Sagging roof

[Steve_gray2]

Hi there,
We have had issues with our Ocean roof sagging since new 2 years ago. After last season local dealer recharged the system which they advised will sort the problem. However, after a few nights sagging returned. Now on 2nd trip away this year in France (nice) and the self inflating function has started to work for the 1st time. However, it’s pumping up the roof twice during the night which seems excessive.
Can anyone please advise what’s normal and whether another visit to the dealer is necessary on our return.
Many thanks

 

[Perfectos]

@calikev can this thread be merged with one of the many other roof sagging threads pls

 

[tweeks71]

I have my 2021 Ocean in with VW today for the same problem. The roof, does auto-raise after a period of time though. Would love to know how much SAG is acceptable - I was told 20-30cm on one side. That sounds ludicrous to me. The main problem/inconvenience is being woken up 2 times a night as the roof auto-raises. Keen to see if there is a fix.

 

[dspuk]

I have my 2021 Ocean in with VW today for the same problem. The roof, does auto-raise after a period of time though. Would love to know how much SAG is acceptable - I was told 20-30cm on one side. That sounds ludicrous to me. The main problem/inconvenience is being woken up 2 times a night as the roof auto-raises. Keen to see if there is a fix.

 

[tweeks71]

Thanks, I'm wading through all of this right now. The VW garage said problems like this are referenced in VW technical bulletins for all to see? I'm currently looking for these. I will ask the VW centre for a link.

 

[Michelle 24/7]

I also have a problem with the roof on my 72 registered Ocean sagging on both sides after two to three nights and it does not self right.

When it sags the control panel states the roof is in the intermediate position and the lights for the upper sleeping area stop working. Raising and lowering the bed is also more difficult because it catches on the canvas. To resolve this issue, I have to repeatedly lower and raise the roof if I’m staying on a campsite for an extended period. Whilst perhaps not that big a deal, I don’t think this should be necessary in an £88k vehicle!

I took the vehicle to the Vindis dealer in Northampton for a service in December ‘23 and asked them to look into the problem. The master technician’s report is below which concluded there was no fault. It seems odd that the self righting system only checks for a limited period and then stops checking and I couldn’t see any mention of this in the user manual.

The roof has continued to sag throughout this season so I have emailed the dealer again asking how VW intend to address this issue.

 

[Kernowboy]

What you have been told by your dealer is entirely consistent with what I was told by another dealer re. a previous Cali of mine - both regarding the auto correct function not rechecking after 10hrs if droop not detected at that point and the up to 20cm drop in 2.5 days. They gave me a copy of the TPI they work to which is consistent. The net result was the same, no fault found.
So a slow droop is considered normal by VW up to their limit and has been reported by many on here. The auto function sounds like it’s behaving as designed.
A few have had the pump replaced, presumably when the droop was quicker or more significant than you describe and there has been discussion around a bad batch of pumps around the time your van was made. So that might be an angle to take forward.
I’m not saying it’s right, certainly my current van doesn’t droop at all over 3 days and I would consider that normal. But I don’t think the behaviour or amount of drop you are experiencing can be described as abnormal either.
Good luck with VW, unless it gets worse I think you’ll struggle to get traction for a warranty claim.

 

[andyinluton]

Not sure what you expect them to do - looks like they've had the roof up for 5 days without any sagging. What's different between your usage & the test conditions that the dealer tried?

 

[Steve_gray2]

Sat next to ours right now (in Santiago) and it looks like yours but it does self correct somewhat randomly when you least expect it - then says again within a few minutes. Has been rejected as a warranty claim as it sagged 11cm for the dealer and anything less than 20cm is in tolerance (according to VW). Agree not acceptable in a vehicle of this value but not sure how to proceed. Frustrated that others of various ages don’t sag.
Appreciate any advice…

 

[Steve_gray2]

Meant to say sags, not says!

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Sat next to ours right now (in Santiago) and it looks like yours but it does self correct somewhat randomly when you least expect it - then says again within a few minutes. Has been rejected as a warranty claim as it sagged 11cm for the dealer and anything less than 20cm is in tolerance (according to VW). Agree not acceptable in a vehicle of this value but not sure how to proceed. Frustrated that others of various ages don’t sag.
Appreciate any advice…

We just left Camping Canceles in Santiago.

Maybe we could have compared droops!!

Mine always sags but 8 inches in 3 days is hard to prove because it's much worse in hot weather. At a consistent temperature in a UK dealers I suspect it won't sag that much.

I could measure it over here but we sleep up top which is tricky without lights and an even lower roof!

 

[BristolCali]

My T6 has never sagged and I’ve never noticed it push up automatically. Does anyone know the factors that affect the variety seen in different vans?

