I got a 1994 325i a few weeks ago and except for a few hiccups (e.g., no trunk release handle), I'm loving it. Except that the fifth time I raised the top, the rear window was cracked. I'm happy to replace it, because it was so opaque that I couldn't see out of it, but this is first mechanized ragtop I've ever had and I want to make sure that I don't screw up a new top, too.

When I've had non-mechanized convertibles in the past, I'd carefully, carefully fold the plastic and fabric into neat rows by hand as I collapsed the top. But since I'm collapsing the top by pushing the button in the car, I can't also be standing at the side of the car making sure the rear window folds into pretty horizontal rows.

Is there some trick to making sure that the mechanism folds the rear window into neat rows that won't break? I plan to buy a replacement from eMiata, and his site says that his tops are a softer plastic that's less likely to crease, which seems like it should help solve the problem, but it also seems to me (as a wide-eyed innocent newbie to mechanized tops) that this kind of nonsense should be avoidable.

Any light you can shed on care and feeding of the rear window and automatic mechanism is greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Elissa M.

I had the same problem with my new plastic window. Instead of folding right down the middle it would vertically crease badly.

I just take my finger off the top button so it stops lowering, then go around to the window and make it fold right by running a microfiber towel along the correct fold line in the window.After that just go press the button again to finish lowering the top. After quite a while of doing that my window finally folds correctly without me messing with it. I hope thats what you were referring to?

operating the top in cold weather will cause it to crack. the cold causes the plastic to get very brittle.

i think the owners manual recommends not operating the top in weather below 65 F?

to help prevent creasing and rubbing, i lay a towel in the crease as its folding down. it keeps the window from touching after it folds in half.

It's kinda sh¡tty to have a fully-auto roof and still need to get out to fold the window correctly, but it'll sure make the window last longer.

I believe the manual itself (I have a seperated BMW manual for just the fully-auto roof alone) and IIRC it should not be operated below 10 degrees celcius (sorry too lazy to covert)

But even when the temp is good, if it's been in cold for long times, the plastic gets hard anyways and it will still crack. (I know because it happend on mine). They are just so expensove for a piece of plastic but aftermarket cheap ones are just that. Cheap. Funny enough they are very thin plastic and while they crease like sh¡t, they do fold better because of this.

The man/woman who bought my 150.000 Guilder car in 1996 must have been butted to know it has a plastic window, when my mates cheap Ford Escort Cabrio had a glass one.....and so do I!

It's kinda sh¡tty to have a fully-auto roof and still need to get out to fold the window correctly, but it'll sure make the window last longer.

.......

Ford Escort Cabrio

+1 :(

im sure the european "ford escort" is much different than the us spec "ford escort" but the thought of a ford escort vert makes me laugh. :rofl

Thanks for all the insight. So this is actually going to be *harder* than the all-manual tops since I have to be in the car to push the button, get out to make the folds all nice, and then get back in to push the button to get it the rest of the way down? Argh.

Maybe I'll just keep the top down all the time. The heater works really well.

+1 :(

im sure the european "ford escort" is much different than the us spec "ford escort" but the thought of a ford escort vert makes me laugh. :rofl

Thanks palomino!!!!! ha ha, I was like... ok ford mustang-vert. ford.....escort???? wagon? sedan? VERT????? what the hell.... ha ha

10 degrees celsius is 50 Degree F.

It's kinda sh¡tty to have a fully-auto roof and still need to get out to fold the window correctly, but it'll sure make the window last longer.

I believe the manual itself (I have a seperated BMW manual for just the fully-auto roof alone) and IIRC it should not be operated below 10 degrees celcius (sorry too lazy to covert)

But even when the temp is good, if it's been in cold for long times, the plastic gets hard anyways and it will still crack. (I know because it happend on mine). They are just so expensove for a piece of plastic but aftermarket cheap ones are just that. Cheap. Funny enough they are very thin plastic and while they crease like sh¡t, they do fold better because of this.

The man/woman who bought my 150.000 Guilder car in 1996 must have been butted to know it has a plastic window, when my mates cheap Ford Escort Cabrio had a glass one.....and so do I!