New squeak front roof panel

[Simon Kelly]

A new and infuriating squeak has developed above the passenger seat. At first we thought it was something rubbing in the roof but it’s forward of that under the panel above the windscreen.
Anyone got any ideas or had this before? This area seems pretty solid and can’t imagine how anything could have changed within this panel or got inside?? Baffled. The squeak is worse at slow speeds over bumps in the road or turning.

 

[WelshGas]

A new and infuriating squeak has developed above the passenger seat. At first we thought it was something rubbing in the roof but it’s forward of that under the panel above the windscreen.
Anyone got any ideas or had this before? This area seems pretty solid and can’t imagine how anything could have changed within this panel or got inside?? Baffled. The squeak is worse at slow speeds over bumps in the road or turning.

With or without the roof shutter closed?

 

[Simon Kelly]

With or without the roof shutter closed?

Both.

 

[WelshGas]

Both.

How old is the vehicle, and are you the 1st owner?

 

[Simon Kelly]

How old is the vehicle, and are you the 1st owner?

2nd owner 2012, owned for 8yrs

 

[WelshGas]

2nd owner 2012, owned for 8yrs

Has it had the Front Roof cap corrosion repair and if so which one, full replacement or plastic cap,?

 

[Simon Kelly]

Has it had the Front Roof cap corrosion repair and if so which one, full replacement or plastic cap,?

It definitely had the corrosion repair, but not sure which one. It was a few years ago now.

 

[WelshGas]

It definitely had the corrosion repair, but not sure which one. It was a few years ago now.

The original repair was the complete replacement of the metal roof cap above the windscreen. The later repair was treatment of the galvanic corrosion and the fitting of a colour coded plastic cap sealed on with sealant. You should be able to decide which has been done by careful inspection. There have been reports of the plastic cap coming loose

 

[Simon Kelly]

Thanks WelshGas, I’ll look closely tomorrow once it’s full daylight, but I think it’s the roof cap, I’ve had a good nose round it over the last few days as I’ve been squeak hunting and I don’t recall a cap. The squeak does sound like it is inside the cap. Is that where the roof motor is house?

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks WelshGas, I’ll look closely tomorrow once it’s full daylight, but I think it’s the roof cap, I’ve had a good nose round it over the last few days as I’ve been squeak hunting and I don’t recall a cap. The squeak does sound like it is inside the cap. Is that where the roof motor is house?

The hydraulic motor and tank is located behind the Control Panel. Roof lining has to be removed for full access.

As promised: Changing the electrohydraulic roof pump!

So as I promised last year, I wanted to keep you updated about changing the electrohydraulic roof pump. Therefore we need: a pump, some guts, a bit of spare time, and some helping hands. Up to now I only have the pump and the headlining taken off. First we take off the A-pillar handles...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[Simon Kelly]

wow, im not sure I will go through that to chase the squeak

 

[calibusje]

A new and infuriating squeak has developed above the passenger seat. At first we thought it was something rubbing in the roof but it’s forward of that under the panel above the windscreen.
Anyone got any ideas or had this before? This area seems pretty solid and can’t imagine how anything could have changed within this panel or got inside?? Baffled. The squeak is worse at slow speeds over bumps in the road or turning.

Yes, I have an idea what it can be but please try first what WG came up with.

 

[willwander]

I had exactly this when my van was brand new.
Was coming from the area above the sun visor on the drivers side. Squeaked/creaked when roof was up or down. Was worse in hot weather, creaked at slow speeds over bumps.
Took me months to track it down and fix it. Finally fixed it by attaching a long spray tube to a can of silicone spray and spraying all the areas where the front metal roof panel met the main body of the van. Had to pull the front of the headliner down for access.
Mine was the same, worse when turning at slow speeds over bumps, I think it was the actual body of the van/roof flexing slightly and ‘creaking’ on the joints where it met the metal section of the roof above the windscreen. It took me many attempts with silicone spray, but finally fixed it.

I think I did a post about it somewhere, but can’t find it now.

 

[calibusje]

I had exactly this when my van was brand new.
Was coming from the area above the sun visor on the drivers side. Squeaked/creaked when roof was up or down. Was worse in hot weather, creaked at slow speeds over bumps.
Finally fixed it by attaching a long spray tube to a can of silicone spray and spraying all the areas where the front metal roof panel met the main body of the van. Had to pull the front of the headliner down for access.

Indeed, it is even a known problem at Volkswagen, but before they ‘want to know’ about it, it will take a while and it will only get worse. Usually it is the guide pins of the front roof spoiler (fixed piece) that scrape on the fixed original metal piece of the roof.
They also took off the headliner on ours and sprayed a grout in the holes. It is now resolved but next summer when there are hot temperatures again, I’ll see if it’s finally resolved.
It was as if the front window was cracking constantly, it drove me crazy. Drove around like this for many months and made sound clips, searched for hours on the internet and finally found a video on YouTube of a German with identical sound. That way I knew what was wrong and by passing this on to our dealer, they acknowledged it and did something about it. In the Netherlands (I'm Belgian) at Camper Centrum Amersfoort they know the issue and solve it for you immediately.

 

[Simon Kelly]

Thank you all for the advice. For the moment after about 4 days of squeaking it has vanished. Part of me wonders if my generous application of wd40 eventually made it down to whatever was rubbing. Or perhaps temperature changed it a bit and it will reappear?! Love the cali!

