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Leaking pop tops on 2023 California Oceans

Bellows #5 installed last week, its a 06S this time - Service Manager said he ordered 4 sets for my van in the hope of emptying the parts warehouse of 05S and getting his hands on the 06S variant. He'll be sending 3 sets of 05S back to the warehouse this week, so watch out anyone who is waiting for their dealer to obtain some blue bellows!

Will test them this week and post an update.
Is 5 sets of bellows the record?
 
Any tests of the 06S bellows yet?

I tested my 05S bellows today and they are leaking in a totally different place to my 03 and 04 bellows. Both sides are leaking down the vertical corner seem, this looks like the one that has the sealing tape added on the 06S'. Oddly, the zip on the left is leaking as well. I have not looked at the zip in detail yet.
 
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Any tests of the 06S bellows yet?

I tested my 05S bellows today and they are leaking in a totally different place to my 03 and 04 bellows. Both sides are leaking down the vertical corner seem, this looks like the one that has the sealing tape added on the 06S'. Oddly, the zip on the left is leaking as well. I have not looked at the zip in detail yet.
So, it looks as though both of our newly fitted 05S bellows, (which, to recap, are dated just 5 and 6 days prior to the manufacture of the 06S bellows fitted to @Snoopy23), LEAK!

I sent an email to Rhiannon at the EO a week ago expressing my frustrations at their lack of internal communication regarding how, as a company, they are dealing with this issue.

Specifically, how can it possibly be that they recommended we have a second, new, 05S fitted at a time when there was already an updated replacement version, 06S, available, that they didn't even know about!

To date, I've had no reply!

Beyond disappointed.
 
I really don't think the dealers can be blamed. From what I understand, they can only order "the part" and the version isn't a variable in that ordering process. They get sent what they get sent. To reject what they've been sent would require something concrete from a higher authority, that's where the problem is (and that higher authority would also presumably, or should, be filtering out the older versions from the warehouse too). Absolutely right though, it's communication that's the problem here.
 
I really don't think the dealers can be blamed. From what I understand, they can only order "the part" and the version isn't a variable in that ordering process. They get sent what they get sent. To reject what they've been sent would require something concrete from a higher authority, that's where the problem is (and that higher authority would also presumably, or should, be filtering out the older versions from the warehouse too). Absolutely right though, it's communication that's the problem here.
I'm not blaming the dealer.

I'm 100% blaming VW.

The dealer is not VW.
 
Any tests of the 06S bellows yet?

I tested my 05S bellows today and they are leaking in a totally different place to my 03 and 04 bellows. Both sides are leaking down the vertical corner seem, this looks like the one that has the sealing tape added on the 06S'. Oddly, the zip on the left is leaking as well. I have not looked at the zip in detail yet.
I had an 05S to replace my 03S (though for a different reason than the minor leaks it had). Reading about the vertical front seams, I sprayed both liberally with Aquatex. Still waiting a proper test, but up in Scotland about to start the NC500 so I’m sure this will happen.
 
well, my van is in for the second time to address the leaks. Still on the original set of leaky bellows. the first time they spent a week breaking, then replacing one side internal gutters, even though anyone in the rest of the universe could have told them that wasn't in any way the cause of the leak (nor were they blocked). god knows what will happen this time. They seemed utterly clueless when i talked about bellows replacement numbers etc. The service here in Brussels is astonishingly bad. At least this time i sent them video of the bellows leaking like a sieve all over the place in the rain. now they are going to test them themselves. I can't see how they can do anything other than contact VW now. I also can't believe i am the first person to come to them with this issue, but they act like i am.
 
Any tests of the 06S bellows yet?

I tested my 05S bellows today and they are leaking in a totally different place to my 03 and 04 bellows. Both sides are leaking down the vertical corner seem, this looks like the one that has the sealing tape added on the 06S'. Oddly, the zip on the left is leaking as well. I have not looked at the zip in detail yet.
My van was returned on Thursday last week with newly fitted 06S bellows. We had some light to moderate showers here on Sunday, so I left the roof up all day and periodically checked the bellows. There wasn’t a lot of rain but there were a few fairly heavy showers and the bellows stayed dry on the inside. Yesterday morning, I tried the same sprinkler test I have used previously and again the bellows have stayed dry inside. Flow rate on the sprinkler was half a gallon per minute, on a fine spray. I ran the sprinkler for 20 minutes continuously, spraying down onto the front of the bellows. Neither test replicated a full night of rain, but all the previous bellows have leaked with this much provocation, so I am encouraged that I might finally have a weather resistant bellows, and its only taken a year (virtually to the day) of battling VW to get here.

QC tag date on the 06S bellows is 01/07/24. Only obvious difference from 05S is the inclusion of a clear seam tape on the inside of the vertical corner seams.

Van spray.jpg
 
My van was returned on Thursday last week with newly fitted 06S bellows. We had some light to moderate showers here on Sunday, so I left the roof up all day and periodically checked the bellows. There wasn’t a lot of rain but there were a few fairly heavy showers and the bellows stayed dry on the inside. Yesterday morning, I tried the same sprinkler test I have used previously and again the bellows have stayed dry inside. Flow rate on the sprinkler was half a gallon per minute, on a fine spray. I ran the sprinkler for 20 minutes continuously, spraying down onto the front of the bellows. Neither test replicated a full night of rain, but all the previous bellows have leaked with this much provocation, so I am encouraged that I might finally have a weather resistant bellows, and its only taken a year (virtually to the day) of battling VW to get here.

QC tag date on the 06S bellows is 01/07/24. Only obvious difference from 05S is the inclusion of a clear seam tape on the inside of the vertical corner seams.

View attachment 129129
Amazing, maybe we’re finally there!
 
well, my van is in for the second time to address the leaks. Still on the original set of leaky bellows. the first time they spent a week breaking, then replacing one side internal gutters, even though anyone in the rest of the universe could have told them that wasn't in any way the cause of the leak (nor were they blocked). god knows what will happen this time. They seemed utterly clueless when i talked about bellows replacement numbers etc. The service here in Brussels is astonishingly bad. At least this time i sent them video of the bellows leaking like a sieve all over the place in the rain. now they are going to test them themselves. I can't see how they can do anything other than contact VW now. I also can't believe i am the first person to come to them with this issue, but they act like i am.
I'm getting the same feeling here in Hannover of all places. Birthplace of the sieve.
Took my Cali in yesterday for a bunch of issues, the major one being the 03S sieve. First response was we don't deal with the poptop and this is from a VW Commercial dealer. Eventually they logged it it, but I'm not getting the warm and fuzzies. Sent video which I hope will help.
 
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