Leaking pop tops on 2023 California Oceans

[CaliforniaCylus]

As if by magic after posting this at 3.26pm I have received a reply from VWCV at 3.55pm… it said very little other than they’re looking into it and will come back to me. Rather underwhelming but I suppose a perfectly reasonable response.

Did you just email the normal (customercare@vwcv.co.uk)

 

[Corradobrit]

Nice to see volkswagen_cv finally responded to the complaints on IG

"we regret to hear that you are experiencing issues with the roof of your vehicle. Please could you send us a DM and we will do our best to assist you "

Although I could have done without the smiley face.

 

[RockinNRollin]

Nice to see volkswagen_cv finally responded to the complaints on IG

"we regret to hear that you are experiencing issues with the roof of your vehicle. Please could you send us a DM and we will do our best to assist you "

Although I could have done without the smiley face.

That's a totally bone-stock social media response though from pretty much any organisation. You could have said you're having marital problems and they'd have probably still replied with "Sorry to hear this, please DM us and we'll try to assist ".

Have you DM'd them? I have found with other organisations where normal communication doesn't work that making some negative noise on social media gets their attention, although they do (as above) tend to want to divert it to a private message ASAP.

 

[Corradobrit]

That's a totally bone-stock social media response though from pretty much any organisation. You could have said you're having marital problems and they'd have probably still replied with "Sorry to hear this, please DM us and we'll try to assist ".

Have you DM'd them? I have found with other organisations where normal communication doesn't work that making some negative noise on social media gets their attention, although they do (as above) tend to want to divert it to a private message ASAP.

Was not a response to my post but to a probing one left by +.Billy Ocean.
Stirring the Social Media pot can certainly get things moving as I found with Ecoflow. Its worthwhile pursuing and persisting.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Thanks for sharing. Here are a couple of photos of my experience. Its outrageous that we spend £70k plus for a top notch campervan and we are faced with this. Still proud of your Brand VWCV?? I'm embarrassed for you!!

View attachment 113695

View attachment 113696

That is shocking!

Clearly not fit for purpose.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

I am waiting for a reply from my VW dealer. While I wait, how do you open a case with VWCV?

You can call this number 0800 783 4909.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

Think the 2024 Nugget might work for you? That may be where I’d end up heading depending on how all this plays out.

Yes this would be my next option I think. Not sure the interior layout would work for us though.

 

[CaliforniaPhil]

Dealer today said it had had a response from VW technical:-

"having consulted the factory on the topic previously it is advised it normal for small drops to come through the seams or zippers. You may find improvement is gained by impregnating the roof multiple times with water, (and dampen in between)."

Some responses off this thread look promising, then you get this from VW!

Suppose an email to VWCV is needed.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Dealer today said it had had a response from VW technical:-

"having consulted the factory on the topic previously it is advised it normal for small drops to come through the seams or zippers. You may find improvement is gained by impregnating the roof multiple times with water, (and dampen in between)."

Some responses off this thread look promising, then you get this from VW!

Suppose an email to VWCV is needed.

Which dealer is that?

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

FWIW I've also emailed VWCV customer care directly now too explaining I'm not happy about having to splash our for a wrap just to make the bellows perform how it's supposed to from the factory.

For us, like above, the Cali is perfect for our needs and we don't want a conversion so we'll be sticking with it, albeit digging our heels in until our issues are resolved. In reality and in the long term, the issues with the bellows are something that should be easily resolved. it's a part that can be fairly easily removed and replaced; it's not like the entire interior has to be ripped apart to work on it.

We’re almost in the same place then. Bottom line for us though is it needs to be fit for purpose no matter how good it might otherwise be. There’s no guarantee this issue will ever be fixed unfortunately so we just can’t accept that. I’m not convinced like so many are that one day a solution will appear. They simply won’t pay out for this unless they have to. For that to happen significant pressure needs to be applied and I think it is, but not sure the pressure is strong enough. We’re not really up for the long term battle either. Just don’t have the time or energy for that.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Hopefully a statement will be released soon, I’m just not confident on a Quick new design .

Personally, I can live with it taking time so long as VW acknowledge a problem and work on a fix.

These bellows are easy to install without removing anything significant from the pop-top - at least that's what the Master Technician said.

I can't imagine they can't produce these canvas fabrics for a hundred quid or so.

This really ought not to be escalating into such a bige deal with everyone talking about rejection!!!

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Think the 2024 Nugget might work for you? That may be where I’d end up heading depending on how all this plays out.

I looked at a Nugget last year and was incredibly underwhelmed by both the cockpit and the camping aspects.

It looked really cheap....

 

[CaliforniaPhil]

Which dealer is that?

Peterborough, they have been great with it but it looks like they are stuck with what is coming from higher up.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

I looked at a Nugget last year and was incredibly underwhelmed by both the cockpit and the camping aspects.

It looked really cheap....

Yes I saw one last week and completely agree. The new one might be different though.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Personally, I can live with it taking time so long as VW acknowledge a problem and work on a fix.

These bellows are easy to install without removing anything significant from the pop-top - at least that's what the Master Technician said.

I can't imagine they can't produce these canvas fabrics for a hundred quid or so.

This really ought not to be escalating into such a bige deal with everyone talking about rejection!!!

Its a bit different to say a leaky tap or roof corrosion. Nothing worse than getting wet in the winter whilst sleeping…especially given the price of the van.

The issue will get fixed very quickly if people start rejecting vans. Otherwise it’s likely they will just drag the issue out close to warranty expires, then perform a goodwill fix with no comeback.

