VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[T5WOB]

https://www.facebook.com/VWtMagazine?fref=photo

 

[lawny99]

Hi, thanks for the email last week, i was on holiday in Spain (without the Cali) when I received it. I am now back home and just checked my 2012 Cali and it does has corrosion on the front panel and all around the main roof under the rubber seal. :censor The corrosion under the rubber seal was quite difficult to see at first but there are definitely small blisters there which I assume will only get bigger.

 

[777111]

Hi, thanks for the email last week, i was on holiday in Spain (without the Cali) when I received it. I am now back home and just checked my 2012 Cali and it does has corrosion on the front panel and all around the main roof under the rubber seal. :censor The corrosion under the rubber seal was quite difficult to see at first but there are definitely small blisters there which I assume will only get bigger.

Blisters on the main roof will be like mine (above)? Can you possibly get a photo up to support this please - more evidence for VW UK the better.

Thanks.

 

[Martin]

We have had several emails from people who are not sure what to look for on the main roof, here are some very good pics kindly supplied by one of our members.

 

[Fresco 2008]

Yep I got it above the driver's side on my 08 Cali. See attached pic. Can anyone tell me whether VW is accepting any responsibility?

 

[calikev]

At the moment they are fixing the front panel on vans up to 6 years old the main roof is yet to be decided

 

[Skoin]

Thank god for the forum! I'm not the most observant admittedly and the bubbling on the front panel of my 2011 Cali is pretty horrific. Its only done 14k miles. By far the most frustrating thing though is the fact that it was in Sheffield Van centre last week for it's first MOT and annual service and despite the fact that they obviously know about the issue they failed to mention it.

I now have to take the van back to them "when I'm passing" which is.....never, so that they can take pics and book it in. My pics are no good to them apparently. for nothing VW van centre sheffield.

I suppose a positive is that at least they've coughed to it and are fixing them but surely the onus is now on them to write to the owners informing them of this. After all, we're not all on forums. I'm sure there are many oblivious non forum members out there.

 

[robo]

Good afternoon Skoyne.
Check the elevating roof where the rubber seal is.
You need to open the roof slightly, say 12" and stand on something.
The rubber does slip off easily and can be pushed back.

rob

 

[Fresco 2008]

Further to earlier post I called dealer from whom I bought the Cali new in 2008. (Heritage in Bristol) He said they were aware of problem and had fixed 2 already; full respray of front part & roof required. He also said they had had to train staff to fix his problem & he thought there were only four Van Centres in the UK that could sort it. Anyone had their problem fixed?

 

[Ejt2]

Hi all

I've also spotted Bubbling under the rubber seal around the main elevating roof. It's a California Beach which was first registered in December 2013.

I'll contact a local dealership to report it tomorrow, no doubt joining the back of a lengthy queue. Disappointing really, the Beach has lived up to expectations. The addition of a Comfortz Leisure matress topper, Jackyards seat covers, VW coolbox and Brandrup side panels has made the van even better than it was.

My thanks to all on the forum for all the valuable information that's posted. I hope that the roof panel issue is resolved soon. If VW have changed the manufacturing process recently to prevent corrosion, they must surely have knowledge of the issue and be able to provide assistance.

 

[Claudiopinto]

Well, after the forum advice, took the Cali out and poped the roof up... this is what you'll probably see:

please note the images are up side down.

After already been to the local VW dealer, I will go back today to reenforce the complaint I had made last week.

Hope all this goes on with a happy ending.

 

[nclarke8]

Hi there Our 2011 has both. Waiting for Front panel to be done, its quite ugly now. and pics below show the main roof has the bubbles as well
[album]1532[/album][album]1531[/album]

 

[david white]

Thank you for the reports and especially the photo's. Rumour has it VW are now monitoring this thread so please keep them coming.

 

[Jonathan]

Had thought I'd escaped with the roof, but following advice here and pulling off a small part of the rubber sure enough the bubbles are there too (sorry - it means my poll entry is wrong).

I dropped into the dealer today who had submitted the front panel photos last Sept., but the info. above is correct - only those submitted recently have been logged, so they're having to start again. The difference between Sept. and now is substantial - back then the panel had only a few bubbles, now it's a 3cm wide strip. They said they thought the whole roof was routinely replaced as the fault lay in the metal itself with the paint failing to bond with it (and that they'd found VW to be pretty efficient at handling the claims) which gave some comfort. However they are not a California dealer, so this may not all be accurate.

Thanks all for the info. here - I definitely would not have noticed the roof corrosion without the clear instructions.

 

[Ejt2]

Hi, please can someone let me know who the 4 approved dealers are to carry out the repairs necessary? VW customer care were quick to wrongly direct me to the local dealer. The local dealer informed me that only 4 commercial centres are dealing with these claims. However, they didn't know which dealers were processing claims. As an aside, the customer care staff denied all knowledge of the roof corrosion issue...

