Autohaus Rinner: OpenSky!

timmus

timmus

A2OC Donor
Right then folks, my trip to Rinner...

This has been such a massive success. Rinner are a seriously professional setup. Anyone who is in two minds about going should just go. I think, however, that my experience will be slightly different to others’ for the simple reason that I speak German!

When I arrived, Herr Thomas (or Herr OpenSky, as he might as well be called!) came out to meet me. I showed him the problem with my roof and he explained precisely how he’d fix it, which bits would be re-used and which bits would be new.
We then spoke a little about the LongLife service and what I’d get with that before I explained a few other bits of work that I wanted doing, such as new SE springs on the back as well as new CV joint grease, etc. It became clear to Herr Thomas that I was interested in my car and knew exactly what I wanted and he, and the rest of the Rinner team, quickly adapted their service accordingly. I was invited into their workshop, was shown ‘round their parts department, the rolling road, etc. I was also allowed to watch the work being done, hence the photos.

My car was in for 2 days, as the springs had to be ordered. I was staying about 6km away in a small village called Arzbach, but was chauffeured back and forth by the secretary in Herr Rinner’s A8L.

Herr Thomas did all the work on my car, including the service, and communicated with me directly, rather than going through the people on the front desk. I appreciated being able to talk directly with the mechanic. He is a hugely knowledgeable guy, who understands the A8’s complex electronics as well as he understand the OpenSky System.
I bought my A2 about 2 years ago and it hadn’t been to a genuine Audi garage in a few years. As part of the LongLife service, Herr Thomas replaced all the non-Audi small parts with genuine Audi bits, from screws to clips and straps. His inspection was thorough in the extreme and I feel I have come away having had more than just a service and a new roof. I have absolute peace of mind about my car and its condition.
Before going to Germany, I bought a second key for my car on eBay for £30. Herr Thomas programmed my immobiliser to work with the new key absolutely free of charge.

My car is so much better for their attention. It runs much smoother when cold; it’s quieter and less throaty. The ride is much improved for the new rear springs (my old ones were seriously rotten), I have a working OpenSky System and I have a second key, which certainly adds to the peace of mind.

Although my experience was positive in part due to being a German speaker, I think my bringing them work also helped. I asked for work to be done beyond the bare minimum service. I wasn't made to buy tyre gunk that I'll never use nor was I charged silly money for a few new plasters in the 1st aid kit. Rinner are obliged to do warranty repair work on the condition that you have a service done with them. If you expect to pay the bare minimum in order to get the roof repair, expect the bare minimum in return. I have no doubt that my request to have the springs changed in addition to the service was money very well spent. I am a seriously happy chappy!

Tom
 
Doing things cheaply:

Somehow I can’t imagine many will want to follow in my footsteps where accommodation is concerned, but nevertheless I’ll share my experiences because it certainly was cheap!
I took a tent with me with the intention of camping on a site in Arzbach, 6km upriver from Bad Tolz. When I arrived at the campsite, it was snowing heavily. When I announced my arrival at reception, the landlady took pity on me having to sleep in a tent and so suggested I stay in the drying room. There was no one else on site as the season hasn’t yet begun, so I wasn’t going to get in anyone’s way.
I was lead down some steps to a room underneath the men’s shower block into a simple room with a table, a chair and, hurrah!, central heating. As one of my many jobs, I teach mountain navigation and so am used to roughing it a bit. For me, this drying room was total luxury and cost me 10 Euros a night. And all the facilities were in the shower block upstairs. Bargain!

As you’ll see in the photos, I took a Trangia gas cooker with me as well as all the food I’d need, purchased from Sainsbury’s before I left. Food and accommodation for the whole trip cost me £35.

I live in England’s North West, so couldn’t do the journey in one day. I cut the journey in two just south of Namur in Belgium. I spent the night in my tent behind a hawthorn hedge in a deer park.

