Electric sliding door or not?

[Toffeeman1]

Hi, Just wondering what member's views are re the merits of the electric sliding door (or not). Pros and cons are .......?

 

[RetroRed5]

I've asked the same question and it seems as with many topics, opinion is very much divided as to whether the electric sliding door is a good thing or not; some people prefer not to have it while others prefer it.

For me, we've hired VW Shuttles in the past and these never had electric sliding doors nor the power latching and our youngest always seemed to struggle to get them to shut first time; the door often sort of bounced back out again and so it sometimes took a couple of goes to get it to shut and when they did manage it get it shut it was with quite a loud slam.

So when we started looking to buy a Cali I wanted the electric door and so did some research (mainly on these forums); I was initially put off because some people have said that the electric door is louder than the manual door because it beeps when closing and also I was initially told that you have to either have the door fully open or fully closed, no in between but further research suggested that the beeping it pretty quiet and you can have the door partially open if you first disable it via the button on the dash then you can just manually open it as much or as little as you want.

A couple of folks have said they chose not to have the electric door because it is just another thing that could go wrong which is of course very true bit then again the Cali is full of technology that could go wrong.

I'm also told that the power latching solves the slamming issue which kind of means a fully electric door is really just a "nice to have" that adds a little extra luxury to the Cali if you like that sort of thing.

I'd say that as with many of the options, its probably not really needed but given I'm the sort of geezer that likes gadgets and lots of buttons (childish I know) then in the end we ordered our Cali last week and we included the electric door

For this type of "nice-to-have" option, it's down to personal preference more than anything else because the door will still open and close whether it is electric or not; if you want it, get it, because if you think you want it and then don't get it, you may come to regret it.

Oh, as a final thought, just prior to deciding to purchase a Cali we were considering buying a nearly new Caravelle and I researched what it might cost to retrofit an electric door and I found one company that can do it with genuine VW parts; the cost was over £3k for a single door and close to £5k for two doors. There could well be other firms that can do it for less but in any case, a retrofit is unlikely to be cheap I'd say.

 

[Max-Felix]

Unless you *really* (***REALLY***) need it for mobility type reasons I would avoid it like the plague. Search on here and Google for issues.

"IMHO it is a truly terrible, unreliable, annoying, slow, noisy, inflexible, inconvenient, money eating, power consuming, panel gouging, shonky designed, plastic infested, gremlin prone, cable stretching, poorly designed option from hell."

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/thread...sion-to-fully-manual.19515/page-3#post-263149

 

[RetroRed5]

"IMHO it is a truly terrible, unreliable, annoying, slow, noisy, inflexible, inconvenient, money eating, power consuming, panel gouging, shonky designed, plastic infested, gremlin prone, cable stretching, poorly designed option from hell."

LOL, I'm guessing you are not a fan then

You got me thinking now as to whether I've made a mistake include it; but then again on a new Cali it is covered by warranty so if you are one of the unlucky ones where something goes wrong then at least you know VW will (should) put it right; the big risk is if you buy a used Cali that is out of warranty.

 

[Max-Felix]

You could say that! But of course do your own research as many have used one with no/or just minor issues and may well post here to defend them but many have not! If in warranty then it's makes it better but I would at least apply PPF to the rear quarter panel as they have a habit of jumping and with minimal clearance due to the Cali door panel trim they then make a mess of the paintwork.

Honestly, there are so many reasons to avoid them - the manual door is plenty light and if it ain't broke don't fix/complicate it - ie nothing wrong with pushing or pulling a door to open it manually and it saves so much cost, worry and *potential* problems/more money. I know you can say that about many Cali options and the thing is loaded with gadgetry but short of a few well known QC issues the vast majority of it goes on working well for years.

As per link above though it you have an older one out of warranty then check the link, cut the cable and it's simple to return to manual operation.

