Roof and Nissan North America
 

My Roadster roof is faulty. When it closes, the rear hatch support arm on the drivers side rubs the canvas top and has been rubbing a hole into the top. After two months a regional tech came and tore up the arm, tapped it all up and has now ordered a new canvas top. Support arm is dinged/scratched up and has been bent in an effort to prevent rubbing. This of course all occurred courtesy of Nissan North America. New canvas top is to arrive in two weeks and then they plan to replace it. God knows what damage they will do then! Car has 2630 miles. The top still rubs against the arm when the roof is retracted except it is rubbing in a new location thanks to the bent arm (update! I looked more closely at what the tech did and now the arm he bent to clear the canvas top is rubbing the frame of the car inside and wearing on a rubber gasket). These idiots are just making a bad problem worse and every indication from Nissan North America is if this doesn't work, it is my issue and I need to go to Better Business Bureau Auto to seek resolution/arbitration. Anyone have any experience with this process? I am getting indications from the Customer Affairs rep that the 2010 Roadster has a lot of roof issues. If you are thinking of getting a 2010 Roadster, recommend you STAY AWAY for a couple of years. Don’t waste the money or give yourself any headaches. It’s a piece of crap. This is just one of several problems. Nissan is friggen lame and is not being very responsive. Looking for advice from anyone. :shakes head:

The part where you say; "This is just one of several problems." What are those other "several Problems" you speak of?

Additonal Issues
 

Yes, there are other issues with this car.

1. The “service engine soon" light kept coming on and after three trips to the dealer, they finally replaced the gas cap and it hasn't come back on again. That took place in the first two weeks I owned the car.

2. The roof issue I have been dealing with since the third week I owned the car. They have fouled that up beyond repair. I hesitate to allow them to touch it again. I can live with the small rub mark that was beginning rather than have the new canvas installed by a technician who is incompetent.

3. The passenger seat back rattles between mild and badly when driving over and any bumps or when taking turns...Just rattles back and forth.

4. The nav systems continuously crashes my iPod. Every 4-5 times I start the car it freezes up my iPod. Have told dealership about it and am waiting to hear what they recommend/want to do. There is a mod that is out concerning the iPhone. Perhaps that software upgrade will stop the system from crashing my generation 5 iPod. I have had my iPod for four years and it has crashed on me twice in that time frame. Since plugging it into this car it has crashed at least a dozen times when connected to the car (basically four months).

5. The synchrorev system revs the engine far too high and far too long when downshifting from 3rd to 2nd gear. Depress the clutch and it continues to rev. It is irritating. The system can't keep up with the driver. I have turned it off and love driving the car without that system engaged. Waste of money and I think purely a marketing gimmick.

6. Who knows what will occur next. I have only had the car since the first week in June and it has been to the shop at least twice a month or more since purchase.

I stand by my recommendation. If you can wait a year or two before getting a Roadster, wait. If you can’t wait, look at purchasing another make of car. There are far too many bugs they have to work out in this model. For those that aren't having a problem, I am happy for you. I would rather be in your shoes. I still like the rest of the car, but don’t want to deal with the PC customer affairs pukes and BS from Nissan North America.

You are most likely under warranty so just take your car to the dealer and have them fix it.

Dealer
 

The dealer had to let the techies deal with the roof issue. All is under warranty and I am only paying in time and time and more time. It is the fact that they are tearing things up and making the issue worse, not better. The first four months of owning a car should not be focused on fixing it over and over again; it should be about driving it and having fun with it. :excited:

Continous Top Problems
 

Our new Z has spent more time in the shop than at our home. Top was put down and would not come back up. Pulled the manual cables in truck to open hatch and lid would not release. Delivered the car to the dealership for repairs and they tore up the paint on the lid and fenders not to mention other scratches and dents. They changed the motor and tore the inner vinyl liner and broke several retaining clips that hold the cover just below the glass between the head rests, not to mention a few other issues. Has been in and out of the shop with them slowly fixing there problems. Factory rep. will be in town tomorrow to look at the top and they are trying to get the complete top, frame, motor, etc. changed. They say it's an $11,000.00 job. Love the car but very dissapointed with the quality of service. Not even 2,000 miles on the car yet and I'm am trying to hold my wife off from trading it in on something else.

