6.1 Ocean pop up roof problems

[Mehdime]

There is now a replacement pump unit at the dealers with my name on it. I am confident that we’ll be back on the road in the near future. The sequence of events has been exactly as outlined by @andyinluton previously ( software update, change ram, change other ram, change pump )
To @Mehdime, so far you’ve done everything right and avoided some mistakes I made.
You involved VW assist right at the start.
You got some great photos
You have made the dealer you bought the van from ( I assume ) in Ireland aware of the problem and are taking it there for repair. That’s all good.
The van is less than 6 months old. Excellent.
You bought the van to go camping with your family and now you can’t because the roof doesn’t work. At this moment in time the van is not fit for the purpose you bought if for. Of course you must give the dealer the opportunity to put things right. They will follow the VW script. The van could be in there for a lot longer than 2 days, if it all goes to form you’ll end up with a new pump. Make sure you get a courtesy van or car. Finally don‘t give up, it’ll get fixed.

Thanks for the update - that’s very useful. And yes, my journey is actually as you said. And RE: courtesy car, yes, I made it clear to the dealer that the van is our only car. So if it must stay longer than the day, I need a courtesy car. They said they’d give me one - but the proof will be in the pudding.

 

[Pew]

Hi, picked up our Ocean on Friday, on Saturday roof did as above,
Sunday VW Assist called and put the roof down manually,
Tuesday back to dealer ( courtesy car provided).
Dropped back to me today by SMG all ok couldn't find a problem,
roof left up all night but didn't drop on own accord,
Suggestion is manually lowering the roof may have cleared any air lock in the system, haven't tried it yet!

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Well that’s the van back home and roof is perfect, new bellows as well because original was nipped by the wonky roof.
it was a very fraught experience and I really did think we were heading for deadlock at one point.
Thanks to everyone who has posted about this previously especially the very knowledgeable @andyinluton and the incredible @tripleB, who did everything on his own.

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Well that’s the van back home and roof is perfect, new bellows as well because original was nipped by the wonky roof.
it was a very fraught experience and I really did think we were heading for deadlock at one point.
Thanks to everyone who has posted about this previously especially the very knowledgeable @andyinluton and the incredible @tripleB, who did everything on his own.
View attachment 99073

Great news.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Thanks @GrumpyGranddad. By the way the repairer was Marshalls Lincoln and strange though it may seem, now that they’ve done one, I wouldn’t put anyone off taking their van there if they have the dreaded sagging roof problem

 

[andyinluton]

Well that’s the van back home and roof is perfect, new bellows as well because original was nipped by the wonky roof.

That is excellent news. I found once the roof is fixed properly that’s the end of it. It stays fixed with no sagging etc.

 

[Morsels]

Well done! Our new van sagged to the point where we couldn’t use the roof but less than the 20cm that VW deems a fault, so they refused to fix it. We had the pump changed at our cost by an independent vw specialist so we could actually use the bloody thing, and are now pursuing the dealer for the cost via the OFT here in Gibraltar.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Well done! Our new van sagged to the point where we couldn’t use the roof but less than the 20cm that VW deems a fault, so they refused to fix it. We had the pump changed at our cost by an independent vw specialist so we could actually use the bloody thing, and are now pursuing the dealer for the cost via the OFT here in Gibraltar.

I know, I followed your case with interest. Scandalous. The thing is after the pump unit is changed the roof doesn’t sag at all, so 20cm is not normal and never will be. I hope your claim through the OFT in Gibraltar is successful. There are at least 2 more roofs waiting to be done, Ellesmere Port and Dublin, and if they also end up with a new pump which cures the problem, that must strengthen your case.

 

[GrahamB]

Recently in the South of France in prolonged very hot (36c+) conditions, we did get a bit if roof sag after three days. I didn’t notice it from the outside and the first indication was the roof lights not working. This has concerned me because it has never happened previously on our longer trips in the UK. Is there any reason why sag would be more likely in high temperatures? Should I get it checked out? Problem is it might not repeat itself now and I dont want to leave it at the dealer for four or five days to test it!

