VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[mountainman]

OK, taken my 2011 Cali Berghaus 180, which I bought out of the showroom in Feb 2012, into the Aberdeen VW body shop today. The inspector understood the problem immediately, took photos, serial numbers etc. said he'd book the vehicle in for a warrantee recall. He said that he'd get in touch with the Benfield, Newcastle centre to book it in and told me he'd copy me in on al the emails and arrangements. He was honest about the timeframe, saying it would likely be several months.

Pics attached.

So far, so good!

 

[MisterTea]

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?

I presume you were being funny about using bleach etc. ... Please don't. . That's one way to ruin paint and cloth.

Just use good quality bodywork cleaners on bodywork. And fabric cleaner on fabric.

bleach is good for one thing only, add in killing 99.9% of germs and making your hair fall out.

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[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?

I presume you were being funny about using bleach etc. ... Please don't. . That's one way to ruin paint and cloth.

Just use good quality bodywork cleaners on bodywork. And fabric cleaner on fabric.

bleach is good for one thing only, add in killing 99.9% of germs and making your hair fall out.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

One thing it IS good for is (heavily diluted and applied with an old toothbrush) getting rid of green mould around window rubbers. Obviously rinse thoroughly.
I'm talking about the heavy duty vinyl that the awning is made from; I have a million cleaning products to choose from...

 

[Jimbobob]

My dark blue 11 plate (with a new dsg gearbox because Heritage didn't bother telling me about the 40,000 mile oil change so it died at 70000 miles) has corrosion on the front roof panel. I took it to Heritage bristol today but they don't do the work. It's done at only 4 centres and mine will be done at heritage westbury. How long will it take? About a year apparently. Now that's VW service for you. :lol:

 

[davep74]

have had mine fixed twice due to corrosion. Luckily first repair was within warranty and the second was within the gaurantee given by the paint shop. If you have to get it resprayed make sure they acid prime the front panel and slow bake the paint otherwise it will just bubble off. Had no other problems since....touch wood

 

[robo]

Further to my last post.
Last night I gave the roof a good clean and removed the rubber seal round the roof. (It comes off and goes back very easily, might need a ladder though)

I have found bubbling paint on both sides back and front.
I also examined the repaired front panel and found bubbling paint in a new place.

I am down to have the front panel repaired but don't know when.
I'll take the van into the local repair centre and get the roof corrosion added to the list.

Van less than 3 years old.

Smart phone Photos of some of the spots attached.

Not happy.

rob


rob

 

[Martin]

Thanks Rob for the info and pictures.

I spoke to VW again yesterday and if you have corrosion on the main roof you MUST get this checked by your dealer as a totally seperate claim, if the claim is rejected please call VWCS on 0800 783 4909 and speak to Lee Glenn Manuel.

As Rob has done, to discover the corrosion on the main roof you need to look under the seal as this is where it starts and then creeps up.

We really need to get as many of these claims going in for the main roof as possible as they are still denying there is a problem!

 

[MisterTea]

Great insight chaps. Thanks for the pointers

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[Ambler]

Quite a mess this.
If you have corrosion and want to sell the Cali you may have to wait 12 months to get it fixed. In the meantime, any potential buyer may not believe your assurance that Vw will fix it for free, honest.

 

[Martin]

Quite a mess this.
If you have corrosion and want to sell the Cali you may have to wait 12 months to get it fixed. In the meantime, any potential buyer may not believe your assurance that Vw will fix it for free, honest.

This is also something we are taking up with VW, we want to allow the repair to be easily transferred to a new owner.

 

[KernowLad]

I'm startling to think the best solution is a whole new roof and front section for all Californias.
As someone having to go through the hassle AGAIN, it really isn't good enough just patching it up and hoping for the best.

 

[Stu]

have had mine fixed twice due to corrosion. Luckily first repair was within warranty and the second was within the gaurantee given by the paint shop. If you have to get it resprayed make sure they acid prime the front panel and slow bake the paint otherwise it will just bubble off. Had no other problems since....touch wood

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news -

I would be following up and seeking the 'new' repair if i were you. We believe the new repair includes a modified gasket between the van bodywork and the front shroud to give the necessary isolating barrier for dissimilar metals which it is understood is the root cause of the problem.

I think it will reappear eventually.

 

[Stu]

I'm startling to think the best solution is a whole new roof and front section for all Californias.
As someone having to go through the hassle AGAIN, it really isn't good enough just patching it up and hoping for the best.

I 100% agree mate, the problem is that VW are unwilling (at the moment) to agree the two parts are connected so unless you have corrosion on both then they won't look at it.

We have been asking for a 6 year Anti Corrosion warranty (Not Anti Perforation) for the entire roof assembly however my view is that if VW will not address the two items as being faulty by design (on the basis they say there is nothing wrong with them unless they are corroded) then I think they should be offering a lifetime warranty against corrosion of the Aluminium elements, after all if it's aluminium and properly fitted it should not corrode - ever.

