Anybody else have this problem?

I spent Sunday taking off the hard top and putting on the soft top that came with my '09 Rubi JKU. The soft top sat in my garage over the winter in a dry safe place with some plastic trash bags covering it. Taking the hard top off was easy. A couple of friends came by to help lift it off and drop it at the back of my garage. It took less than 10 minutes including the time it took to take the bolts off and remove and stow the freedom tops.

Putting on the soft top and frames was a real PITA, but I got it done. The bad news is that when I got it on, I noticed rust stains on the interior of the soft top in the areas over the front seats. The dealer is going to replace it under warranty, but now I'll have to take this one off and put the new one on.

Thanks Chrysler. I should bill you for my time.

 

Unfortunately, you'll just have them next year. I bought our '07 in the spring of that year, had the hard top on that next winter, and had similar stains in the canvas that next spring. I am curious to see what this year will bring, it is just not warm enough for the swap yet.

Perhaps a layer of fabric between before storage?

 

Mine stays on the Jeep 365, and I have some near the windshield header. No clue where they came from. I figure "it is a Jeep thing".

 

If the soft top had ever been on before, I'd take the blame (or chock it up to being a "Jeep thing"), but the Rubi was brand new in November '08 and has only had the hard top on. The soft top was still factory sealed when I put it on last weekend. It came from the factory that way. Oh well, at least they'll replace it.

 

Hey at least you got a dealership that will replace it. I've read that the typical lifetime of a soft top is anywhere from 5-10 years. The one you got might have been on the short side of the stick. Who knows. Mine stays on 365 (its all I got) and it has a couple of rusting screws but nothing on the canvas so far.