Rotary knob on control panel

[Hannick]

One advantage of a non main dealer warranty was that we got to keep the old part.

 

[shambly]

I have a 3d scanner / high resolution 3d printer so if someone is willing to send me a broken knob (assuming one half of the inner structure of it is still intact) i'll scan it, print them a complete replacement, and return them both. That way we'll have easy access to spare knobs going forwards.

Simon

 

[Hannick]

With the original authors approval I have made an English version of the instructions

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

I found I needed a T6 Torx rather than the T5 that he mentions but otherwise these were a great help to me and I hope the English version helps others.

 

[calikev]

That's brilliant thanks very much for taking time to do this

 

[Rozzie50]

Just wondered if anyone has had any issues with the rotary knob which controls the panel for the roof etc, the knob seems loose and I cannot access the menu to operate the roof etc. I have booked the van into the dealers for repair under warranty but just wondered if anyone else had problems. :crazy

I have exactly the same problem!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rozzie50]

Mine is broken on a 2007. Andreas Ernst has sent my new button which I hope to fit when I have some spare time. Will report how it goes.

VW design fault ! The control panels on the T4 Westfalia Calis were indestructible (like everything else).

How did it go? I have absolutely no idea how to do this, I am not electronically minded and have no idea what I'm doing but I'm prepared to do it if I might save £500!!!!!!

I am. 'Second owner' so I don't think I will get anywhere with the dealership.

Please help.....

 

[Hannick]

I have corrected the broken link to the instructions above - repeated here.

I did it and I'm no expert.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m0f03ikoo34rb81/Button Replacement.pdf

 

[Rozzie50]

I have corrected the broken link to the instructions above - repeated here.

I did it and I'm no expert.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/m0f03ikoo34rb81/Button Replacement.pdf

Worth a try!

 

[gatvol]

My plastic rotary control failed so I had the whole CCU replaced by VW under warranty. Given the problems that some folk have had with the LCD display failing I was actually quite relieved to get a new unit. I may be profoundly naïve, but I hope that VW has improved the LCD displays over time ?

If you take a step back, this is just MAD, MAD, MAD on so many levels. The CCU is a key feature of the California. Things like the easily accessible fridge thermostat, overnight heater, electric roof will significantly influence some folk to buy a Cali in the first place.

The economic irrationality of the subsequent failures here just defies me. Like others, I tried to keep my original CCU to have as a spare for the future - but VW would not let me keep it either. Forget Elvis leaving the building, common sense has left it too.

1 Making a robust "rotary click and push" type switch is not technologically difficult in the first place. The standard vw radio has these and use here will be far more demanding than on the CCU
2 How can VW quality control have let such a crap product through testing ? Innumerate modern machines have these controls nowadays. 1970s car radios had these sorts of knobs on and you can just "see" with your own eyes that the VW one is inadequately engineered. I remember the 1970s ones having wire wrapped round the internal central sleeve so that it held the knob on firmly and strengthened the overall assembly
3 How can it be sensible to replace the whole CCU, rather than just a 10p plastic part that failed ?

I am so pleased that the aftermarket has found a rational way of dealing with this problem - ie make a little bit of plastic for folk and sell it to them at a reasonable price

I have a 5 year old stihl chainsaw that completely failed recently. Some Grohe taps I bought last year had visible flaws straight out of the box. The 18v batteries (Malaysian) on my 3 year old Swiss made Bosch Professional drill are totally crap and stupidly expensive to replace. Things like this used to be bulletproof, but not anymore. When I took the chainsaw to bits I saw that the carburettor was made in China. Now some Chinese gear is quality, but an awful lot is manufactured to be sold at very cheap prices

Given experiences like this, unless they wake up and smell the coffee, I predict the demise of traditional German premium manufacturers (Stihl, VW, Bosch Professional Tools .....) They are trying to market their products as premium, but they have begun using Far Eastern manufactured subcomponents that are as robust as spider's webs. Thus they display a fragility that one would normally associate with products costing 10% of their price. There is no way that these "German" products combining quality design but crap manufacture can sell for 10x the cost of others' products over the medium term.

 

[Andresz]

My plastic rotary control failed so I had the whole CCU replaced by VW under warranty. Given the problems that some folk have had with the LCD display failing I was actually quite relieved to get a new unit. I may be profoundly naïve, but I hope that VW has improved the LCD displays over time ?

If you take a step back, this is just MAD, MAD, MAD on so many levels. The CCU is a key feature of the California. Things like the easily accessible fridge thermostat, overnight heater, electric roof will significantly influence some folk to buy a Cali in the first place.

The economic irrationality of the subsequent failures here just defies me. Like others, I tried to keep my original CCU to have as a spare for the future - but VW would not let me keep it either. Forget Elvis leaving the building, common sense has left it too.