^^u got a lemon

id want a whole new car.

Sounds like a couple of you got bum cars. Mine has been just about perfect (high oil temps). I am however keeping an eye on the drivers side top in the "wear" area to make sure that mine is ok...

Mine has been perfect besides the 280 degrees temps on the Los Angeles highway and that is cruising at 75MPH. Nothing else has gone wrong and I am extremely happy with the car. Like many others with the convertible though I am seeing some wear on the top that I had not ever seen on my 350Z. This troubles me somewhat but I know the car has warranty and will use it if for some reason the top breaks down.

Enjoy your cars people and if you happened to actually get a lemon do not get discouraged. Just get a new car as the law permits and enjoy your new car as if it was the first you got.

I've had my roadster for almost a year now, and do have what appears to be some very slight fraying in one spot about the size of a half dollar on the passenger side.

My car is only used during the weekend, and spends most its time garaged.

I also have an issue with my center brake light on the trunk. It appears to have become warped, with one side slightly popped out.

I do love the car, and honestly don't drive it much with the top up. At the same time, if the top does become an larger issue, I will have to think about making switch.

You may want to think about getting that brake light replaced under warranty soon, the warped edge could allow moisture to get through.

I am about to have the third top replaced on my car. First top had rub wear and started to make a little hole in rear part passenger side. They replaced the top. Numerous times, the same side would not go all the way down and hard cover would not close over it, which has now caused scratching and pulling on the top, passenger side, above window. When I took it back to dealership, they discovered that a support bar had cracked. So they ordered a new support bar and new top. I must say, it has been a pain at times, but the dealership is wonderful, and the service manager is wonderful! They take extra care with my car, no scratches while its there, and we go over it top to bottom when i drop off or pick up. I bought the car from a dealership in AZ and I live in DE. My current dealership service dept makes having these problems with the top less frustrating. I woould suggest finding another dealership to those who get lousy, unacceptable service!

It almost sounds like your top frame got bent somehow, either during production or in some other way before delivery. This top tear issue is confusing as there doesn't seem to be any real definition as to just exactly what is causing the problem. Some tops have it, and others - so far - are problem free.

All I can figure is that there are rough edges that if not really properly wrapped will cut through the fabric, but your issue doesn't seem to fit into this category.

Now I am wondering if at sometime between production and installation, some frames got bent during shipping or storage.

It would be nice if someday, when Nissan actually discovers what the core cause of this top tearing issue is, we will have some concrete answers to work with.

Seems like Nissan should know by now just what the cause(s) are by now though.

Sorry for all you are going through, but it's good that you're comfortable with your new dealer. They seem to be in your corner on this issue.

Thanks for the info and let us know if you learn anything about what Nissan knows about this issue.


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Update!

A Nissan tech replaced the canvas on my roof this week and it appears that they did a very nice job. One of their regional techs did the work. It looks good. However, there may still be a small problem. There are small square plastic supports attached to the canvas at places where the canvas comes into contact with the frame when the top is closed. One of those squares on the driver's side does not seem to settle into place every time the roof is opened and closed and it looks like there is a big lump in the roof. I pushed on it and it snapped into place. This issue may work itself out. I have to watch for a while. But, for my trouble Nissan ordered and installed a rear spoiler at no cost. I had seen the spoiler on the forum and asked the tech what he thought about it when we were talking on the phone about the roof. He offered to order it and install it. It looks great! I have to admit Nissan is trying to make things right. And my dealership is also very cooperative and accommodating.

It's good to hear that you are pleased with your dealer vice all the dealer bashing that's in the forum. Hope that small problem works out for you. Free spoiler, eh? That was awesome for the Nissan tech to do that.:happydance: