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The soft top of my beloved Spyder has started to show up damage from what I believe its a design flaw. On the left side the fabric (under de fins) already have an small tear and the right side is heading to the same destination. Looks like the damage is due to friction when folded, that's why I think this area should've been reinforced from factory.
I'm the only one with this issue?, does anybody have tried to claim this under warranty?
The circle on the pictures below shows the most significant damage and the dotted squares shows another area that surely will end up in a similar fate...
Would be a wise idea to put something to avoid more damage? (I'm thinking in a a Tenacius Gore Tex patch)
That seems an unusual place for a tear. Since the other side is also developing symmetrically, do you see or feel any metal frame/component rubbing? I'm not seeing any damage or stress marks on mine. Quite likely a warranty issue. How often do you lower/raise the top? And, do you usually leave it down for many days?
Hi. I have a 2106 Spyder which is developing tye same problem. I bought the car about 2 months ago, with 8,000 miles. It did NOT have any wear on atvthat time. I noticed it was developing this problem about a week later, after putting the top down and up a dozen or so times. I am the car into service and will have this problem looked at. However, given that I purchases the car with 8,000 miles with no wear, is ir perhaps we are not folding the roof properly????
So, I went to look inside and I'm pretty sure that I've found the root cause.
The fabric make an strong contact with an inner metallic rivet without any kind of protection (on both sides), here is an step by step pics:
STEP 1
STEP 1 (w/Zoom)
STEP 2 (50% down):
STEP 3 (folded):
Oh, by the way, 99% of the time I use the car with the top down (even at night), on very twisty back roads, but I always fold it very carefully... I think that I use the Spyder as was meant to be. Has 14200 miles on it, and when parked I always close the top.
If I would have known this before I would have done something to protect the inner part... maybe some of you have a revised version of the top? (my car was bought on October 2015)
I met a couple with your identical car 2 weeks ago at a cars and coffee event in Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego. Was that you by any chance? I did not bring my car that day, but showed you a pic of my GT Silver Spyder on my phone....
...cars and coffee event in Rancho Santa Fe, San Diego. Was that you by any chance?....
I don't live in the US so wasn't me for sure. Hey tell me how it goes with you warranty. I paid for an extended warranty for two years so I should be covered too... hopefully they wouldn't argue against it..
I have the extended warranty as well. I will let you know. I am using the pictures on your post in addition to mine to make the case. It seems like a manufacturing defect to me...Cheers!
So, I went to look inside and I'm pretty sure that I've found the root cause............
..........
Great job documenting the issue, metalone! Thanks. Would applying a couple layers of duct tape (or something comparable) on the bolt help? You could apply the tape on the top as well. Since all 981 Spyders were made for MY'16, there may not any variation in the design/build. However, a subtle variation in mechanical tolerance or assembly could make a difference between finished products.
I'm at 15,000 miles with no marks like these to report on my roof. Thanks for trying to visually document what's transpiring. Keep us posted and good luck getting it sorted.
12-25-2018, 11:14 PM
981 Spyder Soft Top premature wear
