wireyfox

My fault - forgot to mention that the roof does indeed tilt up correctly. It's just the tray that fails to come out of the boot lid. I'm just registering with the owners club as you've suggested. Thanks for the link! WireyFox

Have got the car back from the dealer. The automatic opening system - opens the windows and raises the boot lid, but then fails to bring the tray out of the boot to pick up the roof. I get the mad beeping and the roof light on the dash flashing. I've tried manually winding the tray in and out. It was very hard to move initially, but is better now, certainly not stuck though. I've also tried to put lubricant on the runners, but it's pretty hard to reach without removing the plastic cover on the underside of the boot lid. However, there is no noise coming from the motors that move the tray. So I presume they are dead - either not getting a signal or just seized up. Does this sort of partial working suggest that the chip needs replacing? The dealer says they hooked the ECU up and got all sorts of error codes, so they still think the chip is dead. Though I would have thought nothing would work if it was. (The dealer said it was the roof lifter gears that were broken. They've replaced them for free, and not made any charge for checking the roof operation). Anyway, I think I'm stuck! Wireyfox

Many thanks for the suggestions. The dealer is delivering the car back to me today I think (they still have to get it MOT'd I think), so I will have a go with the manual winding. Never tried it, but still have the winding handle. The roof certainly did work 18 months ago, so I was a bit surprised to hear from them that the plastic gears were broken. Your take on it - with the mechanism being jammed and the gears stripping, does sound just the sort of thing that might have happened. Wish I hadn't told them to check the roof mechanism at all - I couldn't check it when the car went to them as the battery was flat and not taking a charge, so not a drop of power. Will follow your suggestions re. winding, silicone spray etc, keep fingers crossed and let you know what happens All my own fault of course - shouldn't have left it sitting for so long unused. Thanks again, Wireyfox

I have a 1997 Honda (Civic) CRX ESi (used as a fun backup to my STi) - the only reason I keep it is that is has (or had) an automatic targa top, so quite nice to have the wind in your hair on warm sunny days! Anyway - it has been off road for 18 months, and has just been into our local Honda dealer for service, MOT, general sorting out. They found that the automatic roof had stopped working.. replaced some broken cogs... still not working. Say I might need a new control chip for the roof, but the part is no longer obtainable from Honda. The dealer will not source secondhand parts. Also say it might not be the chip but might be the wiring... another reason why they will not source a secondhard chip. I could source a secondhand chip off ebay, but I want rather more "help" than the dealer is offering to try and get it to work! I really want to get this car back in full working order. I am absolutely a hands-off car owner and not going to be trying to diagnose and/or fix the fault myself. Other Honda dealers are useless, Honda UK has simply listed the other local dealers to me. They are all more interested in selling me a new Honda, of course, than helping fix my old one. I think I need some company that can try and sort out the electronics and see if it is the wiring or the chip. It could be either, as the car was standing outside for 18 months with no protection, but the roof worked perfectly when I last used it 18 months ago. Are there any such companies in my area that might have the skills to sort this? - Hampshire/Wiltshire - though would travel a bit to try and get it fixed. I know it seems silly to invest in such an old, street-cred-lacking car, but it was my first brand new, just-what-I-wanted car(as opposed to the Fords, Citroens, Renaults etc that were bought because I could afford them!). Surely there must be specialists out there might be able to fix the roof automatics? Wireyfox PS. Yes, I do have a Subaru - the hatchback Impreza STi, due to be PPP'd at the end of the month (can't wait!), but I still want my little Honda to be back in full working order!

Strangely, I caught myself thinking "you are pressing the clutch aren't you?" when I couldn't get it into gear! I just couldn't believe it. It was all rather surreal. Claire

I agree, they're a great dealer - nowhere near where I live (south hampshire), but they're the dealer I've chosen to use because of their helpfulness and customer service. My previous, pre-owned(!) WRX Sportswagon came from them, and they were an obvious choice when buying a new STI. They were very good on the phone about the problem this morning, but. of course, can't fix it over the phone, or tell my why it happened. Claire

Driving to work this morning, about 10 miles after leaving home, I was changing up a gear (4th to 5th), when the gearbox would not let me select the gear. Tried to change back to 4th - no luck. Couldn't select 1st, 2nd etc - no gears at all. Was able to coast into the next village and park up out of the road. Still no gears selectable. Turned off the engine, turned on again - no gears selectable. Turned off the engine - can select gears with the electrics on, but the engine not started. Once the engine is started - no gears. Wait for a couple of minutes.. Wondering if I will be calling out breakdown for a year old STI with less than 10K on the clock. Try again - get the gears and continue a 50 mile drive to work.... no more problems, but you can bet that I was worried about it happening again, say, in the outer lane of the A303, or when overtaking. .. a rather scary trip to work, and not sure if I will get home again! Has anyone had anything like this happen in this model (or others)? My dealer (Bulldog, Twford) had not heard of the problem before, and they will have a look at the gearbox when it goes in for the 10K(?) service in a little while. The gearbox was not overheated or stone cold. I know I will drive home worrying if the car will fail to change gear at some point. Claire

To be clear, I don't mean that the elderly parents are in the hatch! They would complain far too loudly, and the dog crate is going to take up all the room.

I like the hatchback (ducks behind wall to avoid thrown items), since it lets me get a dog crate in there, plus elderly parents and some space left for luggage! I was disappointed at first when there was no new Sportswagon, but my old dog crate, made to measure for the Sportswagon, only failed to fit the new STi by about two inches. Annoying, since I now have to get a new one made, but it shows how much space they have managed to get in the hatch. Wireyfox PS. Anyone who ends up stuck behind a rather slow 08 STi on Hampshire/Wiltshire/Somerset roads, it's probably me. Sorry! I'm trying to be extra good whilst running in the engine. There was a Classic behind me this morning - it was dark so I only realised what it was when the driver eventually got fed up and overtook me. I will eventually start using some of the revs!

Thanks for the responses (sorry not to get back here sooner - loaded some software on my laptop which managed to screw up the networking stuff, and much of the operating system, then had to search for the original installation disks to sort it all out!) I am very interested that others seem to think it is better than Tracker. I suppose I hadn't thought it through fully, and I clearly need to go back and re-read the leaflet that came with MetaSat! On the insurance issue, when I got my secondhand 2001 Sportswagon a few years back my then insurer was insistant on having a tracker fitted. For various reasons I left that insurer last year, and my new insurer were very laid back when I phoned to say the old Sportswagon was being replaced by a brand new 2008 Sti. A little hike in premium, which I would expect, no issue about trackers or anything. What a difference. Wireyfox.

Hi all, new poster here with shiny new 2008 Sti Type UK that I am still getting to know! I wondered what people's views were on the tracker that is supplied with the car. It is owner-triggered, so, if the car is stolen the owner texts to find out where the car is and supposedly informs the police. Unlike the tracker on my old bugeye sportswagon, which allowed the police to track the car if it was stolen. Whilst initially being pleased that a form of tracking device was included in the car, I am now unsure as to how useful it would actually be to retrieve it if stolen. What do others think? Should I consider having a "proper" tracker fitted? Having watched quite a few police chase programmes I am not sure that I would want a police car to give chase to my subaru if stolen, since they nearly all seem to end up damaged in the chase! Wireyfox