1 Making a robust "rotary click and push" type switch is not technologically difficult in the first place. The standard vw radio has these and use here will be far more demanding than on the CCU
2 How can VW quality control have let such a crap product through testing ? Innumerate modern machines have these controls nowadays. 1970s car radios had these sorts of knobs on and you can just "see" with your own eyes that the VW one is inadequately engineered. I remember the 1970s ones having wire wrapped round the internal central sleeve so that it held the knob on firmly and strengthened the overall assembly
3 How can it be sensible to replace the whole CCU, rather than just a 10p plastic part that failed ?

I am so pleased that the aftermarket has found a rational way of dealing with this problem - ie make a little bit of plastic for folk and sell it to them at a reasonable price

I have a 5 year old stihl chainsaw that completely failed recently. Some Grohe taps I bought last year had visible flaws straight out of the box. The 18v batteries (Malaysian) on my 3 year old Swiss made Bosch Professional drill are totally crap and stupidly expensive to replace. Things like this used to be bulletproof, but not anymore. When I took the chainsaw to bits I saw that the carburettor was made in China. Now some Chinese gear is quality, but an awful lot is manufactured to be sold at very cheap prices

Given experiences like this, unless they wake up and smell the coffee, I predict the demise of traditional German premium manufacturers (Stihl, VW, Bosch Professional Tools .....) They are trying to market their products as premium, but they have begun using Far Eastern manufactured subcomponents that are as robust as spider's webs. Thus they display a fragility that one would normally associate with products costing 10% of their price. There is no way that these "German" products combining quality design but crap manufacture can sell for 10x the cost of others' products over the medium term.

I absolutely share your disappointment. The control panel is as badly designed as possible, and starting from its location directly under metal roof. The place where it is, is exposed for extreme temperatures, probably +70-80 deg. in summer heat, low temperatures in winter. It is exposed on kicking when people climbing to the upper bed. Placing it there should be followed by a robust, military design, not fragile plastic china like philosophy. I personally think that placing the panel somewhere on the cupboard would be much more logical and safer for it. How often you need to operate it whilst driving ???. Obviously this is commercially driven, because it looks nicer, like a cockpit of a plane, but technically speaking this is a chain of errors.

 

[DavidofHook]

My plastic rotary control failed so I had the whole CCU replaced by VW under warranty. Given the problems that some folk have had with the LCD display failing I was actually quite relieved to get a new unit. I may be profoundly naïve, but I hope that VW has improved the LCD displays over time ?

If you take a step back, this is just MAD, MAD, MAD on so many levels. The CCU is a key feature of the California. Things like the easily accessible fridge thermostat, overnight heater, electric roof will significantly influence some folk to buy a Cali in the first place.

The economic irrationality of the subsequent failures here just defies me. Like others, I tried to keep my original CCU to have as a spare for the future - but VW would not let me keep it either. Forget Elvis leaving the building, common sense has left it too.

1 Making a robust "rotary click and push" type switch is not technologically difficult in the first place. The standard vw radio has these and use here will be far more demanding than on the CCU
2 How can VW quality control have let such a crap product through testing ? Innumerate modern machines have these controls nowadays. 1970s car radios had these sorts of knobs on and you can just "see" with your own eyes that the VW one is inadequately engineered. I remember the 1970s ones having wire wrapped round the internal central sleeve so that it held the knob on firmly and strengthened the overall assembly
3 How can it be sensible to replace the whole CCU, rather than just a 10p plastic part that failed ?

I am so pleased that the aftermarket has found a rational way of dealing with this problem - ie make a little bit of plastic for folk and sell it to them at a reasonable price

I have a 5 year old stihl chainsaw that completely failed recently. Some Grohe taps I bought last year had visible flaws straight out of the box. The 18v batteries (Malaysian) on my 3 year old Swiss made Bosch Professional drill are totally crap and stupidly expensive to replace. Things like this used to be bulletproof, but not anymore. When I took the chainsaw to bits I saw that the carburettor was made in China. Now some Chinese gear is quality, but an awful lot is manufactured to be sold at very cheap prices

Given experiences like this, unless they wake up and smell the coffee, I predict the demise of traditional German premium manufacturers (Stihl, VW, Bosch Professional Tools .....) They are trying to market their products as premium, but they have begun using Far Eastern manufactured subcomponents that are as robust as spider's webs. Thus they display a fragility that one would normally associate with products costing 10% of their price. There is no way that these "German" products combining quality design but crap manufacture can sell for 10x the cost of others' products over the medium term.

