Farewell to Cali 6.1

[Leonidas1872]

Not a happy camper. Took delivery of my brand new Cali 6.1 in March. Lockdown meant no long overnight trips. However, in July managed three day break. On second night the lights in roof space failed. Next day electric roof failed to come down. After 3 hours it worked. Took it back to garage and they rebooted. Then down to Lake District. On second night light in pop up roof failed again, followed next day by roof failing again. Took four hours this time. Put it down to a blip. Next break to Loch Ness. Same routine. Lights failed and roof failed. Another four hours before it sorted. Took back to garage in August.Was with them for six weeks. No resolution. Then VW said yes a fault and they would have software fix this month. That was the end for me. E mailed VW with long rejection letter. In November VW and garage gave us back all our money plus some compensation. Alas I had lost all confidence. I am now awaiting arrival of new Adria Twin Supreme SGX. No electric roof but an electric bed! I loved the Cali but enough was enough. For the record I tried everything to get roof down. Kept engine running and even driving slowly around campsites with roof up with numerous campers telling me roof was up! After four hours it seemed to right itself. Hope no one else has had this problem.

 

[66tim99]

Not a happy camper. Took delivery of my brand new Cali 6.1 in March. Lockdown meant no long overnight trips. However, in July managed three day break. On second night the lights in roof space failed. Next day electric roof failed to come down. After 3 hours it worked. Took it back to garage and they rebooted. Then down to Lake District. On second night light in pop up roof failed again, followed next day by roof failing again. Took four hours this time. Put it down to a blip. Next break to Loch Ness. Same routine. Lights failed and roof failed. Another four hours before it sorted. Took back to garage in August.Was with them for six weeks. No resolution. Then VW said yes a fault and they would have software fix this month. That was the end for me. E mailed VW with long rejection letter. In November VW and garage gave us back all our money plus some compensation. Alas I had lost all confidence. I am now awaiting arrival of new Adria Twin Supreme SGX. No electric roof but an electric bed! I loved the Cali but enough was enough. For the record I tried everything to get roof down. Kept engine running and even driving slowly around campsites with roof up with numerous campers telling me roof was up! After four hours it seemed to right itself. Hope no one else has had this problem.

Sorry to hear that. Funnily enough I’ve just been reading another tale of exactly the same issue (lights then roof) so it’s not just you. Gutted to read this as I’ve one on the way. Fingers crossed!
Good
Luck with the Adria

 

[AlisonF]

Sorry to hear this sad tale. Pleased for you that you got your money back, plus some compensation and it hasn’t put you off getting a camper (albeit not a Cali). I hope you have a better experience when your new vehicle arrives.

 

[Ladymuck]

Not a happy camper. Took delivery of my brand new Cali 6.1 in March. Lockdown meant no long overnight trips. However, in July managed three day break. On second night the lights in roof space failed. Next day electric roof failed to come down. After 3 hours it worked. Took it back to garage and they rebooted. Then down to Lake District. On second night light in pop up roof failed again, followed next day by roof failing again. Took four hours this time. Put it down to a blip. Next break to Loch Ness. Same routine. Lights failed and roof failed. Another four hours before it sorted. Took back to garage in August.Was with them for six weeks. No resolution. Then VW said yes a fault and they would have software fix this month. That was the end for me. E mailed VW with long rejection letter. In November VW and garage gave us back all our money plus some compensation. Alas I had lost all confidence. I am now awaiting arrival of new Adria Twin Supreme SGX. No electric roof but an electric bed! I loved the Cali but enough was enough. For the record I tried everything to get roof down. Kept engine running and even driving slowly around campsites with roof up with numerous campers telling me roof was up! After four hours it seemed to right itself. Hope no one else has had this problem.

Sounds like you got a duff one there! Hope your new van gives you more happy camping experiences

 

[Leonidas1872]

Sorry to hear this sad tale. Pleased for you that you got your money back, plus some compensation and it hasn’t put you off getting a camper (albeit not a Cali). I hope you have a better experience when your new vehicle arrives.

Thanks Alison.

 

[Meoncoast]

Hope no one else has had this problem.

Only the person who gets your van second hand.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Been on the forum a longtime. Never known a new model Cali with so many faults...
There seems to be lots of issues popping up with the T6.1

 

[Leonidas1872]

Only the person who gets your van second hand.

Well fingers crossed the promised software fix has materialised,

 

[B J G]

Looks like you will have a more self contained unit to contend with the restrictions that are likely to be encountered for the foreseeable future.

