I'm just trying to see how many owners on this forum have replaced their tops because of that infamous eraser hole problem! If you did, please respond and answer the following..

Year?
Mileage?
How often do you put the top down on a daily basis?
Did the problem ever come back?
If yes, what was the mileage on the car before you had to replace it again?


The reason I'm asking this is because I plan on purchasing a used roadster and owning it for at least 5 years. So if I get a 05', then I plan to keep it until at least 2010. If these tops are tearing every 20-30,000 miles, then I'm going to have to consider another car!

Your responses will be greatly appreciated!

 

having to potentially replace a top is not something that shld stop you from buying the car. Buy it, there's no looking back. I replaced my top but if I understand correctly, Nissan has remedied the problem w/ a differently stitched top.

 

i agree^^ buy the car..

 

mine just broke....the last part wont come down, but the rest is fine...god damnit im pissed >O

2006
2.7k miles (lol)
up and down about twice a day

 

I wish I have the luxury to be able to not worry about it and just buy the car! Unfortunately, I don't have the money to take out 2-3 g's to fix the top after my warranty expires!

anyone else can give me their feedback? Did the double-stitching really fix the prob? If thats the case, I will be a new member within the next two months!

 

My wife had her's replaced on her 2004. She had it about 2.5 years before it needed to be replace due to the problem you state. She traded it on a 2007 about 2 months after that, but not because of the top.

I don't know how often she puts the top up and down, but I would say quite a bit. I'm not sure why you care about milage, the top problem has more to do with age and use.

 

COUPE FTW.

'vert would be nice with the weather forcast for LA this week though.

 

alright, i didnt get the top replaced, just the controller unit D:

 

I had my top replaced late last summer. An 04 with approximately 17K miles. I live in San Diego so use the top a lot. So far so good with the new top and I'm at 22K miles now.

 

blah. just leave the top down at all times.

 

Bought an '04 new. Replaced the top after less than 10k miles. The new top looks to be re-inforced in the areas where the holes started. Haven't had any more issues since. gl.

 

^ ditto for me -- I was told by the dealer that the "hole" issue was limited to 2004 models (don't know if that's true)

 

awesome good to hear!

 

i have a 2005 350z roadster and i had to replace my top at about 16000km. it wasn't bad at all, i could just see that the seam was about to tear so i showed it to the dealer and they took a couple of pics and replaced it as soon as possible. I just had to pay for nissan to tint the rear window with the new top since i had it tinted before the replacement which was about $50.

 

2004 roadster here and had to replace the top at 10,000 miles. The top that they replace mine was a newer version and appears to be made better. No problems since....cross my fingers.

 

replaced my top with only 5k on it 05 . It had a spot on the right corner where it was starting to peel up took it to dealr and new top in half a day no problems since. They said it happens but it looks fine no probs 16k on it now and top goes down at least 3 times a day.

 

'04 model; approx. 30k mi.; top replaced at the first sign of separation, but before any leakage; replacement was double stitched, as stated above; top goes up and down about 4-5 times per sunny day from about late March thru early Oct.; no sign whatsoever of any problems with replacement top, and I have about 65k miles on her now.

BTW, the WHOLE TOP is what costs $2-3k to replace; the FABRIC part which was causing most folks' problems only costs a few HUNDRED to replace.

 

You may want to read the owners manual on that point. It says leaving the top down on one for long periods will cause wrinkles. I know what that means. The vinyl will break down sooner as a result.

 

But this is true of any soft top. At least the ones I've owned. Usually the wrinkles come out with the top left up.

 

There has been several threads on top replacements going as far back as 2004. I had my 2004.5 top replaced just under 9,000 miles & just several month's away from my warranty going out. I drive the ZR only 8 month's out of the year and the top goes down almost every time when the weather is nice. When I get home, the top goes up before going into the garage.
The top issue was supposed to of been corrected when the 2004.5 came out but this was a myth. There have been replacements on '04's through '06 so far.

I've said this before and I'll say it again. When the new Z34's come out, I think the roadster will be history. Replaced with the hardtop!!!!!
Now we'll all have a highly collectable?