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      03-13-2013, 07:54 PM   #1
valentino501
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Soft Top Motor

Im looking to buy a 2007 z4m and I am concerned about the soft top motor as I have heard many stories about it failing.

I have two questions, is there a way to tell if the motor is okay before I purchase the car other then checking to see if it goes up and down? My other question is, is there a fix I could do to help prevent the motor from failing?

Thanks in advance for the help!
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      03-13-2013, 09:18 PM   #2
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There are a ton of threads in this forum on that topic, everything from motor maintanance, motor repair and motor replacement. I personaly have not had any issues with my however I only put my top up when washing the vehicle once a week or so and then it goes right back down and gets driven top down and garaged top down. I can not confirm this but many others have said cars that are stored outdoors in the elements have much shorter motor lifespans, i have also read people mention leaves and other debris getting down there and cause havoc, but again I can not confirm. Is the car you are considering through a dealer or private owner? Ask if motor has been replaced. If it was done at a BMW dealership there would be a record of it, maybe even on a carfax. If private seller ask if the car was stored in a garage?

I would say buy it and keep your fingers crossed, if you are handy it appears to be a somewhat easy repair or fix although the motor is a pricey unit if it can not be repaired. Working used ones pop up on ebay all the time for a fraction of the cost of new but you might be rolling the dice again, it could last you a month or ten years...good luck.

Last edited by partlowr; 03-13-2013 at 10:14 PM..
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      03-13-2013, 09:51 PM   #3
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See that you live in PA so the best approach would be to first find a car that has at least been garaged. Ideal would be find a car with a removable hardtop that has been actually used or better yet a car from a state with low rainfall. In any case get a hardtop and use it as much as possible.

The good part of the hardtop is it blocks the crud from getting into the wells that then plug the drains and flood the motors, causing corrosion. If using a hardtop, the ideal way to do it is to use a lift rather than placing it in place by hand. It is very possible to scratch the finish unless absolute care is used during installation and removal.

It is a matter of opinion, but many (including yours truly) appreciate the look of the removable hardtop. Some prefer the same color, some prefer a contrasting color. Installed properly (they are adjustable) noise is mostly eliminated. Do the math of the cost of a hardtop to top and / or motor replacement. Makes a compelling case.
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      03-13-2013, 10:07 PM   #4
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To answer one of your questions, no there is no way to tell if the motor is on it's way out. It usually just dies. Sometimes it starts to 'slow down' for a brief period and then dies.

The PRIMARY reason the motors go bad is water intrusion into the housing. There are small holes in the recess's on each side. The can and will get debris in them and not allow the water to drain. If you garage your Zed, then a yearly cleaning is a good rule of thumb. If you park it outside, I would recommend every six months. There are a couple of DIY's on the various forums and on a few websites like mine.
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      03-13-2013, 10:50 PM   #5
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One thing you could do is ask the person selling the car how often he cleans the drain on the driver's side of the car. If he can't give you an answer (or says the dealer has done it as part of maintenance then you can't be sure. If the seller does give you an answer, ask him to show you where the plugs are. If he can't, then you've got a less than credible seller.
[edit]And if he can show you where the plugs are, gets on his back, reaches up and pulls out the plugs and shows you that they are clean then you have more confidence in the seller.

Here's one thread on this topic: http://www.zpost.com/forums/showthre...ighlight=drain

Last edited by elerner61; 03-14-2013 at 04:06 PM..
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      03-14-2013, 02:49 PM   #6
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I will investigate this motor on my recently bought z4. I don't know how the motor is doing down there. So I will take it out to check. And also going to do extra sealing as a preventive measure.
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      03-14-2013, 06:11 PM   #7
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Thanks for the help, I think I'm going to go ahead with the purchase and try cleaning the drains. Also what are you using to seal the motor for protection?
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      03-14-2013, 06:22 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by valentino501 View Post
Thanks for the help, I think I'm going to go ahead with the purchase and try cleaning the drains. Also what are you using to seal the motor for protection?
I will use butyl tape.
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      03-14-2013, 07:26 PM   #9
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Butyl tape is what BMW uses and you can see how well that works.

When I replaced my softtop motor, I sealed the entire motor housing with RTV. I made sure that no water will ingress into the motor.

If you are going to seal the motor, the entire softtop must come out of the car.....
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      03-14-2013, 10:37 PM   #10
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In my case, the top operation--going up--seem to slow a little bit shortly before the motor failed. It wasn't obvious (and would be even less so for someone not already familiar with the top's operation).

You might ask a BMW dealer to check the car's work records and see whether the motor has been replaced previously. I believe they can do that online, and they might be willing to do it for free if you indicate that you'll be bringing the car to them for regular service.

Good luck!

Rick F.
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      03-15-2013, 04:23 AM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick F. View Post
In my case, the top operation--going up--seem to slow a little bit shortly before the motor failed. It wasn't obvious (and would be even less so for someone not already familiar with the top's operation).

You might ask a BMW dealer to check the car's work records and see whether the motor has been replaced previously. I believe they can do that online, and they might be willing to do it for free if you indicate that you'll be bringing the car to them for regular service.

Good luck!

Rick F.
I don't know which dealer the previous owner used. Can I go any dealer and will they be able to pull out the record?
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      04-23-2013, 03:50 PM   #12
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I need a price check from my fellow owners.

I dropped my 2007 roadster at the dealership (D1) today for replacement of the convertible roof motor (the hydraulic pump). It is covered under my certified pre-owned warranty for another week (7 days exactly), according to the dealership (D2) that sold it to me. D2 is too far for me to have the car fixed there, so D1 (closer location) is getting my business (maybe).

