Obtaining/ Installing Electric Soft Top for Bronco

[JY WPB]

Hi, just ordered an Outer Banks with the soft top that comes with it. Live in So. FL, plan on getting electric soft top, told they are about $5k ( then installation).

Any thoughts/ experience with this?
Suggestions on where to look?
Best way to sell the top that comes with it?
TY

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[BroncoA512021]

It’s takes less than a minute to open and close the OEM soft top. The 5k can be used for much better use.

 

[23OBX2.7]

It’s takes less than a minute to open and close the OEM soft top. The 5k can be used for much better use.

Window R&R is a pita though do they have to be removed to retract the soft top completely?

I would say that is purchased through Ford it's a 3 yr warranty probably and the install is less the $1K I believe.

 

[zuke]

The etop has smaller windows in the side panels so they don't have to be removed...

https://www.bestop.com/products/etop-for-bronco/?vid=153866&sku=9400017

 

[Dolphin Farts]

I have the top now. First two days with it and so far I love it.
it is much quieter than the stock soft top and just nicer in quality in general.
very nice headliner.
My only complaint so far is that the rear zipper that holds the headliner up close to the outer layer is poor quality compared to every other component on the top.

the rear zipper is useless.

i am in talks with Bestop currently to come up with a solution. I plan to have the zipper replaced by a local upholstery shop, but I’m giving bestop a chance to make it right.

everything else about the top is really well done. Which makes this a real puzzler as to why they would use one tiny dinky zipper and make the rest robust quality zippers.

First response I got from Bestop was the following: “
Hello, it seems like there's too much tension in the headliner and the top layer of fabric, causing the zipper to pop open. Is there a good time you can schedule with the shop to make some adjustments to the top and fix this issue?

They can contact us, and we can assist with these adjustments if necessary.”

this was after sending them a still photo of the zipper split apart. I have now sent them the attached video showing that tension is not the issue. You can see the zippers are literally overlapping quite a bit and still the zipper is useless.

 

[Bestop_Team]

I have the top now. First two days with it and so far I love it.
it is much quieter than the stock soft top and just nicer in quality in general.
very nice headliner.
My only complaint so far is that the rear zipper that holds the headliner up close to the outer layer is poor quality compared to every other component on the top.

the rear zipper is useless.

i am in talks with Bestop currently to come up with a solution. I plan to have the zipper replaced by a local upholstery shop, but I’m giving bestop a chance to make it right.

everything else about the top is really well done. Which makes this a real puzzler as to why they would use one tiny dinky zipper and make the rest robust quality zippers.

First response I got from Bestop was the following: “
Hello, it seems like there's too much tension in the headliner and the top layer of fabric, causing the zipper to pop open. Is there a good time you can schedule with the shop to make some adjustments to the top and fix this issue?

They can contact us, and we can assist with these adjustments if necessary.”

this was after sending them a still photo of the zipper split apart. I have now sent them the attached video showing that tension is not the issue. You can see the zippers are literally overlapping quite a bit and still the zipper is useless.

Hey @Dolphin Farts - I talked to Customer Service, they've tried to respond to your email a couple times, not sure if those went into your junk/spam folder however I am being told that you need to go back to the shop that did your install, so they can fix that and they can always call Customer Service if they need support.

~Crystal@Bestop

 

[Dolphin Farts]

I talked with the shop and your guy at Bestop.
Truck is going to ford Tuesday for recall repairs and then back to the shop that did the install

I will update this once it gets fixed.

Impressed with the quick response from everyone.

 

[Dolphin Farts]

I talked with the shop and your guy at Bestop.
Truck is going to ford Tuesday for recall repairs and then back to the shop that did the install

I will update this once it gets fixed.

Impressed with the quick response from everyone.

Update on everything:

took the truck back to the shop that installed it. The shop confirmed the zipper was not working correctly.

Bestop was definitely working to resolve my issue, it just seemed like they were trying to go about it a very inconvenient and expensive (for them) way.

They wanted me to bring my bronco back to the shop that installed it. Then have them uninstall it and they wanted to send me a whole new top to replace it.
I have no idea how long I would have been without my vehicle for this process.
I love the top. It’s amazing. Mine just had one faulty zipper on the roof liner layer.

I was pretty disappointed with their plan to seemingly want to replace the whole top. I wanted to go to an upholstery shop I know locally and have them sew in a new high quality zipper and to send Bestop the bill. Their dealer/installer who did the job thought that was the best course of action as well.

After discussing the ridiculousness of doing all of that and losing my bronco for possibly weeks with Bestop i was told that from the videos i sent them of the zipper malfunctioning one of their techs could see that some adjustments needed to be made to the top that might fix the zipper.
I asked if their tech could talk with me and I could make the adjustments.

