Sponsored

JLU Premium Soft Top Issue

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
I have a 2018 JLU that I purchased used with under 4k miles. I hadn't noticed this prior to this past weekend...on the pass side, the top is very tight over the bow above the rear door. The driver side does not look like this. I am still under the factory warranty so I went ahead and made an appointment with my local dealer for Wednesday morning. In the meantime I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue? I tried to raise the top and look for any damaged parts or obvious misalignment but nothing was obvious and nothing appeared to be damaged. The way the top is stitched across the bows it is not really possible to shift the fabric one way or the other, which I had hoped would be the case.

This is the pass side - I am worried about longevity with this much pressure on the fabric.
20200425_121118.jpg

This is the driver side.
20200425_121108.jpg

20200425_121118.jpg


20200425_121108.jpg
Sponsored

 
OP
OP
nlgraham829

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
I went to my local dealership today. I was told they made some minor adjustments and that it looks a little better. I personally think it looks very similar to before the adjustments were made. The verdict was to keep an eye on it for wear for the remainder of my warranty. Unfortunately there were no unlimiteds on the lot with the soft top to compare to. They said that sometimes the tops shift one way or the other but prior to my appointment I tried putting the top up and down several times to shift it and was never successful. I guess time will tell whether it wears out there or not.
 

laroo

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2019
Threads
13
Messages
609
Reaction score
725
Location
FL
Vehicle(s)
2022 JLUR 4xe
I just checked mine, it does not look like yours. My fabric is pretty loose on both sides, so I can't see the bracket on either side. I'm guessing that something is not aligned correctly with yours, but I'm not able to help you with what. It would probably be easiest to compare to another soft top if you can get access to one.

As long as the top is operating as it should, you'll probably be OK. Just keep an eye out for wear, like you said.
 
OP
OP
nlgraham829

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
I just checked mine, it does not look like yours. My fabric is pretty loose on both sides, so I can't see the bracket on either side. I'm guessing that something is not aligned correctly with yours, but I'm not able to help you with what. It would probably be easiest to compare to another soft top if you can get access to one.

As long as the top is operating as it should, you'll probably be OK. Just keep an eye out for wear, like you said.
I checked a few friends that have unlimiteds with the premium soft top and they all had a similar amount of slack on each side. I think there is an issue with mine, being that it is so loose on the drivers side and so tight on the passenger side. The dealership confirmed that nothing is bent or broken so in my mind the possibility of a quality control issue comes into play. Perhaps the stitching isn't quite right? I don't know. I have warranty coverage until 2/2022 or 36,000 miles and I'm at 5,500 miles now so I intend to keep a very watchful eye on it to catch any signs of wear very early and before my warranty runs out.
 

Sponsored

OP
OP
nlgraham829

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
Mine is a 2018 model as well. I purchased it with 3,800 miles on it. I can't speak to whether the top was raised or lowered during that time. I now have 5,500 miles on it. During my 2 months of ownership I have had the top completely down with the rear quarter windows and rear window removed three times. I have had it in the sunrider position with the rear quarter windows and rear window still in place twice. I was pleasantly surprised by how quiet these new soft tops are. This is my first wrangler but over the years I've had many friends with YJs, TJs, and JKs. My only complaint about this top is that it seems to be shifted towards the driver side and there is nothing I can do about it. I've tried to shift it while it's lifted but the way it is stitched across the pieces that attach to the bows don't allow for much movement.
 
OP
OP
nlgraham829

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
Mine 18’ premium 4 dr top is not as tight either.
I tried to make that point to the dealership that I have compared to others and none were this tight but their response was that the top can shift while driving and while lowering/raising and that with nothing bent or broken it is not a candidate for replacement. They said they were able to make some minor adjustments but didn't go into detail as to how these adjustments were made. I understand some difference in tightness per side but on the driver side I can fit my hand between the support bow and the fabric. On the passenger side I can hardly slide a dollar bill between the support bow and the fabric. Quite a difference...
 

