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Just wanted to post this here in case anyone else encounters the same problem.
I was also getting the "soft top storage box not lowered please remove obstacle" error message when there was nothing in my trunk. I manually raised the storage box, closed the trunk, then attempted to lower the top again (several times). The storage box would lower with each attempt, but the dash would display the error and the top would not lower. Activating the switch I could hear the top motor attempting to lower the top, but nothing was happening.
To try and determine what might be failing, I laid the back seats down to try and get a better look. That's when I noticed the support bar that runs across the back of the back seats for the soft top storage box was uneven. As the soft top storage box was attempting to lower, it was bottoming out on one side, but the other side was not lowered. I was able to manually adjust the bar where it sits in the gears so that it was even across the back. Voila! The top started working again.
I suspect I may have had something in the way when I last attempted to lower the top causing this to get off track.
HAD TO SHOW LOVE FOR MAHICKERSON!!! Thanks for taking the time to post this valuable info. Fixed the problem for me!! Just drove from San Diego to NYC with a full trunk and experienced the same issue. Was scared I wouldn’t be able to get the glory of summer in NYC with the top down without taking it to the dealership. THEN I SAW YOUR POST. Game changer. Many many thanks and positive vibes to you, my friend. Would love to buy you a drink one day.
Thank you!!!
I was having the same problem, lowered the back seats and there it was. The support bar was not leveled, so I just fixed that and now everything is working again.
Thanks for the detailed write up
I recently popped a tire in a pothole and had to put on my spare. I guess at some point during repairing the tire and putting things back into the trunk I had some sort of storage compartment problem. After reading this I lowered the backseats, started the car, climbed into the back and held the roller bar down while I operated the top. After one rotation, it works fine on its own multiple times. I hope this fix will hold up, but I definitely think this is the best response to the problem so far. Thanks for the visual aids!!!
Over the last couple of days my 2012 A5 Convertible will only close the top half way while doing it electronically. Hold down close button and everything works normal until top gets about half way closed and then it stalls. I could definitely use some guidance from anyone who has had a similar issue. Thanks!
Over the last couple of days my 2012 A5 Convertible will only close the top half way while doing it electronically. Hold down close button and everything works normal until top gets about half way closed and then it stalls. I could definitely use some guidance from anyone who has had a similar issue. Thanks!
You really need to have vcds or a obd2 scanner that can read the live data. My guess is the f171 hall sensor went bad or the f202 cables snapped by the passenger side where the cable run, they break after being bent so many times. Check f202 sensor wires by the passengers head on the convertible top frame.
y;24449273]Hi, i have a warning that has come up on my dash saying 'soft top storage box not lowered please remove obstacle' but there is no obstacle and i don't kno how to fix it! i have read the user manual and it says there is a lever in the left hand side of the boot behind the pull down flap but i can see one! i must be blind!!
any help will be much appreciated!
many thanks[/QUOTE]
I put 2 stronger magnets on ones that are on the fabric thats attached to the little box that goes down first and magic,everything worked like new.
This is usually what happens when the storage box is misaligned follow the instructions on the images in this thread that shows the storage box when seats are folded down. Pull down to even it out and push storage box up from the trunk, it should reset.
If you need more help there is a video on YouTube showing how to close manually. Hope this helps
Just wanted to post this here in case anyone else encounters the same problem.
I was also getting the "soft top storage box not lowered please remove obstacle" error message when there was nothing in my trunk. I manually raised the storage box, closed the trunk, then attempted to lower the top again (several times). The storage box would lower with each attempt, but the dash would display the error and the top would not lower. Activating the switch I could hear the top motor attempting to lower the top, but nothing was happening.
To try and determine what might be failing, I laid the back seats down to try and get a better look. That's when I noticed the support bar that runs across the back of the back seats for the soft top storage box was uneven. As the soft top storage box was attempting to lower, it was bottoming out on one side, but the other side was not lowered. I was able to manually adjust the bar where it sits in the gears so that it was even across the back. Voila! The top started working again.
I suspect I may have had something in the way when I last attempted to lower the top causing this to get off track.
Thank you 👍 great post . The trick is working for me but unfortunately I need to adjust the roller bar manually all the time in order to open the roof. Any tips how to make it roll it all the way automatically?
It has been a while since I commented originally. My top had been opening regularly until I went to the airport and I had to put the roof storage box up to hold our luggage. After our trip to Alaska (Outstanding!), the roof storage box compartment would slam down (open) the first time and then I got the dreaded error message.
Normally I can fiddle with the metal tabs on the left and right side on the plastic panel to get them to engage those two sensors.
For a couple weeks I played with it, then I remembered my post above... Today I went to Habor Freight and bought two magnets for $0.99 and placed each one above the sensors and below the metal tabs. IT FLIPPING WORKED (with one caveat)!!!
CAVEAT: If your storage box is NOT lowered with the black metal facing the trunk lid down, then you MUST remove the magnets so that the car sees that it must release the spring so the roof storage box drops. IF THE BOX IS NOT LOWERED, THE CONVERTIBLE TOP WILL OPEN AND YOU COULD PROBABLY DAMAGE SOMETHING EXPENSIVE.
Once the box is lowered, place the magnets above the sensor and below the metal tabs. You can see the sensor and metal tabs from @sharpblade81 's post on 3/31/2020.
PLEASE BE MINDFUL IF YOU ARE GOING TO LEND YOUR CONVERTIBLE TO SOMEONE MAKE SURE THAT THEY DO NOT EXPAND THE TRUNK BY PUTTING UP THE BLACK BAR AND THE STORAGE BOX. They may decide to open the roof without knowing our little hack here. You may want to remove the magnets as a precaution.
With any luck, the metallic tabs on the plastic panel will re-magnetize sufficiently to solve the real problem.
Hi, i have a warning that has come up on my dash saying 'soft top storage box not lowered please remove obstacle' but there is no obstacle and i don't kno how to fix it! i have read the user manual and it says there is a lever in the left hand side of the boot behind the pull down flap but i can see one! i must be blind!!
08-05-2021, 07:16 AM
