Mod Details
PremiumNo Difficulty Mod ID1782 CreditBruno S For Linkhttps://www.evilution.co.uk/mod/cabrio-roof-wind-noise.htm Copy to ClipboardSo, your cabrio roof makes noise along the front edge when you drive over a certain speed.
If you own a 453 fortwo, first check that it’s not a poorly sealed windscreen.
No, It’s Definitely The Roof
OK, try some of this.
Broken Slider Mechanism
Slide the roof back about 10cm. Grab the front of the roof and see how much it moves up and down with light pressure. You should see about 5mm movement from the middle of the roof and almost no movement at the edges. If you get any movement at the edges, something is broken with the mechanisms on one or both of the sides. If you have too much movement, the roof won’t be able to press against the front seal properly.
The cabrio roof is different for each model so you’ll have to see yourself what is broken and see if smart sell replacements.
Roof Tension
As the car ages, the roof fabric will shrink. If the tension is too high, the roof won’t fully lock closed against the front seal. If you can adjust the tension, it may help.
I only have the details to adjust the tension on the 450.
Roof Peak Seals
Another part that ages is the rubber seals. Since the cabrio roof is closed most of the time, the seals flatten. You can try rejuvenating the seals with rubber feed. This can restore the flexibility of the rubber.
Or the obvious repair is to just replace the front seal. They should be available from a smart dealer.
Alternatively you can bodge it by padding the seal out.
Padding The Seal
This is the last thing you should do. This isn’t a fix, it’s a bodge. Sadly a lot of people go straight to this fix because it’s cheap and quick.
Bruno S sent me the photos of what he did. He bought some draught excluder from the local DIY store. It’s a self adhesive closed cell foam that looks a bit like an Ω symbol.
He peeled off the self adhesive backing, pulled back the original seal and stuck the new seal in place.
Once the original seal is released, it springs back…
…but is slightly padded with the additional seal.
This may give the original seal just enough extra volume to allow the roof to seal correctly.