Leaking pop tops on 2023 California Oceans

[Joncali2023!!]

I’d love to hear a bit more about your contact in Germany as they seem to know exactly what’s going on. Care to share a bit more info with us? It would be great to know what’s really going on at VW HQ.

My contact works for VW in Germany for many years , what would you like to know about my contact ?

 

[rswestling]

Yep, ours leaks too. From the seams, and once wet will leak even with a light spray. Thi is a van that was delivered on the mid Oct, so completed in late September. Leaked within 6 minutes. Not surprised, but of course a bit disappointed. We also have a tailgate leak, which of course the local dealer could not replicate, but I was eventually able to convince them that it was an issue. I've not raised the bellows leaking with the dealer yet as I only just had a chance to test this morning.

We are still within the 14 days. We are comtemplating what to do. We love the van, and already have a topper, but as with everyone else affected, very disappointed in VW. We are leaning toward registering the complaint with our dealer, and then seeing if they come up with a solution. We considered returning the van under the distant selling rules and replacing with a '22, but they cost the same as we paid new, have 10k miles on average, don't have a 5 year warranty, or no interest finance, so we think we will keep the van we have. But...we will join the list of people complaining to VW.

We have another issue that's less problematic, but i'll raise that in a seperate thread.

 

[Viktorgeorge]

There are several possible email and other contacts for VW in the UK and in Germany on this website:

CEO e-mail addresses

List of e-mail addresses for CEOs of companies and other organisations

ceoemail.com

One or more of those here with the compromised new bellows might like to drill down into the above site to find some contacts to write/post to: such as oliver.blume@porsche.de and Rod McCleod at executive.office@volkswagen.co.uk?

It may prove ineffectual - like emails to my MP though I persevere ...

 

[Corradobrit]

Yep, ours leaks too. From the seams, and once wet will leak even with a light spray. Thi is a van that was delivered on the mid Oct, so completed in late September. Leaked within 6 minutes. Not surprised, but of course a bit disappointed. We also have a tailgate leak, which of course the local dealer could not replicate, but I was eventually able to convince them that it was an issue. I've not raised the bellows leaking with the dealer yet as I only just had a chance to test this morning.

We are still within the 14 days. We are comtemplating what to do. We love the van, and already have a topper, but as with everyone else affected, very disappointed in VW. We are leaning toward registering the complaint with our dealer, and then seeing if they come up with a solution. We considered returning the van under the distant selling rules and replacing with a '22, but they cost the same as we paid new, have 10k miles on average, don't have a 5 year warranty, or no interest finance, so we think we will keep the van we have. But...we will join the list of people complaining to VW.

We have another issue that's less problematic, but i'll raise that in a seperate thread.

Exact same problems as mine. Sieve poptop and leak along the upper edge of the seal on the tailgate. Another option you have is the reject that Cali and reorder hoping that VW fix the problem in the interim. Worse case is you will be in the same position as now. I would be leaning towards that option and take advantage of the 5/5/5 offer.

 

[Grigio Van Grigio]

My contact works for VW in Germany for many years , what would you like to know about my contact ?

Just some useful information they have got please. If they’re that well connected within VW they must know more than you’ve seen fit to post here so far. For starters, what are they currently doing about it. What was the change between the initial bellows and the C version. Was there really a Cv2 and if so, what was the difference. If the latest bellows leak, what are they planning on doing next. How seriously is this being taken within VW. What does your contact say about the chances of this being sorted any time soon. Stuff like that really.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

Just some useful information they have got please. If they’re that well connected within VW they must know more than you’ve seen fit to post here so far. For starters, what are they currently doing about it. What was the change between the initial bellows and the C version. Was there really a Cv2 and if so, what was the difference. If the latest bellows leak, what are they planning on doing next. How seriously is this being taken within VW. What does your contact say about the chances of this being sorted any time soon. Stuff like that really.

Exactly this, we are really keen for more information. We decided to order another Cali using the current offers as they’re just too good a deal to let slip by and we’ll likely not see them again anytime soon. Our hope is VW fix the issue by the time we receive the Cali, or at least that they’ll have a genuinely workable solution being rolled out by then.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Exactly this, we are really keen for more information. We decided to order another Cali using the current offers as they’re just too good a deal to let slip by and we’ll likely not see them again anytime soon. Our hope is VW fix the issue by the time we receive the Cali, or at least that they’ll have a genuinely workable solution being rolled out by then.

