Grand California 600 questions

[Steve Gray]

Please can anyone provide some help on a couple of questions? I have only had the GC two days so still getting to know the van.
1. Should the GC 600 have a footwell light on the drivers side RHD it has one on the passenger side and a hole for one on drivers side but no light fitting or wiring??
2. Having filled the water tank for the first time and primed the system, the bathroom tap/shower is leaking from the top of the tap and running down the pipes in the cupboard and flooding the floor under the shower tray. Is this a common fault with the tap unit. I think it is a dealer replacement issue.
Thanks any guidance welcome.

 

[Bobcat01]

Steve, I’m not sure on you first question but re your tap. Check that the thick tap washer is not missing it sits between the flexible hose and the plastic shower head part. If you unscrew the shower head it should be there.

 

[Eber123]

Hello Steve,

We had our GC 600 only for a few days as well. At the beginning it was most of the time with the VW dealer and when we got it back we couldn't use it for family reasons.

I am not sure with your first question, but the second questions it seems the same we experienced. I couldn't believe it when I saw how wet it was inside the little cupboard. The dealer hat do order a new shower tap (so he said) which had to come from Germany, which took about 5x working days. The installation took 2x days.

Because of this I would say that your GC 600 needs to go back to the VW dealer to have a look and I expect that they will change the shower head (or some other part).

I was very annoyed about this, that such a problem can happen on a brand new, very expensive car within the first few days of ownership. But it is what it is. The dealer will repair it and that's it. After the repair was done the water pressure seems to go after 30 seconds of running a tap. But I have to check this a bit more.

Best of luck.

Happy Grand California
Eberhard

 

[Jester]

Please can anyone provide some help on a couple of questions? I have only had the GC two days so still getting to know the van.
1. Should the GC 600 have a footwell light on the drivers side RHD it has one on the passenger side and a hole for one on drivers side but no light fitting or wiring??
2. Having filled the water tank for the first time and primed the system, the bathroom tap/shower is leaking from the top of the tap and running down the pipes in the cupboard and flooding the floor under the shower tray. Is this a common fault with the tap unit. I think it is a dealer replacement issue.
Thanks any guidance welcome.

Q1 yes to the driver side light, there should be one
Q2 As Bobcat says.

Will

 

[Steve Gray]

Q1 yes to the driver side light, there should be one
Q2 As Bobcat says.

Will

Thank you for your answers I will check the washer first. I did not pull the shower head out of the tap so hopefully it is just a washer!!! As for the footwell light on the drivers side that is a strange one why it is missing but thankyou for clarifying there should be one.

 

[Steve Gray]

Steve, I’m not sure on you first question but re your tap. Check that the thick tap washer is not missing it sits between the flexible hose and the plastic shower head part. If you unscrew the shower head it should be there.

Hi checked the washer is present it looks like a faulty tap which will mean removing the top of the sink unit to get to the tap. A VW warranty issue.

 

[Karlos]

Disappointed, where are the other 598 questions?

 

[Karlos]

Hope you get sorted quickly Steve .

 

[Jester]

Disappointed, where are the other 598 questions?

Your supposed to be sympathetic towards GC owners Karlos!

 

[Eber123]

It is interesting to read that other users of the Grand California have probelms from the word go too. I still can't get my head around it, how such an expensive vehicle can have so many technical issues. Is there no quality control?

I assumed a few things too and was very disappointed as it not turned out as I expected. I assumed that all Grand Californias, like the Californias, come with the VW Alarm system - it did not. I assumed that the heating system comes as standard with the Truma E system - it did not. It seems that that was with the sound system as well. Yes, it is available, but as an option for extra money.

We had problems with the tap in the wetroom, which was replaced 2x weeks ago. Now it seems that the water pressure disapears after a few seconds. I expect that will be another trip to the VW dealer.

Eventhough it was a quick decision to move from California Ocean to Grand California, I must admit that our exitment was dumpened a bit after all the issues. I hope it turns out that the camper will be more reliable in the future.

Hopefully Happy Grand California,
Eberhard

 

[Jester]

Morning Eberhard,

Unfortunately we have all suffered the common issues of failures, I’m still awaiting the galley tap to fail, they will all eventually get sorted. At least you only have to take it to 1 dealer to get fixed.

But to clarify for other owners the UK spec includes the CAT 1 alarm, Truma heating and the sound/sat nav system ie Discover Media Navigation.

Other brands of Campervan’s Motorhomes suffer the same issues. All will eventually get sorted.

Stick with it.

