Melting Side Rails

[darrelplant]

It's been hot here in the Portland area the past couple of days, with temps around 100 (according to our smart cabrio). We've been driving with the top down a fair amount since we got it in early April, and we take the side rails out fairly often.

The last time we took them out was just before the heat wave started up on Thursday afternoon. Didn't take them out Friday at all, but when we went out for a drive this afternoon, when I went to remove them, long, thin strands of rubbery goo stretched between the front end of the rail and the rubber seal it fits against.

I hadn't previously looked as closely at the end of the rail as I did after this happened, but there seems to be a thin line of some sort of black sealant that's not the actual rubber, and ** at least on our cabrio ** it becomes viscous somewhere around 100 degrees.

I haven't had a chance to contact our maintenance center about this yet, but for those of you driving cabrios who are about to be hit by a heat wave, it's something to watch out for.

[mvukovich]

Thanks for the post, let us know what the maintenance center say's about the problem. Thanks........

[factor9]

Good to know! They should have really warned us of this problem, this is the first I've heard of it, but I'm afraid not the last (it's not even summer!). Hopefully, it's an easy fix. How difficult was it to clean the "rubbery" goo out of the storage case? Did it harden back up when it cooled down at night? Thanks for the warning! Looking forward to the solution!

[darrelplant]

The goo didn't seem to bond with the actual rubber seals, at least not within the short period of time involved (less than two days) and while the weather was still pretty hot (I'm thinking of storing some thin gloves in the tailgate, because the black side rails are scalding hot to the touch in the sun).

I was able to brush the goo off the rubber seals with my finger, for the most part, but I don't know what would happen if it was left to sit until it cooled and hardened.

What I'm most concerned about is that the water seal remain tight when it starts to rain again. If too much of the goo leaves its original place, how will the water integrity be affected?

I'll definitely let people know what the service center says when I hear something.

[darrelplant]

For reference, this is a photo of the front end of the driver's-side side rail.



The alignment pin is just to the left of the center of the photo. I've outlined the melting goo in red; you can see at the left of the outlined area (what would be toward the top of the rail) where it has melted and deformed against the rubber. It's slightly less melted at the right (toward the bottom of the rail).

When I took this photo, the temperature was in the mid-80s, and while the goo is soft to the touch, it's not sticky any more, and it's not adhering to the rubber.

[rrrucke]

I have a cabrio and I thank you for your post. However, I haven't a clue at what I'm looking at in your pix in relationship to the car. Can you take a pix somewhat further away and then a short close up and then your tight shot? It would really help me identify the location. Thanks, Regina

[mike-in-sa]

It's been over a hundred several days here and I have had the top down on our cabrio every day. Have not seen any melted goo on our top rails.

[JIM VINYARD]

The product in the photo is sealant used in the automotive industry to seal joints in metal body panels to eliminate water from entering. I think the only thing you need to do is push the sealant back to clear your rubber seals. I don't think there is a problem but you should have your dealer or service center check it out and let us all know.

[darrelplant]

Originally Posted by rrrucke

I have a cabrio and I thank you for your post. However, I haven't a clue at what I'm looking at in your pix in relationship to the car.

Regina, if you take out the side rail from the driver's side of the car, then point the front end of the rail at your face, that's what you'll see in the photo.