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Our 2011 GS (15K miles and many top ups and downs) is also doing this. Other than an annoying "bump" when the top goes up, are there any long term implications? Will the window or tonneau eventually be damaged?
We trudge on.
I'm guessing some level of abrasion will occur over time. I'm just putting it into the "characteristic of the car" (Quirk) category and moving on. I'm already in the habit of pulling it out of the way, either up or down.
Well: Good News
My dealer sent Mine to a Top Shop. they replaced all the straps and adjusted bows and
such. You would never know it was worked on and it now works PERFECT. The cover now
clears the window by over a half inch. Hats off to Estero Bay Chevrolet.
It only makes sense to see that the tech does not do top work and the top tech is not
a mechanic.
If anyone wants a copy of the TSB - pm me your email address and I'll scan it and download it to you. It's 10 pages. Thought some of you who are out of warranty might want to try it yourself. If the guys at the dealership can figure it out for the first time today you probably can too.
Can you send me a copy of the TSB on the convertible top issue, mine is doing the same thing plus now will not go up at all. Hoping to get idea of how entire power top functions in order to diagnose rhe problem.
Figured I'd throw my name into the hat here and reincarnate this thread, as it does prove to be a good read for those affected. I had a 2010 vert for 3 years and never once had an issue. Heck I didn't even know there was an issue to be had. Ignorance is bliss, right?
A few weeks ago I traded the 2010 in for a 2013 VY 427 down in Florida. The carrier finally delivered the car 2 days ago, and I about shat my pants when I heard the tonneau contact the window. First thing I thought was fantastic news since the BTB warranty expired 2 months ago. Naturally, first response was to search out the fix and decide if the price of the repair is worth it...and that's where it gets hazy.
However, this thread makes me feel world's better. It's not so much that misery loves company, but more that it offers so much insight that the 2 finger grab tends to become second nature, and that the headaches of fixing it aren't even guaranteed to permanently fix it (in fact, it sounds like it eventually won't in time). And for those claiming the manual tops would so much better, I can tell you that as a previous owner of a 2002, although it does work, it is significantly more physical labor to pull that top out by hand (from outside the car, mind you) than simply pushing a button and throwing a few fingers up for 3 seconds. Is it working 100% correct? Not exactly. But do you seriously wish you had a manual top?
I agree with others tho, as it seems ridiculous that a $90k car that's based off a generation run of over 8 years still can't figure something like this out by now.
Figured I'd throw my name into the hat here and reincarnate this thread, as it does prove to be a good read for those affected. I had a 2010 vert for 3 years and never once had an issue. Heck I didn't even know there was an issue to be had. Ignorance is bliss, right?
A few weeks ago I traded the 2010 in for a 2013 VY 427 down in Florida. The carrier finally delivered the car 2 days ago, and I about shat my pants when I heard the tonneau contact the window. First thing I thought was fantastic news since the BTB warranty expired 2 months ago. Naturally, first response was to search out the fix and decide if the price of the repair is worth it...and that's where it gets hazy.
However, this thread makes me feel world's better. It's not so much that misery loves company, but more that it offers so much insight that the 2 finger grab tends to become second nature, and that the headaches of fixing it aren't even guaranteed to permanently fix it (in fact, it sounds like it eventually won't in time). And for those claiming the manual tops would so much better, I can tell you that as a previous owner of a 2002, although it does work, it is significantly more physical labor to pull that top out by hand (from outside the car, mind you) than simply pushing a button and throwing a few fingers up for 3 seconds. Is it working 100% correct? Not exactly. But do you seriously wish you had a manual top?
I agree with others tho, as it seems ridiculous that a $90k car that's based off a generation run of over 8 years still can't figure something like this out by now.
Your points are very well taken...and agreed.....but I do wish the darn thing would just work correctly !!!!....
Figured I'd throw my name into the hat here and reincarnate this thread, as it does prove to be a good read for those affected. I had a 2010 vert for 3 years and never once had an issue. Heck I didn't even know there was an issue to be had. Ignorance is bliss, right?
A few weeks ago I traded the 2010 in for a 2013 VY 427 down in Florida. The carrier finally delivered the car 2 days ago, and I about shat my pants when I heard the tonneau contact the window. First thing I thought was fantastic news since the BTB warranty expired 2 months ago. Naturally, first response was to search out the fix and decide if the price of the repair is worth it...and that's where it gets hazy.
