Hi all, I’m brand new to the forum. I’ve searched and searched and cannot find any info about an issue similar to mine, but if a thread already exists that solves this problem, please let me know.

I just picked up a 2005 R52 S (only 38,200 miles!) and am hoping you might be able to help with a convertible top issue. The top was working during my test drive, and then shortly after getting it home (20 min drive) it stopped retracting past sunroof mode. I get the red flashing light on the “up” switch. The parcel shelf and trunk latch lock handles and buttons are completely depressed and perfectly situated. It is not an error with those buttons (but could be with the sensors?) One thing that is interesting is that when I close the roof from sunroof mode, the top does not close completely and seal against the windscreen molding, it leaves about a 1/2 to 1 inch gap, through which I can see daylight from the drivers seat. Any thoughts on what this could be? One other thing to note is that when I arrived for the test drive, the passenger side roof line along the passenger side body (looking at the passenger side of the car, over the door, back to the rear of the car) was perfectly sealed and flush and straight, but the rear half of the driver side roof (the back part of the arm of the roof) was dropped partially and not “clicked” in. During the test drive it popped up into position when I hit a bump and seemed to lock in place as it should have been, but it didn’t naturally settle and align like it should have when it was closed by whoever drove it before me.

Any thoughts on if this would be symptomatic of bad cables, bent pieces, misaligned rails, etc? The motor works well in sunroof mode (both opening and closing- except for that small gap) and seems strong, so I don’t think it’s a failing motor. Any advice you can offer would be very much appreciated. I’m out of ideas and ready to head to the dealer (please, no.)


Thanks in advance for any info you can offer.

 

Just replied to your PM about the broken cables.

 

Welcome. Your instincts are correct. The Stealership is not only not your last choice, it is no choice at all.
Not an R52 owner so will defer to others who are in the know and hopefully will weigh in shortly. In the mean time in case you don't yet have here are a few germane pages which may be helpful:

 

Thank you so much Daftlad!! This is immensely detailed and helpful. And to ECS Tuning, thank you for the PM. I’ll be ordering parts from the link you sent and giving this a shot. Much appreciated!

 

Not an R52 owner either but I'll be following this thread because a friend with a R52 has a similar issue (though he's not super bothered by it since he almost never open the roof).

Wanted to chime in because of that:
That's not necessarily a good thing. A car that age with that low miles has either been sitting around unused for a long time (not good, cars are meant to be driven) or was only used for very short drives (not good either, that falls under "harsh driving conditions" on most manufacturers service guidelines and is not good for the engine). That can also make people skip maintenance "because it's not driven" (even though some things have to be checked/changed from time to time, even if the car doesn't move). I hope you got the car backstory and why it has such low mileage.

 

So I started following the videos by Tullid about how to access and replace the green cables. During the video, he instructs users how to release the pressure from the hydraulic pump and manually lower the roof. Because my roof will unlock itself from the main A-pillar latches (it then stops as soon as the latches are undone) I unlatched them and then released the pressure from the hydraulic pump and manually lowered the top. I was able to get it full lowered, and then tightened the release screw back up. I decided to test the roof functionality to make sure that it was indeed the cables that were broken. To my surprise, the roof functioned fine and completely lifted and lowered using the buttons and motors. The roof still will not close completely (1 inch gap around windshield - see first post) and won’t go back down on its own out of sunroof mode, but if I manually lift it just past the start of the 2nd phase of retraction (just after sunroof mode, 2nd button push) it will lower itself the rest of the way and go back up with the buttons. Seems something must be stuck or broken on the rails that is preventing it from self lowering right at the start of the 2nd button push.

Upon further inspection of the rails, I saw these two plastic slider looking parts are broken on both sides. Does anybody know what these parts are and what they do? Can they be individually purchased and replaced? Or do I need to buy and replace a larger section of rail? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!