Roof sagging when up - VW California Ocean T6

[5i1ver8ack]

Thank you. If I have to, I'll give it a go.

 

[WelshGas]

Thank you. If I have to, I'll give it a go.

Your vehicle is under Warranty. Try to lower the roof in the morning. If it fails -
Phone VW Assistance.

Personally, I would NOT remove the Control Panel or attempt to lower the roof manually while the vehicle is under Warranty.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

Thank you for that advice. I'll see what the new day brings .

 

[5i1ver8ack]

I'm supposed to be presenting accounts to an AGM at 9 30, so it could be an interesting morning!

 

[Jay20cali]

Can you not scroll through the menu to open roof again???
Press open roof ????
Then just give it an extra bit of up pressure ??

I wouldn’t try sending it down not level,it could do more harm than good

 

[5i1ver8ack]

I think I've managed to get it open now... it doesn't seem to be inclined to sag any more.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

Thankfully, the morning news is that the roof is safely down under its own steam. About an inch lower on the driver’s side on the way down. But it's down.

Thank you for your helpful late night responses!

 

[Pink Banana]

Flick out the control panel with a butter knife or a spoon.
Then you can access the pump.
There is a slotted screw on the pump that you can unwind the roof
with.
It releases the oil pressure.
Good luck.

I knew something was missing from my camping kit, a butter knife

 

[JOY29]

Really Useful hints and comments - thank you everyone - will give them a try.

I had exactly the same issue it was left side, to correct for now when opening let it lower and then turn ignition on and press to open again and it will stay open then....vw fixed mine, it took a week but had no issues since. Mine is also brand new September....

 

[Ian Robinson]

If you mean that one side of the roof is lower whilst going up and down. Ours did this when we first bought it at 3 years old - one side would go up first by about 2-3 inches and lower last by the same. But it would look level when fully up and close level when fully down. I thought the roof might be a bit twisted. A thread on here suggested putting it up and down fully about 3 times in a row to get the fluid warm and balance any differences in hydraulic fluid. On each open and close keeping finger on button until pump stops on its own.

I had the engine running to avoid draining the battery and waited about 20 seconds between each raise and lower as I wanted to avoid over heating the pump - maybe I was over thinking it?

For us it worked and it has gone up and down level ever since.

 

[campandfly]

Although the Electric roof is magic. It seems it is unreliable for a quite a few Cali owners.
Ours would not come down on the evening we were supposed to catch the ferry from France back to UK.
Fortunately after we left it for a few hours it started working again. We were then afraid to put it back up till we got home.
As it was working again we thought it could be just an anomaly so carried on going out, only for it to fail again. AA came and not quite familiar with the system let the oil out of one of the hydraulic arms, high pressure and very messy.
Snows at Plymouth repaired it and it works fine now. Occasionally it does sag a bit on the drivers side but we just open fully again to take up the tension and it seems ok.
IMO If VW can't upgrade the system to be more reliable I think it would be better being manually operated. Because being caught out when needing to catch a ferry or be somewhere urgently is definitely going to spoil your day.
I know in the manual there is a section on how to bring it down manually and they even supply tie down straps. But its quite fiddly if you are not handy and risks getting oil everywhere.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

When I get back to the campsite, I shall try it again and see what happens.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

Back at the campsite Roof up - worked perfectly

A one off glitch?

 

[WelshGas]

Back at the campsite Roof up - worked perfectly

A one off glitch?

Possibly.

Check the Control Panel for any Diagnostic Codes.

Press and Hold R Lower Button and then Press Control Knob for 5 secs.

New Menu shown

Select VW Diagnostics

Any Codes shown? Write down codes.

This was probably a one off so you could then Clear the Codes by Pressing R Lower Button and then Switch Off unit by pressing L Lower Button.

OR, return to the Main Menu and take it to Dealer and show them the Codes.

Personally I would clear the codes and Carry on Camping.

 

[5i1ver8ack]

 

[5i1ver8ack]

Thank you, Mr Gas.

 

[WelshGas]

Thank you, Mr Gas.

No Problem. Just enjoy.

 

[Paul Hewson]

I had to take my California to the dealer for some warranty work to the roof last week. Now we are away on holiday and the roof is coming down at a slight angle. I am a bit worried. Has anyone else had this priblem. When it closes its fine, when it opens it’s fine, it’s a t6 2016. The warranty work was recall, not my choice

 

[VW Guru]

Hi if it’s less than 5cm difference between each side then it’s all ok and within spec just keep an eye on the roof as it’s coming down. What work did you have done ?

 

[jts46]

Mine has been doing this forever

 

[CaliCrazy]

I’m on my third Cali. The roof on the first 2 vans came down completely aligned but with the third one, it has been wonky from day one. It has had everything replaced ‘up there’ but still wonky. Three years later we haven’t had any problems with it so I guess it’s just one of those things?

 

[Paul Hewson]

Hi if it’s less than 5cm difference between each side then it’s all ok and within spec just keep an eye on the roof as it’s coming down. What work did you have done ?

Sorry for taking. A little while to reply. Away in my California, the dealer recalled the van for work to be done on the roof. I asked what was needed, they said some protective tape, which seemed a bit vague, but I didn’t worry too much until I saw the roof come down at an angle. More than 5cm difference. Probably 8 to 10? Apparently all T6 are being checked when they come in for a service.

 

[VW Guru]

Sorry for taking. A little while to reply. Away in my California, the dealer recalled the van for work to be done on the roof. I asked what was needed, they said some protective tape, which seemed a bit vague, but I didn’t worry too much until I saw the roof come down at an angle. More than 5cm difference. Probably 8 to 10? Apparently all T6 are being checked when they come in for a service.

Hi yes that’s the normal workshop campaign there is a very long thread about it on here somewhere. All that happens is the rubber seal is removed the roof checked for corrosion and a thick plastic tape is applied all around the edge of the roof the seal is then refitted. So the job would not effect the operation of your roof in anyway. If the roof is working ok I would just keep an eye on it during operation I’ve seen some roofs do this and then sort themselves out and others that do it there whole life with no issues.. if it gets any worse than it is now then take it in to your dealer if it’s shutting fine and the difference per side stays the Same all be it out of tolerance then I would leave it as it is.

 

[Paul Hewson]

Thanks for your advice. I have to take the van in for some other bits anyway so I might mention it to the dealer while i’m There

 

[Kmann]

Assuming its an electric hydraulic roof. Some got their roof to sag over time when not holding the knop in long enough. I am not sure if that is your issue, but you need tho hold the knop pushed until it stops bussing/pumping when lowering and raising the roof.

Others have had issues with the pumps, and the parts were changed under warranty.