pushing the stack is not the answer. you are probably experiencing a rougue fold of top fabric.

you might want to watch the top fold a few times. have someone operate the switch while you get a good view from the back. i'll bet that the fabric is just getting bunched up, instead of neatly folding.

 

To each his own, I guess. To me, 1 inch for this type of top is nothing and well within the acceptable limits of variation. This is considering the material the top is made of and the overall total travel it has to go through.
Let us know what the dealer has to say.

 

Wondering if maybe you're parking in a different area/way than in past. For me, I can attest that I've begun parking in a veeeeery nice private parking space at work (read...I'm parking in front of a large juniper bush that isn't really a parking space but no one will door-ding me either ). Well, driving into this spot each morning has me pointing down-hill. And in the afternoons when I drop the top, I notice that "a forward frame/support bar" running left to right does not "fall" at its hinge with gravity (since I'm pointing downhill). With the bar in its unhinged position as the top folds down, this frame/support bar gets in the way of the entire top mechanism dropping into the roof well. So now I simply reach back as top is "vertical" and give that frame/support bar a nudge so it will hinge back properly.

This might be your problem .

- Dave

 

I can't speak for anyone with a glass rear window as I have an '01, but with mine, there's a known issue of one of the folds not always seating properly as the top collapses into itself. Mine has done this since day one, my solution, stop the top when it's about 3/4 down, pull out on the one section to make sure it's folding properly, then put the top down the rest of the way. Yes it's something of an inconvenience to have to stop the top in mid-drop, get out of the car, adjust it, then get back in, but it doesn't bother me, and it insures the top folds correctly each time.

 

I have never taken the time to check from the back. I will do that this evening.

 

Do a search for soft top folding incorrectly. I had a problem with my '01 where the crossmember just behind the front latch member was folding on top of the 3rd crossmember instead of under it. The culprit is the elastic bands that hold the 2nd and 3rd crossmembers together. My elastic bands were worn out and replaced by the dealership under warranty. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, go sit in your car and look up. There should be some elastic bands right above your head, flush with the top (or sagging like mine were). I'm not sure if it's the same setup in the '02-'03s.

 

same problem, dealer fixing under warranty.
Like some have said, its the 2 elastic straps that pull down a section of the top. They are worn, and dont pull it down, so the whole top sits higher.

 

for me, cold temperatures won't allow the top to go down all the way, and it usually stops about 6" higher than normal.. (talking about sub freezing temps here, during the middle of the winter in Seattle) I "help" it go down when it's like that, till I can't see it in the rear view mirror, and let it go at that.

 

Hmmm...bet that's really my culprit on this hill as well. That bar you're describing is what I'm pushing back on mine. Makes sense that the elastic would give out with time. How easy was the replacement?

- Dave

PS. [onecouldhope] Please feel free to tell me that AHM offers an entire top replacement b/c 2 elastic bands are saggy [/onecouldhope]

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by w1ngman
[B]Hmmm...bet that's really my culprit on this hill as well.