[Ranger_Vet68]

Is it just me, or is it a truism that all convertibles tops will fail at some point in a car's lifetime? My case in point is that I owned a Mercedes and now a BMW and both of these car's convertible tops have failed. I don't know if this happens more to soft tops versus hard-top convertibles. If I purchase another convertible, I'll make damn sure it's an old-school convertible where I can manually operate it.

What say you?

[Westside Guy]

The issues with a top not working often times is caused by leaking rod seals in the convertible top hydraulic cylinders. This happens because of age and/ or constant exposure to a high heat outdoor environment. After 14 years I had to replace the hydraulic cylinders on a 2004 CLK500 and they only failed after I moved from NYC where it was garaged to hot and sunny Florida where I had to park it outdoors and it was exposed to the elements 24/7.

Malfunctions can be expected to happen with convertible tops the same way other parts on a car need to be repaired/ replaced.

In some ways this is similar to our body parts that start to fail us when we get older. I just had cataract surgery performed and my vision is better than ever!

[Marcoose]

I'm going more generic. Every car part will fail at some point; convertible roof, window regulator, taillights, parking brake, etc. If not this one, another will.

In 18 years of owning convertible tops, they never gave a single problem. But pretty much everything else did.

[tranquility]

I was silly because I didn't account for that when buying my car. Knock wood the roof has been great but I fear one day who knows? Supposedly there's not much preventative measures one can take but I found it ironic that ppl who rarely used them (thinking that it may extend the life) seem to get more trouble since the lines weren't regularly flushed and they went on to crack.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tranquility

I was silly because I didn't account for that when buying my car. Knock wood the roof has been great but I fear one day who knows? Supposedly there's not much preventative measures one can take but I found it ironic that ppl who rarely used them (thinking that it may extend the life) seem to get more trouble since the lines weren't regularly flushed and they went on to crack.

I was told by a local mechanic down here in Florida that you are better off using the top on a regular basis than not using it because the seals will dry out and leak from lack of of use. He also told me that there are some well known suppliers of refurbished hydraulic cylinders that are less expensive and their seals will last longer than buying new OEM cylinders. Finally, he said that if one or two cylinders fail you are better off replacing all of them because the others will follow shortly.

[tranquility]

Originally Posted by Westside Guy

I was told by a local mechanic down here in Florida that you are better off using the top on a regular basis than not using it because the seals will dry out and leak from lack of of use. He also told me that there are some well known suppliers of refurbished hydraulic cylinders that are less expensive and their seals will last longer than buying new OEM cylinders. Finally, he said that if one or two cylinders fail you are better off replacing all of them because the others will follow shortly.

Your mechanic is right I believe, that's what I heard and it does make sense.

So, yup, it's kinda ironic for some ppl thinking they are 'saving' their rooftops by using them less and they end up running into trouble.

[Westside Guy]

Originally Posted by tranquility

Your mechanic is right I believe, that's what I heard and it does make sense.

So, yup, it's kinda ironic for some ppl thinking they are 'saving' their rooftops by using them less and they end up running into trouble.

Initially my reaction was exactly the same as yours and I agree with you that this approach does make sense.