Leaking pop tops on 2023 California Oceans

[kpttnuts-beach]

Look for a paper tag attached to the (probably) front window zipper - should look something like this;

View attachment 116830

Would this be duplicated somewhere else because why would you keep that attached forever to the zipper? In other words ours has been removed and binned without knowing how important this info tag was!

 

[rswestling]

Another datapoint for the thread: Our Califronia is at the dealer for an 'investigation' after they confirmed based on our pictures that our bellows leaked. We heard back from them yesterday that, "We have now been made aware of a modified roof bellow becoming available as of January. We do not have any further information." So another pointer to something coming in January. I've conveyed that we either want a O4S, or will wait for the updated January bellows. No sense swapping for another O3S. We don't plan to camp before March, and we have a topper if we do, so I'm inclined to wait until January and see what VW does then.
One further note, we got a courtesy van in the form of a hybrid multivan. My wife and I are both now 100% happy that we chose to get a T6.1 California rather than waiting for the Multivan based Cali.

 

[flying banana]

I have a Cali Ocean, delivered 29 Sep 23. I presume it has a 03S bellows.

I have tested it three times in rain:

• 2 hours in light drizzle 0.2mm precipitation rate. Wind 9 mph ENE.
• 1.75 hours in heavier rain 0.9mm precipitation rate. Wind 11 mph SSW
• 3.25 hours in similar rain 0.9mm precipitation rate. Wind 9 mph SSW

In all three cases, the Cali was facing N, so generally not directly into the rain. I always check wind and rain forecast before siting the Cali to keep the rear into any wind as much as possible.

No ingress of rain front, sides or back, no wetting of canvas.

That's not a test. Take it to Scotland or the lakes and get some real rain on it. Don't Bury your head in the sand on this. The Old bellows DID NOT LEAK

 

[myvanrodney]

Hers my tag for the forensic scientist out there..

Whats your prognosis?

 

[ParachuteMan]

That's not a test. Take it to Scotland or the lakes and get some real rain on it. Don't Bury your head in the sand on this. The Old bellows DID NOT LEAK

I rather thought I had joined a friendly, helpful community of like-minded Cali owners. Not one where an innocent response to a fellow poster’s request generated bossy and rude responses. Well I’ve learnt my lesson and more about this Forum.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

So this morning I picked my van up from VW van centre Manchester having finally had my bellows replaced. I have the 04S bellows now and they will tested when the rain returns and hopefully prove that they are now fit for purpose.
It's been a long and arduous process to get to this point, and that's all down to VW's poor response to what is clearly a design/manufacturing fault.
I bought the van from Eurovans in March, and their aftersales service has been poor to say the least.... I would never buy from them again.
Manchester van centre have been nothing short of amazing, in particular their service manager Neil. He has gone above and beyond as far as I'm concerned to get the right result for me. He has twice advised me not to have the bellows fitted that VW had supplied as he was confident they were no different to the ones already on the van. My van has been with them since the 20th November. It was stripped down ready to have new bellows fitted when he found out that a van repaired the week before was still leaking. As the bellows for my van arrived in the same delivery he decided it wasn't worth fitting them to my van. He then found out about the 04S bellows and argued with VW until they sent out a set of those. My van spent a week stripped down in their workshop until the 04S bellows arrived.
When I collected the van this morning I was handed a VW holdall, which was full of VW branded merchandise as a way of an apology. Manchester van centre have nothing to apologise for. It's VW commercial vehicles who owe all us owners an apology for the way they have kept us in the dark for so long.

 

[Kayleigh]

I bought the van from Eurovans in March, and their aftersales service has been poor to say the least.... I would never buy from them again.

Anything in particular about their after sales service???

 

[andyinluton]

I rather thought I had joined a friendly, helpful community of like-minded Cali owners. Not one where an innocent response to a fellow poster’s request generated bossy and rude responses. Well I’ve learnt my lesson and more about this Forum.

@ParachuteWoman

My November 22 production van doesn't have a leaking roof either, I said it about 59 pages back in the thread, but haven't until now repeated it as I'm already fed up with people that haven't seen my van, let alone been in it when the roof is up & its raining telling me it leaks.

Its my 3rd cali in 10 years & previous 2 suffered from moisture wicking through the roof material if you touched it hence me previously fitting isotop liners. The current roof does not suffer from that.
If you want to trawl back through the history of this site you will see that some of the earlier posts were about leaking roofs back in 2012.....

