E93 roof woes

E93 roof woes

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Underdone

Original Poster:

848 posts

188 months

Wednesday 5th June
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So, new car to me 2010 e93 335i. Roof was working fine until a couple of weeks back. Then after a long trip i tried to put the roof up and it failed to erect (boot stuck closed and windows stuck down with constant bonging noise) luckily a kind neighbour allowed me to store it in their garage overnight and as if by magic the roof functioned fine in the morning.

Roll on a couple of weeks later where I have carried out the following: lubricated obvious moving parts with lithium grease, topped up hydraulic fluid as it was slightly low. After a few operations of raising lowering the roof I figured all was good. However after another longish trip the roof is stuck in the boot again. This time it hasn't fixed itself overnight but atleast I can open the boot this time.

Things I have tried so far: checked codes on bimmerlink none for the roof, swapping out salmon relays (tested one at a time with a single replacement) charged battery.

When you press the opening button the windows drop down and then you can hear an initial mechanical noise assume unlocking rear boot clamps and then nothing.

I'm at a bit of a loss. Was wondering if there was any pearls of wisdom from the wonders of pistonhead? failing that does anyone have any recommendations for folding hardtop specialists in the southwest/ Bristol area. The local indi bmw specialists that I have tried don't seem willing. I did speak to cayman autos in Surrey but it's a long way to travel, especially if I need to guarantee good weather to get there...

Edited by Underdone on Wednesday 5th June 13:49

Aluminati

2,755 posts

65 months

Thursday 6th June
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Roof motor failure is fairly common if I remember correctly. Can get damp, which over time can lead to failure.

Underdone

Original Poster:

848 posts

188 months

Friday 7th June
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Tried to open roof manually last night but couldn't get one of the pistons to move at all with the hydraulic valves fully open. Leads me to believe that one of the electrically actuated latches Is malfunctioning/ jammed.

Spoke with Cayman autos who seemed very knowlegeable and amenable Looks like I'll be driving over to Surrey and leaving it with them for a couple of weeks, unless anyone has any more local recommendations

BUG4LIFE

2,158 posts

225 months

Monday 10th June
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I'm in the market for a new car and keep coming back to an E93 330d. Spotted what looks like a nice 2012 car but I'm trying to decide if the complex roof is a worry I could do without and I should stick to my original plan and buy a F56 Mini Cooper S.

I haven't really looked up yet if the folding roof on the E93 is classed as a reliable thing, and if fixes are more often than not expensive!!

Hope you get yours sorted op.

Underdone

Original Poster:

848 posts

188 months

Wednesday 12th June
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Got sorted today, cost more than j was hoping/expecting and was a masssive hastle (although service at cayman was 5*) but it's not like I had a lot of choice given I had driven over with the roof stuck and reached the end of my tether. Go in with eyes open. It can go wrong and isn't easily diyable

twokcc

881 posts

184 months

Thursday 13th June
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Owned a 2009 z4 35i with steel roof for about 3 years but car had BMW warranty on it.
Had many problems with roof not working - don't know if they have improved but I wouldn't run the car without the warranty(about £40 per month below 60k miles.).
Decided to go back to fabric roof and having test drive decided on a 220/230i.
Will take out BNW warranty again which is £42/month with £250 excess maybe just for first year
This will replace a 2018 F56 DCT Cooper S 17k miles 3 door hatch, surprisingly the warranty is more expensive at £60/ month

The BMW is very similar to a 2003 E46 convertible that I ran for 13 years never had a problem with fabric roof on that and doesn't seem to be a problem on the 2 series.
Note that the replacement Zed went back to fabric roof

Discendo Discimus

526 posts

39 months

Thursday 13th June
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Underdone said:
Got sorted today, cost more than j was hoping/expecting and was a masssive hastle (although service at cayman was 5*) but it's not like I had a lot of choice given I had driven over with the roof stuck and reached the end of my tether. Go in with eyes open. It can go wrong and isn't easily diyable
.... and the issue was?