VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

leightonjthomas said:

Just coming up to 2 weeks. They had it for over 2 weeks in August. At least I've got a new Cali as a replacement vehicle.
I'll let you know as soon as I have news.

Click to expand...

Of course in August they were only working on the bubbles under the seal of the elevating roof (which they failed to cure). This time they are "fixing" the front roof panel as well so I'm not holding my breath!

leightonjthomas said:

Of course in August they were only working on the bubbles under the seal of the elevating roof (which they failed to cure). This time they are "fixing" the front roof panel as well so I'm not holding my breath!

Click to expand...

Just got call from dealer. It’s back. Will find out how it is tomorrow........

Chinmusic said:

Just got call from dealer. It’s back. Will find out how it is tomorrow........

Click to expand...

Fingers crossed and good luck.

sbmcd said:

All OK under seal?

Click to expand...

Looks good but I'll do a detailed inspection over the weekend

leightonjthomas said:

Fingers crossed and good luck.

Click to expand...

Very pleased, front cap cleanly fitted.
All smooth under rubber seal on roof.
Clean on the inside (no marks on head lining).

No dodgy-looking sealant or anything.

Hope you're happy with yours!

Chinmusic said:

Very pleased, front cap cleanly fitted.
All smooth under rubber seal on roof.
Clean on the inside (no marks on head lining).

No dodgy-looking sealant or anything.

Hope you're happy with yours!

Click to expand...

Great news. Thanks for letting me know. I feel a bit more confident now.

soulstyledevon said:

Finally back at 8:30pm.
Can’t inspect as it’s to dark, but can see some kind of white resin on the roof. Not sure what it is.
Will be checking first thing

Click to expand...

What is the final verdict on yours?
Mine has been away almost three weeks now.

leightonjthomas said:

Great news. Thanks for letting me know. I feel a bit more confident now.

Click to expand...

Any joy?

Chinmusic said:

Any joy?

Click to expand...

Collecting it on Monday morning. It will be four weeks to the day since I took it in. I’ll let you know the result.

leightonjthomas said:

Collecting it on Monday morning. It will be four weeks to the day since I took it in. I’ll let you know the result.

Click to expand...

I postponed it until tomorrow as I wouldn't have been able to check it properly in today's weather.
Fingers crossed for the morning!

leightonjthomas said:

I postponed it until tomorrow as I wouldn't have been able to check it properly in today's weather.
Fingers crossed for the morning!

Click to expand...

Picked up my Cali yesterday. Couldn't check it thoroughly because of ice yesterday and heavy rain today but, from what I can see, Marshalls have done a good job. The corrosion on the front roof panel has been repaired by putting a black plastic cap in between the panel and the elevating roof. The paint work itself has been colour-matched. There is now a gap between the two panels that wasn't there before but, if you didn't know, you probably wouldn't notice it. The workmanship and finishing seem good.
I lifted the corner of the seal on the elevating roof (it is definitely not stuck down) and, this time, I could see no evidence of the little bubbles that were still there when it came back in August. I have no intention of checking under the whole seal. It has over three years left on the corrosion warranty and I'll worry about that some time in the future.
Breeze Southampton have been very good throughout. Nikki and Derek have been friendly and helpful at all times. While the van was in they replaced,under warranty, the o/s rear blind and the sliding door to the storage cupboard in the boot. They use Marshalls exclusively for roof repairs and are currently taking bookings for November 2018. Some people have been without their Cali for extended periods of time with a transporter as a replacement. I managed to get a T6 Ocean courtesy vehicle and I was offered a cancellation slot so I guess I was lucky.
Having said that the whole episode has cost me about 450 miles of diesel, not to mention countless hours of emails and telephone calls. VWCV said that I could negotiate goodwill compensation with Breeze which is a bit rich considering that none of it was their fault and I didn't even buy the vehicle from them in the first place. As long as the repairs prove to be ok I really can't be bothered to fight with VWCV for a couple of free services, each of which would mean a hundred miles round trip.
Good luck to anyone going through the repair process and please ask if you have any questions.

