5th Bow Breaking

[billyboyf]

I'm sure this is the $64,000 question but what is causing the 5th bow to break? I think that if you follow the SUX's fix for rubmarks you can practically eliminate them. Now with warm weather we will be driving topless and I don't want to break my 5th bow. Are there any preventative measures?

[bulllett]

Heh heh, yup that IS the question. Nobody really knows for sure (especially GM). One thing for sure is that its not something you are doing. You just have to hope that you are not one of "the chosen" who are stuck with the problem.

Gm supoosedly has fixed the problem with a redesign for the upcoming year. But that has yet to be seen. Simply lip service until proven true.

So go right ahead and enjoy your ups and downs. Because at this point, you either got the disease or you don't. Won't matter what you do.

[95birdible]

I will be one of the first to get a car with the new fixes in. You can bet when I take delivery in about 4 weeks I am going over it with a fine tooth comb. Pics to follow

[babaron]

So has anyone who has NOT had the top replaced had the 5th bow break?

[spikess581]

Yes my bow broke and they screwed up the top so it needed to be replaced then it broke 3 more times

[billyboyf]

Originally Posted by 95birdible

I will be one of the first to get a car with the new fixes in. You can bet when I take delivery in about 4 weeks I am going over it with a fine tooth comb. Pics to follow

We will all be looking foward to seeing what changes and hoping the changes actually fix the problem. I'm afraid I'll be one of those who baby the car( and I do) to preserve it, and then it comes apart at 37 months or 36,001 miles.

[HDRDTD]

It almost seems like there is a way to adjust the tension on the top from front to back possibly on each side, and when they adjust the tension to minimize the rub marks, sometimes they adjust it just a bit too much putting too much strain on the 5th bow, causing it to fail.

[IL-Tracker]

Decided to have the top checked by another dealer today, one with a little more experience with verts. Anyway, was concerned for a few of reasons 1) top was not as tight as some of the pictures posted on this site, 2) there is a visible gap between the trunk lid and the top back seal, and 3) there is a little "play' in the 5th bow when pushed on. But was hesitant to do too much because the top absolutely does not leak and the rub marks are noticeable, but not horrible yet.
Anyway, the service guy took one look and said the bow was bent, shouldn't be like that and there were four other verts on the lot where the tops were tight and the back top seal was not even visible, and absolutely no gap.
Made an appointment to replace the 5th bow, under warranty, on April 2nd. They have done one other replacement and it was successful, so they are confident about my car.
Hope it goes well.

[Sam I Am]

My dealer echoed the words in the owner's manual that it was evidently put down when it was wet or too cold. They only replaced the bow or bows in my top and not the entire top as originally hoped for.

[Nutbutt]

COLD ??? WET ?? come on this is crazy, I have had many vert that I have put the top down in 40 degree weather and never had a problem. This included my 69 camaro vert which had the same top for almost 20 years.
I thought that the ECM wouldn't let you put the top down in when it was too cold ????

[spikess581]

No Nutbut that is going to be one of the changes that it will refuse to go down. That still does not explain what happened to my car none of the times it broke was it freezing all 40's 50's even 60's on the last shot. Engineer gave me a confused look when I told him that!

[deryk]

Ok so is a possible culprit as HDRDTD speculated, where the cable tension causes the bow to break? I'm taking my vert in next week to to address the wrinkling problem and I know cable tension adjustments are the solution to that. I just don't want fixed wrinkles coming at the cost of a broken 5th bow!

On a sidenote, I hate that even after show the service engineers the TSBs, they still give a confused look like they'll have to look into the problem and never heard of it before.

[spikess581]

The cables do not go anywhere near the 5th bow. There is no adjustment they just re-route them up front. That takes care of the wind noise at the front window and may help pull the wrinkles above the front windows. If you have wrinkles in the back you already have a 5th bow problem.

[deryk]

Originally Posted by spikess581

The cables do not go anywhere near the 5th bow. There is no adjustment they just re-route them up front. That takes care of the wind noise at the front window and may help pull the wrinkles above the front windows. If you have wrinkles in the back you already have a 5th bow problem.

Good to know. The wrinkles I have are above both doors. They were not there when I got the car but as I drove with the top down over the next 1 1/2 weeks, I started to notice them.