VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Custardtart]

Is it possible for the forum moderators/chair to contact VWCS about this issue. It is frankly ridiculous: this will be the 5th time I have had to submit my roof details and 4 years since it was first logged. They are just taking the p*** at this stage. I am going to phone VWCS on Monday as I have had nothing through officially but have letters from VW assuring me that the work will be done. My next phone call will be to Which Consumers Association of which I am a member, looking for advice for legal action. We would be better doing this as a group, but as it is 120 miles round trip to my local dealer, this is getting quite out of hand.

I am in a similar position and frame of mind. I bought my van new 4 years ago and have now been waiting patiently for 3 years for the rust to be fixed. I have been asked to visit my van centre to (re)submit my claim 3 times.

When I bought new I didn't do it so I could drive around in a rusty van for the last 3 years.

I think VW should now be offering it's customers compensation for failing to remedy their problem in a reasonable timescale.

 

[Lost Boy]

My 2012 van had the issue when I bought it and the previous owner told me it had been reported and logged with the dealer. I checked with VWCS and they confirmed this. I called a few weeks ago to get an update and they now tell me they have no record of the warrantee claim! I spoke to the previous owner and despite no documentation he was able to tell me which dealer logged the claim and the date it went in. I contacted them, they acknowledge it came in but have no record of the claim either on their system! I now have to have it reassessed and start all over again at the back of the queue, I'm not at all happy. Wondered if anyone else has had this issue?

 

[Shaun]

My 2012 van had the issue when I bought it and the previous owner told me it had been reported and logged with the dealer. I checked with VWCS and they confirmed this. I called a few weeks ago to get an update and they now tell me they have no record of the warrantee claim! I spoke to the previous owner and despite no documentation he was able to tell me which dealer logged the claim and the date it went in. I contacted them, they acknowledge it came in but have no record of the claim either on their system! I now have to have it reassessed and start all over again at the back of the queue, I'm not at all happy. Wondered if anyone else has had this issue?

Im in the same predicament, waited 2 years plus had various letters from VWCS telling me I'm in a que for repair then nothing, so after reading this forum I contacted them again only to be told all claim info lost by VW and I need to go back to dealer to re submit , which I did 2 weeks ago , I rang the dealer again yesterday and was told my claim has been accepted but they are still waiting for info regarding the timing and location of repair.
I have waited two years , spent lots of time on phone and emailing and I'm no further forwards as yet!
What would a "Reasonable " amount of time be to wait for an in guarantee repair ?
Surely it can't be this long??
Who would know the answer? Trading standards ? consumer advice maybe?

I feel i need to do more now i have been fobbed off for far too long.

 

[Ambler]

It seems to be very convenient that all the claim information has been lost by VWCS.

 

[Shaun]

It seems to be very convenient that all the claim information has been lost by VWCS.

I have quite a few letters / emails from them mostly with reference numbers and dates etc , i can't really see how they could get away from the facts. But then this is VW

 

[T6 CFO]

VWCS must hate this board. Am I right in saying that there has never been a recall on this problem? If so must be an awful lot of owners out there who are clueless on the issue.


Mike

 

[calikev]

Vw will only recal for safety issues the roof corrosion not being one of them.
I keep thinking this will harm their reputation.I have heard a lot of people say I won't buy another Vw but people still are so I don't think they care

 

[drmanhattan]

Hello,
I'm trying to get a claim under warranty for elevating roof corrosion. VW Birmingham Van Centre are saying it's out of warranty. It's a 2011 model. Does the 6-year warranty extension apply? Is there a link anywhere on this site to VW's official policy on this issue that I can show VW Birmingham Van Centre?
Thanks

 

[calikev]

Here is an original letter from vw

 

[Lost Boy]

Hello,
I'm trying to get a claim under warranty for elevating roof corrosion. VW Birmingham Van Centre are saying it's out of warranty. It's a 2011 model. Does the 6-year warranty extension apply? Is there a link anywhere on this site to VW's official policy on this issue that I can show VW Birmingham Van Centre?
Thanks

I was told by VWCS only last week that because its a known issue then my 2012 is covered

 

[drmanhattan]

Does the six year paint warranty apply to corrosion under the seal of the elevating roof section - or just the front roof panel?

 

[Alan]

Does the six year paint warranty apply to corrosion under the seal of the elevating roof section - or just the front roof panel?

Both

 

[Custardtart]

... and does it start from the day they are repaired or is it from when the vehicle was first registered? The way this is going my van will be 6 years old before its fixed

 

[DavidofHook]

I do wonder if our problems would be better dealt with if we were with the VW Car division rather than the Commercial division?

I say that as someone who asked if, like him, I got a chocolate biscuit when I had my van serviced as well as the car valet. Noooooo, I don't get either, but then I am with the vans and trucks in the Commerial side and they don't seem to do that there.
Is this reflected in the way they are handling the roof problems?

