Having spent a lot of time going through various postings on the forum and subsequently trying various things, it appears that we have a boot non-closure problem which we are unable to solve (please see my previous posting in the Problems, Fixes and Tips section), would anyone be able to recommend a garage in or around the West Midlands who may be able to resolve the problem for us. Thanks, David.
Hi Rob, Thank you for the suggestion, with Daihatsu having pulled out of the UK some years ago I hadn't realised that there was still the remnants of a dealer-service remaining. I have spoken to the few which are remotely close to the West Midlands and I have now booked the car in at The Firs Garage in Banbury next month, it's some 55 miles away but the car will be looked at by someone who has worked on one before. Regards, David.
Good luck and do let us know how it goes - a lot of us might be in the same situation at some point and your experience would be great information good, bad or otherwise ! Cheers -Steve
I suspect that the knowledge will fade over time, but my nearest ex-dealer in Holmfirth was really excited at the prospect of another Copen to work on.
Hi Steve and Rob, Yes I'll let you know how things progress, I'm due to take the car to Banbury on 23rd April as that is the first day that they can fit me in. The prospect of driving 55 miles with the alarm beeping at me is not a thrilling prospect so I will try removing various fuses nearer the time, otherwise it'll be a case of lots of very loud CDs or earplugs. Before I contacted The Firs Garage I spoke with Stoke Orchard Garage in Cheltenham, but their Mark told me that they wouldn't be able to help at all. The garage in Holmfirth (Hepworth Motor Company?) sounds a good option for people in that area but sadly according to Google it's 118 miles from me. David.
Hi Steve and Rob and all of you out there in Copen-land. I went to Firs Garage in April as arranged (having first taken out the "hood" fuse to stop the car from shouting at me for some 55 miles) and the good news is that their mechanic Alan fixed it for me in a couple of hours. He ran some diagnostic checks and narrowed the fault down to the small white plastic slider part (close to the carpet) which is part of the black metal boot opening and closing mechanism within the boot (it was the one on the left hand side of the boot in my case but I guess that a fault with the right hand side one would have created the same problem). The white slider part was not sliding and it was this non-sliding which was preventing the boot from closing. The bill was £170 including the diagnostic checks and the VAT and for that cost the car is now driveable again (whereas before it wasn't) so I had a pleasant hood-down journey back to the West Midlands in the sunshine. I was quite impressed with the service at Firs Garage, it's in a rural location so you can't wander into the local village while you're waiting but there's a good reception area with a drinks machine and reading material and the staff are quite friendly. The acid test is that if I have another Copen-specific problem I would go to them again. David.
Glad you got sorted, as it happens i am having an issue with the slider on the boot mechanism. Mine does slide back to allow the roof to open but does not fully relocate so prevents the boot from latching. Do you know what the fix is and would it be something I could do myself ( reasonably mechanically minded and handy but not a mechanic) Thanks in advance...
Hi Bruce, Unfortunately I don't know exactly what Alan did to the slider to get it working again (i.e. whether it was just a matter of lubricating it or whether he tweaked something alignment-wise) but it definitely cured the problem. He is a very friendly and helpful guy and if you gave the garage a call (01608.737349) and mentioned my case (David from West Midlands with the silver Copen in April) I can't imagine he wouldn't give you the details of what he did. He did seem quite pleased to have a Copen to work on for a change. Regards, David.
Hi,everyone this is pretty new for me. But was hoping for some advice. I haven't been able to get the hood down since last year. The red light stays on constantly. And can't get the boot to close properly. Has anyone got any suggestions for me to try please......
Hi Audrey, Until the visit to Firs Garage we had quite a few instances where the red light came on, and as you say, this indicates that the boot isn't closed properly. Since the Firs repair the red light hasn't come on but that may be coincidence (I'm hoping not). With the red light on, the warning sound started when the car moved, and before setting off to Firs I discovered that the only way to stop the noise was to take out the relevant fuse (is this what you've done or do you just live with the noise). Prior to the Firs repair, getting rid of the red light was achieved by repeatedly trying the "open/close hood" switch in the car, the button at the back of the centre console unit and gently pressing the boot (mainly around the edges) to try to get it closed, eventually we always managed to get rid of the red light and close the boot but sometimes it did take a lot of perseverance. Hopefully if you can get the boot problem solved the hood may start working again. Regards, David.