Open Mon–Fri 9:30–5:30 · Open Saturdays 10–3 54/58 Princes Hwy, Arncliffe, Sydney NSW · minutes from Sydney Airport Call 0418 200 289
Roof stuck open? Don't force it. Call 0418 200 289 before you touch anything. What to do →

Home / Makes / Nissan 350Z & 370Z roadsters

Model file · Nissan Z roadsters · 350Z (Z33) · 370Z (Z34)

Nissan 350Z & 370Z
roadster roof repair, Sydney

The Z roadster has a roof that few Sydney workshops will take on. A hydraulic pump and cylinders fold the top, an electric motor works the fifth bow at the back, a tonneau lid has to open and close in sequence, and a handful of switches must all agree before anything moves. When one of them stops agreeing the roof halts mid-cycle, the dash shows a warning, and the owner ends up lifting the rear bow by hand. Three 350Z and three 370Z owners asked us for help in the last six months alone. We have the parts sources and the sequence knowledge; here is what these roofs do.

20+ yrs in automotive repair 1000+ roofs serviced 4.9★ Google rating
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54/58 Princes Hwy, Arncliffe NSW 2205 · minutes from Sydney AirportGet directions →

20+years in automotive repair
1000+roofs diagnosed & serviced
4.9★Google rating
  • Factory-trained technicians
  • OEM & premium aftermarket parts
  • Latest diagnostic equipment
  • Parts & labour warranty

The Z roadster pattern

Three ways a Z roof stops,
and why lifting it by hand makes it worse

The 350Z and 370Z roofs are different in detail but fail in the same three places. None of them is fixed by forcing the roof, and all of them are fixed by finding which part of the sequence has broken.

Pattern 01

The 350Z fifth bow: the rear of the roof that will not move

350Z Z33 · fifth-bow motor · linkage

How it shows up

The front of the roof folds but the rear section, the fifth bow, stays put, so the owner has to lift it or press it down by hand before the cycle will finish. Sometimes it moves one way and not the other. This is the 350Z complaint we hear most, and the owners usually already know the name of the part.

Why it gets misread

The fifth-bow motor and its linkage sit behind the seats and the motor is usually quoted as a dealer-only part at a dealer price, so owners limp on, lifting the bow by hand. Every manual lift loads a linkage that was not designed for it and eventually bends a bracket or strips the drive, turning a motor job into a mechanism job.

What we do

We test the motor, its relay and the switch that tells the module the bow has moved, then repair or replace what has actually failed, source the motor through our parts channels rather than the dealer where we can, and set the bow so the roof cycles without a hand on it. If you are lifting it by hand today, stop, and read what to do first.

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Pattern 02

Slow, lopsided or stopped: pump, cylinders and lines

350Z · 370Z · hydraulic pump · cylinders

How it shows up

The roof lifts slowly, one side lags, it stops partway with a warning, or there is a damp patch behind the seats where the pump and lines live. On the 370Z the roof may start and then give up with the tonneau half open.

Why it gets misread

The dealer route is a new pump or a complete cylinder set. In many cases a cylinder seal has started weeping, the fluid has dropped, and the pump is cavitating; topping up the reservoir hides it for a month. A workshop that does not do hydraulic roofs replaces the pump and the leak stays.

What we do

Pressure and fluid checked, each cylinder and line inspected at the points in the travel where seals show, the weeping cylinder rebuilt on our bench rather than replaced, the system bled and cycle-tested. It is the same ram rebuild we do for Mercedes and BMW, applied to the Z.

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Pattern 03

Latch, tonneau and switches: the roof that stops at the same point every time

350Z · 370Z · header latch · tonneau · position switches · module

How it shows up

The roof travels to the same point in every cycle and stops. The tonneau will not open, or opens and the roof does nothing. The dash warns that the roof is not latched when it is. The windows drop and come back up without the roof moving.

Why it gets misread

Z roofs are sequenced: windows down, latch released, tonneau open, roof folds, tonneau closes. A single microswitch or position sensor that does not report, a header latch motor that releases but does not say so, or a tonneau sensor out of adjustment stops the whole sequence, and resetting it clears the fault for one cycle. The mechanism is usually fine.

What we do

We run the roof on the scan tool with the switches live, mark where the sequence breaks, and prove it at that point in the travel: latch motor, tonneau sensor, position switch or wiring. The part that failed is replaced, the sequence re-run, and the roof water-tested. The diagnostics page explains the method.

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The two Z roadsters

350Z and 370Z,
what differs

Same family, same sequence logic, different parts.

