Can you post a pic of the bolt that came loose, to see exactly where it is? No idea how it came loose?

 

I was having the same problem. The motor quit about a week ago. If you remove the bow motor, the brushes may have extended as far as they can go because of the wire feading it. I simply flipped the brushes so the wire follows in behind the brushes and cleaned up the crap from a poor built japanese window motor and now it works fine. Im sure it will go out again probably within the next year.

 

here is a link to the nissan service.

http://www.myzroadster.com/Files/tsb.../NTB03-122.pdf

 

the top has some elastic that pulls a small bar down when it closes. The elastic loses its elasticity and the bar stays in the up position. Simply push the bar manualy with your hand or replace the elastic.

Good luck!

 

a nissan dealership by my house just told me those elastic bands are the reason my top will not open. And they are pretty cheap to replace, 100 bucks for all 3. Can anyone post pics of these bands on the top. Or anyone have an idea of how to install these bands?

 

Hi all,

I thought that I would return to this post being that Spring and Summer are just around the corner and of course the wife will expect this roof to go up and down without issue.

After my last post you may remember that i had solved the problem and got the roof working as it should do but i had never gotten around to lubing the fittings etc. which thanks to the poster "fastturbinejets" will now be a lot easier.

However i do have issue with part of the service notes about the lube and i quote "GENUINE NISSAN WINDOW REGULATOR GREASE MUST BE USED". Now is it just me or does anyone else wonder why if this grease is the only game in town then why does it fail within a year in some cases?

This poster thinks that when i search out different products that I will find out that Nissan are trying to sell a $5.00 product in a different wrapper for $25.00. Lets face it, wheel bearing grease holds up for 200,000 miles in some cases, but of course that would be on a Honda.

Thanks again for all the help that this forum gives and i hope that if my little blurb doesn't help then it will at least get a chuckle or two.

 

First of let me say this looks like a great website for 350z information. I currently own my 4th Toyota MR2, it's a 1988 Red w/ T-tops Supercharged MK1 model with auto trans. I'm selling it and looking to buy a 350Z Roadster but I ran into a problem yesterday when I thought I'd made a deal on a nice 2005 Roadster at a local dealer.

The problem was the convertible top got stuck with the bar that holds the rear window portion not going back down to seal onto the hardtop cover at the end of the cycle to put the top back up. I tried several times, so did the salesman and a mechanic. This morning I get a call from the salesman telling me the problem was due to cold weather causing it to freeze up. He said it was ok after sitting in their heated showroom overnight. Thing is we agreed to a deal that included the stipulation that they would take it to Nissan to be repaired. This morning when I told him I did some research and found this thread and others that clearly show this is a known issue and replacing the 5th bar motor costs a minimum of $1,100, his response was well it's working now. I replied it's still not fixed and we had an agreement that the problem would be fixed. At that point I told him he could refund my deposit or take $600 more off the price of the car and I'd take it "as is".

This salesman then stated well we have advertising costs for relisting the car, but let me check with my manager and call you back. He calls back a few minutes later offering me $300 off the deal price instead of fixing the problem to which I told him that what I was offering was non-negotiable and I want my full deposit back. He tells me their cashier is gone for the day (probably another lie from this guy) and I can come get my check Monday morning. I then told him the check better be ready and written for the full $500.

This was a 2005 350Z Touring Roadster with 39,000 miles on it. I really like this car and was wondering if Nissan ever fixed the problem on their newer roadsters from 2006-2009 or is a problem on all of their 350Z roadsters?

 

I have an '05 that the top just started sticking on. This is where it stops closeing. It opens just fine, just fails to drop the back. I can hear a whine, but it doesn't budge.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mlowhorn...89332375617730

Is this the 5th motor problem too?

I've already had to replace the top once, this is getting worse than owning a big boat!

 

^^^ Mine just stoped exactly the same spot on closing. I would like to know what this is as well. Its cold up here

 

yes that is the 5th bow problem..

 

Is there a way to close this without breaking something? I was wondering if its the cold right now. Its about -4c up here today. I did try pushing but it was not moving and i didnt want to apply to much force.

 

Found this online this morning.

http://ww2.justanswer.com/uploads/Fi...t_top_info.pdf

It appears, in my case, that the problem is with the actuator "down" operation, since the top will store just fine when closeing.
The actuator "up -->stop" operation works which I assume uses the same motor for the 5th Bow.

I also assume that Nissan won't do anything for me, for free, even with the TSB... is that correct? I have an '05.

 

That is exactly the same thing that happened to the 05 Roadster I was going to buy. It was stuck with the rear window bar in the up position just like in your picture and you couldn't force it to go down. It was around 25 degrees when it happened and after the dealer let the car sit inside overnight it worked fine. I walked away from the deal anyway because this salesman and manager refused to fix the problem. They will sell it now to some other unsuspecting buyer. I'm still waiting for the check ($500 deposit) they promised they'd mail me last Weds.

The good news is I got a great deal on a much nicer (near mint) 05 Roadster in Nashville TN which the owner has never had a problem with the convertible top ever getting stuck. I paid $14,000 for it and because it's a private party deal I only pay $115 tax to the state of Illinois on it. That saved me $900 off the tax I would have paid at the dealer.

 

I opened my top today and when I went to close it the top will not come up at all after the deck lid opens. I can hear relays click, but the top won't move, even when I help it. The motors don't seem to run. Is there any way to reset the controller to get it moving?

 

Well, I fixed my problem. I speculated that since I could hear relays but the motors didn't run, that something had gotten out of sequence. I disconnected the battery cable, waited about 15 seconds then put it back. The top worked fine after that. Worth a try if you're having problems that aren't 5th Bow motor issues.

 

I have a 2006 Roadster. Everything works fine while the top is opening, but the top did not finish going down. It lacked about the last six inches. It would stop. It is was cold here in St. louis last night. I tried about five different times and had the same problem. Then today, It was much warmer. 60 degrees compared to the 30 degrees last night (was showing a friend how the top worked). I could not get the problem to duplicate. It worked fine. Put the top up and down seven times. No problem. Confused?

 

^^^ I had the same exact issue and why I popped on the forum today. At the gym last night (approx 49 degrees) 4 failed attempts....it just would not go the final 6 inches or so.

Today...sunny and 52 degrees, felt like 70. It worked great all 4 times I used it.

I'm having the stealership look at it Monday while they correct a clutch issue.

 

Well i feel like an idiot. The owners manual plainly says not to open it in cold weather due to the material or something. if you do it can cause some real bad damage. Needless to say, should of read the manual.

 

I read that in the owner's manual as well, but it doesn't clearly define 'cold'. The temp difference from last night to today wasn't that dramatic here, and I'm not sure if it is material pliability that is keeping the top from the final 6 inches to complete the open process.

I would look to blame gear oil thickening in colder temps or motors behaving differently due to temps. I don't know, I'm not a mechanical engineer...I'm in marketing...we come up with BS answers until experts tell us the truth.

Unfortunately, the 'experts' are going to charge me a fortune Monday to tell me to not open the top in 'cold' temps.

Good luck with your top.

 

Thats funny. Well let me know if they tell you anything else. Because if this is a minor problem that will lead to a bigger one, I would rather pay now than later.