Thanks for this excellent advice. I can to wind my screws out 3.5 turns to achieve any results. Previously when closed the screws didn't even touch the roof arms. Horace is (for the moment) rattle free.
Dude!!!! Works a treat!!!! We've had a clacking for a while over bigger bumps. Highlighted more so today when someone came to test drive her. Did this fix (about a turn on the drivers side, half on the other) and all clacking has ceased.
Is there a knack to getting the trim off without busting it ? I need to do this fix but am struggling to find whether it's the trim itself or mechanism and , quite frankly, I'm a bit heavy handed for this sort of thing.
I had another look today but still can't figure the trim thing out so I'd be grateful for any pointers. I don't just want to pull and break all the clips off and then have to put up with rattling from the wife as well. On the plus side, I did feel obliged to go for a drive seeing as the roof was half open anyway
Can anyone who has done this fix please enlighten me as to whether I need any tools to take the trim off or just pull it with my fingers ? Update. I managed to do it without removing the trim but this now begs the question of how can I tell if I've overdone it ? I assume that with the trim off, you all check the inside with the roof up to make sure the stopper isn't pressing too hard on the frame but obviously I can't do that and don't want to split the stopper/cover. I reckon I did 3/4 to 1 turn on each side. I tried 1/2 turn, adjusted the lock nut, and it was fine until I went for a roof down drive. Although it was quiet roof down, it got noisy again roof up so I did another 1/4 turn but haven't had chance to retest it. I also need to jinx a way to adjust the drivers catch which flaps around a bit. It's not a backwards/forwards issue but the front of the big catch cover that's rattling.
Sounds like your doing it right. Just go a little at a time until it stops rattling then try backing off slightly and see if ithe rattle comes back. Just try to make sure the tension on each of the locking clips is similar. Are you sure the rattle isn't caused by the clips? Push the sun visors between them to be sure. The other rattle is caused by the passenger seat belt when not being used. That's tricked a few of us, me included
Hehe, same here. Choose to leave the passenger belt out of the belt guide, that way it retracts better and the clip remains on the lumbar support of the seat instead of the B-pillar.
Good point guys. After the first success, I dragged the missus out for a topless run so the passenger seatbelt is the most likely cause. I already use the sun visors to try and stop the clips rattling as they're not much use for blocking the sun, but a good tip all the same. When I first did the fix with 1/2 turn, I put some tape on the stopper to gauge the pressure on it. It seemed fine so I don't think the extra 1/4 turn should hurt but I'll tape it again tomorrow. Did you guys take the trim off ? If so, how - I can only see the clips from one side so unsure how they work.
Could someone please help me why the roof closes completely no matter how much I pull the screw(stopper) outward and make it longer? The guide says when the screw is turned and the screw is pulled outwards(turned counter-clockwise), the roof won't be closed completely until the latch is closed. Mine is not... Thanks!
Thank you to the original poster & later comments. Method 2 can seem confusing but isn't bad. Bring your laptop / ipad ... to your car with these instructions, start following the steps, opening the roof panels & such. And they do come off easily, don't be scared. In 4), a bit of tape let me see how far I turned the screws. This fix & a thorough seatbelt / belt mechanism cleaning made the biggest improvements in my car. One thing to add, first quoting dunf - "There's an another (3rd) adjustment which you can easily make. I loosened the anchor point above the windscreen (the part the roof clips into) and settled it further away before tightening up again. This minor adjustment increases (or decreases as applicable) the tightness of the roof clip as well. It also solved an intermittent microswitch problem that showed the clip was open when it wasnt." - if these pieces aren't lining up right, try loosening the screws, push / pull them in the desired direction. Adjusting them just a few millimeters solved some issues for me. Rattling roof clips were my biggest noise maker. Doing 1 adjustment at a time let me diagnose problems. I actually created a microswitch problem; an easy fix because I had changed just 1 thing at a time. The roof clips on some Mazda Miatas (not sure which years exactly) have similarities to clips on the Copen. Same parts supplier? Found some helpful clip adjustment pics that way. Before starting, maybe try finding a rough road with little / no traffic. Go for a slow drive, try to hear where noises are coming from. Try 1 adjustment, drive & listen again; repeat, making 1 adjustment at a time. A few meters in my gravel driveway were enough. Made 1 adjustment & noticed differences right away. A detailed cleaning of all foam / rubber in the doors, roof parts, trunk & more helped reduce noises also. I bought a 12 yr old car & those parts probably hadn't been detailed much in all those years. Detailing let me see cracks, misaligned pieces & other issues like minor moisture in the trunk / boot (dried that out, a sheet of desiccant packs may be sufficient for now). When I got my Copen, I mostly enjoyed it simply as a convertible. After spending hours on tasks like these adjustments, a simple stereo swap, seat cleaning, ... I've really bonded with my particular Copen. Feels good. As tictac said, it does feel like a different car with the top up. Top down is most fun by far, but dare I say it is now also fun with the top up, too. Far less rattling & squeaking; much quieter.
This thread has been around for so long and it's taken me that long to really gird my loins and investigate it ... and it's so easy! There I was thinking it would be a struggle, for a fairly mechanically-challenged bloke like me! Anyway, I've spent a happy (and rare) afternoon in the Cumbrian sunshine, dealing with all the roof rubbers, door rubbers and the rest ... (good old Gummi Pflege! ), using the Autoglym Vinyl & rubber spray to beautify the interior (and help the seatbelts to run more smoothly (yes ... it really works! ) and - at last! - properly sorting the rattly roof. I've used the quick fix 'catch-above-the-windscreen' method before but this time it needed something a little more serious. It worked and I feel hap-hap-happy! So, peeps, if you're worried, don't be - it's a cinch!
I too have waited a long time to try the suggestion in this thread. Finally got around to it today and got kind of stuck. I found the plastic-capped allen bolt, and turned it anti-clockwise, but the nut between it and the rod just moved with the bolt. Am I supposed to loosen the bolt a little and then screw the nut further down the bolt so that the nut is hard against the rod? I must admit I was looking at it without having removed the plastic shielding section, so getting at the nut with a spanner would have been difficult, but if that's what's required, I'll give it a go. I was just a bit timid about it as "breaking the roof" really was not on my agenda today!!
Been a long time since I did mine but I do remember there being a lock nut on the adjustment bolt. You may not need a spanner to loosen it if you back off the Allen bolt you can move the lock bolt by hand.
Cool, thank you, I will give that a try...I've always felt anything to do with the roof or the trunk mechanism is a case of "exercise extreme caution"
This works a treat but just want to say, remove the BACK piece first. Then the side pieces come of easy and less likely to break a clip.
