2011 cali sliding side windows

m6ttx · Sep 19, 2012

Hi, i have recently purchased a 2011 cali and been excitedly stocking up the cupboards with all the relevant items i am going to need. unfortunately i went to the unit under the sink today and i found water at base of it, i think i've traced it back up to the sliding window above the sink. Is this a common fault for these sides windows to leak, we had some heavy rain last night but i'd expect a new vehicle like this to hold out the rain. Has anyone else experienced this problem at all???

I did use a poer washer on it on sunday i am hoping maybe it was just that.

Martin · Sep 19, 2012

Hi, yes this is a common fault, I had mine replaced under warranty a few months ago, takes about 5 mins.

ExploreCampers · Sep 19, 2012

Martin said:
Hi, yes this is a common fault, I had mine replaced under warranty a few months ago, takes about 5 mins.

Do you know what causes the leak Martin? Just out of interest :thumb

Martin · Sep 19, 2012

I'm not 100% sure but mine was the off-side one and it only seemed to do it when the van was pointing down hill slightly, SMG replaced just the sliding window part only and it appears to have cured the problem.

m6ttx · Sep 20, 2012

Thanks for the reply martin. We had rain again last night and i checked again this morning and it's leaked again so it must be the seals around the window, i'll get it booked in with VW. cheers for the feed back! :thanks

m4rky · Sep 20, 2012

When our Cali went in for some warranty work the dealers changed the seal around the sliding window and we didn't even know that it was faulty

They said that they were doing it as a matter of course when ever a Cali went it

Martin · Sep 20, 2012

m6ttx said:
Thanks for the reply martin. We had rain again last night and i checked again this morning and it's leaked again so it must be the seals around the window, i'll get it booked in with VW. cheers for the feed back!

Let us know how you get on, cheers

Californiaman · Sep 20, 2012

Its worth checking that it is properly closed. I had a similar thing on mine in the early days but I just hadn't closed it firmly enough. Doh!

It needed a thump for the first few weeks..

smgcowfoldparts · Sep 20, 2012

First thing to try is to clean both drains out. Had a T5 recently where one of the drains was blocked in the sliding window and the water was coming in and running down the door.

The side windows are bonded in as well, so no seal to replace.

cheers

m6ttx · Sep 20, 2012

smgcowfold said:
First thing to try is to clean both drains out. Had a T5 recently where one of the drains was blocked in the sliding window and the water was coming in and running down the door.

The side windows are bonded in as well, so no seal to replace.

cheers

Where abouts are the drains located? There is a rubber seal that runs around the edge of the small glass pane that slides, i thought it may have been to do with that.

soulstyledevon · Aug 25, 2014

m6ttx said:
smgcowfold said:

First thing to try is to clean both drains out. Had a T5 recently where one of the drains was blocked in the sliding window and the water was coming in and running down the door.

The side windows are bonded in as well, so no seal to replace.

cheers

Click to expand...

Where abouts are the drains located? There is a rubber seal that runs around the edge of the small glass pane that slides, i thought it may have been to do with that.

Noticed a leak in my Cali today.
Anyone point me in the right direction of the drain holes. Worth checking first...???

Custardtart · Aug 25, 2014

Both my side windows leaked from new. I park on a slope facing up-hill and I can only see drain holes in the channel towards the front of the van with none towards the rear so they're not much use to me.

The local van centre had a look and reported that they'd cleaned and lubricated the seals. It hasn't leaked since.

I've bought a tube of silicon grease and now clean and re-lube the seals from time to time myself.

Might be worth a try.

Freeley · Aug 25, 2014

Could you not park the other way custardtart? Problem solved!

Custardtart · Aug 26, 2014

Freeley said:
Could you not park the other way custardtart? Problem solved!

I had thought about it but it's parked close to a wall and front down means the driver's and side doors are close to the wall whereas front up means the doors are easily accessible.

Luckily, since cleaning/greasing, the windows have been watertight so the problems gone away.