Boot Won't Stay in Place

[gibbys]

My boot (cover for folded roof) will not stay in place. Soon after a drive with the top down and the boot in place starts the rear edge of the boot works its way out from under the lip of the rear deck.

My dealer thought it was a misfitting boot and replaced it under warranty.
Same problem.

Has anyone else had this problem? More importantly, does anyone know of a solution.

[macfly]

My guess is that the soft top is not fully retracting, as if it happens twice with two different covers it is hard to blame the cover. This is also not something I have heard happening before, so please do keep us posted on the cause and fix.

Good luck with it!

[WesleyM]

I was getting ready to ask the same question of folks. I can mash down on the top until the cows come home but the cover keeps popping at the rear just as you describe and is very frustrating. For me it usually 'pops' once I hit 70mph and my worry is it will somehow come loose and blow back onto a driver behind me….let alone the fact that it's a long lead time part that cots $1k. I get the same response from the dealer...that I need to push the top down harder. If anyone has this solved, love to hear the secret.

[macfly]

I am still not able to offer any concrete help, as I have never seen this happen myself, but since this is a pattern we should start looking for common causes. My suspicion is that this must be a folding roof issue, unless both cars have suffered some damage to the rear deck, which seems unlikely. The boot cover is the same on all our cars, and if it was a flawed design we'd be very aware of it by now.

Can you answer these questions in the search for a cause.......

1.) Have you both had you soft top retractor strings replaced? (see the post about them failing in 'Problems')

2.) Has this started happening, or always happened?

3.) What are the last 4 digits of your VIN's? (incase it could be traced back to a bad batch of folding roofs)

[WesleyM]

I have a 2001 w/last 4 digits of Vin# 1188. I did have the string replaced several months ago. I hadn't noticed this issue being as much of a problem prior to that work now that you mention it but then again, that was in April and my top down driving went up quite a bit from April on throughout the summer. I'm bringing it in for the 12K service in another 4 weeks and will bring this to the dealer’s attention as something to look at again (if they caused the roof retraction to change somehow). I also have to get the infamous roof fabric to plastic window tear fixed then as well.

Thanks for the tip on seeing if that string repair may have been a cause.... although I sense that whenever this kind of problem comes up, it’s pretty often a first time experience for the dealer too given they only have 6 Z8's they can say they service in the Seattle area.

[Rjay]

it's happened to me a few times, most recently at the track while I was trying to stay ahead of a Modena, and I had to pull into the pits to fix it, but that was on a 130mph straight. Make sure the two tabs on the cover are fully inserted into the holes before pressing the cover down and locking it is all I can recommend.

[jjglynn3]

... but I have found that it will stay in place, even at speed, if I;

1) make sure the top is all the way down (light on the dash is off, and top is completely folded down)

2) ensure the tabs are completely inserted as stated above

3) tuck the boot in all the way around. The boot lip must 'snap in under the car opening. This can take a few minutes. But you will know when it is in place.

[WesleyM]

After having the soft top (including strings) and the boot cover thoroughly checked out as part of my 12k service 2 weeks ago, BMW Seattle felt the problem was with the part itself and not the soft top retraction or how I had been putting the cover on. They ordered me a new cover (under warranty) and although skeptical it would fix the problem, after driving with it all day today mostly at highway speed, the issue seems to have been resolved.

Anyone experiencing the same problem may find this approach worth a try.

Wes

[Sawbones]

What do you think my chances are of getting this fixed/replaced at this time? It really is annoying to have to stop and pop it back down...

[macfly]

This happened to me last weekend for the first time ever, and I know I tucked it in place properly before starting out. Happily I noticed it before it did any damage.

Over the years with four different Z8's I've not come across this as a regular issue, but I did once have a boot that didn't locate properly. It was very hard to even get it to fit on, let alone stay in place. When it's replacement came it was visibly about 1/2 inch deeper at along the rear bead. The replacement was fine, and since then I've never had an issue, till last weekend!

For comparison's sake here are some shots of mine.

[macfly]

I forgot to mention, did you check your soft top strings, and that there is nothing else going on, because this isn't something I've seen a lot on either my, or other's cars.

[Norcal]

The only times I've had even minor issues getting the boot to stay down was because the top was not fully retracted. I'd look at the strings etc.

[1mean3]

I had the same exact thing happening. No matter how well I seated the boot under the rear lip it would still pop up while driving. I checked and re-checked the top being down, the boot being properly installed, etc.. It always looked great but popped up non the less.

I had my car in for service and asked the dealer to take a look at it.

When I picked the car up they said they "adjusted" the tabs on the boot and I havent had the problem since. Wish I had asked what exactly they did.