I needed 5 tanks of fuel for the round trip, though I have the smaller 32-litre tank. The journey I planned cut through Luxembourg. Although it’s about 15 miles longer than the shortest possible motorway route, it allowed me to buy two full tanks of fuel at Luxembourg prices. This easily saved £20 in fuel, though I did calculate things precisely to make sure I could buy as much fuel there as possible, on the way there and back.
 
What a great post. It sounds like you had a great service rinner..
It must have been a great drive back with the car running sweet:D

Cheers

David
 
The OpenSky System:

The photo below shows exactly which assembly is new. The OpenSky System has 4 pieces of glass, the middle two of which open. The two glass panels which open are taken from the broken system. Everything else is new.

Spike had a few questions about the OpenSky System and its maintenance.

spike said:
While your car is in for repair could you ask the guys about the best way to keep the Open Sky in good condition -
- The lubricants they use
- How to look after the seals etc.
- What to do with the cables and tracks (which are not really accessible)
- Any mods to do on a roof which is working ok to make it last longer
- Do they plan to offer an exchange service for failed roofs which are over 10 year old.

If you get chance, ask them to demonstrate the clean and lube procedure on your new roof.... so you can tell us all how to do it when you get back.

We all have our own ideas but it would be great if we could get some practical tips from the experts.

Cheers Spike
Click to expand...

There is just one lubricant used for everything: G-000-450-02

The servicing procedure goes as follows:
All the old lubricant is removed from the tracks with a cloth. The roof is closed and opened twice in an effort to pull out as much as the old lubricant from the inaccessible areas, each time removing it with a cloth. New lubricant is then applied copiously in the accessible sections of the track and once again the roof is opened and closed twice to get the new lube into the inaccessible areas.
The seals are also maintained with this same lubricant. The lube is applied thinly to all the seals; the rubber seal which runs the perimeter of the mechanism as well as the seals around the edges of each glass panel. The lube is then allowed to sit on the seals for 15 minutes or so before it is worked into the rubber with fingers, keeping the seals hydrated and supple. Any excess is then wiped off.

The OpenSky System which Rinner fit is an updated model to that which was fitted during the A2’s production. Audi have learnt from the multiple failures and redesigned all the components which were prone to failure. The vast majority of these were plastic parts which are now simply made of metal instead. Herr Thomas was confident that the new system would be significantly more reliable. Unless you’re able to have the plastic parts remanufactured out of metal, there is no way of modifying an existing, working OSS in an effort to make it last longer. Following the maintenance routine outlined above is all that Herr Thomas could suggest.

Whether Audi plan to offer an exchange service for failed roofs which are over 10 year old I'm afraid I do not know. I felt I had already taken up enough of Herr Thomas' time and so left this question unanswered. I'm sure a quick phone call could clear this up.
 
A good write-up and you're right, I'd still go to a hotel/pension but that room was a fine result :cool:

I understand where you're coming from re having the rear springs done there but I didn't need that, hence the brake fluid change, gunk & first aid kit I guess.

I don't know if the pics make the job seem better or worse, still don't think I'd attempt it though :D

Herr Thomas is in der The OSS Man :cool:


Oh, mine seemed to run better also despite not being overdue a service (it had an oil change 1000 miles before I left for Rinner) :confused: Not that I thought about it that much, I just enjoyed it feeling smoother and more responsive and enjoyed the scenery :)
 
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Agreed, very good post and maybe inspiration for other brokensky owners. I imagine most will make a short holiday of this and very much doubt your £35 bed and board will ever be equalled unless the A2 also used for sleeping in!
 
I did have to sleep in mine for one night on the way back; never believe people when they say the continent copes with winter weather better than we do ;)
 
nuttinnew said:
I understand where you're coming from re having the rear springs done there but I didn't need that, hence the brake fluid change, gunk & first aid kit I guess.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that. It's just a bit of advice for others who may go.
If there's some work to be done on your car, save it and have Rinner do it. It'll cost you a wee bit more to have it done by Audi themselves, but the extras I got (eg. key programming) as a result of the business was well worth it.

