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      07-10-2018, 05:10 PM   #1
Tibs
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Retractable Hard Top Issue Advice

Early last week I encountered an issue with my hard top. It would stop in the beginning of the movement to bring down the top and get stuck. After some diagnosis on my end, I figured out that there was an issue with the Hall Sensor in the Rear Window Panel. Called around to a couple of shops to determine what the replacement cost would be and I was getting responses around 600-650. Finally came upon one that quoted me $460 to replace the sensor, so I went with them.

Now this is where it gets a bit interesting. After they diagnosed the issue, I was told that it would cost $540 to fix, but eventually paid $500. Figured it was cheaper than the $600, so I didn't complain. When I got the car back, I was in a hurry so I didn't bother inspecting the fix. Once I had some time over the weekend, I noticed that they used electrical tape to protect the wiring. I have not done much electrical work on cars before, but it definitely didn't seem to have been done the correct way. Took it back in and the service rep is having them redo the wrapping with cloth tape. Through what I've been able to gather, cloth tape is the correct way wrap up the wiring.

My concern is related to the pricing. When I spoke with the rep, I was told that the $460 was just for the replacement and not the wiring work. If I wanted to get the sensor replaced, it would be an additional $300 on top of the $500 they charged me. All of this didn't make much sense, but I didn't want to push too much over the phone before I actually had the car fixed and in my possession. Has anybody had electrical harness/sensor work done on their car? Does $500 for essentially repairing a broken wire seem too high? How should I approach the situation once I've picked up the car?

I've attached some pictures that I took after their initial fix to see what they did and to get an idea of the location of the wiring.

One thing to keep in mind is the cost includes a courtesy rental for 4 days (2 days for initial fix and 2 days for rework currently being done). Also this wasn't at a BMW dealership but one that sells bmws, audi, etc.
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      07-11-2018, 10:14 AM   #2
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Hall sensors don't have any movable parts nor any reason to wear out but is often part of the diagnosis. Furthermore these sensors literally should only cost about $5.00 but the parts supply chain is gouging everyone.

Most common failure is in the wiring itself and it gets replaced/repaired along with the hall sensor.

Of course, none of this may apply to you but pretty likely to.
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      07-24-2018, 01:06 PM   #3
RobbiZ4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tibs View Post
Early last week I encountered an issue with my hard top. It would stop in the beginning of the movement to bring down the top and get stuck. After some diagnosis on my end, I figured out that there was an issue with the Hall Sensor in the Rear Window Panel. Called around to a couple of shops to determine what the replacement cost would be and I was getting responses around 600-650. Finally came upon one that quoted me $460 to replace the sensor, so I went with them. [...]
Did you read the following "collected experiences"?
https://e89.zpost.com/forums/showpos...67&postcount=6
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