Discussion regarding T6 ONLY roof corrosion

[SusiBus]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/DIY-Tools/Duralac-Anti-Corrosive-Jointing-Compound/B00LB6EUEO

wonder if vw have considered something like that?

Very interesting, but reading the reviews on it, it sounds it could be tricky to apply. The main problem is that for whatever reason, VW seem to have their head well and truly planted in a bucket of sand.

 

[sbmcd]

Raptor U Pol is a paint which can be applied below the area of the seal trim and can be over painted. Earlier suggestion was found by someone to be funny but it works as a tough barrier in the load area of pick ups. It is extremely tough and would create a barrier between the seal and the roof. If my Ocean ever shows sign of bubble I would ask VW to consider its use. Better to be positive than negative as I love my California.

I think applying any paint suitable for constant immersion in water, e.g. tank paints would do the job.

 

[Bearreds]

VW does not ....
The repair does ...
They are apllying a tape arround the edge of the roof and then put the rubber back on so the alu roof and the metal in the rubber seal are not connected.

Are you saying if new Cali owners could take the rubber trim off a new vehicle, tape the edge of roof and replace rubber trim , job done no corrosion issues .....
I think I would prefer to do this as soon as I get my new beach, or this could go wrong and corrosion could still happen and I might have interfered with my warenty .

 

[Bearreds]

I use a marine grade silicon sealant round my boat windows as the original rubber seals have perished , using a profile tool to make a nice neat finish, this does the job very well , this could be applied around the top part of the trim on the Cali roof to stop water ingress.
Obviously taking the trim off first to clean and dry the area before sealing .
This needs doing on a new vehicle before any corrosion starts.
But not sure now this could effect any warenty .

 

[Bearreds]

Is there any members on here that haven't had these corrosion issues ?

 

[Hotel California]

@Bearreds , thats what they do when repairing the corrosion on the pop-top at my dealer in the Netherlands
Respray , tape on edges , rubber seal back on .

 

[snowy55]

Are you saying if new Cali owners could take the rubber trim off a new vehicle, tape the edge of roof and replace rubber trim , job done no corrosion issues .....
I think I would prefer to do this as soon as I get my new beach, or this could go wrong and corrosion could still happen and I might have interfered with my warenty .

I would be wary of doing this as it may have warranty repercussions.
There is a photo on one of the big corrosion threads of bubbling underneath some tape.

 

[snowy55]

I use a marine grade silicon sealant round my boat windows as the original rubber seals have perished , using a profile tool to make a nice neat finish, this does the job very well , this could be applied around the top part of the trim on the Cali roof to stop water ingress.
Obviously taking the trim off first to clean and dry the area before sealing .
This needs doing on a new vehicle before any corrosion starts.
But not sure now this could effect any warenty .

I don't think you will be able to get a perfect seal and the smallest pin hole will let in water. You will also have great difficulty sealing around the underneath/inside lip of the seal. There is often condensation on the underside of the roof. Again it could have warranty repercussions.

 

[snowy55]

@Bearreds , thats what they do when repairing the corrosion on the pop-top at my dealer in the Netherlands
Respray , tape on edges , rubber seal back on .

Unless they are doing that with VWs permission then I doubt any future claims will be paid for by VW.

 

[Billy]

I personally think it is crazy all this talk of repairing or preventative measures on a brand new £60k vehicle?

If VW are reading this I bet they are laughing their heads off.

If this was a brand new BMW, Mercedes, etc.. with a similar problem, would their owners be trying to fix it themselves?

 

[Jabberwocky]

I personally think it is crazy all this talk of repairing or preventative measures on a brand new £60k vehicle?

If VW are reading this I bet they are laughing their heads off.

If this was a brand new BMW, Mercedes, etc.. with a similar problem, would their owners be trying to fix it themselves?

Agree 100% and yes, you bet, VW are reading this!

 

[WelshGas]

I personally think it is crazy all this talk of repairing or preventative measures on a brand new £60k vehicle?

If VW are reading this I bet they are laughing their heads off.

If this was a brand new BMW, Mercedes, etc.. with a similar problem, would their owners be trying to fix it themselves?

Having just bought a Smart Car from Mercedes you are are probably correct - but then, as I was told by the Sales Manager, not many actually buy/own their own vehicles as a significant proportion are Leased and handed back after 3 years. Unlike California owners who rarely go down this pathway.

 

[CALI FATE]

Have actually looked under the seal?

yes - taken seal off - all clear so far

 

[Bearreds]

Agree 100% and yes, you bet, VW are reading this!

Well I hope they are hanging there heads in Shame then.

 

[derek_j_buchanan]

It's tempting to have a peek under the seal, but I ask our dealer to have a look at it, when the van is there for MOT next month. Don't want to damage things.

Marc.

I asked dealer and they have point blank refused to look. I said I didn't want to remove seal for fear of invalidating the warranty. They said we will look but it will cost >£100. Annoyed.

 

[T6 CFO]

I asked dealer and they have point blank refused to look. I said I didn't want to remove seal for fear of invalidating the warranty. They said we will look but it will cost >£100. Annoyed.

Shocking! And your dealer is?


Mike

 

[sbmcd]

I asked dealer and they have point blank refused to look. I said I didn't want to remove seal for fear of invalidating the warranty. They said we will look but it will cost >£100. Annoyed.

It is easy to remove, if you only want to check a small section raise the roof about 20 cm and gently pull down a 0.5 to 1.0 m section on one side above the sliding door, the sides and rear tend to be the areas that have the problem.

Simply push it back in place once you have looked, and taken photos.

The attitude of your dealer to this known problem is appalling.

Let us know how you get on.

 

[Gary&Heather]

I think it's about time VW and these stupid so-called dealers get a grip

 

[Jabberwocky]

I asked dealer and they have point blank refused to look. I said I didn't want to remove seal for fear of invalidating the warranty. They said we will look but it will cost >£100. Annoyed.

A blatant display of the lowest level of customer care! Not good enough!

 

[Billy]

I think it's about time VW and these stupid so-called dealers get a grip

Name and shame the dealer?

 

[Ambler]

At the risk of some pedant telling me I have a T5, this happened to me last week at Hadwins near Grange Over Sands.
It was in for MOT and I asked if they could pull down the seal and check on the repair done in 2014. No, we don't check on repairs, only if the customer finds a fault and complains. I left it at that as I am sick of the whole "rusty" roof thing.
The Cali suits us in many respects so I've given up bothering.

 

[Digger]

What I cannot understand is how this roof issue has not been addressed by VW. Our new Audi is a mix of steel and aluminium and that is similar to lots of other cars in the VW group and they have no issues. Strange especially as VW have a specialist division as regards these materials.

 

[Jabberwocky]

At the risk of some pedant telling me I have a T5, this happened to me last week at Hadwins near Grange Over Sands.
It was in for MOT and I asked if they could pull down the seal and check on the repair done in 2014. No, we don't check on repairs, only if the customer finds a fault and complains. I left it at that as I am sick of the whole "rusty" roof thing.
The Cali suits us in many respects so I've given up bothering.

I for one can understand your frustration and your final position but at the end of the day its a shame that customers appear to be being beaten into submission by VW and their dealers.

 

[Victor]

I still can't understand why people are asking their dealers to look? It is very easy to check yourselves. I realise this is a depressing problem but we really should not allow VW to get away with this. As others have said, if this was a different marque it would not be tolerated. We need to all remember how much we paid for these vehicles, they are supposed to be a premium product?

 

[Jabberwocky]

"Flagship" was the word used by my dealer.