What will you do if VW don't fix the problem and was your dealer ok with you re-ordering?

 

[Andy C Berks.]

Yep, ours leaks too. From the seams, and once wet will leak even with a light spray. Thi is a van that was delivered on the mid Oct, so completed in late September. Leaked within 6 minutes. Not surprised, but of course a bit disappointed. We also have a tailgate leak, which of course the local dealer could not replicate, but I was eventually able to convince them that it was an issue. I've not raised the bellows leaking with the dealer yet as I only just had a chance to test this morning.

We are still within the 14 days. We are comtemplating what to do. We love the van, and already have a topper, but as with everyone else affected, very disappointed in VW. We are leaning toward registering the complaint with our dealer, and then seeing if they come up with a solution. We considered returning the van under the distant selling rules and replacing with a '22, but they cost the same as we paid new, have 10k miles on average, don't have a 5 year warranty, or no interest finance, so we think we will keep the van we have. But...we will join the list of people complaining to VW.

We have another issue that's less problematic, but i'll raise that in a seperate thread.

for the tailgate leak, try pulling the rubber seal upwards off it’s mouniting by a few millimetres and close the boot to reseat itself - worked for ours which hasn’t leaked a drop since.

 

[Corradobrit]

There is an owner in Switzerland who has had 4 replacement bellows....... thats right FOUR. They all leaked. The dealer was told to install a 5th replacement but the dealer refused. Owner and dealer are waiting for a response from VW. You can't make this stuff up.........

 

[Corradobrit]

Latest one dated 29.9.23

 

[rswestling]

This evening it's meant to rain in this corner of Essex. I thought that in addition to the hose test this morning, I'd leave the top up and see how things look after an evening of 'natural' rain. Maybe a more realistic test, though I expect it to leak.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

What will you do if VW don't fix the problem and was your dealer ok with you re-ordering?

Good question. The difference in cost between this van and the previous is massive as we had PCP on the first van and this one is going to be on 0% HP with the 5/5/5 and £1500 off options. Whilst the vans are roughly the same (the newer one has a lot more options spec’d and is a 204bhp) the cost difference (including depreciation over 3-5 years) is going to make living with this bellows issue whilst waiting for a fix far more palatable. Dare I even say that living with a topper for a short while would be an annoyance that we’re far more willing to accept. We did expect the fix to be in place by the time the van arrives though and we wouldn’t be happy with leaky bellows, but it’s very unlikely we’d reject this van as financially we stand to lose so much less than before. Those we’ve dealt with at Breeze in Poole (Tom D, Bradley M and Justin P) have been absolutely superb. They were very happy for us to order another van and completely understand our position. We wouldn’t use any other dealer so hats off to them, they’re doing a great job supporting their customers throughout on this.

 

[Corradobrit]

Good question. The difference in cost between this van and the previous is massive as we had PCP on the first van and this one is going to be on 0% HP with the 5/5/5 and £1500 off options. Whilst the vans are roughly the same (the newer one has a lot more options spec’d and is a 204bhp) the cost difference (including depreciation over 3-5 years) is going to make living with this bellows issue whilst waiting for a fix far more palatable. Dare I even say that living with a topper for a short while would be an annoyance that we’re far more willing to accept. We did expect the fix to be in place by the time the van arrives though and we’d be wouldn’t be happy with leaky bellows, but it’s very unlikely we’d reject this van as financially we stand to lose so much less than before. Those we’ve dealt with at Breeze in Poole (Tom D, Bradley M and Justin P) have been absolutely superb. They were very happy for us to order another van and completely understand our position. We wouldn’t use any other dealer so hats off to them, they’re doing a great job supporting their customers throughout on this.

At this point in time Breeze is the preferred dealer to order their new Cali through.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

At this point in time Breeze is the preferred dealer to order their new Cali through.

I don’t know why anyone would use anyone else tbh.

 

[Joncali2023!!]

Just some useful information they have got please. If they’re that well connected within VW they must know more than you’ve seen fit to post here so far. For starters, what are they currently doing about it. What was the change between the initial bellows and the C version. Was there really a Cv2 and if so, what was the difference. If the latest bellows leak, what are they planning on doing next. How seriously is this being taken within VW. What does your contact say about the chances of this being sorted any time soon. Stuff like that really.

