yyyiiikes

I have no idea how the soft top got cut, but there is a clean slice 3/4" on the driver side.

I have called a couple auto trim and auto vinyl places and they indicated this is really bad news. Said that a patch (even on the inside) would look really bad because the heat would blister the outside. And they would not gaurantee it would stick for very long.

Is this real? Should I just slap some electrical tape on the inside?

My car is a garage queen so I am not too worried about water intruding on such a small cut.

But I do not want it to grow into a larger problem as I get more miles or pull the top up and down.

Any comments welcome.

wanabe

i recall seeing something about patching in the helms manual...
since its vinyl, i am sure it can be done (might not look like new, but if patched from the inside it shouldnt show too much).
hopefully, someone else will have more personal experience with this

Convict

I had a cut very similar to what you describe. It was very small and was towards the driver's side in the middle. I had a shop that specializes in upholstery and convertible tops do the patch. They simply put what looks like a leather patch on the inside of the car. They used some sort of special mixture of glue they had in a random jar, so I'm not sure what it was exactly. Try to find a shop that specializes in convertible tops and they should be able to fix it no problem. Oh and it ended up costing about $40 to do, so not bad. Good luck.

yyyiiikes

Convict,

Thanks for the response. The cut looks very minor to me but I have taken it to a couple of auto trim places and they freak out saying the top is ruined and there is nothing they could do that I would be happy with. Both have mentioned heat which say would affect the outside appearance.

In your case, did the glue/patch method make the cut more noticeable? How long has the patch been in place?

Thanks very much.

usace

I noticed you have a 2004 so it's more than likely still under warranty. There was a long thread where several members noticed holes in their soft tops and were trying to have the tops repaired/replaced under warranty. Here it is:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...403&hl=hole+top

It's rather long, but it appears that holes in the top are a common occurence and you should definitely read through it. Members reported holes in a few different locations and one of them might match yours. You never know, your dealership might replace it under warranty if you approach them about it.

Convict

Mine has been on for about a month now, so I can't really say on long term integrity yet. However, I have some confidence in this shop that did the patch since they have been in business so long and I believe them to be very professional, they do a lot of work on older european cars. The cut was not very visible in the first place, it did not go completely through both layers of the top across the entire cut. The top/first layer was cut, but the second underside layer was just cut maybe half of the length or so. Is your cut very noticeable from the outside? Mine wasn't very, I had to show people what I was talking about, you couldn't easily just look for it and find it. So the patch job did not effect the outside appearance at all, but of course from the inside you can clearly see the patch. If your car is so new then it's definitely worth the shot of taking it to the dealer and asking them about it.

keith_seo

my top was actually cut really wide when my seats were stolen. with the money i got from the insurance company, i got a hardtop instead and just had a upholstery store do a patchjob. i mean, it doesn't look very "cute" but it's been a year and it stll holds well under rain (yes i'm in SEATTLE!) and everything. i recommend a patch job if there's no other option.

yes, my cut was a lot longer than a few inches since some asshole must've been able to get inside

good luck!