What's the general feeling with the work being done at Claridges, Southport? Our van is booked to go in Jan for corrosion under the roof seal and also corrosion to the white sub-frame of the pop roof. We've already had the front roof fairing done at Shorade

Response from VW in response to an email I sent them regarding the bonding of my roof seal:

"Dear Mr McDonald

Thank you for your email dated 18 December 2017 regarding the bonded seal fitted to the edge of your Volkswagen California roof.

As confirmed in my email dated 16 November 2017, I have liaised with my colleagues, who have confirmed bonding the seal to the roof is part of the correct repair procedure. Regrettably, I am unable to confirm why some repairs carried out, have not had the new seal bonded in place.

Once again, thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention and for allowing me the opportunity to respond.

Kind regards"

If anyone is about to have the elevation roof corrosion repair carried out ask them to confirm their proposals for re fitting the seal, if they bond it you cannot check for return of the corrosion.

The bonding may prevent ingress of water and the subsequent corrosion cell being created but I doubt that is the VW body shops reason for bonding the seal.

see the attached the fix as instructed by VW
only the patches of corrosion showing will be repaired and only primmer will be applied so no fresh paint and then the seal will be bonded on so no chance of checking it.
plus the worry of letting a bunch of amateurs near your pride and joy.

and the rest

gear box oil said:

and the rest

View attachment 28476

View attachment 28477

View attachment 28478

Click to expand...

Very interesting. However, I got mine back last week and the seal was definitely not bonded on. It seems we just have to accept what the individual body shop decides to do. I think it’s causing them so much hassle that a lot of them have pulled out. It’s still amazing that VW’s own body shops play no part in it.

leightonjthomas said:

Very interesting. However, I got mine back last week and the seal was definitely not bonded on. It seems we just have to accept what the individual body shop decides to do. I think it’s causing them so much hassle that a lot of them have pulled out. It’s still amazing that VW’s own body shops play no part in it.

Click to expand...

Agreed. By chance I met the owner of one off repair shop who no longer do the repair on behalf of VW as it’s too much hassle.



Mike

gear box oil said:

and the rest

View attachment 28476

View attachment 28477

View attachment 28478

Click to expand...

Thanks for that information, at least I now know that VW were giving correct information with respect to the bonding. The bonding may indeed provide a solution, only time will tell.

sbmcd said:

Thanks for that information, at least I now know that VW were giving correct information with respect to the bonding. The bonding may indeed provide a solution, only time will tell.

Click to expand...

I really hope the bonding works but I can't help thinking that this procedure will mask the problem rather than cure it.

Hope VW tested the product.....who knows it may cause corrosion...

The repair info is good to see. To me it reads like the pop top repair is to damaged areas so some may not be repaired with new paint / zinc rich under coat around the who pop top roof. So the undercoat that failed will still be there to fail further along. The pictures also appear to show the pop top roof taken off - so given pictures of damaged bellows in other posts it look like old bellows are being put back on while the old repair had bellows automaticly repaced.

some pictures show repair in situ but picture 8 shows roof on the floor?

Not sure if this has been considered but would having the roof wrapped in clear protect against future corrosion?

I was told my roof was removed to carry out the repair.

leightonjthomas said:

I really hope the bonding works but I can't help thinking that this procedure will mask the problem rather than cure it.

Click to expand...

I do believe if the bond provides a 100% seal and exludes the water that sits in the seal, an essential element of the galvanic corrosion process, it may work. Problem is you cannot check under the seal.

sbmcd said:

Response from VW in response to an email I sent them regarding the bonding of my roof seal:

"Dear Mr McDonald

Thank you for your email dated 18 December 2017 regarding the bonded seal fitted to the edge of your Volkswagen California roof.

As confirmed in my email dated 16 November 2017, I have liaised with my colleagues, who have confirmed bonding the seal to the roof is part of the correct repair procedure. Regrettably, I am unable to confirm why some repairs carried out, have not had the new seal bonded in place.

Once again, thank you for bringing your concerns to my attention and for allowing me the opportunity to respond.

Kind regards"

If anyone is about to have the elevation roof corrosion repair carried out ask them to confirm their proposals for re fitting the seal, if they bond it you cannot check for return of the corrosion.

The bonding may prevent ingress of water and the subsequent corrosion cell being created but I doubt that is the VW body shops reason for bonding the seal.

Click to expand...

Alec, what exectly do you disagree with?