Nissan 350Z Roadster (Z33, 2004 to 2009)
Hydraulic pump and cylinders for the main fold, an electric fifth-bow motor at the rear, a glass rear window in a fabric top. Faults: the fifth bow, weeping cylinders, header latch, drains in the roof well filling the boot area. The fabric itself is a trimmer's job; we repair the mechanism and point you to a trimmer for the cloth.
Nissan 370Z Roadster (Z34, 2010 to 2019)
Faster hydraulic roof with a power tonneau and more sensors. Faults: roof stopping mid-cycle on a sensor or latch, tonneau not opening, slow or lopsided travel from a cylinder seal, water past the side seals and down the drains. Later cars are new enough that some faults were dealer campaigns; ask us.
Related roadsters
The Infiniti G37 and Q60 retractable hardtops share Nissan logic; the Mazda MX-5 is the other Japanese roadster on the bench most weeks.

Another Nissan convertible, a Micra C+C or a Murano CrossCabriolet? Text us the model or call 0418 200 289.

How a visit works

Four steps. No surprises.

  1. 1

    Tell us the car and where it stops

    Call 0418 200 289 or use the form. "2004 350Z, fifth bow does not move, I lift it by hand" is enough for a first read, usually the same day. A short video of the roof trying to cycle is worth more than any description.

  2. 2

    Diagnosis you can see

    Switches, latch and tonneau sensors read live through a cycle on the scan tool, hydraulic pressure and each cylinder checked, the fifth-bow motor and relay tested. We show you where the sequence breaks before anything is quoted.

  3. 3

    Repair the part that failed

    Fifth-bow motor or linkage, a cylinder rebuilt on the bench, a latch motor, a sensor or a switch, with your go-ahead first. No blanket replacement of a system that is mostly working, and no fabric work: if the cloth or the rear window seam needs a trimmer, we say so.

  4. 4

    We cycle it and rain on it

    The roof is cycled repeatedly with the module live, the seals soaked under a controlled water test, and the cabin and roof well checked dry before handover.

Straight answers

Z roadster questions,
answered straight

If yours isn't here, call. You'll get the same straight answer.

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I have to lift the back of my 350Z roof by hand. Is that the fifth bow?

Yes, almost certainly: the motor, its relay, the switch that confirms the bow has moved, or the linkage. Stop lifting it by hand if you can; every manual lift loads the linkage. We test the three parts and repair or replace the one that has failed, sourcing the motor outside the dealer where possible.

Is the Z roof hydraulic or electric?

Both. A hydraulic pump and cylinders do the main fold on the 350Z and 370Z; electric motors work the fifth bow, the header latch and the tonneau. That is why a fault can look mechanical and be electrical, or the reverse, and why we read the system live before quoting.

Do you replace the fabric or the rear window?

No. The cloth, the rear window seam and re-covering are a motor trimmer's trade. We repair the mechanism, hydraulics, electrics, seals and drains, and we will tell you which trimmer we would use for the fabric. A top with a split or a cracked rear window is still worth bringing in if the mechanism is also faulty.

Can you do a Z that is outside Sydney?

We work on the car in Arncliffe. Interstate owners have shipped cylinders to us for rebuild through the mail-in service; fifth-bow and sensor faults need the car here.

What owners say

From the 4.9★ Google reviews

★★★★★

"Michael is the best. My Benz had a seized panoramic sunroof and the motor for the roof died. He had it fixed and working perfectly in three hours. And was by far the most reasonably priced."

Mercedes-Benz · Seized panoramic sunroof & motor
★★★★★

"It was an absolute pleasure dealing with Michael. With 29 years of experience, he really knows his craft. He was honest, friendly, and did a perfect job fixing the convertible top on my Mercedes. Definitely worth the 1-hour drive to get there. Highly recommended!"

Mercedes-Benz · Convertible top
★★★★★

"Michael is an amazing craftsman. For what would have taken us to get an entire large part from BMW and coordinate roof repair with expensive repair service, Michael created a small part for our car and fixed it then and there. He charges reasonably. I highly recommend his service and will happily be a repeat customer."

BMW · Roof repair

Visit the workshop

Bring it in, or start
with a text

Address
54/58 Princes Hwy, Arncliffe, Sydney NSW 2205, minutes from Sydney Airport
Hours
Mon–Fri 9:30am–5:30pm · Sat 10am–3pm · Sun closed

Start an enquiry

A few details so we can tell you whether it's a job for us and how we'd approach it. By appointment; for most faults, we diagnose before quoting. For urgent enquiries or if we missed you — call 0418 200 289.

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