680 Side panels warping

[reimajarvinen]

Hi,
Has anyone seen the following.
Every time the sun shines to the side the panels starts to warp.
VW claims that it is normal feature and it is not included as warranty fix.

 

[G-A-R-Y]

Yes mine warped just above the left rear wheel, It was in Belgium when we had the heating on a lot.
I guessed it was due to heating pipes behind technical cupboard.

 

[jonclareVWGrand]

Same with mine, but I hadn’t connected it with the sun, but that makes sense now as only noticed it last weekend.

 

[The Yorkshireman]

Hi we had the same problem, again with the sun, at first the dealer said Germany would not cover it under warranty but said they would look at it as they had experienced problems with the new crafter before. Unfortunately they had a dent man in and not only did it not cure the problem, as it returned when the sun came out, but it left the wrap damaged.
After complaining to VW uk they agreed to pay for a repair with an authorised body shop. This involved a plate being bonded on the inside to strengthen the metal.
The repairer was amazed by the method used to support the window ie four slats of wood as apposed to a support that fits all around the aperture.
Because this was not a fix direct from vw with specific instructions and parts it became a long drawn out and stressful process.
If I could have fitted glass bonded windows instead I would have, or even traded the van in!

If you try to get a repair there are only a few official vw repairers who can work on the GC.
Be specific about what you expect to be achieved with any repair and have a paper trail, ensure the repairer is covered by the Ombudsman.
The dealer was great at the beginning but when things started to go wrong and it lucked like they might have to pay out they refused to help any more the same with VW uk. Don’t threaten legal action without being prepared to follow through as VW automatically refuse to engage as soon as you do.
Hope you can get it sorted.

 

[G-A-R-Y]

Further to my first post, mine does as pictured, it's been a hot week and van is in direct sun, I turned it around so the sun's on the sliding door side and that stopped it. I think it's just a case of the black vinyl getting hotter than the white panel and expanding more?

I thought about getting the top (around the windows) wrapped in silver or a lighter reflective colour.

 

[Defender90]

Further to my first post, mine does as pictured, it's been a hot week and van is in direct sun, I turned it around so the sun's on the sliding door side and that stopped it. I think it's just a case of the black vinyl getting hotter than the white panel and expanding more?

I thought about getting the top (around the windows) wrapped in silver or a lighter reflective colour.

Every grand cali I have seen in Europe has this problem really poor build quality in my opinion and such a big issue to sort the worry I would have is the long term effects