Will

 

[Steve Gray]

As someone who has moved from a California Ocean t6 to the GC600 I have the same wet room tap leaking problem, a missing footwell light and a leaking rear shower connection the GC is only two days old. I agree that the Quality Assurance from the factory must not be rigorous as things like leaks on a new vehicle should be checked / rectified before delivery. Having said that the GC is a new design vehicle and these things happen on every new designed vehicle until all the gremlins are worked out in production. Even our beloved California’s have had major problems over the years t5’s /t5.1’s/t6’s/t6.1’s until later in the production runs in most cases things get sorted. I remember my 2018 ocean brand new on the first day had a knock on the nsf shock absorber this was replaced. We only have to look at the posts on our forum and the California suffers from problems too!! I guess we all love the product, we live with some of the little issues and that is why we love them. The GC issues will get resolved, unfortunately when we buy early we are the testers I guess. It is upsetting on a very expensive new vehicle having problems and VW could do better, I guess it is the same with most motorhomes, the benefit of a VW is everything is covered under one roof unlike motorhomes!!!

 

[Hammer]

The key thing to remember is these are complicated machines and things do go wrong on all makes. My T5.1 california we had for 9 years had some various issues over its time including 2 roof repairs and finally replacement roof along with inverter failures window leaks etc etc. I am now selling my A class motor home and expecting delivery of my 680 in few week (it’s built awaiting shipping) and the main reason i am coming back to VW is because of the hassle with multi warranties on normal motor home. I expect a few niggles and as long as they don’t stop me using vehicle I know it’s easy to get sorted with VW than motor home manufacturer! Don’t let it put you off and enjoy the Grand

 

[far.landscape]

Morning Eberhard,

Unfortunately we have all suffered the common issues of failures, I’m still awaiting the galley tap to fail, they will all eventually get sorted. At least you only have to take it to 1 dealer to get fixed.

But to clarify for other owners the UK spec includes the CAT 1 alarm, Truma heating and the sound/sat nav system ie Discover Media Navigation.

Other brands of Campervan’s Motorhomes suffer the same issues. All will eventually get sorted.

Stick with it.

Will

Amazing that you haven’t had that problem with the tap micro switch… I’ve had to dismantle mine twice now (in ~10 days of use, and after the first time we’ve been incredibly careful with it, covering it with a cloth during washing up, etc.

I noticed in press photos two different types of tap… I have one which is black and silver (a Reich “de luxe” https://reich-web.com/en/products/w...ixer-ceramics-de-luxe-water-tap-ceramics-mono ) but I also saw in press photos some GC’s had been fitted with an all silver one (a Dimatec “Comet” https://www.leisureshopdirect.com/water/caravan-taps/comet-taps/dimatec-comet-florenz-mixer ).

The reich tap is such a poor design it’s inevitable that water will get in and short the micro switch, so far as I can see. I even ordered the Dimatec, hoping it would be better, but took one look at it and realised it would be far worse for water ingress (and would have required enlarging the tap hole on the Dometic sink unit).

Considering you haven’t had the problem, wondering which one you have?

 

[Jester]

Amazing that you haven’t had that problem with the tap micro switch… I’ve had to dismantle mine twice now (in ~10 days of use, and after the first time we’ve been incredibly careful with it, covering it with a cloth during washing up, etc.

I noticed in press photos two different types of tap… I have one which is black and silver (a Reich “de luxe” https://reich-web.com/en/products/w...ixer-ceramics-de-luxe-water-tap-ceramics-mono ) but I also saw in press photos some GC’s had been fitted with an all silver one (a Dimatec “Comet” https://www.leisureshopdirect.com/water/caravan-taps/comet-taps/dimatec-comet-florenz-mixer ).

The reich tap is such a poor design it’s inevitable that water will get in and short the micro switch, so far as I can see. I even ordered the Dimatec, hoping it would be better, but took one look at it and realised it would be far worse for water ingress (and would have required enlarging the tap hole on the Dometic sink unit).

Considering you haven’t had the problem, wondering which one you have?

Morning,

Like you I’m very careful with water around the tap and leave and run it in a horizontal position so any drips don’t run backwards towards the switch.

I have the Reich de lux. Not seen any other tap fitted.
I do not understand why VW have not sorted this out long ago as the German forum have complained since its launch.

Let’s hope they address this very soon.

Will

 

[Steve Gray]

It looks like it is very important to keep water from going onto the tap mixer which contains the micro switch. It is great that the experiences of forum members are going to help new owners of the GC best avoid getting the micro switch wet. Mine has the Reich de lux fitted too!! Do most people just cover the switch area with a dry cloth when using the sink and keep the tap horizontal when filling the sink to avoid potential problems. I guess this is a problem for dometic and not VW, however, if it is a big problem I am surprised VW are not asking dometic to change the design??

