SL-Class (R230) 2003 -- 2012: Discussion on the SL500, SL550, SL600

SL/R230: Putting Top Down-Trunk Stays Up

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Old Oct 23, 2011 | 03:19 PM
  #1  
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2004 SL500
Putting Top Down-Trunk Stays Up

I just tried to put the top down and it got all the way through the process except for the final lid closing. As the book says, after about 7 minutes the pressure bled off and I could push the lid down 90% of the way.

After waiting ten minutes, I tried to finish putting it down or up and nothing happens. Message is that vario top is on operation.

Any suggestions as to what might be wrong?

Thanks
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Old Oct 24, 2011 | 06:24 AM
  #2  
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Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, 2010 W212 E350, 1990 W201 190E, 2019 Volvo V90 R design, Golf GTi
Could be the 'flappy hood' problem. Mine has been doing it intermittently for a while but now when the back comes down on the final bit before closing the flappy bit drops a little but loses contact with the microswitch. I've temporarily taped the switch over so it stays in the right position until I get the part from Merc.
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Old Oct 24, 2011 | 05:09 PM
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Flaps were tight. At my Indie right now. Ran Star test and nothing came right up.
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Old Oct 29, 2011 | 01:19 PM
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Eurocharged 2004 E500, Eurocharged ECU/TCU 2005 SL600, 2010 Caddy SwaggerWagon
Happened to my car 2 summers ago, exactly as you describe it. Main pump that controls the roof went bad....$2500

Got stuck here...




Last edited by Benz-O-Rama; Oct 29, 2011 at 01:27 PM.
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Old Oct 30, 2011 | 04:52 PM
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Yup, looks like a $2,500 fix.
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Old Oct 30, 2011 | 08:47 PM
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2007 E63, 2006 C55
Re: Trunk Stays Up

In Clayton's case, looking at the photos, I'd have thought he had this feature built into his tune allowing him to raise the trunk lid in event he was about to under run his dial in.

More seriously I have heard of two local to me cars with this symptom, in each case it was the main pump that required replacing at $2 -$3K depending on who was repairing it.

Hope you ended up getting a warranty.
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Old Oct 31, 2011 | 10:31 AM
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Originally Posted by NCE500
In Clayton's case, looking at the photos, I'd have thought he had this feature built into his tune allowing him to raise the trunk lid in event he was about to under run his dial in.

More seriously I have heard of two local to me cars with this symptom, in each case it was the main pump that required replacing at $2 -$3K depending on who was repairing it.

Hope you ended up getting a warranty.
AIR BRAKE FTW! LOL...

Seems like my car has 1-2 Vario Roof issues per year. Maybe because I really only drive the car in top-down weather, so it gets activated almost every time I drive it. Who knows, but again to anyone reading this, GET A WARRANTY! You may scoff when you're quoted $5000.00 for it, but I promise you it's worth every penny. You'd have a hard time distinguishing my car from a new car, but it's had probably $10K in warranty repair. For example, my passenger side headlamp ballast control module died, not the ballast, but the module that controls it. That was $2200.00. Silly little things like this are very expensive to fix.....

WARRANTY WARRANTY WARRANTY!
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Old Oct 31, 2011 | 05:07 PM
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Who do you have as a warranty company?
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Old Oct 31, 2011 | 08:44 PM
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Warranty

Suggest you contact Bruce at Becks Imports. He has posted here several times on the topic and can get you a warranty.
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