if you're one of the many of you who have been following the Wear Holes in the Top (new info) thread, you may remember that Honda helped me replace my top due to the lower wear hole experienced by many here.

They started and completed the work this week, and i got the car back last night. as i'm finishing paying my portion and about to leave, my service advisor catches me and tells me, "So, like don't open your top for like a week. Ok? The top needs to stretch or you'll never get it closed again."

my immediate thoughts are .
(this service advisor is new to the dealership, and honestly i'm less than impressed with his knowledge and service. in fact, so much so, that i do not intend to deal with him again... he's definitely a dim and rude light in my otherwise pretty good dealership.)

now, i seriously doubt that i'll never get it closed again, but does anyone else who's replaced their top know if this has any merit??

so, for those of you who have had your top replaced and/or replaced it yourself? is this a bunch of or is this a legitimate recommendation after replacing the softtop?

honestly, after carefully inspecting the top, it doesn't seem any more or less taut than my old top...

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this was true. If you use a hardtop for like 3 months in the fall/winter, once it gets to spring and you take the hardtop off and try to close the softtop its very hard. The softtop can slighly shrink when its being stored.

Your softtop is new so its probably been sitting in a box for awhile. So its probably needs time to stretch out.

 

True to a point but only to the fact of the difficulty in closing the top. Just like with any material it shrinks and expands with use so the more you use the top the easier it will be to close. Like mentioned above if you do not use the top for a period of time it will also become difficult to close.

 

I got my soft top replaced and put it down immediately upon picking up the car. I've never had problems with it closing improperly. The new top has been on there for over 1.5 years now, and it's just fine - no leaks or anything. I'd say your service manager is just being careful and erring on the side of caution.

The one thing I did notice with my new top was that the latches were initially a bit bitchy. They seemed tight and didn't line up 100% perfectly. However, that changed with time and use, and the latches now fit and work just like my original top did. Perhaps this is what your service guy was referring to?

 

There might be some merit to what he is saying. On the other hand, he could just be an idiot. Either way, you could let the car sit in the sun for a while so the top gets nice and hot. That should loosen it up enough so that it can "stretch" and close correctly. You really do have to wonder how much the top material could possibly expand/contract. It would probably be a little stiff getting it closed the first few times, but after that I can't imagine seeing any issues. Good luck with the new top!!

 

I would just leave it up for a week, just to be on the safe side. A week will pass in a hurry... especially if it is raining, which I heard is the case in Baton Rouge.

 

I had patches added at the same time they replaced my top.

Mine told me to leave the top up for 24 hours.

Are there some glues they are using in standard top replacement that need time to cure? Not sure.

Hockey

 

I had my top replaced about three months ago. Used it immediately and have had no problems.

 

When Jeff and Joe replaced my top it was raining pretty heavily out, so I didn't put the top down till a few days later. Even though they did a crappy ass job of putting it on, it still when up just fine - little stiff the first few times, but fine.

Although waiting a week makes some sense, I'm sure you be fine. Just make sure the use the little handle dealy when closing the latches...

 

yup -- it has been raining a good bit down here, but we're hoping for a sunny weekend...

this is what makes sense to me... all you guys are thinking along the same lines as i... i'll keep it up for a bit, but if it's sunny this weekend when i'm heading to our next meet -- down she goes!