350zRoadster04

Just noticed a pinhole in my Roadster top slightly above/behind the passenger headrest yesterday. At first I thought someone had done this on purpose, but then I looked at it from the inside and it seems that the stuff they use to pad the bars is rubbing the inside of the top when it goes up and down. The effect is similar to rubbing an eraser on a piece of paper until a hole shows through the other side. The worn fabric on the inside is about the size of an eraser head and the hole on the outside is a pinhole. It's so small that I needed to confirm that it went all the way through so I held a small flashlight against the inside of the top and looked at the area from the outside and the light shows clearly through. I'm leaving it at Nissan in the morning for them to take a look. I'll post an update when I get the car back.

JackdawFool

That's worrying... I'm looking at getting a roadster and I keep getting the feeling that the top leaves a bit to be desired. Why doesn't it at least have a headliner? The top on my eclipse spyder has three layers.

350zRoadster04

Speaking of top issues. Also check your tonneau cover. The left side is slightly lower than the right side if you look at the Z from behind. I stopped by Nissan last week and all 3 of the Roadsters on the lot had the same issue. I mentioned it to the salesman and he seemed to already know about the problem. Looks like a factory defect that Nissan will have to deal with.

aiko

iTrader: (1)

Good call...I can confirm a total of 8 "pinholes" in my 5 week old Roadster... 4 on each length on the canvas seam (both drivers and passanger sides). Hope to get some further info from my contact at Nissan Technical Engineering sometime later today or on Monday...

noel48

The older Miatas had the same problem and Mazda installed a "stop" on the top's frame so the top wouldn't fold as flat and eliminated the fabric pinching which caused the pinholes.

350zRoadster04

Ok, just got the car back from service unrepaired. They admitted that the top issue is a factory defect. They are awaiting instructions from Nissan Corporation on how to handle. The two possible solutions will be to replace the top or to send the car to a top "specialist" to patch the pinhole. I will have an answer on Monday. Will post once I receive Nissan's official response.

noel48

If they replace or patch the top it will be a temporary solution.I believe the problem is how the top folds and not the material.

AndyB

I would not accept a simple patch unless they ALSO correct whatever problem caused the hole.

If they don't fix the cause the patch won't last very long.

However, if they do fix the cause a patch is probably good enough as long as it looks ok.

gvoeller

I went out and checked my top and noticed that if the passenger seat is back too far that the top hits the headrest hard and rubs against it - even tho the seat back moves forward. If you move the entire seat up further then the rubbing does not occur - there is enuf space between the headrest and the top. This does not occur on the drivers side for some reason. The shiny rubbed area is easily seen. Is this where the holes are?

350zRoadster04

outside view


inside view

mrice

My tonneau cover has a rubbed thru the paint area on a 1" portion center line immediately in front of the trunk lid, from operation of the top. Dealer has agreed to repair obviously, but I havnt checked for pin holes. Will report if I find any.

RANDY350Z

Please keep us posted, I was about to order one and have it by December, but with all these problems comming up I think I will wait till the summer and order an '05!

Intrepid175

Personally, this doesn't surprise me. This is a brand new design for Nissan and they're bound to have some problems. I agree with AndyB in that patching the hole without correcting the underlying problem is only putting off the inevitable.

I had an '88 Chrysler LeBaron convertible that put a crescent shaped cut in it's top two days after I took delivery. The problem turned out to be similar to what Noel48 suggests. The top matial was getting pinched at an intersection of the support mechanisms when it was lowered. Chrysler corrected the problem by installing a simple plastic shield at the offending intersection that wouldn't allow the top material to get in harms way. They then replaced the damaged top and I never had the problem again.

I sure Nissan will do as well. It's just a matter of them determining exactly how they want to deal with this.

Good luck & Drive Safe,
Steve R.

350zRoadster04

I called the dealership today to get Nissan's response and still nothing. The service manager said that he would call Nissan Engineering and then call me back in an hour, but he never called. Starting to feel like I'm getting the runaround. I will pay the service department a visit in the morning.

Can it really be taking this long for Nissan's engineers to decide how to handle this?

Intrepid175

Unfortunately, yes, it can. Sometimes, what seems like an obvious fix, doesn't work in the long run. They're going to take the time to make sure that what they do is going to work.

From their point of view, if they do a quick fix to satisfy you now and it doesn't hold, you wind up bringing the car back for the same problem later on and you'll be just as unhappy then as you are now. So, they take a little more time in the beginning and hopefully, they'll not see you again on "this" problem.

Believe me, they don't like getting repeated calls from you on this any more than you enjoy having to make them. I'm not saying, don't call, I'm just trying to say that I think they'll do all they can here. Just remember, the dealership is pretty much tied to what Nissan will allow them to do so please try to be patient.

Good luck,
Steve R.

350zRoadster04

I stopped by Nissan this afternoon and finally got an answer. Nissan Engineering recommended replacing the entire top and shipped a brand new top to the dealership yesterday. I was surprised that they decided to replace the entire top for a little pinhole, but I suppose it's better to do it this way to make sure it's fixed right as some of you suggested. The top had to be shipped from the assembly line since Nissan doesn't have any inventory yet, so pulling off the assembly line was the only way to get one. I was told that it would arrive in about a week. The dealership will need the car for a day to replace once it arrives.

If you have noticed this problem with your car, now is the time to take it back. My car shows a 06/03 build date on the door, so it could be something that occurred early in production. Hopefully the new top I receive won't have the same problem.

JackdawFool

When you can inspect the new top, can you let us know if you can see anything at all different about it (stops added to the frame, etc.)?

I'm guessing that they are just replacing your top with a new one that will likely develop the same problem. Is everyone with the roadster seeing this happen?? If so, isn't this about as major a problem as you can have with the convertible?

I hope this gets resolved... I'm probably going to hold off on getting a roadster until it does.

350zRoadster04

Just another update. The top should arrive tomorrow. The dealer will install Monday. Nissan already called them asking for them to ship my existing top back to them for analysis. They are anxious to see what caused the problem on my top.

They will also fix the tonneau cover issue I mentioned earlier in this thread. Nissan said they aren't aware of any other issues with the tonneau cover, but I noticed the problem on others in another dealer's showroom so some of you may have the problem too. It's basically that the tonneau cover is lower on the left than it is on the right. If you look at your ZR from behind, you'll see it very clearly (almost like someone sat on the left side of the tonneau cover).

Anyone else noticing either of these issues?

fanatic

Thanks for the update............good luck........I'll check out my tonneau cover tonight and see if I have any rubbing, or a "higher on left" issue..............

I'll post my findings tomorrow.

mrice

Anyone else noticing either of these issues? [/B][/QUOTE]

My cover has a rub mark (scuff) @ the c/l where it meets the trunk lid. The trunk rubs on it when lifted (sometimes). The cover settles in a different spot with each use apparently, so sometimes it rubs and sometimes doesnt. In to the dealer on the 16th