I’m not going to go back with all these. Questions to be honest. They work within vw, and they know what’s going on in terms of the bellows issues… but I’ve said (for a reason) numerous times that vw are not going to spend any real money on creating a new bellow or fix for the t6.1 when they have a new Cali coming out next year.
I had my Cali for 4 weeks, and I rejected it right away and got my money back.
I told everyone else to reject it right away, but people were happy to continue using a faulty / not fit for purpose vehicle.
I also got grief fire my decision! I wasn’t a true Cali fan, if I loved the Cali I would have kept it and waited for a fix !
Touché ….. how foolish do those people feel now, they’re probably past their rejection dates now and sleeping in a vehicle surrounded by wet towels - yikes!!
So I apologise if I’m not going out of my way to supply huge amounts of information but there’s a reason for that.

 

[Grigio Van Grigio]

I’m not going to go back with all these. Questions to be honest. They work within vw, and they know what’s going on in terms of the bellows issues… but I’ve said (for a reason) numerous times that vw are not going to spend any real money on creating a new bellow or fix for the t6.1 when they have a new Cali coming out next year.
I had my Cali for 4 weeks, and I rejected it right away and got my money back.
I told everyone else to reject it right away, but people were happy to continue using a faulty / not fit for purpose vehicle.
I also got grief fire my decision! I wasn’t a true Cali fan, if I loved the Cali I would have kept it and waited for a fix !
Touché ….. how foolish do those people feel now, they’re probably past their rejection dates now and sleeping in a vehicle surrounded by wet towels - yikes!!
So I apologise if I’m not going out of my way to supply huge amounts of information but there’s a reason for that.

So no useful information then. Still not sure why you’re still here. Other than for the sport of it I guess.

 

[Corradobrit]

So no useful information then. Still not sure why you’re still here.

Every forum has its resident evangelist.

 

[Joncali2023!!]

So no useful information then. Still not sure why you’re still here. Other than for the sport of it I guess.

Hahahaha because im Allowed to be here. What does vw won’t Be spending no new money on t6.1 bellow designs / fixes don’t you understand ?

 

[Joncali2023!!]

Every forum has its resident evangelist.

Hahaha when I get any real information I’ll remember to not tell you two

 

[Grigio Van Grigio]

Hahahaha because im Allowed to be here. What does vw won’t Be spending no new money on t6.1 bellow designs / fixes don’t you understand ?

I didn’t say you weren’t allowed. I just don’t understand your motivation to spend the time when you’re unwilling to help anyone.

I understand why you rejected your Cali and I respect that decision. Shame you don’t return that respect.

 

[Joncali2023!!]

I didn’t say you weren’t allowed. I just don’t understand your motivation to spend the time when you’re unwilling to help anyone.

I understand why you rejected your Cali and I respect that decision. Shame you don’t return that respect.

After the grief I got at the time …..

 

[Corradobrit]

Hahaha when I get any real information I’ll remember to not tell you two

Halleluja

 

[Capt_Stanley]

Good question. The difference in cost between this van and the previous is massive as we had PCP on the first van and this one is going to be on 0% HP with the 5/5/5 and £1500 off options. Whilst the vans are roughly the same (the newer one has a lot more options spec’d and is a 204bhp) the cost difference (including depreciation over 3-5 years) is going to make living with this bellows issue whilst waiting for a fix far more palatable. Dare I even say that living with a topper for a short while would be an annoyance that we’re far more willing to accept. We did expect the fix to be in place by the time the van arrives though and we wouldn’t be happy with leaky bellows, but it’s very unlikely we’d reject this van as financially we stand to lose so much less than before. Those we’ve dealt with at Breeze in Poole (Tom D, Bradley M and Justin P) have been absolutely superb. They were very happy for us to order another van and completely understand our position. We wouldn’t use any other dealer so hats off to them, they’re doing a great job supporting their customers throughout on this.

Same here I rejected our Cali which was supplied by Breeze Poole, they have been excellent allowing me to order a replacement Cali on the understanding I can walk away if VW do not resolve the issue. I would not go consider another dealership even though I live 2 hours away.
Tom, Bradley, Justin keep up the good work.

 

[Bibs]

Does this problem apply to the Beach Model?

 

[Corradobrit]

Does this problem apply to the Beach Model?

Yes