VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Martin]

Latest update from VW is they are standing by what they said in that the main roof problem is not connected to the front panel corrosion so if you have blistering on the main roof please have this inspected by your dealer ASAP and report back to us.

 

[Calivaughan]

Just checked and found some corrosion on front roof panel

 

[hkvistgaard]

My 2004 California has this issue as well. It is only the front panel which is affected. See the picture. I bought it in Germany in 2012 and the panel had started to bubble but during the next couple of years it got quite severe. Most likely the panel has been refurbished prior to my ownership. Some family of mine owned a 2007 California and had the front panel repainted. That lasted a couple of years after which they were back at square one. I am glad to hear that there is finally a real cure for this. I wonder if there are authorized repair centers in Sweden where I live (I realize that mine is too old but I am considering to import a 2011 California)? Volkswagen in Sweden only started selling new Californias in 2012 so they may not be familiar with the corrosion issue.

Thanks for a good forum where I've found answers for many questions during my California ownership.

 

[AlanC]

Went into Breeze at Poole today. Both the service manger and the warranty manager knew all about the problems with the roof, took photos of my corrosion and I signed the appropriate paperwork.

They have 19 Calis registered already and a further 4 to go on the register including ours.
Apparently Heritage Westbury has now started on the repairs. The first few were held up due to a back order of parts. Been slow so far apparently.

They thought we would be waiting the best part of the year...no need to worry about the trip to France in July then!

BTW, It was mentioned that the roof corrosion was, they thought, may be due to surfers putting wet boards on the roof rack and the salt water collecting along the rubber edge...

 

[777111]

"BTW, It was mentioned that the roof corrosion was, they thought, may be due to surfers putting wet boards on the roof rack and the salt water collecting along the rubber edge."

Hilarious. What perverse humour. Definitely very funny unless you own a multi- thousand pound VW liability vehicle. Tell me they didn't really believe that....? Idiotic.

 

[Tumbleweed]

Thanks for the e-mail regarding the roof issue.
Had a look at our 62 plate Beach today.
Checked the front panel and found bubbles along the top edge where the roof closes.
Removed the seal from around the bottom of the roof and found bubbles and some peeling paint.
Went to our local VW van centre in Manchester this afternoon and they have booked us an appointment for them to check the van and take photos on the 1st July.
So we'll have to wait 2 weeks to see what happens.

 

[jmg21]

Info for all. Our 2012 van has been in for repair since 19th May. Initially in for front panel replacement but the main roof was also corroding. I believe a new roof has been painted and fitted. Van still away. Communication from dealer is excellent and I believe the work has been completed. So expect your van to be away for at least 3 weeks.

 

[alison.dodd]

I spotted some corrosion about a month ago and I am waiting for Benfield Newcastle to contact me about a repair. I haven't checked the elevating roof but I will now. Benfield told me this was a known fault and there was a recall. However, I'm not sure if I hadn't contacted them they would have contacted me!!!!! Alison

 

[Stu]

Info for all. Our 2012 van has been in for repair since 19th May. Initially in for front panel replacement but the main roof was also corroding. I believe a new roof has been painted and fitted. Van still away. Communication from dealer is excellent and I believe the work has been completed. So expect your van to be away for at least 3 weeks.

Thanks for the update. So do you have the loan Cali at the moment?

 

[jhgf]

Our van has to go into Breeze VW in Poole for its first service next month. I will ask them to check for corrosion. Glad to hear that they are aware of the situation and acting appropriately.

Thanks

Jonathan

 

[koups]

I have some bobbling of the paintwork on the front panel only. I have phoned VW and they have booked it in for review to then send a note to VW to recall the vehicle to get it sorted.

 

[david white]

Anyone who is on Facebook please post a message on VW Facebook page about your corrosion please, there is already one post on there so you can just add a comment to this message.

Direct Link: https://www.facebook.com/VolkswagenCommercialVehiclesUK

We need to push for six years warranty on the entire roof !!!

 

[robo]

Done
robo

 

[Dunc]

Done also, Social media is a great way of getting your message across, I would hope they will not delete our posts.

