Discussion regarding T6 ONLY roof corrosion

[clarinetbcn]

If there is anything you will see little tiny paint blisters. If not don’t worry as this problem is covered by the paint warranty and it’s a fault they know about so don’t worry if it doesn’t show up in the first 3 years.

@Neilos The paint warranty is for...3 years. And the extended 6 year "Good will" repair for bubbling paint under the seal was set to expire in 2020. It's better to check now so you can move on it before VW washes their hands (funny how those last three words have taken on a new meaning).

 

[ArunAlec]

Just announced - T6 recall for roof corrosion beneath the seal

posted to assist other and make as many people aware of this issue as possible. below are photos of a Brand new seal fitted following the second failure of a roof seal. This seal was fitted two weeks ago ! you can clearly see the rust on the tape (tape applied by the dealer, at my request...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Thanks. As above, VW call it a “Workshop Action“, so is outside the normal safety recall process and as I understand VW do not contact owners but wait until you are booked into the workshop for a service, so if you don’t use VW for servicing you will not be aware (unless you are on this forum).

 

[clarinetbcn]

Thanks. As above, VW call it a “Workshop Action“, so is outside the normal safety recall process and as I understand VW do not contact owners but wait until you are booked into the workshop for a service, so if you don’t use VW for servicing you will not be aware (unless you are on this forum).

True. Just noting that I have two friends with Calis here that didn't know about the roof issue. When they booked into VW for service, the service manager immediately had an advisory pop up from the chassis number, and he was the one who brought it up with the owners.

 

[WelshGas]

@Neilos The paint warranty is for...3 years. And the extended 6 year "Good will" repair for bubbling paint under the seal was set to expire in 2020. It's better to check now so you can move on it before VW washes their hands (funny how those last three words have taken on a new meaning).

I think the Paint Warranty extension only applied to the T5 and T5. 1, and not the T6.

 

[ArunAlec]

I think the Paint Warranty extension only applied to the T5 and T5. 1, and not the T6.

Think you are right @SusiBus posted the letter from VW.

 

[Neilos]

I’ll ask the question. I’m already asking about the scratches on the wheel arch which I think are from the sliding door which was a workshop action also if I remember rightly. They told me there were no notes on the system and my beach was not affected by the roof corrosion issue. I’ll also look myself. Thanks all.


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[Erbster]

After 2 years, I took the roof seal off my MY17 ocean and discovered the tape was not applied to the whole circumference of the roof. It took two visits to the dealer to get that sorted. No evidence of corrosion that I could see. I’m glad my seal was not glued on after this, so I can check every year or so.

CaliVentures

Adventures in a VW California camper van

caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[B J G]

Thanks, I’ll have a gentle look later then without disturbing too much. I’ll have a look for that picture because I’m not too sure what to look for.


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Possible to see tape on the corner just poking above the rubber edging. On mine anyhow.

 

[SusiBus]

I think there is some bonding involved.

When we collected SusiBus in March 2017, l pulled down the seal to check that tape had been applied as non was visible above the seal, it was not bonded on. The tape was present, and as of now, no corrosion is visible above the seal.

 

[SusiBus]

After 2 years, I took the roof seal off my MY17 ocean and discovered the tape was not applied to the whole circumference of the roof. It took two visits to the dealer to get that sorted. No evidence of corrosion that I could see. I’m glad my seal was not glued on after this, so I can check every year or so.

CaliVentures

Adventures in a VW California camper van

caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

UNBELIEVABLE, never thought to check the WHOLE roof.

 

[SusiBus]

Do you have pictures of rot location so others may check?

I have posted photos previously, and so have other owners. I'll try to locate them. In the meantime, pull back the seal in the footwell and you're see it, RUST!

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Our 2012 went into SMG Cowfold earlier this year for a service, and they booked it in for the corrosion work; So would suggest its now being treated as a recall so no time-bar.

We only have a very tiny amount of bubbling, so not really an issue for us to wait a few years for it to be fixed.

 

[WelshGas]

Our 2012 went into SMG Cowfold earlier this year for a service, and they booked it in for the corrosion work; So would suggest its now being treated as a recall so no time-bar.

We only have a very tiny amount of bubbling, so not really an issue for us to wait a few years for it to be fixed.

