⚠️EZ-Lift Soft Top Assist Damage⚠️

[Ibleve]

Installed Thursday. Top all the way down once, slight damage driver’s side. Black hardware. FWIW, do like the improvement in opening ease and dimensions. Not a fan of pressure it takes to open top all the way, but may be a learning curve. Hope an acceptable solution is found.

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[redone17]

I enjoy this product so much that a bit of felt on the strut and thick ppf/tape on the roll bar is a fine solution for me. Staying tuned.

 

[markpilip]

That's a bandaid. I'm 100% not here to bash IAG, I'm sure they will do the right thing on this. I would think very few people are going to accept an ugly strip of black Velcro as a solution for their very expensive new vehicle not getting damaged.

But if most of the posters who've purchased these vehicles are doing manly things like climbing up Mt. Everest every weekend, won't their very expensive new vehicles be damaged by rocks, tree scrapes, local civil uprisings, and hostile words from jealous Jeep owners anyway?

 

[Dez]

I installed least week and had the top down for the first time last Friday. I have not seen any issues with rubbing or damage. I hadn’t even put it back into position one since I got it because I wanted to make sure the crap weather was at least 90% done. Maybe I got lucky but what I did have to do, since it was the first time I had the top back, was adjust the crap out of the top to get it to latch properly on both sides in any position

It wouldn’t surprise me if the real problem is that Ford threw these tops on as quick as possible and they’re not square. Mine was latching ok on the drivers side but but the front windshield latch on the passenger side was the only one within 3/4” of even making contact with the appropriate latching posts.

Adjusting it got rid of a lot of “clicks” I was hearing while driving as well.

 

[Hot Pepper Diamond]

They are either going to fix it or get hit with tons of returns / chargebacks. Maybe even some civil cases for the more adventurous.

The more adventurous? Not quite the word I’d use but ok…

 

[jalawson]

I installed least week and had the top down for the first time last Friday. I have not seen any issues with rubbing or damage. I hadn’t even put it back into position one since I got it because I wanted to make sure the crap weather was at least 90% done. Maybe I got lucky but what I did have to do, since it was the first time I had the top back, was adjust the crap out of the top to get it to latch properly on both sides in any position

It wouldn’t surprise me if the real problem is that Ford threw these tops on as quick as possible and they’re not square. Mine was latching ok on the drivers side but but the front windshield latch on the passenger side was the only one within 3/4” of even making contact with the appropriate latching posts.

Adjusting it got rid of a lot of “clicks” I was hearing while driving as well.

While there is slight movement in my top when it’s down, it’s not enough for any of the oem top parts to contact the pillars.

I measured my top for squareness in all 3 positions and it was square throughout all 3 but the IAG Struts did not remain equally spaced from the pillars after moving to the fully down position.

 

[RClark82]

But if most of the posters who've purchased these vehicles are doing manly things like climbing up Mt. Everest every weekend, won't their very expensive new vehicles be damaged by rocks, tree scrapes, local civil uprisings, and hostile words from jealous Jeep owners anyway?

I would challenge you to the percentage of users that are doing serious trail use vs daily driver. Not just on this form but in general. Our bronco was a Christmas gift for my wife and her first new vehicle ever. It will see occasional light off-road use, but primarily a driver. Unnecessary paint damage is a big deal for most owners

 

[reigny]

But if most of the posters who've purchased these vehicles are doing manly things like climbing up Mt. Everest every weekend, won't their very expensive new vehicles be damaged by rocks, tree scrapes, local civil uprisings, and hostile words from jealous Jeep owners anyway?

But if most of the posters who've purchased these vehicles are doing manly things like climbing up Mt. Everest every weekend, won't their very expensive new vehicles be damaged by rocks, tree scrapes, local civil uprisings, and hostile words from jealous Jeep owners anyway?

Theres a big difference between that and knowingly scratching your car every time you put the top down.

