I was showing my 2 year old nephew my "race car", and he wanted to see the convertible go down (my wife calls this "showing off"). As it lowered, I heard two very loud cracks. When I put it back up, the vinyl had cracked all the way across.

I checked the owner's manual, and it said not to operate the top in freezing temperatures. I checked the temperature and it was 34 degrees. Well, at least it will be covered by the extended warranty that I bought with the car, I thought.

Took it in to the service manager today, and asked him if he would go ahead and replace the whole cloth top at the same time, since it was deteriorating as well, and would be in need of replacement. He agreed that it was developing holes in some of the folds, but wasn't sure whether the HondaCare warranty would cover it. When we called HondaCare, they said the top was considered part of the body, and therefore wasn't covered. But as a gesture of good will, they would cover a new vinyl window (value of $300).

The problem is that when I bought the car in April, there was already a problem with the soft top that I had them patch up before I would buy it. I checked it over pretty thoroughly, and decided that the cloth top was already deteriorating, and that I would get the warranty for when it got more holes. When I read the HondaCare policy, there was no mention of whether or not it specifically covered the convertible top, so I asked the salesman point blank. He responded with no uncertainty that it definitely was.

So my options are:

1. Accept the $300 vinyl window replacement. Live with the deteriorating cloth top for another year, and then replace it.

2. See if they will give me the $300 in cash for the vinyl window replacement.

3. Assuming that they are not going to compensate me in any way for the fact that they lied to me about the warranty covering the top, do I have any chance of winning in court (my word vs. theirs)?

If I can get cash from 2 or 3, I'm considering (a) buying a new 02-04 softop from hardtopguy for $850 (this includes the glass, right?), and doing the retrofit; or (b) finding someone with the softtop and frame for sale (I've seen them in the $1100) range.

Any thoughts on these options?

 

with the court thing, i dont think it would hold up but if you raise enough hell with the sales manager they might do it for free. i have done that before. although it was with a dodge.

 

I think replacing the plastic w/ a glass window would involve replacing the entire top, and maybe the frame also.

BTW, you might try a different dealer. Maybe they'll work with you. Be polite, you'll get further than if you try to get aggressive.

I read in a previous post where someone was able to get 75% of the cost of replacing the top. Try to do a search. Either way, the gist of it was to get a help ticket. This involved calling a lot. But once you get a help ticket from Honda, they'll probably work with you.

 

Yes, that's what I meant by the retrofit. I've read that it can be done for $20 in parts, but about 10 hours in effort.

How do you get a help ticket? Is this from calling American Honda?

Thanks!

 

yes - call AH or the number for the HondaCare Warranty

Here's the link:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=254264

 

The plastic to glass retrofit is time consuming, but definately the way I will go when I can and am forced to replace my window and top. I hate the plastic window and for $850 + like $15 for modifry's straps, you're set. Time and effort is all it takes and you don't have to worry about voiding the warranty on the top.

 

OK, well I thought I'd follow up with the conclusion:

So, I bought glass top from hardtopguy.com for $850, and did the conversion myself.

According to Clovis, it will take 10 hours. Due to my mechanical proficiency, I was able to get it done in a mere 27 hours.

Here are my excuses:

1. I had a little extra work to do, as the 'elastic' straps that connect the forward bow to the middle bow had become useless. To anyone reading this, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND GETTING MODIFRY'S ELASTIC STRAPS BEFORE YOU NEED THEM!!! After investigating what happened to my vinyl window, I believe that not having functioning elastic contributed greatly to the window cracking.

2. I didn't have any 4mm or 5/32 rivets, so I mostly used 3/16", which meant that I had some extra drilling to do. I think it's worth it to find 4mm or 5/32" rivets before undertaking this job.

3. I'm slow.

4. I made one little mistake. While I used a soldering iron to burn holes in the all of the straps, I put the holes too close to the end on one of the straps. I had fabricated a little bracket to hold the strap to the bow, as opposed to folding over the strap and sewing it. The holes pulled out.

I decided to remake all the straps. So, to get the straps out, I had to repeat nearly all of the procedure.



So, it took me 18 hours to do it wrong the first time, plus another 9 hours to get it right the second time.

My only gripe with the instructions is that I thought the strap lengths (22") were a little short. It's almost impossible to know exactly where you want that final bow to sit until after everything is reassembled... by which point it is too late to change the length (unless you screwed everything else up and have to take it apart again anyway). I believe that Clovis meant 22" from hole to holes on the straps, not a 22" strap with holes somewhere near the ends. Can anyone else confirm this? Of course, all this depends on exactly where you put the holes in the bow, which aren't precisely specified by the instructions.



As far as American Honda is concerned, they told me that what a dealership tells me is between me and the dealership. Not something they have any control over. I've yet to hear anything from the sales side of the dealership... and at this point I don't expect to. I'll report them to the Better Business Bureau, but I don't think there is much else I can do. The District Service Manager from Honda had offered to replace the vinyl window (which is worth about $300). I'm still waiting to find out whether they will compensate me in cash, instead.

So, all in all, the new glass top looks great, and it's really nice to be able to see out the back. I definitely recommend this upgrade to anyone who has the time. It's a job that about half the time it would be helpful to have an assistant (like to hold a vacuum while drilling), and the rest of the time only one person can be utilized, because it's a very confined space.

 

I stored by car for 3.5 months during the winter and when i got back from my trip in December the first thing I did was go for a top down drive (it was like 30 out too). I put the top down and I heard the crack. I was lazy/not concerned with it and it got worse and worse and now I have it all taped up. I got a quote from a convertible top place and they said $350 for the window AND labor. Honda quotedme $1100 just to replace the window and another dealership quoted me $800. Then I called back and they said that they are unable to replace it. Too bad I'm way out of warrenty. good luck though

 

What did you pay for the Warrenty?

 

Whenever a salesman "promises" you something, make sure you get it clearly written, dated, and signed. Countersigned by the manager as well to make it a semi-official document.

A lot of times the salesman will "promise" you something to make the sale, other times he/she may just be innocently mistaken.... but that's little consolation to you the consumer.