Door seal corrosion / warranty.

[Paddy Dyson]

Hey folks. I’d appreciate some advice. My beach is approaching its 3 year point and the end of the warranty. Generally all is fine but the driver side door is rattling badly. I can’t see any major problem although the door seal by the footwell is loose and has corroded inside. Any ideas on the rattle? Would the seal cause this? And would it be covered by warranty?
Thanks. Paddy

 

[Doorbundle]

I would Email that down to S Hereford van centre ASAP.
Aren't they at Goodrich?

 

[Paddy Dyson]

I use the VW dealership in Hereford. I’ll take your advice and make contact. Thanks.

 

[Doorbundle]

I use the VW dealership in Hereford. I’ll take your advice and make contact. Thanks.

That's also S Hereford, I believe. Good Luck!

 

[Jabberwocky]

I seem to remember somewhere on this Forum I saw a similar case (was it you @Amarillo ?) that corrosion at this point on yr Cali was described as "wear and tear". I think it went something along these lines - The door seal has become dislodged during use (i.e. shoes dragging the seal loose) and then consequently leaves the painted sill to be exposed to the same shoe dragging leading to paint damage and thus corrosion.
I am mentioning this only so you can prepare for your discussion with your dealer in case they start off down this route.
All the best.
Don't forget to tell us how you get on.

 

[Paddy Dyson]

I seem to remember somewhere on this Forum I saw a similar case (was it you @Amarillo ?) that corrosion at this point on yr Cali was described as "wear and tear". I think it went something along these lines - The door seal has become dislodged during use (i.e. shoes dragging the seal loose) and then consequently leaves the painted sill to be exposed to the same shoe dragging leading to paint damage and thus corrosion.
I am mentioning this only so you can prepare for your discussion with your dealer in case they start off down this route.
All the best.
Don't forget to tell us how you get on.

Thanks for the heads up. Any idea how the previous case went in the end? Was that the final outcome?

 

[TripleBee]

Thanks for the heads up. Any idea how the previous case went in the end? Was that the final outcome?

If it might help for your warranty, I can take a picture of my original rubber seal, without corrosion, after over 10 years.

 

[Paddy Dyson]

Thanks. That would help. I’ve just checked where I put my foot on entering the cabin and it’s not on the area that is failing. The dirty patch shows where I stand so hopefully I have a case with vw.

 

[Eber123]

Good afternoon,

There were some discussion about this in the past. Because of those discussions I checked my door seal and, yes, it started to rost (at that point only 1 1/2 years old). In the old discussions it was said that VW dealers won't easily deal with this, so I prepared myself for discussions.

The VW dealer hat no problems at all to replace the door seal. It was a bit of a pain because they had to order (delay) and they wanted the van for the day. After I asked for the day, it was explained it is a bit more work than it looks like. I must also say, I got a car for the day, free of charge.

Now, a year later the door rubber seals are still ok.

Regards,
Eberhard

 

[Jabberwocky]

Thanks for the heads up. Any idea how the previous case went in the end? Was that the final outcome?

This thread may help you. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/rust-under-rubber-seal-on-the-floor.25167/#post-288667
It seems lots of folks have had the same issue you have. Seal splits and rust seems to to be a dividing line. Splits - Wear and Tear. Rust - Warranty.
All the best.

 

[SusiBus]

See my posting on Feb 27 on the Thread "Rust under rubber seal on the floor".

 

[Paddy Dyson]

Good afternoon,

There were some discussion about this in the past. Because of those discussions I checked my door seal and, yes, it started to rost (at that point only 1 1/2 years old). In the old discussions it was said that VW dealers won't easily deal with this, so I prepared myself for discussions.

The VW dealer hat no problems at all to replace the door seal. It was a bit of a pain because they had to order (delay) and they wanted the van for the day. After I asked for the day, it was explained it is a bit more work than it looks like. I must also say, I got a car for the day, free of charge.

Now, a year later the door rubber seals are still ok.

Regards,
Eberhard

Thanks Eberhard. Very good info.

 

[Paddy Dyson]

This thread may help you. https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/rust-under-rubber-seal-on-the-floor.25167/#post-288667
It seems lots of folks have had the same issue you have. Seal splits and rust seems to to be a dividing line. Splits - Wear and Tear. Rust - Warranty.
All the best.

Thanks. Much appreciated. I’ll contact VW and see where they I stand. I suspect Covid 19 will complicate things further...

 

[Paddy Dyson]

See my posting on Feb 27 on the Thread "Rust under rubber seal on the floor".

Thanks. I’ll take a read before I make contact with VW.

 

[SusiBus]

Thanks. I’ll take a read before I make contact with VW.