I absolutely share your disappointment. The control panel is as badly designed as possible, and starting from its location directly under metal roof. The place where it is, is exposed for extreme temperatures, probably +70-80 deg. in summer heat, low temperatures in winter. It is exposed on kicking when people climbing to the upper bed. Placing it there should be followed by a robust, military design, not fragile plastic china like philosophy. I personally think that placing the panel somewhere on the cupboard would be much more logical and safer for it. How often you need to operate it whilst driving ???. Obviously this is commercially driven, because it looks nicer, like a cockpit of a plane, but technically speaking this is a chain of errors.

I agree absolutely. We had the same problem last year a day before leaving for France and the van was sitting on the drive with the roof stuck up ( I have already reported all this on the Forum). After it was repaired under warranty by the VW call out scheme (brilliantly) I wrote to VW about my disappointment at the quality of the switch etc. The reply was not very understanding I felt, but they did send me a voucher for a free service so there was an acknowledgement of at least one unhappy customer and maybe the message will get through re quality

 

[Andresz]

[I agree absolutely. We had the same problem last year a day before leaving for France and the van was sitting on the drive with the roof stuck up ( I have already reported all this on the Forum). After it was repaired under warranty by the VW call out scheme (brilliantly) I wrote to VW about my disappointment at the quality of the switch etc. The reply was not very understanding I felt, but they did send me a voucher for a free service so there was an acknowledgement of at least one unhappy customer and maybe the message will get through re quality

That is why I have a spare panel always with me. I assembled it from 2 faulty panels,

 

[DavidofHook]

Not sure my skills are up to doing a replacement Andresz, at the moment I can rely on the warranty but there will come a time..........!

 

[calireg]

I'm pretty sure i can replace my control panel ,but funds mean i really would love to replace the control panel knob only ...was there somewhere i can find one of these ???

 

[gatvol]

Would be a terrible shame to replace the whole panel, if just a plastic knob ifs required

 

[calikev]

I'm pretty sure i can replace my control panel ,but funds mean i really would love to replace the control panel knob only ...was there somewhere i can find one of these ???

Hi if you PayPal £19.99 to admin@vwcaliforniaclub.com I will send you a replacement knob
With instructions on how to replace it

 

[richv]

Just replaced my control panel knob.
VW quotation...over £700

Do it yourself:
20 quid for forum VIP membership to download instructions
20 quid for a new knob
11 quid for a set of torx screw drivers.

What shall do do with the £649 I just saved? Answers on a postcard.

Ps Thank you California Club for all the advice.

 

[WelshGas]

Didn't realise that VIP membership had gone up since my renewal!

 

[T5sevilla]

Interesting thread!
I guess I have been "lucky" to only have 2 CU panel replacements (neither under warranty..) for the pixelated screen issue (for both.) Have never had an issue with the rotary knob....
I am keeping my 2 old panels, and might attempt the 'ribbon' repair to one of them to see if I can bring the screen back to life. I prefer the 'older' functionality of the fridge, where you see and select the actual temperature that you want, rather than selecting 1-6 or Max, which is, IMHO, a backward step!
Having lived and worked in Germany, (where I bought my 2008 LHD Cali,) I came to learn that the phrases "German efficiency" and "German precision" are, with a few exceptions, oxymorons.

 

[chrissmit]

Hi all,

I just disassembled the control unit from my T5.
The rotary knob is completely in tact.

I might have a different/related issue:
When I turn the knob, it seems to skip menu items on the display.
So the gray knob is in tact.
The little bit of see-through plastic part underneath the knob is also intact. It has a little white point (pointing at 10 o'clock). That white seems to be worn off a bit. So I can see a tiny bit through it (under the white point there is a light sensitive diode/led I think).
Could that be the cause of this "menu skipping"?

 

[michaelj70]

Our knob is on the way out !! I thought there was a manual way of lowering and raising the roof ?????

 

[SimplyDubs]

Our knob is on the way out !! I thought there was a manual way of lowering and raising the roof ?????

Lowering... Yes and you wouldn't want to do it once, never mind more than once.

Raising... No

That's part of the problem with an overcomplicated electro-hydraulic roof... I've said it before but I wish it was manual, it would solve a lot of problems.

Rgds
M

 

[W1lly]

Hello Everyone,
Its Nick from comfortz leisure here, I've finally got my self a Cali so thought I'd better have a standard account to input into the forum as an owner as well as a trader

Anyway I seem to have the same issue with the menu skipping back and forth and I expect that the button is okay (But I've ordered one from the club and will replace anyway - with the aid of the how to guide). So I'll be watching this thread with much interest. I'll also post any progress I make.

Cheers All

 

[WelshGas]

Welcome .

 

[2into1]

As far as I know (and I've read what I can), we are still unclear what is the root cause of this 'skipping'. The other faults (broken splines and faulty display) seem better understood. Can anyone explain a theory why they skip, and what the prognosis is in the short / long term?