That said, our 11 year old roof is 100% dry. Did they change the fabric to maximise profit? They could just revert back to the old fabric.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

Personally, I can live with it taking time so long as VW acknowledge a problem and work on a fix.

These bellows are easy to install without removing anything significant from the pop-top - at least that's what the Master Technician said.

I can't imagine they can't produce these canvas fabrics for a hundred quid or so.

This really ought not to be escalating into such a bige deal with everyone talking about rejection!!!

Yes but it’s not as simple as that. They need to redesign it, test it thoroughly and then pay the labour change to have them all changed. The cost would be massive. If they can get away with appeasing a small number of people who aren’t happy by fobbing them off with “drips are normal” it’ll be much cheaper for them. They need a massive number of warranty claims with people getting the bellows replaced and a lot of rejections.

 

[Corradobrit]

Yes I saw one last week and completely agree. The new one might be different though.

From the vlogs its not a big departure from what came before. The MDF type cabinetry looks almost identical. Only the tech and a few copycat features seem to be improved in the leisure area. The van bones seem to have the biggest improvements from hybrid option to fully independent suspension and AWD option.

 

[Corradobrit]

Yes but it’s not as simple as that. They need to redesign it, test it thoroughly and then pay the labour change to have them all changed. The cost would be massive. If they can get away with appeasing a small number of people who aren’t happy by fobbing them off with “drips are normal” it’ll be much cheaper for them. They need a massive number of warranty claims with people getting the bellows replaced and a lot of rejections.

We should demand the MV's 3 layer fabric. Its curious that they went from single layer bellows, quickly through two layers (MY23 T6.1) and onto three layer (MY24 MV) in less than a year. The stitch work on the MV bellows looks a LOT more confidence inspiring.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

From the vlogs its not a big departure from what came before. The MDF type cabinetry looks almost identical. Only the tech and a few copycat features seem to be improved in the leisure area. The van bones seem to have the biggest improvements from hybrid option to fully independent suspension and AWD option.

This is what I feared with the new Nugget. If so I’m out on that one.

 

[Jabberwocky]

We should demand the MV's 3 layer fabric. Its curious that they went from single layer bellows, quickly through two layers (MY23 T6.1) and onto three layer (MY24 MV) in less than a year. The stitch work on the MV bellows looks a LOT more confidence inspiring.

Pls excuse me, I'm being a bit dim here I think!
What is MV and is this replacing the "C" part number bellows?

 

[Corradobrit]

Pls excuse me, I'm being a bit dim here I think!
What is MV and is this replacing the "C" part number bellows?

MV aka Multivan aka Sharavan

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

They asked me to open a case with VWCV, which I’ve now done. They’re also providing us with a topper as a temporary measure. I get the impression they would like VWCV to acknowledge the issue and agree to remedy it with the overwhelming evidence presented. This would obviously help them massively, not just with our case but with all the other owners that are coming back to them with issues too. And we’d really like to play our part and help get this issue resolved for us and everyone else as well. They know that we want a commitment to a permanent and suitable fix that leaves us with no leaking and they know we want it quickly. They also know we may reject the vehicle if this isn’t forthcoming. I haven’t pursued any other options at this stage with the dealer but might do so as a last resort if VWCV don’t admit the issue is real, however I really don’t see what they can offer other than bellows replacement, which I think would just be a waste of time. It would be a big decision for us to reject as the Cali is literally the best fit for what we need aside from the bellows issue.

How confident are you that you got the C version of the bellows? Over on the German board there's some doubt as to whether the new versions are always being shipped. ie some of the older ones might still be in circulation.

What does your little white tag show? Has the serial number dropped right down.

It was also stated that only C variant was installed in the factory after 1/July. Wonder if we have any vans in the rain built after 1/July?

BTW recent posts there seem to debunk any theory that VWCV have put out comms not to renew bellows... Looks like that was a red herring

 

[Joncali2023!!]

How confident are you that you got the C version of the bellows? Over on the German board there's some doubt as to whether the new versions are always being shipped. ie some of the older ones might still be in circulation.

What does your little white tag show? Has the serial number dropped right down.

It was also stated that only C variant was installed in the factory after 1/July. Wonder if we have any vans in the rain built after 1/July?

BTW recent posts there seem to debunk any theory that VWCV have put out comms not to renew bellows... Looks like that was a red herring

C versions still leak I believe …

 

[RockinNRollin]

Dealer today said it had had a response from VW technical:-

"having consulted the factory on the topic previously it is advised it normal for small drops to come through the seams or zippers. You may find improvement is gained by impregnating the roof multiple times with water, (and dampen in between)."

Some responses off this thread look promising, then you get this from VW!

Suppose an email to VWCV is needed.

I don't think the leaks seen qualify as "a few drops"!! I agree, "a few drops" would be manageable and no worse than condensation, but a torrent of water with the ability to damage electronics etc.. is a totally different matter.

 

[OooOooTheMonkey]

How confident are you that you got the C version of the bellows? Over on the German board there's some doubt as to whether the new versions are always being shipped. ie some of the older ones might still be in circulation.

What does your little white tag show? Has the serial number dropped right down.

It was also stated that only C variant was installed in the factory after 1/July. Wonder if we have any vans in the rain built after 1/July?

BTW recent posts there seem to debunk any theory that VWCV have put out comms not to renew bellows... Looks like that was a red herring

They weren’t the so called C variant. I asked before fitting and for the blue bellows only the same part number was available. They were blocked from ordering but later became available again. Clearly VW knew there was a potential bellows issue but decided to make them available again anyway.