 

[Stu]

Quite a mess this.
If you have corrosion and want to sell the Cali you may have to wait 12 months to get it fixed. In the meantime, any potential buyer may not believe your assurance that Vw will fix it for free, honest.

This is also something we are taking up with VW, we want to allow the repair to be easily transferred to a new owner.

Whilst that might be a step in right direction I don't think it will instill confidence into a prospective buyer and thus could lead to greater depreciation or loss of value in the vehicle.

I don't know how to address this at the moment save for VW needing to up their game in terms of the speed of repairs.

I for one would not be overly enthralled of spending upwards of £40k on what for many people is a bit of a lifetime dream purchase knowing it had an inherent problem that could cost me money in the future and that when VW eventually get round to addressing the issue I would have the hassles involved with that process. There is of course always the unknown when repairing a vehicle as the story of the white one with unmatched paint mentioned above.

Furthermore and relative to my above post, as a buyer and having been made aware of this situation I might not be comfortable buying a van that had for example had the shroud repair agreed but not the roof.

Can you imagine buying an LED TV that had several dead pixels on it but the seller trying to convince you that it was not an issue because the manufacturer had a repair process in place and they'd try to get it done within the next 12 months or so. Firstly you are probably unlikely to buy it, but if you did you'd want some level of compensation in terms of a reduced price.

 

[KernowLad]

I think it's more a case of "when" it will happen rather than "if."

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

My dark blue 11 plate (with a new dsg gearbox because Heritage didn't bother telling me about the 40,000 mile oil change so it died at 70000 miles) has corrosion on the front roof panel. I took it to Heritage bristol today but they don't do the work. It's done at only 4 centres and mine will be done at heritage westbury. How long will it take? About a year apparently. Now that's VW service for you. :lol:

The service display does not tell you when gearbox and 4motion system oil is due for change. That should be down to the servicing garage to notify you and carry out the work when due as part of the service and or advise you that it is required to be done.

cheers

 

[Isa Neal]

UK 2012 DSG 180 with blistering repaired I believe via previous process c/o SMG. I am in Scandinavia and saw a German California made the same month as mine yesterday they have no problems at all. Is the gasket used the same for the UK RHS models ie do we have a>% problems with this bit between windscreen and roof?????
My blistering has recurred on RHS above drivers side as was there before, I would be keen to put my vehicle through a process that actually cures the problem.
Additionally I note our white Cali member from Germany had new bellows fitted as part of his repair. my new purchase in 2012 came with bellows with a December 2011 label. When my roof and bellows were replaced with new roof and bellows as roof ate itself due to metal spike on scissor arm, the bellows came with a label of October 2011 on it ie was older than the original and I still have problems with the surrounding rubber(a which I will need to pull down to see if roof bubbling, but plan to take to SMG when back from this epic 8 week tour)
Only thing I can say is the vehicle has been a dream to use and drive on this EPIc tour with the Camping and Caravan Club via ASCI.

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

Give us a call when you are back and we can make arrangements to get it sorted for you.

Thanks

 

[Isa Neal]

Thanks Alex
I have to say to all SMg have been fab for me. I bought my vehicle new from a Welsh Centre and unfortunately they hadn't checked it properly before I drove off having paid full price. SMg have been very gracious in sorting it out since.

 

[sebking]

The book does clearly say oil change at 40K for the DSG and Haldex.

 

[SimonSpain]

I think maybe this will post twice as I just posted it and it didn't come up? Maybe it needs to be censored?

Here's my 2013 Cali SE that seems to have the start of bubbling on the front section. roof seems ok, but need to give it a better look. How do you look under the rubber without breaking it?

Thanks!!

 

[Andy]

Rubber trim just pulls down & off

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[SimonSpain]

...no other post... ...I had more to say! :doh

I am in Spain and the possibility that someone here knows that this problem exists is pretty slim.... .....what should I do? I have about 5 months warranty left....just 2 years here...don't know why.. :censor :censor

If there are only 4 authorised dealers in the UK, imagine how many there will be here??....NONE I imagine! I'd get it done if I come to the UK, but when could that be and how would that have to be organised. Maybe Germany would be better? I would trust SMG...but I think the whole world will want them to do the work. I am happy to wait as long as it's a problem that VW WILL fix for me under warranty.

Ok...looks like I made the same mistake in thinking that VW actually knew what they were doing.... ...and then to blame it on 'surf boards'... :censor :censor ...that's pretty unbelievable!!!

Das Auto???.....maybe not! :censor :censor

 

[SimonSpain]

...for the info. on the trim!

 

[pete&gill]

We had corrosion on the front panel fixed at end of warranty period in 2011, but now have some to the rear of the elevating roof.
Has anyone had a repair done outside the three year warranty?