Z4 35I 2010 - problem with Retractable Hard Top

Hello, I just got my Z on Nov 11th, 2010 35I. After 3 days of ownership, I was going for a ride and the top would not fully go up. I immediately drove the car to the BMW dealership. They determined this to be a sticking convertible top hydraulic valve. Further diagnosis found that the motor was operating but would not move rear roof shell from atop of the front roof shell. They found that the valve was sticking internally and not allowing fluid to pressurize the pistons. Since the valve does not come separately they had to replace the entire convertible top actuating motor assembly. It was working when I brought it home and hopefully the issue will not happen again.

I was told this was a unique problem and was told by two BMW dealerships that they had never seen that before.

I was viewing previous posts and found one other issue raised on a problem with the retractable hard top.

I hope this is not systemic. Has anyone else had issues?

I owned an SLK32 and a MX5 - both with retractable hard tops and never had such a problem.

Thanks for listening.

Sorry to hear that happened to you with such a new car. I don't remember any posts on this site with that problem, let's hope that it is rare. I'd be interested to know what the cost of the fix would be when the car is out of warranty.

Enjoy your new car!

You must have gotten a great deal on your Z4. Roadster sales can't be good for BMW dealers in Illinois this time of year!

Yes, it was an awesome deal that I simply could not pass up. I went to Germany and toured the BMW plant in Leipzig and then visited BMW Werk in Munich. I saw the new model Z4 and fell in love. What was stopping me from buying before is that I like retractable hard tops over cloth.

Funny thing is - I got home from vacation and set my sights on buying one. I got home on 10-29 and purchased on Nov 11th. I figured I'd get a better deal cause it was the start of winter.

Problem now is - I had to store it for the winter and won't see it again till April. That makes me sad.

Originally Posted by bluez

funny thing is - i got home from vacation and set my sights on buying one. I got home on 10-29 and purchased on nov 11th. I figured i'd get a better deal cause it was the start of winter.

Problem now is - i had to store it for the winter and won't see it again till april. That makes me sad.

I decided in May that I was going to buy a Z4 and seriously considered European delivery, the problem was that I wouldn't have had time in my schedule to pick it up until late September. Waiting for it to be shipped back meant that I wouldn't have had the car until around Christmas this year. I ended up ordering the car on May 24th and took delivery July 16th.
I've had lots of good top-down driving between then and now. Even now that it's gotten cold, with the windscreen and heated seats it's really comfortable with the top down on sunny days. (By the way, yes I do understand that "cold" in California is different than "cold" in the midwest and in the east.)

Thanks for sharing this with us. Hydraulic cylinders unfortunately are very sensitive, the slightest amount of dirt in the oil is enough to create such a problem. Glad for you that the dealer was close by and you got help. Let's hope it does not happen again

Originally Posted by BlueZ

Yes, it was an awesome deal that I simply could not pass up. I went to Germany and toured the BMW plant in Leipzig and then visited BMW Werk in Munich. I saw the new model Z4 and fell in love. What was stopping me from buying before is that I like retractable hard tops over cloth.

Funny thing is - I got home from vacation and set my sights on buying one. I got home on 10-29 and purchased on Nov 11th. I figured I'd get a better deal cause it was the start of winter.

Problem now is - I had to store it for the winter and won't see it again till April. That makes me sad.

You are just slightly west of Chicago, do you get that much snow? Yo are also a bi further south then I am. I drive mine in the winter when the roads are dry. I hate to lock my toy away for the winter, it just not fair

Did you drive to dealership with roof not completely seated? Wasn't sure that was possible (either not completely up or down)

I was able to put the top down so that is what I did. I froze all the way to the dealership Though when I got there, they kept playing with it and eventually it would not go all the way down. The mechanic was able to drive it to his bay in the shop.

I have to ask, which dealership have you used? I've had some issues with a couple out here in the burbs and am looking for a recommendation for my next purchase.

The service was done by Bill Jacob's in Naperville. Service was good. But I actually bought my car at BMW of Peoria. They were awesome! I would buy my next BMW from them.

BlueZ,

I had a problem with mine also shortly after buying. Had to cancel a nice road trip (vacation) the wife and I had planned, to the Big Easy, really bumbed us out waiting for a year and then then 2 days before we were to leave..... off to the dealer. If there is a bright side to it at least I didn't get 1000 miles from home and have it happen. The dealer also found out when they were working on the top and had the car sitting and running that it started over heating big time! They found the factory forgot to hook something up when assembling my car!

The mechanical part of the top is nearly identical to that of the E92 3 series convertible, if you want to see if there are more documented cases of said failure, that'd be the place(s) I look.

Originally Posted by BlueZ

Hello, I just got my Z on Nov 11th, 2010 35I. After 3 days of ownership, I was going for a ride and the top would not fully go up. I immediately drove the car to the BMW dealership. They determined this to be a sticking convertible top hydraulic valve. Further diagnosis found that the motor was operating but would not move rear roof shell from atop of the front roof shell. They found that the valve was sticking internally and not allowing fluid to pressurize the pistons. Since the valve does not come separately they had to replace the entire convertible top actuating motor assembly. It was working when I brought it home and hopefully the issue will not happen again.

I was told this was a unique problem and was told by two BMW dealerships that they had never seen that before.

I was viewing previous posts and found one other issue raised on a problem with the retractable hard top.

I hope this is not systemic. Has anyone else had issues?

I owned an SLK32 and a MX5 - both with retractable hard tops and never had such a problem.

Thanks for listening.

I have experienced the same problem you experienced. I have visited my BMW dealership 3 times and they haven't solved the problem, because the said is a programming issue, but with your previous experience I'm sure I have the same problem as yours, and I'm going to take this forum to BMW dealership to assure that they are going to replace the mechanism.

I want to know if the problem was fixed finally and you haven't experienced any other issue with the hardtop retractable system.

Let's just say it was working when I brought it home. The car has been in storage now since after Thanksgiving. I'll find out the real deal come spring I suppose. I'll keep everyone posted with updates come April or May.