 

[Eber123]

Amazing that you haven’t had that problem with the tap micro switch… I’ve had to dismantle mine twice now (in ~10 days of use, and after the first time we’ve been incredibly careful with it, covering it with a cloth during washing up, etc.

I noticed in press photos two different types of tap… I have one which is black and silver (a Reich “de luxe” https://reich-web.com/en/products/w...ixer-ceramics-de-luxe-water-tap-ceramics-mono ) but I also saw in press photos some GC’s had been fitted with an all silver one (a Dimatec “Comet” https://www.leisureshopdirect.com/water/caravan-taps/comet-taps/dimatec-comet-florenz-mixer ).

The reich tap is such a poor design it’s inevitable that water will get in and short the micro switch, so far as I can see. I even ordered the Dimatec, hoping it would be better, but took one look at it and realised it would be far worse for water ingress (and would have required enlarging the tap hole on the Dometic sink unit).

Considering you haven’t had the problem, wondering which one you have?

Good morning,

It seems that the Reich switch is installed. At the moment it works, but the last time I made Tee, the water pressure (to fill the kettle) was low, so I needed to run the water much longer than expected. After about 1 minute the water pressure got even worse and it was only a trickel. I had no further time to look into this. If this gets worse I can imagine that at least the water pump must be replaced.

But I don't believe this error scenario has something to do with the tap micro switch issue.

Pure suffering Grand California
Eberhard

 

[far.landscape]

Good morning,

It seems that the Reich switch is installed. At the moment it works, but the last time I made Tee, the water pressure (to fill the kettle) was low, so I needed to run the water much longer than expected. After about 1 minute the water pressure got even worse and it was only a trickel. I had no further time to look into this. If this gets worse I can imagine that at least the water pump must be replaced.

But I don't believe this error scenario has something to do with the tap micro switch issue.

Pure suffering Grand California
Eberhard

Could you hear the water pump running during that time? If not, the behaviour you described is exactly what happens to me when the tap first gets wet, i.e. it runs with the pump for a few seconds, then the pump cuts out, then the residual pressure keeps the water flowing but at a progressively lower pressure.

For me the only solution is to take the cover off the tap (sharp implement to get the red/blue markers off then a small Allen key ~1.5mm I think??). A recent thread posted on here gave photos of the procedure.

 

[far.landscape]

It looks like it is very important to keep water from going onto the tap mixer which contains the micro switch. It is great that the experiences of forum members are going to help new owners of the GC best avoid getting the micro switch wet. Mine has the Reich de lux fitted too!! Do most people just cover the switch area with a dry cloth when using the sink and keep the tap horizontal when filling the sink to avoid potential problems. I guess this is a problem for dometic and not VW, however, if it is a big problem I am surprised VW are not asking dometic to change the design??

That’s what I’m doing, plus, when I disassembled it I covered the plastic joints in waterproof grease. This didn’t stop it happening again due to condensation though (don’t leave a damp cloth on the tap! As I found out the hard way !!)

And I believe Reich is a different company to dometic. Not sure if they are part of the same group though if that’s what you’re referring to.

 

[far.landscape]

Morning,

Like you I’m very careful with water around the tap and leave and run it in a horizontal position so any drips don’t run backwards towards the switch.

I have the Reich de lux. Not seen any other tap fitted.
I do not understand why VW have not sorted this out long ago as the German forum have complained since its launch.

Let’s hope they address this very soon.

Will

Wonder if this will be like the bathroom door drip strip thing… where people take it in for a service / different issue and find it magically comes back with something else fitted!!

 

[Eber123]

I changed the water in the tank this afternoon. I keep around 30 L in the tank all the time and change it every week or so.

What happened where two things 1.) the camper display did not recognise that the water tank was empty. I had to switch off and on the main switch. After that it kept up with the changes. Meaning it showed that the tank was empty and when I filled it up again with 35 L it showed 38%. 2.) I checked the tap in the sink. I let the water run for about 2x minutes. Funny enough it worked rather well. So, I need to keep an eye on this.

I was not happy with the camper unit, but I have read so many things about the unit that I wasn't surprised something like this happens. If it happens a few times again I will get my VW dealer involved.

About the car alarm. I spend the best part of the day with the car alarm installer. Over the weekend I did send them a long list of settings which I would have loved to be changed and of course the issue with the sensors falling of the windows. They were very good and managed to find a solution for the sensors and many of my requests on the list. So, thumbs up for this company.

At the moment it seems all good.
Happy Grand California,
Eberhard