 

[Ernest Driveaway]

Mine has done it once, corrected itself, dropped on the offside. Had only been up one night, been warmer before and since, also up longer. The only thing I could say that was noticeable was the camber to the offside in the field I was in.I didn't have any levellers with me.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

I'm trying to do a 3 day timed sag at the moment and having odd results.

We aren't in the van but I expected it to sag and re-inflate after 10 hours. Then sag more over time as the re-inflation cycle has always stopped after the first re-inflation.

I think the rules are that if checks after 10 hours and then every 5 hours. But once any check shows no need for inflation, it never checks again.

So, could this algorithm have changed?

Is there a log where I can see a list of re-inflates?

 

[Andyhcfc]

Hi Steve, I have had the same problem with the roof drooping since I bought it in 2021 from EV Crawley. It happens more during warm (UK), and hot (Mediterranean summer) weather. But never in Crawley!

Hence I have been complaining to VW directly, who booked me into another dealer to look at the issue in October. However, as this review and fix is in October, I doubt the roof will sag, and my warranty runs out in January 2025, so cynically the dealer and VW have got away with it, unless I extend my warranty, and spend another god knows how long arguing the toss.

You won't get much sympathy from others on here who haven't experienced this problem, I agree a van that costs upwards of £70K should not have drooping bellows that flap in the wind, lights and electrics that work up top, and if resetting is required, that it should happen during the late daytime hours, not at 2 am!

Good luck with your dealer, PM me if you want an update on my visit to the dealer on the 9th-11th of October.

 

[WelshGas]

Hi Steve, I have had the same problem with the roof drooping since I bought it in 2021 from EV Crawley. It happens more during warm (UK), and hot (Mediterranean summer) weather. But never in Crawley!

Hence I have been complaining to VW directly, who booked me into another dealer to look at the issue in October. However, as this review and fix is in October, I doubt the roof will sag, and my warranty runs out in January 2025, so cynically the dealer and VW have got away with it, unless I extend my warranty, and spend another god knows how long arguing the toss.

You won't get much sympathy from others on here who haven't experienced this problem, I agree a van that costs upwards of £70K should not have drooping bellows that flap in the wind, lights and electrics that work up top, and if resetting is required, that it should happen during the late daytime hours, not at 2 am!

Good luck with your dealer, PM me if you want an update on my visit to the dealer on the 9th-11th of October.

The resetting occurs 10hrs after last Ignition Off, and thereafter every 5 hrs if required.

 

[KevH]

The resetting occurs 10hrs after last Ignition Off, and thereafter every 5 hrs if required.

Technically correct, but what about a scenario whereby the roof sags after the 10 hour mark, and the ignition is then turned on/off so presumably resetting the sensor.
I know from experience that the sag is not detected and it’s damned frustrating at best, dangerous at worst (when you wake and find the roof has dropped and the lights don’t work).
There is something seriously wrong with the presumption that it checks at 10 hours after ignition turn off in my experience.

 

[Andyhcfc]

The resetting occurs 10hrs after last Ignition Off, and thereafter every 5 hrs if required.

Hi WG, we just had two nights away with the roof up, in camping mode so no ignition being used, and there was no resetting at all for the two days and nights, only sagging.

 

[WelshGas]

Technically correct, but what about a scenario whereby the roof sags after the 10 hour mark, and the ignition is then turned on/off so presumably resetting the sensor.
I know from experience that the sag is not detected and it’s damned frustrating at best, dangerous at worst (when you wake and find the roof has dropped and the lights don’t work).
There is something seriously wrong with the presumption that it checks at 10 hours after ignition turn off in my experience.

Hi WG, we just had two nights away with the roof up, in camping mode so no ignition being used, and there was no resetting at all for the two days and nights, only sagging.

It does seem to be hit and miss on the T6.1. I'm sure I read on the Forum of a Control Panel software update relating to this and the lights going out.

Some reading.

Ocean 6.1 roof not “auto correcting”

I am sure the T6.1 checks more frequently, I heard it twice last night and had turned the ignition on at about 9pm to retention the roof.

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[KevH]

It does seem to be hit and miss on the T6.1. I'm sure I read on the Forum of a Control Panel software update relating to this and the lights going out.

Some reading.

Ocean 6.1 roof not “auto correcting”

I am sure the T6.1 checks more frequently, I heard it twice last night and had turned the ignition on at about 9pm to retention the roof.

vwcaliforniaclub.com

Thanks for the link @WelshGas which does talk of a software update but that was before my van was even built.
It’s clearly a problem affecting a number of vans and I am asking VW Leicester to retest mine as their original test was over 15 hours indoors which is flawed in my view.
Will report back but will also try the various workarounds suggested in that earlier thread.
Many thanks.