I have a rattle in the right rear top frame (I think) that is driving me nuts! Dealer can't or won't find the cause. When I hit even a slight bump it sounds like the whole right side of the top is coming loose. On inspection everything feels solid, parcel shelf is solid, etc. Diminishes somewhat with the top in sunroof mode and goes away completely with the top down. Anyone else experience this? Got a cause and cure? Thanks

 

When you say right rear, I take it it's not right over-behind the drivers head? That's where mine is. Drives me nuts too...

 

Sure it is not the right rear window?

 

Definately in the bottom right rear--sound like where the top frame would attach to the body but not sure of anything, Hard to imagine that the window could make that much racket but I'll try rolling it down with the top up to see what happens.

 

On closer inspection I found the rattle to be the parcel shelf. The cure: unhook the support lines and pull it out. The good news: no more rattle. The bad news: top won't fully retract without the parcel shelf in place, sunroof only.

Anyone know of a workaround for this. Parcel shelf is really useless in a cabrio.

 

The PRIMARY reason the parcel shelf is there in your cabrio is to provide protection for the roof when retracted... without the parcel shelf, the glass window would be directly exposed to whatever is in the boot... if you had something in there that was just a little too tall - CRACK! - broken window, new roof for God-knows-how-many-thousand-dollars.

The sensor switch is there to ensure that the roof doesn't retract when the shelf has either been moved to its upper position (to allow more cargo to be stowed below it) or if the shelf is ajar, perhaps propped up by something tall underneath (which, again, could break the window).

Now, with all those caveats... if you want to remove your shelf, have at it. You can tape down the pressure switch under the "foot' of the shelf, and the top will retract..... but I would never, ever do this myself.

Should be an easy thing to find what part of the shelf is rattling and fix with a little tape, felt, etc. May require a bit of trial and error. But the shelf should only be touching the car at four points - the front pivots and the rear legs. Shouldn't take much experimentation to quiet it.

 

Thanks Blimey, I suspected as much. I'll get out the foam tape and see if I can isolate the rattle.

 

What Blimey says. I had a rattle back there. It was one of the contact points where a little rubber sleeve had slipped off and was missing. That is, a rubber tube that goes over the mounting tips, pegs or whatever you want to call it.

I put some some bicycle tire tube material [that I had saved for just such things] around the peg and problem solved.

Bonus Tip: Whatever the fix, be careful that the parcel shelf switch [back left corner] remains depressed. Otherwise the top won't retract.

And like he said, I would not circumvent the shelf being in place. At some point it would be real easy to forget to keep the boot clear so that nothing would crack the window [the window, by the way, is hard plastic, not glass, I think.] It would seem real easy to crack it. Glass, I suspect, would be way stronger.

If anyone can chime in that the rear window is glass, not plastic, please do. Feels and sounds like plastic to me. I was dismayed to tap it and conclude it was plastic, not glass.

 

Thanks for the tire tube tip. I think I have one laying around somewhere. I thought the rear window was glass?

 

Yeah, tire tube material, cut into strips, comes in handy for all kinds of things. I use it as padding, protection between between surfaces that might otherwise be damaged, jar opener, levelers, and MINI parcel shelf noise quieting.

Check out your read window. Seems like plastic to me and I read that someone one time. But I only quickly tapped it and listened. Sounded like plastic.

It cleans like glass and does not easily scratch, but that could be because it is "ballistic" plastic, meaning the surface is harder and also scratch resistant.

Guess you could take a box cutter to it and see if it easily scratches.

 

Sounds like glass to me...
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Thanks. I am going to go look at mine again. When I read somewhere that it was plasitic I simply tapped it and ran my fingers over the surface. Seemed like plastic.

But for sure, I want it to be glass since that will not scratch from cleaning.

 

I've had my CB/B 07 Cabrio, Sweety, for a year and a half. Recently, it's started to make squeaky sounds when I open it. I haven't asked anyone about it yet. I'm one of those people that will put it up whenever I park, despite the fact that this is a fairly safe place.

Should I be concerned, or should I be ready with my mini can of WD-40 ? (jk)

As far as the rear window is, I always thought it was glass. I clean it like glass. If it's plastic, that's ok because it's not the flappy kind that is all crap and nasty.

 

Does it make this sound only when the top has been down for an extended period of time (like overnight) or all the time?

Mine makes a godawful noise when I put it up after it's been down overnight in the garage - has always done it, in spite of any amount of lubrication, and doesn't seem to impair it's function. I think mine is the actual hydraulics making that sound... no idea why...

Certainly won't hurt to spray a little silicone or teflon lube into the pivot points, though, if that's where *your* squeaks are coming from...

 

It doesn't seem to be so squeaky anymore. I think it must be a cold weather thing. I should say cooler weather since I'm in San Diego. Anyway, I appreciate the info/help and I will keep in mind the silicon spray.
Victoria