However, this thread makes me feel world's better. It's not so much that misery loves company, but more that it offers so much insight that the 2 finger grab tends to become second nature, and that the headaches of fixing it aren't even guaranteed to permanently fix it (in fact, it sounds like it eventually won't in time). And for those claiming the manual tops would so much better, I can tell you that as a previous owner of a 2002, although it does work, it is significantly more physical labor to pull that top out by hand (from outside the car, mind you) than simply pushing a button and throwing a few fingers up for 3 seconds. Is it working 100% correct? Not exactly. But do you seriously wish you had a manual top?
I agree with others tho, as it seems ridiculous that a $90k car that's based off a generation run of over 8 years still can't figure something like this out by now.
Welcome to the "two finger tug" club. My 2012 GS started clunking on the tonneau cover, both going up and down, after I had operated the top maybe 100 times??? Sometime clearly in the first six months or so. I went to my dealer and they certainly offered to fix it under warranty but 1) they told me they (or whoever does it) has to basically take the top apart and get at two elastic straps that have obviously stretched too much.. And 2) My next question, of course, was what happens to the next set of straps??? Are they special or just more of the same. He said the latter so I recognized this was likely just a poor design that, for reasons who could ever imagine, they had never fixed. And when i realized how quick and easy the two finger grab is, I had my answer. Yeah, it's frustrating to pay this much money for a car with such a flaw. Count another one being how many times I've bent over with the key fob in my pocket and set off the alarm. Other cars I have have fobs and they NEVER do that... Just another one of those, "why did they never fix that" problems? Anyway, I don't even think about it anymore. I've always believed in the idea of "make sure the fix (taking your entire top apart) doesn't create more issues that the problem itself. In a perfect world that wouldn't be an issue to be considered but, well, you know the rest, the not perfect world part...
Your call, of course, whether you want to have your dealer fix it and hope that it lasts. I chose the two finger grab and that works for me...
I will say once in a great while I forget to grab as I might be distracted and it still bumps just like it always did but not worse. So it loosens to a place and then appears to stay there for the rest of time. My car will be 4 years old in a couple months. Still love putting the top down, even with the grab.
I'm having the same problem with my 2011 vert and took it to the dealer. Dealer gave me a line of bull s#%t that all of them do and I had a small argument with the service advisor that his tech didn't know what he was talking about. The tech said the only thing he could do was try to adjust the tonneau cover back closer to the deck lid and I told him that wasn't going to happen. Every since when I'm putting the top up or down I just reach back and pull the rear window about a half inch toward the passenger compartment and all works well.
Where are these elastic straps that Illinois2008vert is talking about? The dealer never said a word about those.
I do the very same thing every time I put the top up and down. I just grab and tug a bit and no rubbing or hitting of the top.
Alrighty guys, I've been studying the TSB as well as the mechanics of the top operation for a few days now. As countless others have mentioned, I came down to the conclusion that the straps are indeed the culprit of all the issues. I was able to easily confirm this by simply pulling tight on the strap, which instantly pulled the window in about 3/4' to a full inch...and that was just 1 side's strap. The TSB instructs that you MUST do both sides, which I would imagine will easily pull your window back a full inch during operation. The straps simply aren't tight enough. The following is a picture from the TSB of exactly what needs to be done:
After looking for the specific screw that needs removed to tighten the strap that is responsible for the window retraction inward, I was shocked to find that both ends of the strap were visible, and the end with the screw was very accessible when the top is in its most retracted upright state (where it sits upright while the tonneau is moving). This fix isn't going to require disassembling and removing the top which apparently results in all of the after-thought headaches everyone has mentioned. The only reason the top was removed/disassembled for the TSB was for illustration purposes (which it even states). However, it does appear that another hand would be very useful to (A) support the top and make sure it doesn't move after hydraulic pressure is relieved (which was roughly 2-4 minutes in my findings), and (B) to lend a hand to provide relief of tension from the strap when removing/reinstalling the screw.
I'd like to see if warmer weather tightens the straps back up, as a few others have said worked for them (it's 30 or below in Ohio right now, and elastic/rubber becomes weaker in colder conditions). However, IF they don't retighten in warmer weather, I will be making a video of the process to do this repair. Save for any unseen headaches, I see this repair taking no more than 10 minutes or so per side. As long as you have a snub Phillips to fit in there, and don't have any issues making the new hole in the strap, it's simply unscrew, new hole, screw in, done. Why the dealerships feel the need to remove the entire top canopy layer is beyond me.
Last edited by Stavesacre21; 02-10-2016 at 04:36 PM.
