"Soft top became unsecured at 70mph"

[ajmuir]

"Soft top became unsecured at 70mph"

Does this sound right? I went to look at an MR2 local me last night and it looks like a cracking car with the exception of some front and rear wheel arch damage (elderly previous owner by all accounts). I'm getting some quotes from local bodyshops today before making my mind up.

Anyway, when I got home I decided to Google the sellers name to see if anything untoward came up - all looked fine and certainly tallys with the background of the car. However I then found his Twitter page where one of his tweets mentioned the soft top opening during his drive to work at 70mph and acting as an "airbreak"! I would hope this was a bit of an over-exaggeration...but this has cast doubts in my mind as to how sound the soft top is.

Presumably he didn't secure it correctly in the fist place but even so, wind pressure at 70pmh must have put quite a stress on the frame / fabric.

Wonder if any of you have any similar experience of this happening?
Any untoward after effects?
Anything I should look out for during my second viewing?

Really appreciate your help, this forum has been invaluable in my search for "the one".

[Anonymous]

The soft top is really well designed and as such shouldnt be opening at any speed,It's highly likely to be human error rather than a malfunction but as it is so well made it probably didnt suffer ant damage from it.  s:D s:D

[doogz]

Just have a right good look about it, make sure the structure is symmetrical, in that there are no kinks or bends in a bar on one side, where there's not one on the other side that matches. Also have a look at the brackets at the top of the windscreen where the roof clips on, to see if they've been disturbed, or are cracked or flexing in any way.

Hope it's a good one, and you get it cheap  s:) s:)

[ChrisGB]

Never had anything like that happen to me, even on unrestricted roads at 3 figure speeds. The soft to should be secure at any speed. I would suggest a very close inspection of the hood to make sure everything is in order. Also, remember to lower the side windows before raising / lowering the roof. Are you dr zoidberg from brisky by any chance?

Chris

[FGrob]

I think you should walk away from it, it's obvious the owner does not know what he's doing, you say it has body damage, what about the wheels  s:scared: :scared: s:scared:    s:scared: :scared: s:scared:  - begs the question what else has been missed - oil checks, service etc

[Wabbitkilla]

Never had my soft top come undone at any speed, I would say anyone making that claim has tried undoing it while travelling.
Saying that they are pretty sturdy items, the only way to be sure if it's ok is to park it next to a roadster with a known good soft top.
If you can't do that then walk away ... this isn't the only car on the market.

[JudoKilli]

I've had, once or twice, the left clip pop open at speed. I'm fairly sure however that it was down to my mistake of not pushing the clip hard enough after being in a rush to get the roof up, as it only happened in the hours after putting the roof up. If the roof in question really did act as an air brake I'd suggest that the clips weren't secured properly on both sides as they are extremely stable otherwise. Check the frames and for any tears to the inner later of material.
 up

[Anonymous]

Hi and welcome,

Ive been driving home one day and realised my softop was open (by a crack) but it didnt cause any major problems... that included a 30 mile journey on the a1 at 60-70...

The problem was a human error - the other half doesnt know how to shut the latches on the roof.. so she got it wrong... so the softop was being held by one latch.

Although it isnt advisable to drive in this condition... it didnt affect me really. Hope this helps?

I guess if u put the roof down, just make sure you clip the roof correctly when you put it back up - dont be paranoid tho... just make sure for the first few times it catches correctly.

Welcome to the forum & I hope you enjoy your MR2.

Where are you based? someone might be availible to come and look at the 2 with you.

RV

[uktotty]

Happened to me a few times, all because I didn't close it properly

[onion86]

I think if the roof has been put up with the windows closed it would be quite easy to not shut/secure it properly so it may come undone. I agree it would've been user error. I sometimes close the clips, open and close again just to make sure they're on securely and always have the windows down/doors open when putting it up/down.

I'd check to see if the roof goes down properly and fits down flat to check nothing's bent. I do agree with Rob though, make sure the service book is stamped regularly as they may have been clumsy with other things.

I've put my roof up whilst travelling at lowish speeds and the top's never caught the wind. I've also put it down at 20/30 and the wind tends to make it go down properly rather than acting like any kind of parachute. Obviously that might be different at 70mph.

[wotugonado]

I think if the roof has been put up with the windows closed it would be quite easy to not shut/secure it properly so it may come undone. I agree it would've been user error. I sometimes close the clips, open and close again just to make sure they're on securely

+1

i find if its parked on an un level surface while im putting it back up, sometimes one of the latches doesnt engage properly first time of asking, so do as
above and jobs a good un.

[thekickinside]

if your strap for the 'ears' is loose it can foul the side hinge making it difficult to do up the front catches properly (the afore mentioned crack) - i wonder if he had it DOWN but not latched down and the wind got under it (seems more liekly than it opening....)

[ajmuir]

Many thanks for your thoughts everyone - I really appreciate it.

After getting a couple of quotes for the bodywork that would have needed doing (around £1,300 worth) as well as reading your informative replies, I've decided to move on and continue my search.