There is now a fix for prevention of roof wear . I went in for my oil change (Friday 2/4) & they said there was a recall (of sorts) & that they would be putting some padding somewhere to prevent roof discoloring. They did it while they did my oil change. Sorry I don't know where they put it as I wasn't there to watch.

 

I have a 2006MCSC with the dark blue roof. I saw some light color marks starting to appear after 2 weeks.

The roof when folded pushes the fabric from the top of the roof VERY TIGHTLY against the rear roof fabric and the vibration from driving causes them to abrade against each other.

As an old Triumph Spitfire owner I always put a towel in between the fold of the plastic back window to keep it from scratching when I folded it.

I purchased two thick dark blue hand towels (to match my roof) and now place them in the two back corners when the roof is 3/4 closed to prevent the mechanism from forcing the roof tightly down on itself.

Seems to have worked fine. No more wear marks!

 

I had fraying on my roof where it folds. I mentioned it to the dealer when I had it in one time, just so they would know about it. No complaining or anything just "hey, wanted to point this out so if it gets worse...blah, blah" the service tech said it was a known problem and ordered a new roof. Yeah, there are the same wear marks on the new roof too.....

 

That's great that it worked so well for you, coopergirl!

I have an '05 MCS, purchased in March '05. I also have those lovely white marks (which I never would have even thought to mention to the dealer until reading these posts...thanks, everyone!) AND I have the fraying (now forming small holes) on the edges at the fold points. I mentioned this problem to the dealer/service department (Towson, MD), and this is their response:

The first service advisor I showed the fraying to said it looked like a rock or something hit it. I pointed out that there are two on each side. I then measured their locations and, what a coincidence, they are in the same locations on each side! I told him I had found a used convertible, same year as mine, on the lot and it had the same problem. To this he responded that he believed they are drainage holes. Drainage holes? Unbelievable!

The next time I was in (for an unrelated problem) I dealt with a different service advisor. When I showed him the fraying, he said that it wouldn't be covered under the warranty unless it was a safety issue (Huh?!? I've read the warranty and can't see anything close to that) or if the top didn't open or close properly. He said he could bring the "factory rep" out, "but if he pushes that button and the top opens and closes correctly, he won't cover it."

Clearly there's a design problem. I haven't paid much attention to the white marks (until now I assumed they were just part of convertible life), but I could see where the fabric was rubbing together to cause the fraying.

It looks like some dealers are taking responsibility, but most of those seem to be in Europe...a long way to go to have my top replaced! It's good to see that some in the US are finally coming around, but how does one get one's dealership to cooperate? Why would they not follow the same policies/procedures (at least within the same country, anyway)? Does anyone have anything IN WRITING from a dealer that indicates that the dealer replaced the top, under warranty, for either the white marks or the fraying, or perhaps just tell me which dealership I need to visit since Towson plays dumb?

Thanks for any/all help!

 

Take a look at Post #72 in this thread. Someone else had their top replaced at MINI of Towson.

MINI knows they have a problem with the tops. Earlier on in this thread, I mentioned where my dealer replaced the top upon the first signs of wear, and installed the "update kit" at the same time. It still has some small marks in the location where it originally was chaffing, but that was 5,000 miles ago and the problem is "livable" Mine was an 05, February build.

Go to the Service Manager at Towson, and contact the MINI help line @ MINIUSA.

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...t=89092&page=2

This thread also discusses the issue. There are links to TSBs for the repair/replacement, but apparently the links are no longer "live".

 

Thanks for your answers. Now, as to Mini's "solution". A lot of those who have gotten a new top say Mini put in padding at the wear points. However, it looks like one lucky chap got a lot better:

Has anyone else had this experience? It sounds like they replaced his top's mechanism with the "new, improved" mechanism they developed after discovering the initial problem. Is this too much to expect? The padding solution seems like it would just delay the inevitable (until, say, after the warranty expires).

 

Emmi,
In my case, they replaced some of the bows in the roof mechanism to stop the rubbing. I don't know about any padding they replaced. They also replaced the exterior cover (top) as well.

Talk to MINIUSA. Also try posting over at mini2.com after doing a search on cabrio top problems.

 

Cool, THANKS!!!

 

I'm on roof #3. Roof #2 had the wear marks, but quite honestly, I could have lived with them.

Roof #3 came as an unexpected surprise when I brought my MINI in for an unrelated issue. My dealer mentioned the wear-marks on my roof and that they would replace the roof gratis. woohoo....

 

yomamali - What dealer? My baby's brand new but, I'm in NJ too - just in case i start to have issues, i want to know what dealer will hook me up like that!!

 

Grrrr.

My dealer (Irvine Mini) had no problem when I casually mentioned the problem with the white marks. "We'll order a new one and send a post card when it's in". Called to arrange a time when the post card arrived, arranged a ride back to work (no loaners from dealer). Dropped off Basil this morning, got call from SA "we got the wrong top (black instead of blue) - can you leave it another day?"

Grrrr.

 

That's CRAZY! After having two different SAs blow me off (see post above), they agreed to have the factory rep. take a look. He told them to replace it. And I had the white marks AND fraying on the edges. I cannot imagine these guys VOLUNTEERING to replace it!

Sounds like you have a great service department to deal with! (Um, which dealership was that, again?)

 

Speaking of roof wear, how often should the roof be washed, if at all?

 

I use water to rinse it off every time I wash the car and only use soap if there is something that won't rinse off. Soap will remove the conditioner that causes water to bead. Once a year I treat it with conditioner. So far I have used the stuff sold at the dealer, but there are other brands you can use.

 

I have noticed that on my new 07, there are some minor visible changes as far as the roof mechanism is concerned. I'm curious to see how roof wear might be minimized. The top is still the same, the same material and hope I don't get the same fraying I have gotten on my old Bootsi that had 2 tops replaced. We'll see.

 

Hmmmm. Interesting.... I'd love more details on what these changes are. Comparative pics with an older cabrio would be REALLY sweet...

 

Another new top owner checking in...

Mini of Peabody just replaced my top (fraying) and my rear windows (crescent scratches) and rear window regulators (shuddering, rattling) under warranty and with no hassle at all.

The old top had a large protruding piece of metal or plastic above the rear windows inside the fabric right where the fraying and wear marks were. The new top does not have this. My car was built in September of '04.

 

My wife just told me that she has noticed some wear marks on my '06 MCSa (I am out of the country right now). I bought him new in May 2006, he had a new roof and headliner installed only a couple months after I got him (Thanks MINI of Peabody!). This is kinda pissing me off.

The first convertible I ever had was a '91 VW Cabriolet (Rabbit). It was 9 years old when I got it. I will admit it had a vinyl top rather than cloth, but it only had two TINY cracks at one of the folding points.

 

Can't raise it with the remote but you can with the key in the door. Just hold it in the lock position.

 

I have had mine for a couple years now... I had the top replaced under warranty twice... I love it but i'm a little worried about geting out of warranty.

Edit: oh yea had the quarter glass done too

 

That was one of my motivating factors for buying a new MCSc.

 

My '06 MCSC will being going in for roof #3 as soon as I can get around to making an appointment. They are also going to have to replace the rubber trim where the back of the roof meets the body. Part of that is coming apart.

 

I was led to believe that the roof wear issue was resolved on the 2007 (and perhaps made the mistake of ordering one). Am I hopelessly misled?:impatient

 

Does anyone has a reference number for this problem?

Mine definetly have the problem and would like to
take it to the dealer with the actual reference #.

thanks,
Charles