This Service Recall is available for All T5, T5. 1 and T6s from 2010 to about 2017 when they started fitting the tape under the seal at the factory.
Basically remove seal, clean, fit tape and replace seal. Any corrosion is fixed before the tape is applied. If minor the Dealership does it but otherwise booked into a bodyshop.

NB, this Recall is nothing to do with the panel above windscreen, only the Elevating Roof.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

This Service Recall is available for All T5, T5. 1 and T6s from 2010 to about 2017 when they started fitting the tape under the seal at the factory.
Basically remove seal, clean, fit tape and replace seal. Any corrosion is fixed before the tape is applied. If minor the Dealership does it but otherwise booked into a bodyshop.

NB, this Recall is nothing to do with the panel above windscreen, only the Elevating Roof.

They just referred to it as roof corrosion, and they are booking into one of the approved bodyshops, (wait is about 2 years.)

 

[Perfectos]

So as a 2018 model mine should have the update alloy front section in which case I need to look around the elevating roof. But I dare not pull that seal off. In some ways ignorance is bliss. If it isn’t showing anything above the seal then leave it be and take VW’s word for it?!


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This is a one year old rubber roof seal !

It is the roof seal that cause the problem around th edge of the roof

Go check, only takes a few minutes and gives peace of mind, you can also clear out all the crud that collects in the seal

After finding my seal had failed I fitted a peice of helicopter tape to the corresponding part of the roof to prevent the metal part of the seal makin* contact with my roof ( removed the tape before the replacement warranty seal was fitted)

 

[SusiBus]

Think you are right @SusiBus posted the letter from VW.

VW's actual wording was,
" As such, repairs are covered by the 3 year paint warranty policy. In an effort to offer our customers peace of mind we took the decision to offer an additional 3 years goodwill, extending the terms of protection from three years to six ".
This makes no reference to any model or expiry date.

We now have the issue of the Warranty regarding to the application of tape under the elevating roof seal which appears to be open-ended.
So where does this leave us, with 3 years, 6 years, or open-ended warranty?

 

[ArunAlec]

VW's actual wording was,
" As such, repairs are covered by the 3 year paint warranty policy. In an effort to offer our customers peace of mind we took the decision to offer an additional 3 years goodwill, extending the terms of protection from three years to six ".
This makes no reference to any model or expiry date.

We now have the issue of the Warranty regarding to the application of tape under the elevating roof seal which appears to be open-ended.
So where does this leave us, with 3 years, 6 years, or open-ended warranty?

Given that they didn’t specify any model or date, I would think any owner having roof problems with T6 and later would be in a good position to expect the same 6 year cover. On the basis that it was/is a known flaw in the design which VW have acknowledged. What’s good for the T5 should be good for all!
I have a copy of “your“ letter in readiness!

 

[ger]

Just a quick word of warning for anyone whose van is due to go off to a VW bodyshop to get the roof repaired....
My van went off in February to have this "2-3 week" job done - and I only got it back just over a week ago There was only a tiny patch which needed sorting on my roof - I certainly wouldn't have spotted it!

In the four weeks after it was dropped off at the dealers (the perpetually useless Snows in Plymouth), I had endless calls with Snows, VWCS and Marshalls (the VW bodyshop doing the work at Greenham) - just trying to get the work approved. There seems to be a massively over-complicated approval process involving VW and both dealers. This, coupled with Snows' patchy and unreliable information sharing, meant the van was sat for four weeks waiting for work to commence...and you can guess what happened afterwards in late March....

Getting the van back after lockdown was equally painful and involved even more chasing. The dealers need to raise invoices, get them approved, paid, cleared etc - which added over a week to get the van back after work had completed. And the icing on the cake were the 182 unexpected additional miles on the van when returned. Snows' service manager told me he had no explanation for these, that he'd only driven it a mile to fill it with petrol. When confronted with the fact that it's about 182 miles from Plymouth to Greenham, they came clean (via email - I'd driven home by now), and said they'd actually driven it because they couldn't arrange transport. Given the current situation, there's a massive difference between someone driving your van to get it onto the transporter, and someone sitting in it for 4 hours, then purposefully not telling you about it

So my advice to anyone who needs to pack their van off for this work would be: arrange it directly with a dealer who has a body shop. From talking to Marshalls (who were great, incidentally!) it sounds like most of the delays and bureaucracy can be cut out by only involving one dealership, and they'd have been happy to do this. Oh, and don't bother with Snows for anything.

