My neighbor has a 323ci convertible. Yesterday afternoon she was letting the top down and it stopped about 6 inches into the retraction. Wouldn't go either way. She called BMW help and was told to hold the retract button in for FIVE MINUTES. Well by the time I got over there her dang finger was ready to fall off! And worst of all it still didn't work. I scolded her for buying a Bimmer and she gave me a look like 'I'm not in the mood for this'. I could hear the pump motor trying to engage for a second then it would stop. I told her to push the down button and as she did I grabbed the top and pushed back on it. It engaged and went down.
Is this a common problem and does anyone know what causes it?