tromly

Good luck to you my friend, hope this does not costs much $$$$ !

iamsam9

hello my sc430's,

2003 with the same issue here. started to get worse last week where the top roof portion would not dis-engage from the top portion.

i press open and the following will happen:
- driver/passenger windows roll down (normal)
- 2 quarter panel windows rool down (normal)
- back trunk latches and starts to lift up (normal)
- the top roof hooks on each corner un-hooks (normal)
- the tope roof begins to dis-engage from the top (stuck - not normal)

it seems it doesn't have enough juice or power to fully dis-engage and go back.

it got to a point where i kept lifting my finger off the "open" and "close" button and
suddenly i couldn't close the trunk anymore and was stuck halfway thru the process.
i can hear the back switch and/or relay crancking but it got stuck and hung in the close/open process.

i turned off the engine, waited for a minute and fired her up again.
i pressed the "close" button and finally the trunk came back down to normal.

I'm taking her into the dealership to service (no warranty).
the trunk struts were replaced back in '05/'06 under warranty.
so i don't think i have a trunk strut issue.
the trunk lid seems to stay up when i lift the trunk lid up.

i will post diagnostics and fix when more info is available.

Harold57

iamsam9, if your trunk lid stays up and will remain that way for a few minutes, then the struts should be okay. However, be aware that the OEM struts seem to only last about 3 to 5 years. I'm on my third set in the 7 years that I've owned the car (I had to replace the struts as soon as I bought it).

If the roof gets stuck part way through and won't go back down, it sounds like it may have gone off track.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

JohnnyCake

According to Mister Blister in this thread the struts do not engage and are unrelated to the top opening (the trunk goes in a different direction when the top is opening). My struts are definitely going, but I was looking a this cuz if they are related to the top, I definitely want to do them asap.

Harold57

They actually do open a little bit. However, I can only say this, my top got to be very unreliable with regards to openning (it was intermittent). I had let the struts go bad with the plans on replacing them when I actually got around to doing my 90kmi service. Well, that was several months after noticing that the struts were going bad. About a month or so before I had them replaced, the top retraction started acting up.

After I had the struts changed out, the problem completely went away and has not reoccurred. That was several months ago with no problems with the top since. So I doubt that it was circumstancial.

mrblister

Hi Johnny The thread you refer to must be in invisible ink I don't remember commenting. But it could of been in another thread

Senior moment for me

JohnnyCake

Click on "this thread" and you will be taken there.

mrblister

Ha Ha the link is dead [ as in does not work ]

Buddy

JohnnyCake

No, I meant click on the words: "this thread" in the ORIGINAL message. Those words should appear in a slightly different color. Or you could go manually:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/7903905-post3.html

mrblister

What a well thought out and expressed logical conclusion in that thread. It just cant be me. i never make any sense

iamsam9

Well, i got a call from the "stealership" service center and they said it was the luggage track line that went off track.

good news is that nothing else related to the convertible top is broken or needs to be replaced.
bad news is that i'll have to eat up their labor charges which comes out to around 600 for 4 hours of labor.

i use the hell out that convertible top and so i guess after 10 years of shrug and tug, something's got to give and having the right technicians fix is worth the $$$ and i would feel confident is using it again and again.

My right finger seems to be accustomed and attached to that "CLOSE/OPEN" button.

but at least i don't have any possible bad parts to purchase or replace.....for now...

mrblister

They charge you at a rate of $ 150.00 per hour!!

My lexus dealer charges 115.00 per hour.

Harold57

iamsam9, I'm glad to hear that they found the problem and didn't have to replace any parts.
Wow, four hours of labor! That fact alone would make me glad that someone else (who, in theory, knows what they are doing) did the work. Of course, the painful part is the bill.

Oh well, maybe your next top down experience will be just that much better. (Use it quick before the cool, less than 100degF, weather goes away.)