Schism75

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 24, 2019
Threads
2
Messages
221
Reaction score
268
Location
New England
Vehicle(s)
18’ JLU SAHARA
I tried to make that point to the dealership that I have compared to others and none were this tight but their response was that the top can shift while driving and while lowering/raising and that with nothing bent or broken it is not a candidate for replacement. They said they were able to make some minor adjustments but didn't go into detail as to how these adjustments were made. I understand some difference in tightness per side but on the driver side I can fit my hand between the support bow and the fabric. On the passenger side I can hardly slide a dollar bill between the support bow and the fabric. Quite a difference...
Next time you drop the top, observe it closely and try to “shift” it back and forth. I bet you can’t. It’s designed to deploy up and down not side to side as far as I can tell. The only possibility would be the frame structure is bent on 1 side. When I deploy the top in sunrider mode, I grab the bar on the driver side only and pull back ,but I notice every time that it bends for obvious reasons. This may have adverse effects in the future dropping it with 1 person instead of 2. Work the passenger side alone from now on and see if there are changes to the top.
 
OP
OP
nlgraham829

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
Next time you drop the top, observe it closely and try to “shift” it back and forth. I bet you can’t. It’s designed to deploy up and down not side to side as far as I can tell. The only possibility would be the frame structure is bent on 1 side. When I deploy the top in sunrider mode, I grab the bar on the driver side only and pull back ,but I notice every time that it bends for obvious reasons. This may have adverse effects in the future dropping it with 1 person instead of 2. Work the passenger side alone from now on and see if there are changes to the top.
I had been putting the top up and down from the driver side alone. Yesterday I drove home with the top in sunrider and when I closed it I decided to do so from the passenger side. It is slightly better than what you see pictured above but not by much. It would still be difficult to slide a dollar bill through between the support bar and the fabric.

As far as purposefully trying to shift the top side to side, I did try to do that to get more slack to the passenger side but with no luck. Being that it is attached to all those rails that are attached to the track system there is very little side to side movement.

Most of my topless adventures will find me by myself so I typically don't have the benefit of someone else on the opposite side of the vehicle to help me drop the top. I try to avoid using too much force to bring the top back into the sunrider position as I do not want to damage anything. Both the video from Jeep and the video from Besttop show 1 person dropping the top so I'd like to think that it wouldn't cause damage but I guess time will be the judge on that.
 

Sponsored

NPE102414

Well-Known Member
First Name
Peter
Joined
Aug 5, 2019
Threads
37
Messages
743
Reaction score
417
Location
Pelham New Hampshire
Vehicle(s)
2020 JLUR
I have a 2018 JLU that I purchased used with under 4k miles. I hadn't noticed this prior to this past weekend...on the pass side, the top is very tight over the bow above the rear door. The driver side does not look like this. I am still under the factory warranty so I went ahead and made an appointment with my local dealer for Wednesday morning. In the meantime I am wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue? I tried to raise the top and look for any damaged parts or obvious misalignment but nothing was obvious and nothing appeared to be damaged. The way the top is stitched across the bows it is not really possible to shift the fabric one way or the other, which I had hoped would be the case.

This is the pass side - I am worried about longevity with this much pressure on the fabric.
20200425_121118.jpg

This is the driver side.
20200425_121108.jpg

20200425_121118.jpg


20200425_121108.jpg
I would push for a replacment
 
OP
OP
nlgraham829

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
I would push for a replacment
I attempted to. I was told that it's "within spec" and nothing is broken or bent and to keep an eye out for wear. I completely understand some difference side to side but the difference I am seeing is quite drastic from side to side.
 
OP
OP
nlgraham829

nlgraham829

Member
First Name
Nick
Joined
Apr 27, 2020
Threads
1
Messages
15
Reaction score
5
Location
Pittsburgh, PA
Vehicle(s)
2018 Ford F150 (No longer own 2018 JLUR)
I did try to google instructions for alignment and adjustment but did not seem to be able to find anything of value. The dealership told me there is very little adjustment and that they did do some adjusting. He was adamant that these tops shift and move (both during driving and raising/lowering) and while I understand that to some degree this new soft top design allows for much less side to side movement than that of previous soft tops with the whole "glides on a track" thing. The way that the top is stitched across the top of the support bows also allows for little side to side movement. I was browsing besttops site since they manufacture the top but didn't have much luck finding installation instructions. I will have to try to look there again.
Sponsored

 
 



Top