Meanwhile, I'll just carry on enjoying the van...

Thanks again for all the good advice on this forum.

 

[Andy]

Hi, please can someone let me know who the 4 approved dealers are to carry out the repairs necessary? VW customer care were quick to wrongly direct me to the local dealer. The local dealer informed me that only 4 commercial centres are dealing with these claims. However, they didn't know which dealers were processing claims. As an aside, the customer care staff denied all knowledge of the roof corrosion issue...

Meanwhile, I'll just carry on enjoying the van...

Thanks again for all the good advice on this forum.

If you are concerned about this issue at least have the courtesy to do a bit of reading before jumping to conclusions & asking questions !!!! The first two posts in this thread have a lot of info on this issue, I would encourage you & others to at least read them.

VW CS are quite correct you need to take your cali to a van centre who will take photos & submit a warranty claim for you. Then in turn the van centre will inform you when it is your turn for repair & at which of the four repair centres.

 

[Ejt2]

Hi Andy, no offence or discourtesy intended , I've just followed the advice of VW customer services. I was told to take my van to Reading van centre, no problem. However, when I asked Reading van centre to look at the van they told me they couldn't. I had to take it to one of the four approved centres. I was just posting that VW customer care directed me to the local centre. The local centre was very clear that they couldn't touch it.

That's all, I was just looking for the names of the four centres, my local centre has refused to look at it. Apologies for the confusion

 

[calikev]

I was also told by my local van centre that they didn't have a body shop so could not check and report it to VW cc so I will have to book mine in to Coventry vw :doh

 

[robo]

I have just completed having both problems, front panel and elevating roof, logged by VW customer services.

I had previously received a letter that the van was in line to be fixed. But, at that time, I had only logged the front panel.

I wanted to be sure that both problems were being dealt with at the same time, and I was covered by some correspondence.

On my second visit to a local VW van centre ( not one of the approved 4 ). They were a little reluctant to do the report and photos for submission to VW warranty team, as somebody else was going to get the work. They did however finally agree and sent in the report.

This may explain why some dealers are reluctant.

I hope to receive a revised letter next week.

I have asked for the letter to give assurances that the work will be carried out. Then, if I wanted to sell the van, the new owner would have some comfort that the matter was being dealt with.

The word is out that all the vans have this problem and I for one, if looking for a van, would want to see that the problem has been fixed or was guaranteed to be fixed.

I'll let you know what happens.

rob

 

[Stu]

However, when I asked Reading van centre to look at the van they told me they couldn't. I had to take it to one of the four approved centres. I was just posting that VW customer care directed me to the local centre. The local centre was very clear that they couldn't touch it.

I think you have been misadvised.

My understanding is that your local dealership will process the warranty claim and log all data/take pictures to forward to VW. Thereafter the job is handed over to one of the four specially trained repair centres who will call you forward for the repair when they have the opportunity.

Try your local dealers again and if they still persist call VW CS and ask them to re-educate their dealer so you can take it back to them.

It's simply not feasible for everyone around the UK to visit one of the four centres to have the warranty claim submitted.

 

[Martin]

Anyone who is selling their Cali and you have roof corrosion, I have just had this response from VW.

Thank you for your further email regarding the Volkswagen California and the customers who are booked in for a repair to their roof.

I do understand that ownership may transfer after the repair has been authorised, but prior to commencement. However to avoid any concerns for the new owner, we would suggest that they contact the Van Centre who initially inspected the vehicle with their
V5 and two forms of identifications to have our records updated.

This will ensure our records are kept up to date and that we contact the correct owner to arrange the repair.

Kind regards


Lee Manuel

 

[robo]

I'll be asking him to include this statement in my letter.

rob

 

[danny13]

Try your local dealers again and if they still persist call VW CS and ask them to re-educate their dealer so you can take it back to them.

I believe it may need to be processed by a dealer with a bodyshop, certainly this is the case with Listers, the Listers VW dealership wouldn't inspect my van but the Listers bodyshop would.

 

[Ejt2]

Thanks Stu and Danny13, I was given the wrong info yesterday.

VW CS very helpful today and the van is now booked into a dealership's bodyshop. They will get the ball rolling by photographing the roof and submitting the report.

I originally thought this was the case from reading this thread initially, thanks once again.

E

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

Any VW Van Centre can process these claims. They do not need to have a body shop either. The process takes about 20 minutes once the photos have been taken. There are pre-made forms for this supplied by VW and the information for each individual has to be entered and then sent off with the repair request to VW in the usual way. The pop-up roof claim would have to be built up from scratch and takes probably an extra five minutes at most if not done before by a dealer.

We have been doing paint warranty claims for the last few years and don't have a body shop so if any van centre tells you that they cannot process a claim then they are incorrect.

cheers