T6.1 has gone too far into the computerised area for what is needed in a simple and reliable Campervan IMO.

Happy camping.

 

[SusiBus]

OK, vehicles can have problems, but with the dealer for six weeks and no fix, unacceptable. VW why do you spoil so many people's dreams?

 

[Kernowboy]

Sorry story, hope the Adria goes better for you. What’s really worrying is that a simple up/down function of a hydraulic system really isn’t that complex, no matter how you send the control signal; nor are any of the 6.1 system’s for that matter in the grand scheme of things. God help us if VW ever think about following Virgin, Tesla et al; VW built automated flight system taking you into space anyone...

 

[willwander]

Been on the forum a longtime. Never known a new model Cali with so many faults...
There seems to be lots of issues popping up with the T6.1

Release of T6.1 has been poor

 

[calibusje]

Now, the more people order a T6.1, the more there will be dissatisfied and cancel their order or sell their campervan. I seem to remember that when the T5 california came out, it was completely demolished at the connoisseurs and the T4 westfalia was labeled the better, especially because of the T5 its electro-hydraulic lifting roof. The roof that still causes problems ... hence my choice for the coast (if it didn't exist, I didn't buy a California). I hope your Adria is the perfect camper for you and you can make many beautiful trips with it.
Greetings

 

[Virgil van Bike]

For balance, I’ve had my T6.1 MY21 for 6 weeks now, and not a single fault or blip. Not one.
I’ve driven high spec company cars for years and driving a ‘van’ has been great fun, and the technologies have added to the experience. The ACC works better than in my Velar, the sound from the speakers is excellent. The reversing cameras are top notch. The pop top is faultless and the canvas is ‘apparently’ thicker and less snag prone than before. I love the touch screen control panel and the navigation pro system. I’ve added solar and that’s working faultlessly. I haven’t worried for instance about a missing footrest that some people are commenting on.
In fact it appears a lot of commenters are not T6.1 owners at all but seem keen to add negative comments, not sure why. Maybe someone can enlighten me?
I totally understand owners posting their negative experiences on this forum, and I feel for these owners. However I guess there are others like me, hugely satisfied with their purchase, or am I just lucky?

 

[Corradobrit]

Glad to hear VW stepped up and accepted these serious faults existed and refunded without too much hassle. Another reason I'm glad the Coast has a manual roof.

 

[Borris]

I think that there may be people at VW who are currently pulling their hair out. They had a perfectly good camper van product with an iconic status that on the whole was extremely reliable. It wasn't broken but they tried to fix it with some flashy new techy features. Unfortunately the changes haven't been without their issues. As the number of faults reported so far on this forum alone testify, the T6-1 would have benefitted from a bit more development and testing before being released. There seems to me to be far too many faults being flagged up on the T6-1 so far, which is a great shame as it must be effecting both the T6-1's reputation and customer satisfaction levels. Not a good start!

 

[66tim99]

For balance, I’ve had my T6.1 MY21 for 6 weeks now, and not a single fault or blip. Not one.
I’ve driven high spec company cars for years and driving a ‘van’ has been great fun, and the technologies have added to the experience. The ACC works better than in my Velar, the sound from the speakers is excellent. The reversing cameras are top notch. The pop top is faultless and the canvas is ‘apparently’ thicker and less snag prone than before. I love the touch screen control panel and the navigation pro system. I’ve added solar and that’s working faultlessly. I haven’t worried for instance about a missing footrest that some people are commenting on.
In fact it appears a lot of commenters are not T6.1 owners at all but seem keen to add negative comments, not sure why. Maybe someone can enlighten me?
I totally understand owners posting their negative experiences on this forum, and I feel for these owners. However I guess there are others like me, hugely satisfied with their purchase, or am I just lucky?

Great to hear, giving me hope mine will be similarly faultless. I guess the bad apples are much more likely to be reported...

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

Great to hear, giving me hope mine will be similarly faultless. I guess the bad apples are much more likely to be reported...

Only had one problem with mine when it was brand new in November (mechanical failure of bench seat mechanism). Fixed in a satisfactory timeframe by VW and I received compensation. Touch wood, i’ve not had any electronic/software issues. It would be interesting to know how many T6.1’s have been sold so far and how many have been trouble free. I’d bet the majority are happy.

 

[andyinluton]

Great to hear, giving me hope mine will be similarly faultless. I guess the bad apples are much more likely to be reported...

I don’t actually think there have actually been many vans with serious problems.
The weconnect app doesn’t really matter, if it’s not working it doesn’t stop you doing anything or using the van.
The heater problems look in the main to be user error / poor instruction manual.

