Has anyone had this problem before and know of a solution for it or the cost of fixing it?

The top of my car would open fully, stows itself in the little compartment behind the seats, and the tonneau cover would close over the now compressed top and latches with a click.

At least in the beginning, but now it's got this problem where the cover just wouldn't click shut, but instead there's a creaking and groaning sound. I had to put my palm on it and exert considerable force, before it would actually lutch shut. When opening, the tenneau cover would jump out a little.

It feels as if something has been misaligned. I can't imagine this being a motor problem as I can't imagine the motor putting out around 150lbs of force around the hinges if not more to close the tonneau.

Once in a while, the tonneau would still click smoothly on its own, but that's becoming extremely rare.

Can anyone help me here?

Thanks in advance!

 

Is the top going down completely? If not it could be NTB08-100 - When trying to open the top, it will not fully fold down into the storage area.

 

VinceZ, I think this might actually be the problem I tried to push down the top into the back compartment a little more, and the tonneau snaps shut.

The top folds almost all the way, except for about another third of an inch the tonneau, which prevented the cover to close.

Any idea if the dealer would replace this for free, since the vehicle is out of warranty. If not, is there a quick work around or an affordable solution - like some DIY tutorial. If I have to go to the dealer, how much would it set me back?

Thanks for the help.

 

I am having this same issue as well on my 2004 Nissan 250Z Roadster Touring. My situation has become bad enough that in never clicks smoothly on its own. With 67K miles on the odometer, I'm fearful that Nissan will do nothing to fix it for free. Any ideas what this is going to cost?