[Fri_night_in_ninsei]

Hi. Thinking about buying an F23. Looking to see if there are any recurring problems with the convertible top mechanism as that seems like it would be an expensive fix.

[raddoc]

I've had two F23s, 2020 230x & now a 2021 M240i MT6. No top issues with either.

[leftoverture]

Have a 2016 and not a single issue.

[Pork Rind]

I had an E88 (similar or identical top) for 10 years and now have an F23. No problems with the top other than one issue where a body shop routed a wire in such a way that it got frayed. But that wasn’t inherent to the top, just a wonky accident repair.

[Ron Jeffries]

my 2018 top has been trouble-free.

[TAZ007]

Had a 2015 F23 for 6 years and nary a problem. As long as you take care of it it will be issue free.

[EE60]

Originally Posted by TAZ007

Had a 2015 F23 for 6 years and nary a problem. As long as you take care of it it will be issue free.

No problems with mine. There was one problem with a tension strap in early cars, but there was a tab fix. I am also planning to switch my roof relays when the car gets older to be safe. You can find a description and diy on line

[cristo]

Our 2020 was nonfunctional when we
bought it (new with less than 10 miles
on the odo including the test drive).
A few weeks later we brought it in
(this was December 2019) and they
replaced the convertible control
module and it’s been perfect ever since.

[Mizuno]

Mines been fine. 2018.

[jzeiler4]

My 2021 F23 has been just fine for the last 11 months and my E46 top worked flawlessly for 17 years.

[vballer]

My 2018 M240i has had no problems in the 3 years I've had it.

[Oltimer]

I’ve had quite a few verts over the last 20 yrs and I’ve had 2 issues top related in that time, and neither fix cost a fortune to repair.

[msej449]

I've had convertible soft-tops before and the one on my M235i is a world away from previous generations in terms of reliability and build. I've not had any problems since new in mid-2016.

If you do decide to go for it, take a look at some of the threads on here on caring for the soft-top, which have some useful advice.

With the smaller rear window in the 'vert, the reversing camera is pretty essential, in my view. And ideally, the car should come with the folding wind deflector included, as it makes the cabin much quieter/calmer at speed. Make sure you test drive with this in place.

If you have the roof up but the windows are all open, the manual recommends you set the aircon to Auto so that it pushes enough air through the car to stop the roof flapping. And with the top down, the car knows it's a 'vert and won't try to aircon the entire universe if it's set to Auto.

As for care, the recommendation is always to store the car with the roof up, to keep the fabric stretched. And if it's wet, to wait 'till it dries before folding it away. And to clean/re-proof it a couple of times a year (there are loads of BMW and 3rd-party products that will suit). I found the BMW proofing agent, while relatively pricey, lasted me 3-4 years, as it's pretty concentrated.

Although there are very few reports of problems, it's worth reading the Owners Manual on how to put the roof up if the mechanism fails. Just to be prepared. There's also a thread on this here.

If you are cleaning the car and part-fold-down the top - e.g. to vacuum-clean the storage compartment - then with the ignition on, it will wait 10 mins 'before being lowered slowly' but if the ignition is off it will 'move down after a short time'. So be careful not to have your hands anywhere near the mechanism.

[RoundelM3]

2016 F23 228i convertible - zero issues, and I also had the recommended "fix" for the top straps done by the dealer.

[leftoverture]

Originally Posted by RoundelM3

2016 F23 228i convertible - zero issues, and I also had the recommended "fix" for the top straps done by the dealer.

What does this fix involve specifically? I have a 2016 also, how do I know if the fix has been done?

[RoundelM3]

Apparently there was a recall for a problem with the main "straps" in the top itself, and they replaced both of them (right and left) at no cost. You can have a dealership check your car's maintenance record to see if the fix was performed.

[Neverlost99]

Not sure when I ever put mine up

[msej449]

My 2016 M235i Convertible needed the roof headlining fix and it was done in Jan 2017 for free when I took the car in fr a winter check. On the customer invoice is appeared as:
___________________________________________
T ¦ NOTES
¦ Carried out Convertible Roof Headlining Campaign
¦ Covered Under BMW Warranty
___________________________________________

It only seemed to affect a subset of vehicles, and it seemed just to be a short-term issue. And the recall wasn't top priority: a lot of owners would have got it done at the next service.

But as mentioned, any dealer can check the VIN and see whether it needed to be done and whether the replacements were installed.

[TrboMike]

I bought my 2017 with 18k miles on it. After a few weeks of driving I had a fogged back window and hit the rear defroster and it never came on. Dropped it at dealer. They diagnosed for 3 weeks (changed an ECU, changed a relay, some kind of electronic unit under top). Nothing working. They wound up ordering an entirely new top (two weeks+ to arrive, another two weeks+ to install) which scared the hell out of me.

Except for one of the bows stitched a little incorrectly effecting the smoothness (I let it go) the top has been flawless for years now. Thank god I was under warranty. No idea what previous owner did for it to fail.

[60_Driver]

Only had my ‘16 since April. Top looks mint, no issues so far!

[bobkat09]

Do any of the hinges or other moving parts need some type of regular maintenance or lubrication?

[Slow_B58]

So I have an 2018 M240i F23. i’ve been having an issue where the driver side latch doesn’t fully latch on after top goes down. is there anyway to fix this issue? sometimes it fully latches and sometimes it doesn’t. is there also a way to do this through bimmercode?