MajorCommonBody & Rust

Mazda Bongo: Auto Free Top elevating roof — split canvas, tired motor and water ingress

Auto Free Top elevating roof — split canvas, tired motor and water ingress is a common body & rust fault on the Mazda Bongo on the 1995–2005 cars, and we rate it major. Putting it right costs $800 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. Below is what goes wrong, the symptoms to notice on a test drive, where to look, and what to ask the seller before you hand over any money. It is one of 6 documented faults on the Mazda Bongo.

Vehicle: Mazda Bongo
Years: 1995–2005
System: Body & Rust

This page covers the Mazda Bongo as a model. Some faults only affect particular engines or build years — enter a plate below to narrow the list to one car.

All Mazda Bongo faults6 documented faults on this model

What you are looking at

No photograph available

We do not hold a verified photograph of the Shock absorber / strut yet. We would rather show none than show a picture of a different part.

What goes wrong

Many Bongos were sold with the factory Auto Free Top, an electrically raised roof with a fabric surround, and it is the part buyers most often forget to test. The canvas splits and fades where it folds, the seals harden, the lifting motor and gas struts wear, and the switch corrodes. A split or badly sealed canvas lets water in, and that water goes into the headlining and the carpet, where it does far more damage than the canvas repair would have cost. A replacement canvas alone is a few hundred dollars fitted; a motor or strut job on top of that adds up quickly.

What you would notice

Roof rises slowly, jerkily, or stops part-way
Visible tears, thinning or heavy fading in the canvas folds
Damp or stained headlining and musty smell in the cabin
Water marks on the carpet under the rear seats

How to check it

Where to look. Elevating roof panel, its fabric surround, the lifting motor and gas struts, and the headlining below it

Ask the seller to raise and lower the roof at least twice while you watch — smooth and even both ways is what you want, and jerking, groaning or stopping part way is not. With the roof up, stand inside and look at the canvas from underneath against the light: pinholes and thin patches show up clearly that way. Run your hand along the fold lines feeling for stiffness and cracking. With the roof down, press the headlining around the roof opening for damp and put your nose in the cabin — a musty smell means water has been getting in for a while. Peel back the rear carpet edges and check for staining.

Parts involved: Shock absorber / strut.

What it costs to put right

$800 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That is for this job on its own, not for the car.

An estimate, in NZD, for the repair as normally carried out. What a specific car costs depends on which part has failed and what it damaged on the way — treat this as the floor for a negotiation, not a quote.

Ask the seller

“Has the roof canvas ever been replaced, and when?”
“Does the roof go up and down every time without complaint?”
“Has any water ever come in through the roof?”

Now check the Mazda Bongo you are actually looking at

Everything above is true of the model, and it is free. What it does not tell you is whether THIS car has been looked after: its odometer history and whether the reading has ever gone backwards, whether there is still money owing on it, whether it has been reported stolen, how many owners it has had and what it is really worth today. That comes from the official records for that plate. Enter the plate for the free details, or get the full history and a market valuation from $13.49.

Not sure what you would be paying for? See what a full KickTyres check includes.

Where this comes from

The failure described above is documented in the sources below. The inspection instructions and the cost estimate are KickTyres’ own interpretation of them.

Bongo Buddy — 'AFT Problems' reference page
Practical Motorhome — 'Mazda Bongo Camper Buyer's Guide'

Mazda Bongo buyer questions

Is auto free top elevating roof — split canvas, tired motor and water ingress serious on a Mazda Bongo?

We rate it major and common on the Mazda Bongo. Many Bongos were sold with the factory Auto Free Top, an electrically raised roof with a fabric surround, and it is the part buyers most often forget to test. The canvas splits and fades where it folds, the seals harden, the lifting motor and gas struts wear, and the switch corrodes. A split or badly sealed canvas lets water in, and that water goes into the headlining and the carpet, where it does far more damage than the canvas repair would have cost. A replacement canvas alone is a few hundred dollars fitted; a motor or strut job on top of that adds up quickly.

How much does it cost to fix on a Mazda Bongo?

$800 to $3,500 at New Zealand independent workshop rates. That figure is for this job on its own. A car showing the symptoms on this page is usually worth either walking away from or negotiating down by at least the repair figure.

Which Mazda Bongo years are affected?

Our research records this fault on the 1995–2005 Mazda Bongo. Build dates move around, especially on imported cars, so treat the range as the years to look hardest at rather than a guarantee either way. The official records tell you the exact build and first registration date for the car in front of you.