Tom
 
Tom,

Great pictures and a really informative write up, but a couple of questions:-

1. Did Herr Thomas explain exactly what had failed on your opensky.
2. Were the cables and motor replaced.

Also Tom, my OSS is currently working and I wonder if Rinner offer the replacement service for OSS’s that have not yet failed. As the plastic components are prone to failure (and I do have a locking hook that has broken), I would probably be interested in getting mine replaced to avoid problems in the future.
Would you know if this is possible – unfortunately I don’t speak German otherwise I’d call them myself.

Cheers

Jeff
 
Hi Jeff,

No, there was no detailed explanation of what had gone wrong, but with mine it seemed to be the drive/gearing mechanism slipping just beyond the motor.
Yes, the cables and motor were replaced because everything was replaced aprt from two panes of glass. My car has an entirely new roof apart from those two panes.
Have a look at photo 1 in my third post. Everything sat on the blue foam waiting to be lifted into the roof of the car is new. It's a redesigned assembly with all the known weaknesses corrected.
Basically, it would seem that, even if your factory-fitted OSS still works, this new one is something to want for.

I'm not sure what the status is on roofs which aren't broken, though by the sounds of things yours is slightly broken.
Herr Rinner, [email protected], can read/write English to a degree, though he relies on internet translation a little. I suggest you write to him and ask. Having someone sit on the roof while you try and open it might help your cause!? :p

Cheers,

Tom

Mustang-owner said:
Tom,

Great pictures and a really informative write up, but a couple of questions:-

1. Did Herr Thomas explain exactly what had failed on your opensky.
2. Were the cables and motor replaced.

Also Tom, my OSS is currently working and I wonder if Rinner offer the replacement service for OSS’s that have not yet failed. As the plastic components are prone to failure (and I do have a locking hook that has broken), I would probably be interested in getting mine replaced to avoid problems in the future.
Would you know if this is possible – unfortunately I don’t speak German otherwise I’d call them myself.

Cheers

Jeff
Click to expand...
 
Hi Tom

Thanks for getting the answers to all the Open Sky service questions. I'll try and copy your post into the 'How To' section to make it easier for everyone to find in future

Cheers Spike
 
This is a very helpful and interesting thread and like so many A2 owners who have problematic OSS but I am currently hoping for an answer soon from Autohaus Rinner regarding mine.

Many thanks for the information:)

Nigel
 
Absolutely, me too, I love seeing the guts of stuff (cars and organic things!).

Amazing that they basically completely lift the entire roof out - you can see how you might conceive doing a convertible soft-top A2 if you had an OpenSky car to start with, ha ha!

timmus said:
Thanks! I'm glad they're appreciated. I found looking at the inner workings fascinating.
Click to expand...
 
65.08 mpg!

Thanks for the feedback, folks. I'm pleased this information is of use to people.

I've just been down to my local petrol station and filled up, having not used my car since getting back from Germany. So, I'm now able to do the brim to brim calculation:

2003.3 miles driven on 139.93 litres = 65.08 miles per gallon.

Probably 98% of those miles were done with cruise set to 70mph.

Not bad at all! :D
 
That's a great MPG average, nice one! Do you have any of the aero or 5th gear mods installed? It does show that a good long run really helps stretch the car's legs a bit doesn't it - probably did the engine a world of good.

timmus said:
Thanks for the feedback, folks. I'm pleased this information is of use to people.

I've just been down to my local petrol station and filled up, having not used my car since getting back from Germany. So, I'm now able to do the brim to brim calculation:

2003.3 miles driven on 139.93 litres = 65.08 miles per gallon.

Probably 98% of those miles were done with cruise set to 70mph.

Not bad at all! :D
Click to expand...
 
Hi Tom,

I dont have an opensky but that post is so useful and I'm sure a real bonus to opensky owners who want to fix theirs or worry that they will have an issue in the future. If only my car had it installed too!

Great pictures of the work/solution!

Cheers

John
 
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