I had a Boxster before, the convertible top had a problem.
while I took the car to dealer, I found all the Porsche convertible have the top's problem, boxsters and 911s sitting around....
cost $2k to fix it, afraid to open the top after that, coz that day, I needed to put my head all the way down, while I drove home with the Boxster with the failure top (stop in the air)... shame

thinking to buy a SC, anyone knows if the SC has any top's problem?

 

yes they do.. depending on how often you use the top some do fail and I heard the cost of it is 2k. You will just need to test the top on the vehicle that your looking at to see if you hear anything strange about it. Another issue I have with my top that I believe others have as well is the thumping sound at the top where the top latches on to the car. happens especially when the vehicle body flexes or when I go over a bump or something. supposedly this can be fixed if top is adjusted.

 

I have an 02 SC that I purchased 3 years ago. Never had a problem with the roof and its hard to tell you are in a vert with the hardtop up. I have been on this forum for all 3 years of ownership and seldom see roof problems. That said, if you encounter roof problems they will be expensive. Consumer reports have been very favorable and have recommended this car for several years. Of all hardtop convertibles, the sc by far is the most reliable. None the less, I took no chances and made sure my sc was eligible for a warranty. To my surprise I was able to purchase a 7 year warranty.

 

I agree with Solman. I've never had a problem with my roof ('03) in the 4+ years I've had it. I know others with this car and they've never had any roof problems.

There have also been very few reported problems from fellow CL members (2 or 3 that I can remember in the 4 years I've been coming here).

But, the roof on the SC is a very complicated mechanism. If something does go wrong...even something as simple as a defective switch or sensor, it's going to require the expertise of a dealer to diagnose and fix the problem. And few trips to the dealership are cheap.

 

If I remember correctly the sliding retractable roof of the SC has 26 sensors, switches, motors and ECUs to keep everything working in perfect harmony. It is a sophisticated piece of engineering. The SC's motor has quit a few more moving parts than its sliding retractable roof.

My SC was built in April of 2001, I've examined its service history from day one and it's sliding retractable roof has worked perfectly. Whereas other parts of my car have failed over time, e.g. trunk lid struts. Does that mean that a package shelf motor won't fail, or a switch break next week? Of course not, these are mechanical devices, subject to the same wear and tear as well as the vibrations caused by roads in poor repair as are its other parts.

As others have mentioned I too purchased an extended warranty with my car when I bought it in 2009. Knowing then, what I know now about the reliability of the Lexus SC430, I would have put the money into a car maintenance account instead of the warranty and would still have more than 75% of the money still there two years later. (my one warranty claim has been for replacing the poor quality ML door speakers)

 

Makes me more at ease now that I didn't get it. I was worried about getting an extended warranty but your right, the sc is a pretty solid car. Knock on wood

 

Sometimes the side top motors go bad. Easy to replace yourself. But its an 800 dollar motor. It really isnt that bad when you have a scan tool that gives you codes which hints where the problem is.

 

The SC430 seem to be very reliable compare to other harptop. However, everything could fail & especially on a vehicle invloved accident/impact. Look for an SC430 with no accident & clean service history.

I gotta said that the cabinet noise of the SC is much better some non-convert car....ex. my RSX, somewhat same as the G35x

 

Been a member for five years on here and lurking visitor for years before that and I can only think of 1-2 issues EVER of the top failing.

I would put a bet in Vegas down on this top over any other in the market. Even manual ones! LOL...Had a manual top on my 300Z one time that had track problems, believe it or not.

Do a search for "top problems" in the SC specific forums and see for yourself. I'd bet there are more questions about if it does fail than actual issues, which is a good thing!

Bottom line-try to get a CPO car or one under warranty or buy an extended warranty if you are truly worried about it. More than likely over the course of your SC's life you will spend much more replacing or fixing the Mark Levinson speakers than you will the top!

 

Yeah, like a Mac computer and an iPhone....the top just works.

 

I had reoccurring top problems (cable, sensors, struts, leakage) with my `02, and I traded it at the time for an `04 after my tech convinced me that the problems he had seen thus far were all with the `02s. Thereafter, I experienced absolutely no problems with the `04 for as long as I owned it.

 

Wonderful inputs and discussion...two years after the fact and the posts remain entirely relevant and get to my concerns...and angst. Just purchased a 2006 SC and am torn between dealer ext warranty and third party or no warranty. Car has 53k and my primary concern is the top. The one extended warranty where I read the exclusions seems not to cover many of the associated mechanisms. The dealer warranty seems to cover everything but at double the price. This is my first post but 4th Lexus. Thanks for being here.

 

You know, I bought my 2007 as a CPO - three full years of new car warranty - and I still purchased the extended too. It's little to pay for piece of mind IMHO. I plan on keeping the car until at least 2016 when the warranty runs out and perhaps beyond.

I've never had an issue at all (knock wood).

 

I own a 2002 430SC which I purchases new. It works when I put the top down . When I hit the close button it sometimes stops have way up . The only way I can get it to close is disconnect the battery. Some how this reboots the system . Sometimes after disconnecting and reconnecting the battery it will go up & down once , but it won't work again after that. Any ideals what might be wrong.

 

Are you doing this with the engine running or off? If the engine is off, the battery could be getting weak.