I really didn’t want to bring my truck back to the instal shop if I didn’t need to. The shop is 30 miles away from my house and I do have a job and a life and I had no desire to pay close to $100 for an uber every time I drop off or pick up my truck again. But, Bestop made it clear that the only way I would get any help with this is through their dealer. It had to be their dealer that would talk to the tech.

Once I dropped the vehicle off it became clear to the shop that Bestop wanted to send a new top to them.

One of the guys at the shop went to work on the actual zipper zip with some pliers while all of this was going on and managed to bend the actual zipper guides tighter together and voila!: zipper works.

he zipped it up. I tested the zipper a few times and now it’s zipped and I’m never unzipping it again.
I am happy overall now. The E-top is amazing.

still a little annoyed that I spent around $200 on Ubers and missed two days of work taking care of this. But I am so happy that my truck is not out of service waiting for a shop to undo a $1700 install, waiting for a new top to come in, and waiting for the new top to get another $1700 install all paid for by Bestop (of course) but still.

Not sure why they would want to do all of this rather than pay a bill from an upholstery shop that would have been cheaper and quicker, but I do appreciate the effort Bestop put in.

Extreme Off-Road in Katy Texas/houston are the absolute champs and totally saved the day on this.
give them some business if you are in the area.

 

[HighVelocity]

Not sure why they would want to do all of this rather than pay a bill from an upholstery shop that would have been cheaper and quicker, but I do appreciate the effort Bestop put in.

I've found this true of a lot of companies in a variety of industries. They have ONE solution and are completely unable to pivot from that solution even though there is a much better one that works better for the customer.

They don't take OUR time into consideration. Like you said, having to take time from work, piss around with scheduling for the shop, figure out transportation, etc. and you are out more than just time.

Customer service is completely run by accountants now it seems.

 

[Bestop_Team]

Update on everything:

took the truck back to the shop that installed it. The shop confirmed the zipper was not working correctly.

Bestop was definitely working to resolve my issue, it just seemed like they were trying to go about it a very inconvenient and expensive (for them) way.

They wanted me to bring my bronco back to the shop that installed it. Then have them uninstall it and they wanted to send me a whole new top to replace it.
I have no idea how long I would have been without my vehicle for this process.
I love the top. It’s amazing. Mine just had one faulty zipper on the roof liner layer.

I was pretty disappointed with their plan to seemingly want to replace the whole top. I wanted to go to an upholstery shop I know locally and have them sew in a new high quality zipper and to send Bestop the bill. Their dealer/installer who did the job thought that was the best course of action as well.

After discussing the ridiculousness of doing all of that and losing my bronco for possibly weeks with Bestop i was told that from the videos i sent them of the zipper malfunctioning one of their techs could see that some adjustments needed to be made to the top that might fix the zipper.
I asked if their tech could talk with me and I could make the adjustments.

I really didn’t want to bring my truck back to the instal shop if I didn’t need to. The shop is 30 miles away from my house and I do have a job and a life and I had no desire to pay close to $100 for an uber every time I drop off or pick up my truck again. But, Bestop made it clear that the only way I would get any help with this is through their dealer. It had to be their dealer that would talk to the tech.

Once I dropped the vehicle off it became clear to the shop that Bestop wanted to send a new top to them.

One of the guys at the shop went to work on the actual zipper zip with some pliers while all of this was going on and managed to bend the actual zipper guides tighter together and voila!: zipper works.

he zipped it up. I tested the zipper a few times and now it’s zipped and I’m never unzipping it again.
I am happy overall now. The E-top is amazing.

still a little annoyed that I spent around $200 on Ubers and missed two days of work taking care of this. But I am so happy that my truck is not out of service waiting for a shop to undo a $1700 install, waiting for a new top to come in, and waiting for the new top to get another $1700 install all paid for by Bestop (of course) but still.

Not sure why they would want to do all of this rather than pay a bill from an upholstery shop that would have been cheaper and quicker, but I do appreciate the effort Bestop put in.

Extreme Off-Road in Katy Texas/houston are the absolute champs and totally saved the day on this.
give them some business if you are in the area.

Our certified traveling technician was able to connect with the shop via FaceTime while they still had your vehicle. During that call, he helped diagnose the issue, confirmed the necessary adjustments to the rear bows, and walked the shop through the zipper repair. This allowed the team to resolve the concern on the spot and avoid any additional inconvenience or return visits.

We always strive to work closely with our customers and authorized installers to find the best and most efficient solutions possible. At times, coordination can present challenges, which is why we start by requesting photos — it helps us better diagnose concerns early and guide the shop in the right direction before scheduling service.

We truly appreciate your patience throughout this process and are glad our technician was able to work directly with the shop to ensure your top was properly adjusted without extended downtime.

~Crystal@Bestop

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