Hey guys. So I bought my s2k two months ago, it has a new soft top from May of this year. The previous owner purchased it from I believe "cartopguy.com" in California which is no longer open. I noticed a few weeks ago that there was a crease at the back drivers side corner right at the seam. It looked like the top got pinched as it was down. I looked inside and noticed that the reinforcement strip that is there has come unglued and was bunched up. I went to a local upholstery shop and they were able to glue the strip back but now everytime the top folds down, it presses on the seam and continues to crease the top. Now I have a small hole forming at the seam which I temporarily glued for now but it's only a matter of time before it opens back up. It seems to be the rear most bar that is causing the issue when the top goes down, but I can't figure out why. The other side is fine and there is no other issues anywhere else with the top. Has anyone had a similar issue with this top or have any advice to help it not get any worse? I don't want to worry about a new top after only 6 months.

 

We got a small rub tear in our '06 top back in '10 and my wife took a needle and black thread to close it up. Still the same top today with over 100k miles and it doesn't leak when it rains.

ROD

 

Worst case there is some fabric tape you can put over it.

 

Black GoreTex tape working so far. This just happened to my '06 last month. I'd placed reinforcement tape on the inside two years ago but that apparently came off and rubbed thru. It was wrapped around the bar when I noticed light coming thru the 1/2" tear. The top bow needs to slide smoothly to avoid rubbing a slit in the roof. I'll be looking for professional repair this winter when the car is usually in storage.





-- Chuck

 

I ended up buying gortex tape to try to fix things. My biggest concern is the way the spot where the reinforcement strip creases, and pushes the outside of the top almost into a bubble, putting stress on the seam and causing it to split. You can sort of see that in the first picture. I'm not sure if taping the reinforcement strip flat will help that or if something is getting pinch somewhere else. Everything seems in order as the top goes down.

 

Bumping this. Car's put away in storage for winter but I was never able to resolve this issue before it went away. Repairing the tear isn't of much concern to me as much as the creaseing that is causing the tear. Hoping someone has had an experience like this and can provide some insight,

 

I've read most if not all the threads on soft top tear issues and I do not remember seeing problems exactly where you are having problems. If it were me I'd consider bringing it to a good shop for a look see. I wonder if it is folding up improperly when it is closing?

 

I took the car out for emissions and was able to check out the top and the way that it's folding, if it had anything to do with the crease that's forming. When the top folds down, the drivers side, where the crease is, seems to slide back, further over the rear most bar, which is causing the rear bar to put stress on the seam, causing it to bulge out when it's folded down. The passenger side is tight, and there's no play or "sliding" in the top. This is hard to explain, and I tried to video tape it, but didn't have much luck. I'll upload the video to see if it helps any.


You're able to see the top slide back right at the beginning.