 

[ParachuteMan]

So this morning I picked my van up from VW van centre Manchester having finally had my bellows replaced. I have the 04S bellows now and they will tested when the rain returns and hopefully prove that they are now fit for purpose.
It's been a long and arduous process to get to this point, and that's all down to VW's poor response to what is clearly a design/manufacturing fault.
I bought the van from Eurovans in March, and their aftersales service has been poor to say the least.... I would never buy from them again.
Manchester van centre have been nothing short of amazing, in particular their service manager Neil. He has gone above and beyond as far as I'm concerned to get the right result for me. He has twice advised me not to have the bellows fitted that VW had supplied as he was confident they were no different to the ones already on the van. My van has been with them since the 20th November. It was stripped down ready to have new bellows fitted when he found out that a van repaired the week before was still leaking. As the bellows for my van arrived in the same delivery he decided it wasn't worth fitting them to my van. He then found out about the 04S bellows and argued with VW until they sent out a set of those. My van spent a week stripped down in their workshop until the 04S bellows arrived.
When I collected the van this morning I was handed a VW holdall, which was full of VW branded merchandise as a way of an apology. Manchester van centre have nothing to apologise for. It's VW commercial vehicles who owe all us owners an apology for the way they have kept us in the dark for so long.

I too have found VWCV Manchester Dealers very helpful and your post doesn't surprise me.

 

[The Little Red Cali]

Sooo,… anyone own a 03S labelled bellows on a 2023 Calu that is waterproof and showing no signs of this leak issue?

I have the 2023 03S label. Delivery date 20 Sept 23. I’ve had the roof up twice in the rain. First time approx 1 hour and the rain was really heavy and it was very windy. Second time the rain was light for about 2 hours. Both times have been bone dry. So maybe I’m lucky or maybe they haven’t been subjected to the right conditions. Either way I’m just happy to be out enjoying the van. If they leak further down the line I’ll just have to deal with it like everyone else.

 

[Betsycalifornia]

I have the 2023 03S label. Delivery date 20 Sept 23. I’ve had the roof up twice in the rain. First time approx 1 hour and the rain was really heavy and it was very windy. Second time the rain was light for about 2 hours. Both times have been bone dry. So maybe I’m lucky or maybe they haven’t been subjected to the right conditions. Either way I’m just happy to be out enjoying the van. If they leak further down the line I’ll just have to deal w

Sooo,… anyone own a 03S labelled bellows on a 2023 Calu that is waterproof and showing no signs of this leak issue?

My replacement bellows 03S has not leaked yet. (Tag date 03/10/2023)
Update on earlier posts:
16 hours of persistent rain, ranging from light to heavy during the night, in Strasbourg start of this week and bone dry inside still. I’ve a video of the rain before it got heavy as I was asleep up Top then and it woke me and my wife up.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

Anything in particular about their after sales service???

I found them very unhelpful. Within a week of picking the van up in March I found the fridge wasn't working... their response was to try the VW roadside assistance???? Then when I told them about the bellows, denied any knowledge of the problem even though there were at least 3 people on this forum saying that they had reported it to them. Finally, in frustration I tried to reject the van and got absolutely no response from them. Calls to their sales manager never got answered and messages never got responded to. Only when the EO stepped in did I get an email from them saying they hoped the problem had been fixed!

 

[myvanrodney]

@ParachuteWoman

My November 22 production van doesn't have a leaking roof either, I said it about 59 pages back in the thread, but haven't until now repeated it as I'm already fed up with people that haven't seen my van, let alone been in it when the roof is up & its raining telling me it leaks.

Its my 3rd cali in 10 years & previous 2 suffered from moisture wicking through the roof material if you touched it hence me previously fitting isotop liners. The current roof does not suffer from that.
If you want to trawl back through the history of this site you will see that some of the earlier posts were about leaking roofs back in

My replacement bellows 03S has not leaked yet. (Tag date 03/10/2023)
Update on earlier posts:
16 hours of persistent rain, ranging from light to heavy during the night, in Strasbourg start of this week and bone dry inside still. I’ve a video of the rain before it got heavy as I was asleep up Top then and it woke me and my wife up.

Is the tag identical to mine?.. I noticed a round sticker with an 'A" on mine that I havent seen on other posts here.,,(see my previous posted image). thanks.

 

[Betsycalifornia]

Is the tag identical to mine?.. I noticed a round sticker with an 'A" on mine that I havent seen on other posts here.,,(see my previous posted image). thanks.

Is the tag identical to mine?.. I noticed a round sticker with an 'A" on mine that I havent seen on other posts here.,,(see my previous posted image). thanks.

Leaking pop tops on 2023 California Oceans

I see Cali Chris has posted a video comparing showers in the Ocean vs the Grand… How ironic!!! Chris tells us the Grand has two showers, but the Ocean only has one...but we all know better!

vwcaliforniaclub.com

not the same, no A sticker on mine. picture at the end of the above link

 

[Corradobrit]

My replacement bellows 03S has not leaked yet. (Tag date 03/10/2023)
Update on earlier posts:
16 hours of persistent rain, ranging from light to heavy during the night, in Strasbourg start of this week and bone dry inside still. I’ve a video of the rain before it got heavy as I was asleep up Top then and it woke me and my wife up.

For those that had leaking bellows, where was the water infiltration? There may have been some progressive, under the hood improvements made, which addressed some of the leaks, but not all for all bellows. Who knows. What I do know is there are others who have had multiple replacements ie 3-4 and they have all leaked, even those dated end of September.
I wonder if VW are recycling in an effort to up their green credentials.

