Marki Mark

Hello,

I have read a few threads here and was wondering if any of you could share some knowledge with me for an issue I am having with convertible top of the TT.

I recently purchased a 2009 3.2 V6 a few days ago. Very clean and drives like a dream so far. I did expect something to come up sooner or later and this evening as I was heading out, I decided to put the top down and that was the time I encountered the first issue. The top went down properly but just as it reached the end, it stayed up an inch or so with the side flaps still up. Keeping my finger on the switch, it didn't work but by forcing the switch a bit, it then packed down completely but slowly. Once the flap went down completely, the windows then rolled up in normal speed.

As much as I would like to think this is a minor adjustment which can be done manually, I have to ask if anybody here know what this issue might be and how it can be resolved?

I am open to all suggestions!

Cheers!
Mark

Vegas-roadster

I've not heard this problem on this or any other boards. My guess is that the switch is not working properly. You could try to spray some contact cleaner into the switch. The only common problem with the top is that if you leave the top down for an extended period, like overnight, you will get a "top not secure" message when you drive away in the morning. You can ignore this. Folks have had their flap motors and sensors replaced and it did not solve the problem. I've had my sensors adjusted twice with no improvement. It's a minor annoyance. You can either ignore it or cycle the top part way open and then close again. My unconfirmed guess is that the top expands a bit after a while and forces the flaps up a bit which triggers the sensor.

Phil G.

Mark, I'm an expert on this one! My 2008 TT-R has been in the shop (most recently today) for a variety of issues related to convertible top malfunction. You have flap motors, and a number of sensors that must be functioning perfectly in order for the top to work. I have had both the flap motors and sensors replaced twice, and adjustments made to both on 2 other occasions. Over this past weekend, when I tried to retract my top, the warning light came on, the top froze midway down, and the message "top is not operable" came up on instrument cluster. Look at your manual - there is a slot in the rear drivers side of the trunk where you can "decompress" the hydraulics which control the top, then manually raise or lower the top. The next day, the motor began magically working again and I was able to latch the top up using the mechanism. There is a way to do it manually if needed using the crank that is in the toolkit of the car. When they checked the faults in the car's computer, just said it needed flap motor adjustment - which I had done today. It's raining here in PA so I haven't tried it yet but will over the next couple of days. These problems represent a known design flaw in the car's convertible top mechanism. My dealer stopped charging me anything after the second time it malfunctioned. And there was no charge today for the computer check and repair. I didn't have the problem all last Spring and Summer - and I'm hoping this does the trick for this season. But, it's unpredictable. Just spraying some lubricant likely won't fix the issue. There was apparently a TSB on this a while back. I would take it to your dealer and insist that it be repaired at no charge to you, since it's a known issue and clearly a design flaw. Good luck!!

Vegas-roadster

My thought was since the top continued to operate after he pressed the switch harder, that it might be a switch contact issue. If so you should spray cleaner, not lubricant.

Phil G.

Agree, if it is the switch. In the 7 years I've owned the car and through all the top malfunctions, the problem has never been the switch. The system simply stops responding if everything - top motor, flap motors and sensors are not all perfectly aligned. My suggestion is to check the computer for faults - it will tell you exactly where the problem is.

Vegas-roadster

but a readout shows no faults. If I had not bring the car in with the problem, I don't think they would have believed me. As I said, for me it's a minor annoyance so I just ignore it. I've read your posts about your problems before and yours is the worst I've seen on any TT board.

Phil G.

I'm wondering what Mark's experience is here and whether his problems showed up as a fault. If mine was a minor annoyance that corrected itself, I'd ignore it too. Mark - waiting for your follow up!

Marki Mark

Hey guys,

Thanks for your suggestions on this.

Here's what happened so far. I wasn't able to rest well the night I posted this issue. I quickly went to the parking lot and tried opening the top again and it did the same thing. After hearing Vegas' suggestion I used the button to close the top less than half way up, slightly adjusted the canvas to fold properly and then tried bringing it down again and it worked like brand new. I tried this a few times. So happy that I couldn't resist taking it for another spin. A couple of days passed and I took the top down again which was this evening and it did the same but when trying it the second time, it worked.

As far as I understand, it is the fold that is causing it and it is literally centimeters of adjustments as the canvas is still sitting nicely on the frame.

I haven't tried your option yet Phil as it seems like it requires a bit of time to do that and I have been pretty much booked back to back with work. I would like to study that a bit further and try it though, and I will.

Now I have a question. If it were a problem with lets say the senors or flap motors, it wouldn't work in the first place, however, I am NOT experienced with convertibles or Audi's. What do you think?

Also Phil, my car was not bought from the Audi dealers. It does have a warranty on it for a year from where I purchased it but it does not cover the top, just engine, gear box, AC. I doubt that the Audi dealers here would take the car in for a free repair. Are you saying this design flaw is acceptable by all Audi dealers and have agreed to a "No Charge" on this particular issue as and when risen?

Phil G.

Mark, I'm not suggesting that Audi dealers will universally agree to cover top repairs due to defective flap motors or sensors, but as there was a TSB on this issue, it's worth investigating what your local dealer would do. Mine was originally covered under the new car warranty, but after a couple of repairs, my service dept just agreed that if similar malfunctions occurred in the future, I would incur no charges, which is the case. I'm wondering if when your top malfunctioned, whether a fault came up in the computer, and whether you got the flashing convertible top warning light and a message saying "soft top is inoperable." Hopefully, it's just a minor canvas positioning issue with yours and not a major motor or sensor issue. As I've said, when this initially happened, they had my car for over 2 weeks and replaced all the motors and sensors to get it working properly. I'm about to wash it today, and give the top a try - first attempt since it went in earlier this week for a "flap motor adjustment." We'll see - I'll let you know. When the top is working and it's 70 outside, there's nothing better than the TT with the top down! It's the insecurity that it won't go back up that is so bothersome.

Marki Mark

Well said there Phil. There is that always insecurity.

I believe I have understood what has happened with the top. So, this evening I take the top down and it worked fine. As a matter of fact, it worked pretty quick as well and as soon as it sat down, it made a small thump noise. It just made me wonder why it went down that quick. But it was one of those things where I just felt happy and drove out. Once I got back, parked the car and took the top back up, like always I had a look around the car for any new scratches, tires pressure, top etc and there it was, sadly, the glue had come undone against the canvas and rear screen. So annoyed at this stage I can't begin to tell you. Now I believe because the glue has came undone of the top part of the screen and canvas, it dropped faster due to the weight of the glass which may have sorted the flaps folding back and the mirrors going back to normal speed but of course now I have another issue to deal with. Surly taking this in for gluing is going to cost a fortune. I'm currently finding a way to see if I can fix this myself.