On the outside looking in

CLaw · May 15, 2017

I will be taking delivery of a new California Ocean in September and just yesterday joined the VWCC community. My attention was drawn to the roof Corrosion forum and started to read its posts. I would have posted within that forum but felt that my question would have been in the wrong area as those that read the forum are in the process of sorting or dealing with the problem of Corrosion.

My question is simple, are there any California owners T5 or T6 that are not experiencing the problem of Roof Corrosion and are very happy with their van. People rarely report on the good things that are not an issue for them.

Jabberwocky · May 15, 2017

Welcome!

I am certain that there are some owners out there that have the problem but do not know it and carry on as is if nothing is wrong - power to them I guess. You know, what the head doesn't know the heart.......... etc.

Are there any owners out there who do not have this problem? Newer Calis almost certainly, older ones? That's a hard one to call.

Me? I have a three month old Ocean and took out extended warranty and I will deal with the problem if, as and when it arrives. In any event I will actively look for any roof corrosion as the Warranty is just short of expiring. In the meantime.........I am enjoying my Cali and do not worry!

jts46 · May 15, 2017

CLaw said:
My question is simple, are there any California owners T5 or T6 that are not experiencing the problem of Roof Corrosion and are very happy with their van. People rarely report on the good things that are not an issue for them.

You are correct, I have the corrosion on front panel and underneath the seal on the main roof, but i still am enjoying the vehicle after 10.5 years. So don't let it spoil the experience of owning a California.
P.S. i have been trying to get VW to repair mine but to no avail.

WelshGas · May 15, 2017

CLaw said:
I will be taking delivery of a new California Ocean in September and just yesterday joined the VWCC community. My attention was drawn to the roof Corrosion forum and started to read its posts. I would have posted within that forum but felt that my question would have been in the wrong area as those that read the forum are in the process of sorting or dealing with the problem of Corrosion.

My question is simple, are there any California owners T5 or T6 that are not experiencing the problem of Roof Corrosion and are very happy with their van. People rarely report on the good things that are not an issue for them.

There are 2 areas of this Bi-metallic corrosion, which is cosmetic rather than structural. The fixed panel above the windscreen which has been accepted as a fault by VW who have a fix, maybe, for it and it was supposed to have been fixed in vehicles produced mid 2014 onwards.
The second is the same form of corrosion on the edge of the elevating roof panel under the rubber seal. This form is common to the T5 and T6 and can be fixed by VW under the 3 year warranty. Mostly it has been found under the seal and only in a few cases has it been visible outside the seal area. Should you look under the seal? As far as I am concerned don't until the warranty is about up. Should you let VW sort it, questionable as some repairs have failed numerous times. I will probably get a body shop that can deal with aluminium panels deal with it rather than a cheap bodge by the lowest bidder that VW seem to use.
Does it worry me ? No, I'm too busy enjoying the vehicle. About to cross from Sweden into Finland. :thumb

GrannyJen · May 15, 2017

I will worry about it later in. As WG says, too busy enjoying myself.

Verity · May 15, 2017

Me! My Cali is perfect in every way and I love him to bits. IF I get corrosion, I will worry about it then. I am covered by the VW warranty, which is why I bought new. I know people have said it takes a long time to get sorted, but I know it WOULD get sorted if it happened, even if I had to wait awhile. Hopefully it won't happen.

Seaside Sussex · May 15, 2017

Have no idea and as others have said, I do not intend to let it concern me or affect my enjoyment of my Cali. It has a warranty; we will deal with it if and when. I'm not going to go looking for problems.

Imo its similar to buying a house and reading the survey report. e.g. our sub-floor ventilation is apparently inadequate. Do I worry about it, no! Does it keep me awake at night, no!

CLaw · May 15, 2017

Verity said:
Me! My Cali is perfect in every way and I love him to bits. IF I get corrosion, I will worry about it then. I am covered by the VW warranty, which is why I bought new. I know people have said it takes a long time to get sorted, but I know it WOULD get sorted if it happened, even if I had to wait awhile. Hopefully it won't happen.

Thanks, that's what I like, happy people.

CLaw · May 15, 2017

Seaside Sussex said:
Have no idea and as others have said, I do not intend to let it concern me or affect my enjoyment of my Cali. It has a warranty; we will deal with it if and when. I'm not going to go looking for problems.

Imo its similar to buying a house and reading the survey report. e.g. our sub-floor ventilation is apparently inadequate. Do I worry about it, no! Does it keep me awake at night, no!

I will adopt the same frame of mind

CLaw · May 16, 2017

Jabberwocky said:
Welcome!
I am certain that there are some owners out there that have the problem but do not know it and carry on as is if nothing is wrong - power to them I guess. You know, what the head doesn't know the heart.......... etc.

Are there any owners out there who do not have this problem? Newer Calis almost certainly, older ones? That's a hard one to call.

Me? I have a three month old Ocean and took out extended warranty and I will deal with the problem if, as and when it arrives. In any event I will actively look for any roof corrosion as the Warranty is just short of expiring. In the meantime.........I am enjoying my Cali and do not worry!

Thanks for the reply, your right, I guess your really getting to enjoy your Ocean now after 3 months. I am impressed with your Avatar 200x200 and 2kb and it's animated. I struggled with loads of rejections before my feeble effort was accepted.

I'm guessing IT is your strong spot. Thanks again for the common sense.

Jabberwocky · May 16, 2017

CLaw said:
Thanks for the reply, your right, I guess your really getting to enjoy your Ocean now after 3 months. I am impressed with your Avatar 200x200 and 2kb and it's animated. I struggled with loads of rejections before my feeble effort was accepted. I'm guessing IT is your strong spot. Thanks again for the common sense.

No problem, your most welcome. As for the Avatar, I like you struggled (I think most of us do to be honest!) but then I struck lucky. My eldest son is a well respected IT coder and he helped me (a lot

).

Bello · May 16, 2017

We don't seem to have roof corrosion, but perhaps we didn't look for it well enough

. It's a t5 and we own it for a year now.

Eyy, time to celebrate it's first anniversary! :cheers

Teejay · May 19, 2017

CLaw said:
I will be taking delivery of a new California Ocean in September and just yesterday joined the VWCC community. My attention was drawn to the roof Corrosion forum and started to read its posts. I would have posted within that forum but felt that my question would have been in the wrong area as those that read the forum are in the process of sorting or dealing with the problem of Corrosion.

My question is simple, are there any California owners T5 or T6 that are not experiencing the problem of Roof Corrosion and are very happy with their van. People rarely report on the good things that are not an issue for them.

PAMMYVAN · May 28, 2017

CLaw said:
I will be taking delivery of a new California Ocean in September and just yesterday joined the VWCC community. My attention was drawn to the roof Corrosion forum and started to read its posts. I would have posted within that forum but felt that my question would have been in the wrong area as those that read the forum are in the process of sorting or dealing with the problem of Corrosion.

My question is simple, are there any California owners T5 or T6 that are not experiencing the problem of Roof Corrosion and are very happy with their van. People rarely report on the good things that are not an issue for them.