 

[RetroRed5]

In my case I did a little research before deciding to include it in my spec and I did find quite a lot of threads about folks having issues with it; in spite of finding a lot of negative feedback I opted to include it. A bit of a calculated risk based on the fact that people generally only tend to shout about something if it goes wrong so whilst there are a lot of unfortunate Cali owners who have had issues, I'm thinking there must be far more who've not had any issues.

Anyway, for me at least, I'm hoping I don't end up regretting it but time will tell I guess .

 

[Max-Felix]

Very fair points - definitely consider PPF (paint protection film) though as a very low cost extra insurance policy.

 

[RetroRed5]

Good advice I'll ask the dealer to apply some PPF to the area at most risk before I take delivery.

 

[Freeley]

Our Cali is 9 years old now and we have the electric door. GENERALLY it's been pretty reliable.
It has a tendency to nearly close then spring open on occasion but this is solved by either giving it a helpful extra push when nearly closed or opening another door before closing. Slightly annoying but the convenience of it makes up for it.
We've certainly not had the more major issues that others have had.
IMO the most important thing to bear in mind is how heavy the door is to operate when it's on manual - my wife really struggles with it and if you've got young kids they've got no chance. If you spend a lot of time off EHU then it's worth bearing in mind as you can flatten the engine battery if you use the electric function too much.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

 

[Gary&Heather]

"IMHO it is a truly terrible, unreliable, annoying, slow, noisy, inflexible, inconvenient, money eating, power consuming, panel gouging, shonky designed, plastic infested, gremlin prone, cable stretching, poorly designed option from hell."

LOL, I'm guessing you are not a fan then

You got me thinking now as to whether I've made a mistake include it; but then again on a new Cali it is covered by warranty so if you are one of the unlucky ones where something goes wrong then at least you know VW will (should) put it right; the big risk is if you buy a used Cali that is out of warranty.

I must admit we have had three California's and we are now on a generation six all with electric doors and never once have we had any issue I just hope I haven't jinxed it

 

[flying banana]

unless you have wrists made out of plasticine why bother ? I get it helps if you do have plasticine wrists but even with a warranty why would you want your van back at the dealers for any longer than necessary. avoid. a bit similar to why alot of ocean owners would love the manual roof. to avoid dealer repairs and hassle. unless you update the cali every 3 year or whenever the warranty runs out your asking for trouble surely? if it was like star trek....then yes I'd have one. sssshhhhfffffftttt. open. sssssshhhhhhfffft. closed.

 

[SusiBus]

Electric door, our third Cali, No, No No, it gave us so much grief!

 

[ArunAlec]

I have one and would definitely not want one again! I need to make sure the track and runners are really clean otherwise the door as a tendency to bounce back. There are signs that it has scuffed the wheel arch in the past. And the awful bleeping when the door is closing!
If you switch to manual, which I do when I'm likely to be using the door during the night, then it's really heavy to close.

 

[Velma's Dad]

We don't have electric door (and absolutely wouldn't, as I like having as few things as poss to go wrong when I'm away on holiday. I'd have a manual pop-top too if I could.)

But it seems odd to me that the part of the van that could really do with power, is the tailgate. Quite heavy enough to lift on its own, esp. in cold weather, must be a pig with a bike rack and/or for someone smaller. Plenty of cars now have a powered tailgate, but not the Cali...?

(That said, when the powered tailgate on our Volvo went wrong, I just replaced it with old-school gas struts. But that's hardly a heavy chunk of metal compared to the one on a Cali.

Sorry, straying off topic I know.

 

[GrannyJen]

I had one on my last Cali.

No reliability issues at all and found it a great convenience at times.

My big problem was user error. A big error. Pressing the central button on the remote by mistake and wandering off leaving the side door happily opening

I have manual on my T6 and to be honest would not go back to electric.

 

[2into1]

And the awful bleeping when the door is closing!