 

[yossarian]

Is there any reason why sag would be more likely in high temperatures?

One mechanism that could cause sag is the expansion of the fluid causing the pressure relief valve to open.

Hydraulic oil should expand about 1% per 10 degrees C. The rams and pump will also expand but for this thought experiment we'll consider them constant.

Under this regime one can explain a once off sag of about 2%.

Additional sag will probably require a leak, internal or external, to explain it.

 

[GrahamB]

Thanks @yossarian that would make sense, if the valve opened a bit when hot and then the oil cooled again overnight. I think I need to put the roof up again and monitor it for a few days now we are back.

 

[andyinluton]

Thanks @yossarian that would make sense, if the valve opened a bit when hot and then the oil cooled again overnight. I think I need to put the roof up again and monitor it for a few days now we are back.

The Auto - correct feature should have pumped the roof back up after a couple of hours, this will only work if you haven't been turning the ignition on & off though.

If the sag is due to heat it should drop evenly on both sides.



I would be surprised if the heat was enough to drop it far enough for the internal lights to cut out.


The most plausible reason that I have heard suggested for the sagging is that there is a problem with swarf being left in the hydraulic system that gets stuck in the none return valve in the pump, this stops it sealing properly. Hence putting it up & down a few times in quick succession may in some cases flush the swarf out of the valve.

 

[GrahamB]

The Auto - correct feature should have pumped the roof back up after a couple of hours, this will only work if you haven't been turning the ignition on & off though.

If the sag is due to heat it should drop evenly on both sides.



I would be surprised if the heat was enough to drop it far enough for the internal lights to cut out.


The most plausible reason that I have heard suggested for the sagging is that there is a problem with swarf being left in the hydraulic system that gets stuck in the none return valve in the pump, this stops it sealing properly. Hence putting it up & down a few times in quick succession may in some cases flush the swarf out of the valve.

Thanks Andy, all the more reason to do a further test on the drive after raising and lowering as you suggest.

 

[Morsels]

I know, I followed your case with interest. Scandalous. The thing is after the pump unit is changed the roof doesn’t sag at all, so 20cm is not normal and never will be. I hope your claim through the OFT in Gibraltar is successful. There are at least 2 more roofs waiting to be done, Ellesmere Port and Dublin, and if they also end up with a new pump which cures the problem, that must strengthen your case.

No, ours doesn’t sag even a millimetre now it’s fixed.

 

[Mehdime]

Thanks for the update - that’s very useful. And yes, my journey is actually as you said. And RE: courtesy car, yes, I made it clear to the dealer that the van is our only car. So if it must stay longer than the day, I need a courtesy car. They said they’d give me one - but the proof will be in the pudding.

Haven't head back from the dealer yet RE: scheduling an appointment to fix the roof. But we lifted the roof yesterday just to see what would happen and it staid up for 20 hours without any signs of sagging in the slightest. It then went back down perfectly again.

So who knows... Maybe the extreme heat in France is what caused the issue and it's now all working fine again in more temperate weather. Or maybe, as I saw someone say somewhere else, popping the roof up and down a few times cleared whatever blockage there was that was causing the sagging issue.

We'll still bring the van to get looked at when they call us.

 

[Mansfieldman750]

Haven't head back from the dealer yet RE: scheduling an appointment to fix the roof. But we lifted the roof yesterday just to see what would happen and it staid up for 20 hours without any signs of sagging in the slightest. It then went back down perfectly again.

So who knows... Maybe the extreme heat in France is what caused the issue and it's now all working fine again in more temperate weather. Or maybe, as I saw someone say somewhere else, popping the roof up and down a few times cleared whatever blockage there was that was causing the sagging issue.

We'll still bring the van to get looked at when they call us.

Wow, I’m stunned by that. I would have given you 100 to 1 that you were going to end up with a replacement pump like myself and others. The bleeding procedure is to put the roof up and down 5 times so yes it sounds you have cleared the blockage.
Good news !