. Car has been there for a bit over two weeks. I guess good luck it broke when it was being serviced?

Honestly not getting a lot of confidence in the reliability of the roof at this point :/
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      12-22-2016, 10:48 AM   #11
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18 days after leaving the car, it was finally given back to me. I haven't been able to mess around with the top since it's been raining, and I'm out of town until the new years, but I will assume it's been fixed.

The repairs were 100% free of charge, would have cost around $3k-$4k had they not.

They were not covered under CPO warranty, even if it was an electrical issue. Rationale was, they needed to replace hydraulic lines too since the part has both harness and hydraulic lines.

They did cover everything anyways, since the car had been taken in a few months ago for a roof issue, and they could never find it. Lucky for me, their work has two years warranty, which nicely coincides with the end of my CPO warranty (give or take a few months).

This being said, I now have a smarttop for sale! I acquired it some time back from a forum member, but I'm not going to install it. It would probably void the warranty, but I definitely would if it was out of warranty... had one in my old SLK and loved it.

PM me if you're interested.
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      12-24-2016, 12:49 PM   #12
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Just got done having my wife's' 09 with the same issue as OP, first time total cost was right at $1600 at dealer, my independent wouldn't touch it. Just last week only a month or so from the "fix" it starts acting up so thinking it might have a bubble in hydraulic we send it back in only to find *important* that it was the window sensor malfunctioning telling the roof mechanism that something was blocking so it would stop about halfway. Sound familiar? A lot cheaper than a wiring harness or a pump leak. I wouldn't be so down on them but we told them to check the starter because of sluggish starting only to be told it was the aftermarket battery that was at fault. Guess what, they put their battery in only to find same problem so they revert to it's the starter going argument which it probably is. But do you think you might check this out before declaring it the battery only to find you're wrong and chase another tail for an answer. God, who do they hire at their shrine of customer service?
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      12-24-2016, 10:45 PM   #13
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don't mean to hijack the thread but what does CPO cover that doesn't require me to pull my wallet out after the initial 4 year warranty?

side note: search button is a piece of crap.
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      12-25-2016, 09:40 PM   #14
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Quote:
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But do you think you might check this out before declaring it the battery only to find you're wrong and chase another tail for an answer. God, who do they hire at their shrine of customer service?
The problem is that there's an inherent conflict of interest. For the dealer, the service department is a profit center...

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don't mean to hijack the thread but what does CPO cover that doesn't require me to pull my wallet out after the initial 4 year warranty?
Unsure, but I know powertrain and electronics are covered... after a $50 deductible. Wear items, hydraulics are not. Hopefully other owners can elaborate. It's in the CPO contract, which I don't have with this at this moment.
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