In that way, you may get your van back in a shorter time than 4 months I waited for mine...

 

[Pips Dad]

Land Rover never sorted it with the Defender and its predecessors all the way back to the Series 1 first produced in 1948.

Yes they did sort it out. They got rid of the alloy door and rear door skins and fitted steel instead. I had a 2004 Defender for 11 years and had no i metallic corrosion.

 

[WelshGas]

Yes they did sort it out. They got rid of the alloy door and rear door skins and fitted steel instead. I had a 2004 Defender for 11 years and had no i metallic corrosion.

I had a 2010 Puma, and it had it. So you were lucky, as I’ve been on my 2014 California.
Front Panel clear, as it should be being a MY2015 and the elevating roof section clear at 5 yrs when the tape was applied.

 

[mintstuff]

After 2 years, I took the roof seal off my MY17 ocean and discovered the tape was not applied to the whole circumference of the roof. It took two visits to the dealer to get that sorted. No evidence of corrosion that I could see. I’m glad my seal was not glued on after this, so I can check every year or so.

CaliVentures

Adventures in a VW California camper van

caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

I just checked my seal last night. Found that front edge of the roof was missing. Which section did you find missing?
I have a 2019 Beach. There are two sections of tape applied to the front cap, where the roof closes down onto.
Just worried that this front edge is likely to see the most movement and is where most corrosion seems to begin!

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Here are a few pictures....

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[Perfectos]

Hi Mint stuff,

the tape “missing“ on the front lip of the roof is normal, VW do not apply the clear tape to the front edge.

 

[Erbster]

I just checked my seal last night. Found that front edge of the roof was missing. Which section did you find missing?
I have a 2019 Beach. There are two sections of tape applied to the front cap, where the roof closes down onto.
Just worried that this front edge is likely to see the most movement and is where most corrosion seems to begin!

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Here are a few pictures....

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It was one of the long edges. IIRC I was told it’s normal fit it not to be fitted on front edge

 

[Cali Phillip]

I haven't read this thread in its entirety so I'm not sure whether this has been suggested elsewhere already:

( Galvanic Corrosion:
When two different metals or alloys are immersed in a corrosive solution or regularly connected by moisture, each will develop a corrosion potential. If the conditions for galvanic corrosion are present, the more noble metal will become the cathode and the more active metal will become the anode. A measurable current may flow between the anode and the cathode. If this occurs, the anode's rate of corrosion in the service environment will be increased while the cathode's corrosion rate will decrease. The increased corrosion of the anode is called "galvanic corrosion" )

My thinking was that aluminium aka the roof panel and ferrous metal aka the reinforcing strip in the weather seal can coexist happily without the aluminium being corroded but only in a moisture free environment. It is the presence of moisture that creates a situation in which galvanic corrosion occurs the roof panel aluminium being the sacrificial anode in this scenario.

We had our 2012 California repaired in October 2014 under warranty (front section replaced and lifting roof panel repainted). We then moved to France where in April of 2015 I noticed a few tiny bubbles reappearing under the weather strip where it had been repainted but only over an single 5cm section Knowing that dealing with VW Commercial in France was going to be another challenge altogether I decided to pack the weather strip with a good quality clear silicon grease that would be inert to paint and rubber but would keep any moisture out and reduce the chances of more bubbles appearing.

Well I am pleased to say that now after removing the weather seal and and residual grease the very early corrosion is no worse and is confined to the same 5cm area. I have repacked the weather seal with the remainder of the tube of grease and will check again in another 6 to 9 months. I am confident that this is a less than elegant solution to a problem which otherwise won't go away. BTW the front panel thankfully still looks OK.

View attachment 18502

I was wondering if this worked longer term ?

T6 march 2019, can anyone confirm what tape there should be on the roof edge ?
I just cleaned under the seal and the seal groove, there is tape all round the roof edge apart from the front under the seal area.

I also found a small circular raised "pip" on the edge, looks more like debris under the paint than corrosion.
Any thoughts ?

 

[Loz]

You don't have the side tape that we had fitted to ours.
If this were mine, I would be proactive and purchase some helicopter take and add it myself.