 

[Caliboard_CaliPilot]

Got my van back yesterday and it felt like 3 years ago when we first met ;-)

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They needed 4 days for the repair (normaly 7 working days), luckily my van was the only one in the shop so they had two guys available to work on it.

As far as i can tell it right now everything went well. The technician explained me that:

1. Front panel is new. The gap between the windscreen and the front panel is closed.
2. Between the front panel and the roof there is a new seal. Normaly they would use a transparent tape but after complaints they replaced it with a black rubber seal.
3. The bellow is new, the fabric feels a little bit thicker than the old one
4. The corosion on the roof beneith the seal was severe but VW only approved the repair and not a full replacement. I should now check frequently for blistering around/beneith the seal.
5. Due to the new paint there is a slight difference in the color between the roof and the car body.
6. They made a final cleaning and spent a bottle of wine, a keychain and the new Brandrup catalogue

After a week driving an Golf7 (at no charge) it was an awesome ride back home with my van.

Chris

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[Martin]

Hi Chris,

Thank you for your post, what is the situation in Germany on the main roof?

 

[SusiBus]

..... AND YOU THOUGHT YOUR CALI HAD ROOF CORROSION!

This picture shows that if you leave your vehicle exposed to sea spray, you should think twice about choosing a Cali!!

It is a 2010 Cali that admittedly lives in an extremely exposed situation on the Scottish coast.

 

[KernowLad]

My word that is horrific!

Guess who lives in an exposed spot about 150 metres from the Atlantic...?!

 

[Shaun]

Got my van back yesterday and it felt like 3 years ago when we first met ;-)

[album]1526[/album] [album]1525[/album]

They needed 4 days for the repair (normaly 7 working days), luckily my van was the only one in the shop so they had two guys available to work on it.

As far as i can tell it right now everything went well. The technician explained me that:

1. Front panel is new. The gap between the windscreen and the front panel is closed.
2. The seal between the front panel and the roof got a new seal. Normaly they would use a transparent tape but after complaints they replaced it with a seal.
3. The bellow is new, the fabric feels a little bit thicker than the old one
4. The corosion on the roof beneith the seal was severe but VW only approved the repair and not a full replacement. I should now check frequently for blistering around/beneith the seal.
5. Due to the new paint there is a slight difference in the color between the roof and the car body.
6. They made a final cleaning and spent a bottle of wine, a keychain and the new Brandrup catalogue

After a week driving an Golf7 (at no charge) it was an awesome ride back home with my van.

Chris

So after all the Hassle you have had to endure during this process you have ended up with a roof which is a different colour shade from the rest of the van , instructions to keep checking the roof for more corrosion in future and a bottle of wine

Or am I not reading this correctly ?

If thats not a story for watchdog i don't know what is :censor

Sorry I forgot to mention the keychain :x

 

[calikev]

Forget watchdog
It should be on crimewatch

 

[BerndRos]

But surely unless the van is old and been in very direct sun light.....the paint should match......

I have had my 2010 repainted in areas and it matches just fine.

 

[Dave_T]

That's not great if they can't get the colour matching right on a white van....

 

[Caliboard_CaliPilot]

So after all the Hassle you have had to endure during this process you have ended up with a roof which is a different colour shade from the rest of the van , instructions to keep checking the roof for more corrosion in future and a bottle of wine

Or am I not reading this correctly ?

If thats not a story for watchdog i don't know what is :censor

Sorry I forgot to mention the keychain :x

You are correct. That's a typical description of a VW-commercial customer treatment: take it or leave it (but hey thanks for all the fish err Euros..) :evil:

But honestly (and teeth-gnashingly), my car is out of warranty and i'm thankful that VW made the repair at no charge and gave me a replacement vehicle.

Chris

 

[Stu]

Sorry I forgot to mention the keychain :x

Ermmm no, you forgot the Brandrup catalogue!! Never miss an opportunity to capitalise on the consumer :censor

 

[KernowLad]

Now I'm no fine artist but…

HOW DOES WHITE PAINT FADE?!!

I'm going to give the entire roof the fine tooth treatment. I need to clean the awning too - it's got a bit mucky (possibly mould) - any hints? I was thinking a pressure wash and maybe a tiny bit of bleach/general purpose cleaner if needed?