 

[Alan]

... and does it start from the day they are repaired or is it from when the vehicle was first registered? The way this is going my van will be 6 years old before its fixed

Covered within your 6 year warranty,after that period your on your own,unless your very lucky!

 

[Custardtart]

Do new California's come from the factory with the plastic cover on the front roof section or is this only being retro-fitted to faulty vehicles?

 

[tanto]

ROOF CORROSION

You are all a moaning lot.

Think of the poor old VW share price, half what it was before they were found to be economical with truth about emissions. Everything was OK until they were found out. The company clearly has to cut costs by finding cheaper fixes for their technical problems and cut administrative costs to be enable them to pay for the American fines etc.

It is only 2.5 years since Breeze Southampton efficiently submitted my claim for roof corrosion problems when it was accepted by VW. A year later when I contacted Breeze they told me it had been allocated to Heritage for repair, (that’s where it came from). Over the following year I contacted Heritage twice only to find that I had not moved in the imaginary list, In June I contacted them again to be told that VW had moved it to Poole for repair and I fixed a date for the repair for the 4 th September. I have just had a call from Breeze saying that they can now book it in for its roof repair at Twickenham and that they have had to resubmit the claim as they now have a new cheap fix that can be done in a week. All this time I have had no letter from either VW or any VW dealer.

I am sure VW are telling us the truth about lost the list (they never had one) and we cannot expect them to tell us that the new fix method is another “cheap emissions fix ”,but it would be nice if they could reassure us that it is a BETTER technical fix and not just a cost saving measure.

Just sit back and admire their efficiency and look on the bright side, there is hope for British industry

Lucy

 

[Shaun]

I have just received a call from my local dealer in Wakefield , to say that my van will be going to somewhere in southport for the repair , but unfortunately the body shop are not taking bookings until next FEBRUARY
Seems that when it comes to kicking the can down the road VW are even better than politicians

 

[Ilkleymoortim]

I've recently been back in touch with my dealer (also in the north of England) as I've now waited a full two years since first joining the queue (April 2010 4-Motion Cali). They came back to me earlier in the week to tell me that several new external bodyshops have been appointed (added to the original 4 VW dealerships) to deal with this huge backlog. It included the one at Southport. However, like Shaun, they tell me that it will be many weeks before they are trained up on the repair process and that I will be waiting for a "good while" yet. Most importantly, they stressed that VW has abandoned the old comprehensive roof repair and that the rectification will now just be a new "lip" that will cover the affected area and will avoid removing the roof. They assured me that this new method was reported to be more effective than the old way. However, I can't see how covering the blistered paint (presumably on both the roof and front panel) can be classed as a satisfactory repair. I can see how doing it that way might save VW a lot of money.

 

[Meoncoast]

They assured me that this new method was reported to be more effective than the old way

cost effective?

 

[Custardtart]

So has the new repair actually started yet. Customer service told me the new repair was VW's attempt to speed up progress since the repair time is shorter and more body shops can do it.

If they have stopped the old repair before actually starting the new ones that suggests little concern for customers waiting and more for concern for cutting costs.

I really want to believe it's not the case and that the new repair is better and not just cheaper.

I am also concerned that there won't be much of the 6 year warranty left by the time mine is eventually fixed - not enough to make me feel confident in the fix before it runs out.

 

[tanto]

Has anybody had any details of the new fix that reassures us that the corrosion fix is not just cover up job with a bit of fill and a new coat of paint . What are they doing to prevent the underlying problem. Given that they are doing it to our vans it is not unreasonable that they tell us exactly what they plan to do to our property. They do when it goes into survice .

Tanto

 

[Shaun]

I received a call yesterday from my local dealer, I was given the 13th of Feb 2017 for the new roof repair .
They will need the van for 5days but the lady who rang didn't know what the process involved.
Fingers crossed this time that it actually happens!
By the time Feb arrives It will have taken 30 months to sort out

 

[RichardP]

Just rang Customer Services again re the roof, which was first registered as a problem back in 2012 but conveniently 'lost' so re submitted in April 2014.

They confirmed that more body shops had been appointed and that the repair had been simplified. They said that the original roof panel is now re-used, primed with Zinc and re-painted. As mentioned above, the cynic in me says that this is a bodge so that the warranty will have expired by the time the repair has started to fail in the same way the original did. Our van is a 12 reg, with the repair probably not until early next year at best, there will be just one year of warranty left.

Assuming the worst, and that the repair is done, then fails shortly after the warranty expires, anyone fancy a class action law suit as provided for by the Consumer Rights Act 2015?

 

[Shaun]

It would seem only fair to me that we should expect some form of recompense for all our wasted time and effort , not to mention the possibility of an unsatisfactory new repair not providing a complete solution.
I for one would be willing to contribute some funds ( if thats what a class action requires ?)