sc430 convertable stuck halfway due to a folding chairbetween glass and trunk back help .
Yep yep I feel like the idiot so short of taking my sawzall and cutting two bits the folding chair so I can yank it out I just come up numb on figuring out how to do it I thought of going in the back I thought of I did turn off the cables and did a reset and that didn't work it still doesn't work so it it acts as if it asks when it's in the process of opening or closing like the red light stays on the red lights always on and when I push it it blinks so it's trying to work it's just wedged if there was some way to manually move it but whenever I try that it's very hard and I don't want to break anything anyone's help is greatly appreciated.

 

We need a picture.

 

Welcome to CL as a first time poster.

I agree with bitkahuna that a picture would be best for our advice. But, in general, absent that, if you can get the stuck folding chair out with a saw (and gentle fiddling), replacing a simple folding-chair at Walmart is a heck of a lot cheaper than having to replace a broken hardtop-lowering mechanism on an SC.

 

 

In this case, a picture is not worth a thousand words! It's hard to makes heads or tails of exactly how the chair is wedged in there.

Begin by taking the Hippocratic oath: First, do no harm! Don't do anything to damage the assembly as these SC tops can be astronomically expensive to fix.

If you can reach in and extract pieces of the chair, great, but a saws-all may be overkill. If you can cut the aluminum with garden shears or lopers, it would be preferable. You'd have less chance of collateral damage and have less mess to clean up. Once cut up, working with extra long needle nose pliers and perhaps scissors on the material, might work. With some wood blocks, like a cut up two-by-four, you may be able to manually lift the top parts enough to relieve stress with one hand while inserting blocks with the other, before cutting the chair or attempting to pull out the pieces.

It's hard to give much specific advice without being there. Generally, take it slow, don't get frustrated, and work through it with patience.

Thanks for posting this as it is a good cautionary tale to us SC owners to know it's possible to have something like this happen. Good luck and let us know how it turns out!

 

i think the 3rd and last pic are the same and if i understand it, that's looking deep into the trunk under the roof mechanism. If so, can you reach back to the chair and pull it gently toward you and out the trunk?

 

I feel like such a d******, but what you're saying really does make sense, versus the sawzall... Yes, it is wedged in there and it's very much wedged; The mechanism thinks it's gone to the back of the seat I do believe.
What happened is doing too much too fast. I guess that's my advice for anybody,you don't do that... I had a last-minute second passenger who was tall. I cleared everything from the back seat, which I have to admit had become more of a storage area.... No more, I promise that.
The folding chair I keep right by the trunk opening, always in the lower ledge ,i but in my haste, i put it on the upper ledge, and then back to business as usual for opening the top, andaz the top was opening, it pushed the chair against that back wall so that it is now parallel and wedged tightly to the glass back window and the back of the car.
I will do as you suggest and be careful. I will report back that it worked. i believe it good advice on the loppers that is just perfect idea to lopp that chair up. I will report back as I'm sure many are waiting with baited breath... No seriously, thanks much!I
Is not the SC430 the greatest? Probably like at least some of you, you've had a lot of great cars before this one. Who knew who knew how great A car could be, and seriously even when it looks all janky cuz the trunk won't close because he's stuck up folding chair in it and now the things stuck in limbo even then, it is still the coolest car in the world!!!
I first noticed them in about 2003 and a neighbor's friend had one and I would go over with my daughter who wasmwas 3 sureor 4 be sure she put on a little face of desire and this lady would let me take the car around the block with my daughter and 15 years or so later I finally got one and I am so happy with it...

 

Try posting this to the SC 2nd Gen Model Forum. Many of the SC owners are very sharp and experienced with these cars and convertible mechanisms, but because you posted in the general Car Chat Forum, most SC owners won't see it. Generally, anytime you need technical advice, go to the model forums.

Yes, these are fantastic vehicles...let's keep them that way! Like you, I had been eyeing them since they first came out, but never had that kind of money to buy new or slightly used. Once the used ones depreciated to where I could afford one, I jumped on my red, 2008, and had zero buyer's remorse, unlike most vehicle purchases. It's a V8 coup with a convertible hard-top, with Lexus reliability! What's not to like (other than getting a chair stuck in the retractable top mech)?

I was thinking it would be ideal if you could manually reverse the top, from where it stopped, but have no idea if this is possible. I'll look in my shop manuals to see if there are any procedures for such. Although, it would likely require special software, like Toyota's Techstream, if it is possible.

 

moved to sc430 forum.

 

Let's try something basic. Pull the toneau cover back and put it back into it's holder, so the car's computer will see that it is in place.

Then if you have your owners manual, find the section on how to put up the top in an emergency. I think it is a two person process. See if you can follow the procedure enough to get the roof in a position you can remove the chair.

 

If you don't have a manual, you can look at this online one. Go to page 256
https://drivers.lexus.com/t3Portal/d...f/OM24449U.pdf

 

Thats the manual procedure for the top. It looks to me like you are going to need three people. Its going to be one man on each side ot the top lifting up slowly untill the third person can safely extract the chair. Good luck.

Paul

 

On pins & needles here! Praying for God's wisdom to help guide you. You can do this!!
If I were in your same shoes, I would try DshngDaryl and Raven01750's advice. At the very least, it could help you open it enough to cut out more chair pcs which may lead to victory.
I also Googled, "hard top convertible car repair AZ" and there are several. If the above fails, might try calling around to see if any have experience w/ this. Or the (gulp) Lexus dealer..
There's so many knowledgeable and kind people on this forum. I'm sure you'll get more responses soon.
Good luck, hang in there and you can do this!

 

I fail to see how the top even got to that position without the roller blind in place. It has contact points that prevent this. Unless it has been over-ridden at some point. Which would be a good lesson for everyone here - DON'T DO THAT!

Sawsall seems to be the only option I can see. Man, it's wedged back in there pretty good.

 

EXCELLENT call boyz, this should get him out Of this nightmare scenario