First time Cleaning the roof seal today on an 18 plate Cali Beach, the tape has been applied to three sides of the roof. (Not the front edge)
On close inspection of one of the rear corners it is evident the ferrous metal frame of the seal is rusting and breaking through the thin rubber moulding quite high up on the seal, where the remedial tape does not extend to!
I intend to contact VW service department to arrange for a new seal to be fitted.
Whilst the seal was off I applied a small additional strip of helicopter tape to prevent the rust patch making contact with the painted roof panel and causing the dreaded roof rot.
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So update: van has been into the dealers, pre booked and told them about the faulty roof seal rubber. Despite explaining the issue and remedial measure required at the time of booking and reconfirming via email on the same day as the telephone booking was made, the Dealers service department hadn’t heard of the rubber rusting issue before Ever ! Therefore they had not ordered the replacement seal when my vehicle was delivered to them !
Dealer also stated that my van was not subject to the roof tape recall, Which I agreed with and pointed out that the failure of the rubber seal was not a recall issue it was a “workshop action issue” i.e if seal is found to be faulty, it must be replaced.
My Cali is a 2018 registration with factory tape applied to side and rear edge of the roof (not the front leading edge)
Dealers service department representative knew nothing about the rubber seal causing the bi metallic corrosion or it being a recognised warranty issue and workshop action requirement, despite VW formal release and specific instruction to dealers to replace any damaged rubber roof seals. Slightly worrying ?
The applicable Workshop action is 75A1 states that if the roof frame seal has damage such as corrosion or cracks then it should be replaced. Even if your vehicle is not due the workshop action and the seal has corrosion then it is a warrantable item and should therefore be replaced.
To cut a very long storey short (three days without my Cali) and with the help of a faithful Forum member, I was able to persuade the service advisor the requirement for the “workshop action” that required the rubber seal be replaced to prevent a seriously costly roof repair in future. ( under warranty)
New rubber seal now fitted.
Full Roof inspection showed no sign of roof corrosion, thankfully
The reason for the original post and the update is to highlight this potential issue, which left undetected may (will) cause roof rot & to keep the thread active for new members.
I checked mine roof rubber after 1 year at which stage I was amazed at the dirt under the seal, I was able to clearly see the rust showing through the rear corner of the rubber, once it has been removed (in section) from the roof, to allow inspection and cleaning of the roof line under the rubber seal.
Do not assume the failure of the roof edge rubber seal issue is older vans only - Get out at the weekend and check your vans even if it’s a new reg van, then make it a part of your periodic check and clean.
If you see any degradation in the seal where cracks, metal or rust colour staining of the rubber seal roof are evident, get the seal changed under warranty.
I was told that the factory applied remedial tape is not applied to the front leading edge of the roof,