 

[stationmaster]

So this morning I picked my van up from VW van centre Manchester having finally had my bellows replaced. I have the 04S bellows now and they will tested when the rain returns and hopefully prove that they are now fit for purpose.
It's been a long and arduous process to get to this point, and that's all down to VW's poor response to what is clearly a design/manufacturing fault.
I bought the van from Eurovans in March, and their aftersales service has been poor to say the least.... I would never buy from them again.
Manchester van centre have been nothing short of amazing, in particular their service manager Neil. He has gone above and beyond as far as I'm concerned to get the right result for me. He has twice advised me not to have the bellows fitted that VW had supplied as he was confident they were no different to the ones already on the van. My van has been with them since the 20th November. It was stripped down ready to have new bellows fitted when he found out that a van repaired the week before was still leaking. As the bellows for my van arrived in the same delivery he decided it wasn't worth fitting them to my van. He then found out about the 04S bellows and argued with VW until they sent out a set of those. My van spent a week stripped down in their workshop until the 04S bellows arrived.
When I collected the van this morning I was handed a VW holdall, which was full of VW branded merchandise as a way of an apology. Manchester van centre have nothing to apologise for. It's VW commercial vehicles who owe all us owners an apology for the way they have kept us in the dark for so long.

Heart warming story. Thanks for sharing. Good on yer Manchester Van Centre

 

[stationmaster]

I rather thought I had joined a friendly, helpful community of like-minded Cali owners. Not one where an innocent response to a fellow poster’s request generated bossy and rude responses. Well I’ve learnt my lesson and more about this Forum.

Sorry we have not been friendly, helpful and welcoming

 

[stationmaster]

Sorry we have not been friendly, helpful and welcoming

...and i am really happy you thought to tell us all that your roof has not leaked. Thanks for sharing Hope your roof stays water tight and you have many a dry night in your van!

 

[Jimmylondon07]

I found them very unhelpful. Within a week of picking the van up in March I found the fridge wasn't working... their response was to try the VW roadside assistance???? Then when I told them about the bellows, denied any knowledge of the problem even though there were at least 3 people on this forum saying that they had reported it to them. Finally, in frustration I tried to reject the van and got absolutely no response from them. Calls to their sales manager never got answered and messages never got responded to. Only when the EO stepped in did I get an email from them saying they hoped the problem had been fixed!

Yep that sure sounds like Eurovans. I’ve actually found the aftersales/tech guys there OK, helpful even. The sales people however, I don’t have a good word to say. The archetypal dodgy car salesmen.

 

[ParachuteMan]

...and i am really happy you thought to tell us all that your roof has not leaked. Thanks for sharing Hope your roof stays water tight and you have many a dry night in your van!

It wasn't unprompted, it was actually an answer to a question about leakers by another poster. So I thought I would reply. Thanks for your good wishes.

 

[stationmaster]

It wasn't unprompted, it was actually an answer to a question about leakers by another poster. So I thought I would reply. Thanks for your good wishes.

Useful and pertinent information for sure.

I think the leaking issue is a significant matter for those owners that have got a leak, and has not been improved by the attitude of some dealerships (some have been great of course).

It is good to welcome all information and views How else can we reach a balanced perspective?

 

[Betsycalifornia]

For those that had leaking bellows, where was the water infiltration? There may have been some progressive, under the hood improvements made, which addressed some of the leaks, but not all for all bellows. Who knows. What I do know is there are others who have had multiple replacements ie 3-4 and they have all leaked, even those dated end of September.
I wonder if VW are recycling in an effort to up their green credentials.

My original bellows leaked at the seams, the zips and eventually (30 mins of rain) the cloth became porous, mainly the front due to the exposure.

 

[flying banana]

Sorry we have not been friendly, helpful and welcoming

It wasn't bossy or rude. Dealers are fibbing by saying they are only showerproof.but old ones we're waterproof.was a tip to not be fobbed off. He was too touchy but understandable if he's p1ssed off.

 

[Cali Down Under]

It wasn't bossy or rude. Dealers are fibbing by saying they are only showerproof.but old ones we're waterproof.was a tip to not be fobbed off. He was too touchy but understandable if he's p1ssed off.

I was also taken aback by the way you replied to PW. You seemed to judge his test as null and void. It was a rain test, maybe not the one you would do, but a test all the same.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

I have a Cali Ocean, delivered 29 Sep 23. I presume it has a 03S bellows.

I have tested it three times in rain:

• 2 hours in light drizzle 0.2mm precipitation rate. Wind 9 mph ENE.
• 1.75 hours in heavier rain 0.9mm precipitation rate. Wind 11 mph SSW
• 3.25 hours in similar rain 0.9mm precipitation rate. Wind 9 mph SSW

In all three cases, the Cali was facing N, so generally not directly into the rain. I always check wind and rain forecast before siting the Cali to keep the rear into any wind as much as possible.

No ingress of rain front, sides or back, no wetting of canvas.

I also checked mine in light conditions and had no leakage. I checked my weather app and it wasn’t until it was around 2-3mm of rain per hour that I started to get noticeable water ingress, and the rain needed to be continuous for at least an hour.