Mine came with a fridge that did not work (5 week wait to fix)
My Calicap II is being assembled and should arrive in a couple of weeks
shop.vwcamper.de
Good luck but I’m a bit sceptical….that said one would think by now that VW wouldn’t authorise warranty replacements for this reason unless they’re reasonably confident the replacement will work?
Rejection at this stage can’t be refused. Speak to VWFS who will confirm this. The dealer principal is a good start.
You would think so, but dealers in Germany at least are still installing bellows that still leak. Sometimes worse than the original top. While these new failed cases will prove advantageous in the long run, I would be in no rush to get a replacement at this point in time if I had a leak.
Yes I’m sceptical too…but you never know. And I really want my van to work properly.
Of course this poses a particular challenge; your bellows leaks, you speak to your dealer, the offer a replacement….”err, no thanks”, you’re almost obliged to take that option as otherwise you’re effectively declining the warranty claim. I guess you could always share the info on this forum and explain you want assurance the issue has been resolved fully before they apply a fix but if VWCV maintain “there is no fault” it’s going to be tricky. Or just get it fitted and if it leaks complain again, but there’s all the hassle associated and as you say the original might be easier to live with while we wait for a fix than the replacement! Incidentally that does point more to inconsistent manufacture (or possibly install, and possibly in conjunction with a design flaw) otherwise they’d all leak the same (given similar weather conditions).
You’re not obliged to get it fixed straight away. Dealers would be happy to wait as either way they get paid for a warranty claim. The process is generally once agreed to submit as warranty they would submit to HO for approval. Very few warranty claims are pre-approved and need to go through the VW MK Warranty team. Even if it gets to that stage, and then fitted, and still leaks, they would still have to repair again. Personally I’d wait for a bulletin to come out and as @andyinluton says, so would a savvy dealer while offering loan toppers.
Yes I read that, but that’s when pointing a hose at it. He didn’t point a hose at his first set of bellows so maybe they would’ve leaked through the zips too. In torrential rain (or pointing a hose straight at them) is it reasonable to expect zips to leak a bit? I wonder how the old bellows would perform in these conditions.
Makes sense. Hence why VW say strong wind and/or driven rain is an issue. And to be honest I think that’s fairly reasonable too - like you say everything has a limit.
Agree, but would you get a thread like this on a tent forum? Manufacturer's saying best not go camping if it's going to rain. They should at least match the performance of the old bellows.
If the tent owners were pointing jets of water through a hosepipe at their tent zips, probably have the same issues.
Yes agree. So on that basis the guy on FB’s bellows issue is fixed. They only leak at the zips now when he squirts a hose directly at it. Nothing through the front seam. I’m beginning to feel optimistic.
I wouldn't get too excited yet, there are people on here whose bellows have passed the hose test but failed in the rain. The most important thing is that VW are agreeing that there is a problem & are trying to resolve it.
I’m not excited, I’m optimistic.
Old bellows leak
I'm sure we'll be keen to hear how your replacements hold up to the rain!
Certainly, no problem at all.I'm sure we'll be keen to hear how your replacements hold up to the rain!
Could we ask a favour; can you take some "stock" photos of your existing (leaking) bellows, particularly around the seams where you think the ingress is happening, so if the new bellows are watertight you could take some photos of them from the same perspective so we can if there any visible differences?
I am reliably informed that the part number for the leaking, "double" skin, light inside poptop canvas is now not available to be ordered by dealer parts deparments and has been dsicontinued. My dealer is waiting for a new part number.
I agree whole heartedly but suggest you don't include both issues in any letter.
Back to the previous perhaps?
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