Well, I had a genius (read, EXTREME sarcasm) moment this past Friday. I was leaving work, lunch bag in one hand, phone in the other. When I reached my car I did something I never do and placed my lunch bag on the roof while I finished fiddling with my phone (so you can pretty much see where this is going). I won't kill your eyes with a novel, short version of it is that my lunch bag fell (without making a sound) under the clamshell and stopped the clamshell from fully closing. Figuring I'd raise the top back up and see what was up, the bag still there, the top came back up fully but the clamshell still did not close all the way (not known to me yet) and I heard a *POP! POP* and all movement and noise stopped, the idiot light (quite relevant
) on the dash still lit.
For those who care for any details: Again, me being the genius that I am, didn't bother to get out of the car and look to see what was up immediately, I just figured "ok, at least the top came all the way forward before that happened", so I closed the top and started my drive home. I look in my mirror about 2 miles from home and see the slightest bit of body color in my window. Look in the driver's side mirror, and see the clamshell is not down. So I figure "ok, something came out of adjustment and the safety pieces I've heard about broke to spare the top frame...joy." Then I happen to look in my passenger footwell and notice my lunch bag isn't there like it always is. So I start thinking "crap, did I drive off and it's sitting in the parking lot at work or on the edge of the highw.....aw, hell". Light bulb. Pulled off on a side road, got out, and saw the lunch bag (containing two plastic bottles and a sammich) trapped under my clamshell. I had to pry the clamshell up a bit to be able to muscle out the bag since the button on the dash now did nothing, but I did get it out and the clamshell edge went right down. Drove the rest of the way home and she's been in the driveway and braved the leftovers of the hurricane that came my way.
So, 3 things, I guess, that I need to know:
1. With the top broken in some unknown way at this point, what do I do to get it into the service position manually to observe what damage, if any, I've done?
2. Is the car driveable as is? I did drive it home with the top up and latched, but the light on the dash was still lit. Also, I've noticed that the passenger window no longer lowers when the handle is pulled, unsure if it just decided to go at the same time or has to do with the car thinking the top is out of position.
3. Most importantly, what & where exactly are the parts that I've heard about that break to protect the top from damage? And if those are indeed all that I broke, what sort of cost and work am I lookin at to make those repairs?
I figure I'm likely to answer my first question when I fish out the manual from the car, but any and all information and further questions members on here can provide will be greatly appreciated. No need to bust my chops, though, I've been doing that to myself since Friday afternoon, just looking for help. And for those who might be curious, the sandwich was still quite good, just kinda flattened out on one half.
Thank you in advance for the guidance!