 

[jrstorm1007]

I only had my top fully down during the install, but will be checking mine today and look forward to IAG solution. Happy there are active on this site and are very responsive.

 

[HeliPilot]

FWIW, every single rag top vehicle I’ve ever owned has eventually worn through paint from top movement during driving. Some of those made it 30 years without a single problem with the panel itself (just worn paint). I’ll place some PPF and/or felt on the affected area, but people need to prepare themselves for the fact that even the factory top will eventually wear through the paint. Especially in the corners, which is why Ford placed PPF in those spots. But that will be temporary at best. For me, this is no crisis, and certainly not a show stopper.

 

[Busyboy19]

WARNING

*Update 2* Messaged with Adam Kennedy from IAG this morning after taking measurements from the soft top frame and IAG struts to the pillar in all 3 top positions. The measurements showed the soft top frame is centered side to side on the Bronco and that the IAG struts are evenly spaced from the pillars until the top is fully in the down position. That’s when the IAG strut rubs the pillar on the passenger side but is still spaced out on the driver side.

IAG is going to send replacements parts and is refunding the cost of the struts. They offered to send touch up paint and PPF but I’ll be getting the whole vehicle PPFed shortly once my advfiberglass fenders get here so I told them they didn’t need to do that. Also, I’ll be getting touch up today because I don’t want to leave metal exposed that long.


*Update* Adam Kennedy from IAG has reached out to help resolve this and we will be working through it to try and figure out the cause and a resolution for the damage tomorrow. I will update the post with what we find out and decide.


*Original Post* I got my Bronco last Thursday (3/10) and my IAG Struts arrived on Saturday (3/12) so I of course eagerly put them on my Bronco the same day. They went on great with easy to follow instructions and I was loving using them. That is until tonight when I started hearing a rattling noise on the passenger side rear of my Bronco. I went back to try and find the source of the noise to find that the IAG struts had been rubbing against the D pillar (arms over the rear of the bronco). In fact they had rubbed clean through the paint on both my Bronco and the strut.

My initial thought was surely the strut had bent or something was loose and causing it to be out of alignment but I thoroughly inspected it and there is nothing bent, angled wrong, moving irregularly, or loose. Also, the driver side is not rubbing at all and has a healthy gap between it and the D pillar. I don’t know what caused this whether the bracket it mounts to is angled slightly different or what but there is nothing from the top itself even contacting the strut other than at the attachment points.

I really hope @IAG Performance makes this right by paying to have the paint fixed on my Bronco. Unfortunately, their customer service is closed all weekend so I won’t be able to reach them until Monday morning most likely. Also, their website says “Our liability shall under no circumstances exceed the actual amount paid by you for the product, nor shall we under any circumstances be liable for any consequential, incidental, special or punitive damages or losses, whether direct or indirect.” So unless they stand up and do the right thing I will be out of luck.

I made this post right away so others wouldn’t fall victim to my same situation. If you have these installed already, check to see if they are close to your paint when the top is in the down position.

I will update y’all when I get an answer from IAG on how they are going to handle this.

Have same issue with top down for only couple hours.

 

[Tortuga353]

Add me to the list. Very small mark on driver side and only put down once upon install. Holding tight for instruction.

 

[Busyboy19]

Have same issue with top down for only couple hours.

The main reason for posting these is NOT to complain about the scratch or damage we know will at some point could happen in use. The goal is to help IAG and maybe others in seeing real life sample size of users for their design.
Just my opinion.

 

[USAGUY]

. Another reason to buy a 2.3.

 

[Major_Bullsteak]

My set came in last week, and I was going to install them today. Thank god I read this first! I’m going to hold off for now, until IAG provides a guaranteed solution. Otherwise, I might just return them. Not worth damaging the paint.

Same boat. I've had mine for a couple of weeks at least and was going to install this weekend. Not sure what their return policy is but I'll wait a little longer to see if their is a long term solution solution.

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