Alrighty guys, I've been studying the TSB as well as the mechanics of the top operation for a few days now. As countless others have mentioned, I came down to the conclusion that the straps are indeed the culprit of all the issues. I was able to easily confirm this by simply pulling tight on the strap, which instantly pulled the window in about 3/4' to a full inch...and that was just 1 side's strap. The TSB instructs that you MUST do both sides, which I would imagine will easily pull your window back a full inch during operation. The straps simply aren't tight enough. The following is a picture from the TSB of exactly what needs to be done:
After looking for the specific screw that needs removed to tighten the strap that is responsible for the window retraction inward, I was shocked to find that both ends of the strap were visible, and the end with the screw was very accessible when the top is in its most retracted state (where it sits while the tonneau is moving). This fix isn't going to require disassembling and removing the top which apparently results in all of the after-thought headaches everyone has mentioned. The only reason the top was removed/disassembled for the TSB was for illustration purposes (which it even states). However, it does appear that another hand would be very useful to (A) support the top and make sure it doesn't move after hydraulic pressure is relieved (which was roughly 2-4 minutes in my findings), and (B) to lend a hand to provide relief of tension from the strap when removing/reinstalling the screw.
I'd like to see if warmer weather tightens the straps back up, as a few others have said worked for them (it's 30 or below in Ohio right now, and elastic/rubber becomes weaker in colder conditions). However, IF they don't retighten in warmer weather, I will be making a video of the process to do this repair. Save for any unseen headaches, I see this repair taking no more than 10 minutes or so per side. As long as you have a snub Phillips to fit in there, and don't have any issues making the new hole in the strap, it's simply unscrew, new hole, screw in, done. Why the dealerships feel the need to remove the entire top canopy layer is beyond me.
Thank you very much for the info. I've been wondering what that little B!@#@%D strap looked like. Now I will have a good idea when I get in there and start rooting around.
Thank you very much for the info. I've been wondering what that little B!@#@%D strap looked like. Now I will have a good idea when I get in there and start rooting around.
No problem. For reference, those pictures above were taken from the PASSENGER side, not the drivers. Everything is reversed for the drivers side, which will naturally be the side I do first being right handed. Should easier to work with the screw with your dominant hand first.
Hi... I've had my 2012 Corvette GS convertible for about five months now... These days, when I put up (close) the power top, I think (guessing a bit here) that I might be hearing a new noise that I want to ask anyone who might also have a power top about...
When you close the top, first the lid to the convertible top well opens. The convertible top then comes out and opens to a point. The back of the convertible top lifts up to provide room for the lid to close... The lid then closes. As the lid closes and just at the point where it is passing very close to the back of the convertible top (that again is raised up almost vertically for the moment) I hear sort of a "pop" that I'm not sure was always there before... It might be a new noise. I just can't say for sure... But for the first time, now that I'm curious, I've watched carefully as this lid closes and that it comes remarkably close to the partially raised top. Then the lid closes the rest of the way without issue and then the back of the top lowers onto the deck of the car while the front of the top comes down until it hits the top of the windshield sill.
Again, I'm not sure there's an issue but I just wanted to hear what, if anything, other convertible owners have experienced... Has anyone had problems with the deck lid passing by the partially raised top??? Have any folks had to take the cars to a dealer to have adjustments done to the top and the way it closes??? Can anyone else confirm that the deck lid passes very, very close to the partially raised top (back of the top) as the deck lid closes???
Any thoughts or advice would be much appreciated.... thanks... bob..
I've had an 06, 08 and an 09 and all three did it to some degree.
No problem. For reference, those pictures above were taken from the PASSENGER side, not the drivers. Everything is reversed for the drivers side, which will naturally be the side I do first being right handed. Should easier to work with the screw with your dominant hand first.
I know thats right !! Right handed here and my left hand is about as useless as the preverbial (sp) **** on a boar.
After looking for the specific screw that needs removed to tighten the strap that is responsible for the window retraction inward, I was shocked to find that both ends of the strap were visible, and the end with the screw was very accessible when the top is in its most retracted state (where it sits while the tonneau is moving).
.
Thank you for the tips my friend. One question, by this do you mean when the window section is folded up while the tonneau is moving, or the while the top is stowed completely down and the tonneau is still open. Sorry I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes, and it's cold as a well diggers **** outside and I'm to warm to go out to check.
Jim
BTW, I knew I wouldn't have this fixed if the top had to be completely removed. I had a bad experience with an '06 manual top that ripped the headliner. Shop let the top slip, and scratched both corners of the tonneau. Now, I'll fix 'er myself.
12-18-2014, 04:31 PM