 

[trisset]

Hi @calibusje . Could a VW dealer in Belgium fix this squeak issue u think ? I still have warranty till december 2023. Thanks !

 

[calibusje]

Hi @calibusje . Could a VW dealer in Belgium fix this squeak issue u think ? I still have warranty till december 2023. Thanks !

I would assume so because if you're experiencing the same thing I had a year ago, they're going to have to fix this: it was highly annoying and got progressively worse and louder. So with me it was the pins of the attachment at the top of the front window that can just touch the original piece of iron roof and scrape against it. They inject something in between (they can also put something else in between). My dealer did it for us and in CamperCentrum Amersfoort in the Netherlands they also know it and they have already solved a few. It would be a more common problem. Repaired under warranty but the problem had to be acknowledged by the importer first.
Success with it.

 

[-GE-]

I had exactly this when my van was brand new.
Was coming from the area above the sun visor on the drivers side. Squeaked/creaked when roof was up or down. Was worse in hot weather, creaked at slow speeds over bumps.
Took me months to track it down and fix it. Finally fixed it by attaching a long spray tube to a can of silicone spray and spraying all the areas where the front metal roof panel met the main body of the van. Had to pull the front of the headliner down for access.
Mine was the same, worse when turning at slow speeds over bumps, I think it was the actual body of the van/roof flexing slightly and ‘creaking’ on the joints where it met the metal section of the roof above the windscreen. It took me many attempts with silicone spray, but finally fixed it.

I think I did a post about it somewhere, but can’t find it now.

Hi Willwander,

I have the same problem on my T6.1 OCEAN since 6 month now. My T6.1 is from Decmeber 2020.
Would it be possible to know exactly where you injected silicon spray ? If I have well catched what you explained it is by inserting a long spray tube under the seal of the roof metal from outside ?

Many thanks for your help, Im going crazy with this squeak ...

 

[calibusje]

Hi Willwander,

I have the same problem on my T6.1 OCEAN since 6 month now. My T6.1 is from Decmeber 2020.
Would it be possible to know exactly where you injected silicon spray ? If I have well catched what you explained it is by inserting a long spray tube under the seal of the roof metal from outside ?

Many thanks for your help, Im going crazy with this squeak ...

If I may: like said before: take the headliner off (or have it taken off; mine was still under warranty) and spray something (silicon spray may do it) and the annoying squeaking will be solved.
It is a known problem (some dealers know it) and you are not alone.
Thread 'Crackling sound and the saga continues.' with sound clip and YouTube clip.
https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/crackling-sound-and-the-saga-continues.46582/

 

[-GE-]

Hi calibusje
Thanks a lot for your answer.
Up to know my VW garage in France has tried to screw harder a bolt putting some glue on the thread but did not fix really the squeak. Attached a photo showing the location of the squeak.

 

[calibusje]

Hi calibusje
Thanks a lot for your answer.
Up to know my VW garage in France has tried to screw harder a bolt putting some glue on the thread but did not fix really the squeak. Attached a photo showing the location of the squeak.

View attachment 122291

Very good that there is a photo now and tightening the screws might be a solution, but I haven't read it yet. It's good that your dealer is trying and is already working in the right place. Sometimes a piece of plastic is also inserted in between, this comes from the California experts in the Netherlands (Campercentrum Amersfoort). I am only passing on their name so that others with the same issue but less cooperative dealers can go to them if you are in the area.

 

[willwander]

Hi Willwander,

I have the same problem on my T6.1 OCEAN since 6 month now. My T6.1 is from Decmeber 2020.
Would it be possible to know exactly where you injected silicon spray ? If I have well catched what you explained it is by inserting a long spray tube under the seal of the roof metal from outside ?

Many thanks for your help, Im going crazy with this squeak ..

I did it from the inside. I didn’t take the headliner out, I removed the sun visors, this loosened the headliner enough to get a long spray tube in. The area I sprayed was all along the join where the outside metal roof panel meets the main body of the van. Difficult to describe but in the photo above where the finger is pointing, but over the sharp lip and deeper. There may be a better fix, maybe I just got lucky.
BTW mine was more of a creak than a squeak.This happened when going over uneven ground that flexed the body of the van. Good luck.

 

[-GE-]

I did it from the inside. I didn’t take the headliner out, I removed the sun visors, this loosened the headliner enough to get a long spray tube in. The area I sprayed was all along the join where the outside metal roof panel meets the main body of the van. Difficult to describe but in the photo above where the finger is pointing, but over the sharp lip and deeper. There may be a better fix, maybe I just got lucky.
BTW mine was more of a creak than a squeak.This happened when going over uneven ground that flexed the body of the van. Good luck.

Many thanks for your feedback
Very clear.
A last question, does you fix still working ?

 

[calibusje]

I did it from the inside. I didn’t take the headliner out, I removed the sun visors, this loosened the headliner enough to get a long spray tube in. The area I sprayed was all along the join where the outside metal roof panel meets the main body of the van. Difficult to describe but in the photo above where the finger is pointing, but over the sharp lip and deeper. There may be a better fix, maybe I just got lucky.
BTW mine was more of a creak than a squeak.This happened when going over uneven ground that flexed the body of the van. Good luck.

Yes, It's a cracking sound, like your windshield is about to crack. Unmistakable. I hope it stays resolved; with me it have been away for more than a year now and I am very pleased with it.

 

[willwander]

Many thanks for your feedback
Very clear.
A last question, does you fix still working ?

Yep, 4 years later, not come back.