The beeping on my T6 door is very quiet. I'm not sure if they changed it recently. I'd say it was quieter than a manual door closed at normal speed.
I was expecting something that sounded like a reversing bin lorry given what I'd read here.

 

[flying banana]

now then. resale. I would avoid a 3 yr old cali with that door manual no problem. I think the electric slide door is actually detrimental to resale value. warranty out . etc. I wouldn't want it. but then my wrists are not made out of plasticine

 

[RetroRed5]

if it was like star trek....then yes I'd have one. sssshhhhfffffftttt. open. sssssshhhhhhfffft. closed.

Great spelling for a door sound effect

Personally, I'd prefer the wuuuumpthhhh from Star Wars

 

[Neil Blackburn]

Love it and is really handy when loading shopping or golf clubs if you put them in the passenger compartment. no problems with mine so far. I accept that it is something else to go wrong. Fingers crossed.

 

[Private_Kelly]

IMO I think the Electric door is a big pile of dogs doings. I met Susibus at Loch Maree a few weeks ago and had a nice chat. They had opted for a manual sliding door and oh my, what a joy it was. Nice and lightweight. I have an electric door which has been put into manual mode and it weighs a ton and gives you a real good workout getting in and out. Hopeless. Plus i don’t want to sound like a refuse truck every time i open or close it. But in the end I suppose it is all a matter of opinion but it’s a huge thumb down for me.

 

[andrew bazeley]

I find the electric door really handy for a quite specific reason: I use the van for gigs, and if I'm struggling across the car park with armfuls of gear, I can just press the key button in my pocket and the door is open by the time I get there. I too have the occasional "stop halfway" problem with the door: funnily enough, it only ever does it on my driveway or in Sainsbury's car park! Easily dealt with. I admit to switching to manual if I'm on a busy campsite at night, but I'm told the noise from outside is not actually loud enough to disturb people.

 

[Crell]

We had them on our old Caravelle. I'd avoid as many electric addons as possible, though opening and closing doors when the kids were small from the drivers seat was handy. However, the amount of times they'd go wrong, open part way etc just made them a pain that got worse over time.

 

[Waggonner]

One handy hint we 'discovered' on our last trip re the electric door ...
When we attach the drive-away awning, we switch the door to manual, else it catches on the canvas. So, we drove away, switched the door back to electric and the door wouldn't stay shut. It did it's 'there's something in the way, I'm not closing' trick even though there was nothing in the way. We fiddled with it, but couldn't make it stay shut, so it went back to manual while we had our day out.
We worried about it, so booked it in to the garage ready for when we returned from our hols (it's still in warranty).
Got back to the van and my 15 year old fixed it. Turns out, when you switch between manual and electric, you need to have the door in its fully open or fully shut position. It must calibrate itself somehow, so if it's not fully open when you switch it over, it gets to its 'closed' position earlier than it thinks it should, so thinks there must be something in the way. Hope that makes sense.
So I sheepishly rang the garage to cancel the booking and admit to 'operator error'.
You live and learn.

 

[James Parkin]

Hi, Just wondering what member's views are re the merits of the electric sliding door (or not). Pros and cons are .......?

Honestly, at first I hated mine. It’s slow and noisy and is prone to occasional roll back.

However, after a year I’ve come to love it. Particularly if it’s raining and you’re making a mad dash to the car. You can open it when you’re approaching and close it as you’re entering with the remote. When you have shopping, full hands - again, great. When you’re sat in the front and you forget to close the door, you can just press the button and hey presto! Shut.

Would I chose it again? Probably not, but then again I’m 26 and young and don’t mind moving nor the rain.

 

[pjm-84]

It took two years to sort my electric door, including respraying the rear quarter twice because it would rub the wheel arch. I had so much grief I came close to buying a new Cali without the electric side door.

This last year its been perfect (following all new parts).

Also just be aware that the door runs off the main battery. So any longer than 5 days on a site and I put it in manual mode to save the battery.