D1 told me today that they can't diagnose the hydraulic pump via diagnostic to see if it failed due to a warranty-covered condition, and will need me to pay $680 for the removal and reinstallation of the convertible top, in order for them to check out the pump. If the pump failed due to a warranty-covered issue, I will owe only a $50 deductible, total. If the pump failed due to some reason that's not covered, such as water intrusion, then I'll have to pay the $680 for the top removal/installation, plus another $1,200 for the hydraulic pump parts and labor to remove the old one and install the new one (total of $1,800). If the 2 roof lifters (1 "strut" on each side) failed/are leaking, the cost could be $3,000 for parts and labor.

This is not something I want to tackle DIY, but I'd like to know I'm getting a fair deal. How many hours does BMW state it takes to remove the top and put it back on? D1 is estimating it will take them 6.5 hours ($104 per hour) just for the top removal and installation. That's over and above the price of labor and parts for the pump removal and installation.

2 other dealerships quoted me a pump (parts only) price of $490. One says I may also need a hardware kit ($77) and fluid ($50). Dealership 3 (D3) estimates a total price for all labor and parts at $1,400, total (take roof off, pull pump, replace pump, reinstall roof). Of course, that's an oral quote over the phone from a dealership 160 miles away. If I brought it to them, that could change once they have me on the lift.

I'd like to get an idea of what others are paying for this. With the possibility that the warranty might cover it, I didn't take it to an indy.

I'm going to ask to keep the old pump if I have to pay for it, so I might be able to rebuild it for next time.
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      04-23-2013, 03:54 PM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thelinux View Post
I don't know which dealer the previous owner used. Can I go any dealer and will they be able to pull out the record?
I think that is how it works. I believe the info on repairs is stored in a central database. You could call your local dealer to ask about that to be sure.
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      04-23-2013, 03:58 PM   #14
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You can find out the service history from any dealer, but some dealers are much more helpful than others. It is really just a luck of the draw kind of thing.
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      04-23-2013, 05:07 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wiseguy View Post
If the pump failed due to some reason that's not covered, such as water intrusion
The pump almost always fails because of water intrusion. Water intrusion is typically covered by warranty because it's due to a faulty design (not sealed engine / drains that can plug up). This issue was fixed in 2006+ by sealing the pump AFAIK.
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      04-23-2013, 10:20 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wiseguy View Post
I need a price check from my fellow owners.

I dropped my 2007 roadster at the dealership (D1) today for replacement of the convertible roof motor (the hydraulic pump). It is covered under my certified pre-owned warranty for another week (7 days exactly), according to the dealership (D2) that sold it to me. D2 is too far for me to have the car fixed there, so D1 (closer location) is getting my business (maybe).

D1 told me today that they can't diagnose the hydraulic pump via diagnostic to see if it failed due to a warranty-covered condition, and will need me to pay $680 for the removal and reinstallation of the convertible top, in order for them to check out the pump. If the pump failed due to a warranty-covered issue, I will owe only a $50 deductible, total. If the pump failed due to some reason that's not covered, such as water intrusion, then I'll have to pay the $680 for the top removal/installation, plus another $1,200 for the hydraulic pump parts and labor to remove the old one and install the new one (total of $1,800). If the 2 roof lifters (1 "strut" on each side) failed/are leaking, the cost could be $3,000 for parts and labor.

This is not something I want to tackle DIY, but I'd like to know I'm getting a fair deal. How many hours does BMW state it takes to remove the top and put it back on? D1 is estimating it will take them 6.5 hours ($104 per hour) just for the top removal and installation. That's over and above the price of labor and parts for the pump removal and installation.

2 other dealerships quoted me a pump (parts only) price of $490. One says I may also need a hardware kit ($77) and fluid ($50). Dealership 3 (D3) estimates a total price for all labor and parts at $1,400, total (take roof off, pull pump, replace pump, reinstall roof). Of course, that's an oral quote over the phone from a dealership 160 miles away. If I brought it to them, that could change once they have me on the lift.

I'd like to get an idea of what others are paying for this. With the possibility that the warranty might cover it, I didn't take it to an indy.

I'm going to ask to keep the old pump if I have to pay for it, so I might be able to rebuild it for next time.
I bought a used pump off the classifieds for like $200 and had my local inde shop install it for like $600.
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      04-23-2013, 10:59 PM   #17
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In 2006 BMW started putting sealed soft top motors in the cars. 2007, you should be good to go.
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      04-23-2013, 11:19 PM   #18
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Quote:
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In 2006 BMW started putting sealed soft top motors in the cars. 2007, you should be good to go.
Oh good point, I didn't see that the OP has a 2007.
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      04-24-2013, 12:57 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally Posted by imz4n View Post
In 2006 BMW started putting sealed soft top motors in the cars. 2007, you should be good to go.
Well, I was hoping that would be the case. However, the dealer called today- water instrusion due to the drains being blocked caused the motor to fail. Shocking. I told him that others had this damage covered under warranty (per other posts on online forums I've read). He asked if it was the factory warranty or the certified pre-owned warranty. I wasn't sure. Anyway, he's escalating the claim up the chain.

Have any of you personally had this water damage to the pump covered under warranty (factory or CPO)?

The price for the top removal and pump replacement, with tax and additional hardware needed, is now at $2,200.

I'm fighting the good fight!
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      04-25-2013, 08:21 PM   #20
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Thats crazy... I paid $350 for the motor at getbmwparts.com last year and with the help of a friend and "shipkillers how to" we finished it in 3 hours time. Good luck getting it covered...
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