Further to my earlier post.
Like yours, ours was approaching the end of its three-year warranty. When giving a good clean I noticed the rusty seal. Took it to SMG Tonbridge, and they replaced it under warrany. Our rubber wasn't damaged, but if it was, it seams that it might be a "get out of jail card" for VW. It's ridiculous that the rubber seal is at the same height as the doorstep, which unless you're careful, it's always going to be prone to damage. Apparently it's quite a lot of work because all the adjacent plastic trim has to be removed. They weren't able to complete the job because of a problem with replacing the top trim, they now have to fit a new one, but they are on back order from Germany.
It seams that the T6 door seals seam to rust more tan ones on the T5's.

Missing top trim.

 

[Erbster]

Great info here. I have the same problem on the sliding door seal - I reported it to my dealer just before lockdown (I’m now out of warranty). The dealer told me they’d deal with it when everything starts up again. Keeping my fingers crossed...

CaliVentures

Adventures in a VW California camper van

caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

 

[Paddy Dyson]

Further to my earlier post.
Like yours, ours was approaching the end of its three-year warranty. When giving a good clean I noticed the rusty seal. Took it to SMG Tonbridge, and they replaced it under warrany. Our rubber wasn't damaged, but if it was, it seams that it might be a "get out of jail card" for VW. It's ridiculous that the rubber seal is at the same height as the doorstep, which unless you're careful, it's always going to be prone to damage. Apparently it's quite a lot of work because all the adjacent plastic trim has to be removed. They weren't able to complete the job because of a problem with replacing the top trim, they now have to fit a new one, but they are on back order from Germany.
It seams that the T6 door seals seam to rust more tan ones on the T5's.

Missing top trim.

View attachment 57635

Thanks. It will be annoying if they won’t cover this on warranty. Useful info.

 

[Paddy Dyson]

Great info here. I have the same problem on the sliding door seal - I reported it to my dealer just before lockdown (I’m now out of warranty). The dealer told me they’d deal with it when everything starts up again. Keeping my fingers crossed...

CaliVentures

Adventures in a VW California camper van

caliventures364847572.wordpress.com

Good luck.

 

[Paddy Dyson]

Spoke with the local dealer. They won’t take a look until early June. They say I have to pay £60 for mechanical test unless it covered by warranty. No idea if they will extend the warranty under the circumstances. I’ll have to check who provides the warranty and check with them directly. Has anyone paid for repacking this seal? Would be good to know what I’m facing if VW won’t help.

 

[Tim Cross]

Martins VW in Basingstoke replaced mine 2 months before the warranty ran out, said that they know they are a problem. Very helpful staff. It’s also happened to my T6 Kombi, but sadly that’s 6months out!

 

[Pol66]

I bought a new seal from Deutsche parts c£85. It's for a T6 van. My local VW said wear n tear and wouldn't entertain any discussion. Havent fitted new one yet although everyone I spoke to says it should be straightforward. But I have a converted van so interior trim etc might be different.

 

[Esandar#1]

Hi Paddy,

Hey folks. I’d appreciate some advice. My beach is approaching its 3 year point and the end of the warranty. Generally all is fine but the driver side door is rattling badly. I can’t see any major problem although the door seal by the footwell is loose and has corroded inside. Any ideas on the rattle? Would the seal cause this? And would it be covered by warranty?
Thanks. Paddy

View attachment 57590

Hi Paddy, I had exactly this on my 2017 Beach which was due out of warranty at start of March 2020. Heritage in Bristol were great and replaced the door seals as this seems to be a ‘known weakness’. We are now trying to be ultra careful about where we put our feet when getting in and out of the van, as clearly if you can avoid ‘straddling the seal’, it will help preserve it in best possible condition. Just make sure you point it out to them when you take it in.
Best wishes Ian

 

[SusiBus]

Ca

I bought a new seal from Deutsche parts c£85. It's for a T6 van. My local VW said wear n tear and wouldn't entertain any discussion. Havent fitted new one yet although everyone I spoke to says it should be straightforward. But I have a converted van so interior trim etc might be different.

View attachment 57666

Can't see how they can say it's wear and tear if the rubber is not damaged. It's a plain and simply a poor quality part going rusty!
It's about time VW learnt how to put steel inserts in rubber seals without them going rusty. Then we wouldn't have all this aggravation, and obviously cost to them.
Anyone with a T6 coming up to 3 years old would do well to check their rubber seal, not only by the driver's door but by the sliding door

 

[TripleBee]

As promised. Pictures of the sliding door rubber:


And of the right front door rubber:


The van was built in november 2009, always sleeps outside (rain, dry) about not 1,5 miles from the seaside (salty humidity).

 

[Paddy Dyson]

I bought a new seal from Deutsche parts c£85. It's for a T6 van. My local VW said wear n tear and wouldn't entertain any discussion. Havent fitted new one yet although everyone I spoke to says it should be straightforward. But I have a converted van so interior trim etc might be different.

View attachment 57666

Thanks. Good to know rough costs although not sure I could fit it myself...