This forum is one of the few places people come to talk about the van & chances are if you have a T6.1 that’s gone wrong you would mention it on here.

With lockdown & the delays affecting so many, there’s not a lot to talk about no one is doing nice trip reports etc so any bad news seems to get amplified.

 

[andyinluton]

How do you improve the roof or the layout though. It’s evolved to where it is & it works.
They have over time fixed the bits that people have moaned about - the tambour doors. Lack of courtesy lights in the back. Improved the worktop by splitting it.

The base van isn’t dictated by the California, it’s a case of the van got updated as part of its normal life cycle & the camper got updated as a result. Difficult to know how VW could make a better van than they do.

 

[Californication69]

For balance, I’ve had my T6.1 MY21 for 6 weeks now, and not a single fault or blip. Not one.
I’ve driven high spec company cars for years and driving a ‘van’ has been great fun, and the technologies have added to the experience. The ACC works better than in my Velar, the sound from the speakers is excellent. The reversing cameras are top notch. The pop top is faultless and the canvas is ‘apparently’ thicker and less snag prone than before. I love the touch screen control panel and the navigation pro system. I’ve added solar and that’s working faultlessly. I haven’t worried for instance about a missing footrest that some people are commenting on.
In fact it appears a lot of commenters are not T6.1 owners at all but seem keen to add negative comments, not sure why. Maybe someone can enlighten me?
I totally understand owners posting their negative experiences on this forum, and I feel for these owners. However I guess there are others like me, hugely satisfied with their purchase, or am I just lucky?

No, had our 6.1 since October.
5k miles, not one issue.
Many nights with electric roof up and down.
Been to dealers once to swap the EU socket in kitchen to a UK socket.

 

[Kernowboy]

Been on the forum a longtime. Never known a new model Cali with so many faults...
There seems to be lots of issues popping up with the T6.1

Selective memory. The extensive roof rot thread for one bears testimony to the volume of issues encountered. My Cali experience is limited to owning 2 x T6 Oceans, first faultless, the second an absolute dog. Badly fitted trim, rear window leaking, fridge replaced, roof sag, wheels corroding, excessive oil useage, shoddy steering alignment, incorrectly fitted roof drain, leaking canvas, and yes the first signs of roof rot. Which was the final straw, but I could go on. Their may well be a few issues with the 6.1 but there’s nothing new in that.

 

[rod_vw]

It would be nice if the OP posted the registration mark and VIN of the vehicle t, hopefully prevent an unsuspecting purchaser being lumbered with it.

 

[Jay20cali]

For balance, I’ve had my T6.1 MY21 for 6 weeks now, and not a single fault or blip. Not one.
I’ve driven high spec company cars for years and driving a ‘van’ has been great fun, and the technologies have added to the experience. The ACC works better than in my Velar, the sound from the speakers is excellent. The reversing cameras are top notch. The pop top is faultless and the canvas is ‘apparently’ thicker and less snag prone than before. I love the touch screen control panel and the navigation pro system. I’ve added solar and that’s working faultlessly. I haven’t worried for instance about a missing footrest that some people are commenting on.
In fact it appears a lot of commenters are not T6.1 owners at all but seem keen to add negative comments, not sure why. Maybe someone can enlighten me?
I totally understand owners posting their negative experiences on this forum, and I feel for these owners. However I guess there are others like me, hugely satisfied with their purchase, or am I just lucky?

We had a 6.1 ocean and it was faultless
The only issue in 6months was an update for the infotainment system.we loved it.
Sold due to a bigger van coming

 

[soulstyledevon]

Selective memory. The extensive roof rot thread for one bears testimony to the volume of issues encountered. My Cali experience is limited to owning 2 x T6 Oceans, first faultless, the second an absolute dog. Badly fitted trim, rear window leaking, fridge replaced, roof sag, wheels corroding, excessive oil useage, shoddy steering alignment, incorrectly fitted roof drain, leaking canvas, and yes the first signs of roof rot. Which was the final straw, but I could go on. Their may well be a few issues with the 6.1 but there’s nothing new in that.

The roof rot has been an ongoing issue and the main bug bearer with the California
Overall, the older vans were simpler and more robust.

Why do Volkswagen insist on adding more tech, when I guess the majority would prefer less.
As said, it’s early days for the 6.1 but doesn’t look very encouraging at the moment, especially as most aren’t even being used...

I will be keeping my eyes open and hoping for better, as going forward I may one day want to update to something newer.