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T6 warranty and servicing issues

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CaliforniaSteve

Steve B
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Location
London
Vehicle
T6.1 Ocean 204
Does anyone know of a good place to have my 2 year old Cali serviced in the London (Central or South area)? My nearest VW dealer wants to charge me an extra £304 to investigate two issues I want looked at under warranty. It doesn't bode well as one of them is to replace the bolts that have gone rusty after the roof bellows were changed under warranty.

I would prefer to have my Cali serviced by someone who knows about the Cali camping equipment rather than just a T6 van specialist.
 
Does anyone know of a good place to have my 2 year old Cali serviced in the London (Central or South area)? My nearest VW dealer wants to charge me an extra £304 to investigate two issues I want looked at under warranty. It doesn't bode well as one of them is to replace the bolts that have gone rusty after the roof bellows were changed under warranty.

I would prefer to have my Cali serviced by someone who knows about the Cali camping equipment rather than just a T6 van specialist.
Have you checked this Forum Section?

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/forums/dealer-reviews.18/

There should be NO Charge for a Warranty Claim.
 
If its a warranty issue they will get paid by VW so its in their interest to find warranty issues really.

Its a very different experience from the one I've had at Coventry. Even things I was advised here wouldnt be covered under warranty they have covered. Never paid a penny for any investigation, even when they didnt find any problems.
 
If its a warranty issue they will get paid by VW so its in their interest to find warranty issues really.

Its a very different experience from the one I've had at Coventry. Even things I was advised here wouldnt be covered under warranty they have covered. Never paid a penny for any investigation, even when they didnt find any problems.
 
Thanks for the info. Looks as if I need to move away from central London to find a good dealer.
 
I live in south west London and have used Cordwallis at Heathrow twice for servicing and an MoT. They seemed fine to me. You could see in to the service bay and the technicians appeared to be working away carefully and diligently. It’s relatively easy to get to.


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Just had the good news that our new Cali is ‘unlocked’ so will be picking up from Citygate, Wooburn Green(Beaconsfield), I think they sell a lot of Californias so would hope they would be good, my experience is a bit limited so far though!
 
In speaking to my dealer about warranty issues. They will ask you to pay for the work they do to investigate the fault if it is not subsquently covered under the warranty. Although the my dealer has not charged me to look at things not covered under the warranty. Secondly if the dealer does work under warranty that is rejected by VW they will have to foot the bill. I was quite surprised by this as I thought they only carried out the work once they had approval. It also means that the dealer is carrying the risk so is more likely to reject work which in turn benefits the warranty company.
 
Our 2016 T6 Beach has just been back to the dealers (SMG Tonbridge). As the initial three year manufacturers warrantee will expire in March, I thought now was the time to get a couple of issues checked out:

1. Parking heater has just started making odd noises.
SMG dismantled the Eberspacher Parking Heater and discovered that the main blower impeller had shed a metal disc which should be firmly fixed to it. New parts fitted. Problem solved under warrantee at no cost.

2. Sliding door still making knocking noises. This noise has been there since the van was new and is slowly driving me mad. It presents as an intermittent knocking noise from the B post adjacent to my right ear. This is most noticable when traveling at around 30mph over poor road surfaces. It's not the awning!
SMG changed the sliding door location fittings on the O/S B post under warrantee. Unfortunately it hasn't cured this fault.

Whilst in the workshop they also carried out the workshop corrosion recall work on the pop top roof. A previous examination had revealed two very small spots that required attention.
IMG_6463.jpg
IMG_6469.jpg


This corrosion was ground back, primed and the clear protective tape fitted. As far as I can see you wouldn't know they had been anywhere near it. A very neat job by SMG Tonbridge. As to whether this VW fix has cured this issue, only time will tell. Frankly, I not filled with optimism.

Overall, I am pleased with the service from SMG even though the sliding door rattle is slill present. I have tried all sorts of diagnostics to solve this rattle over the last thirty one months without success so I'm not surprised it's still present.
 
Our 2016 T6 Beach has just been back to the dealers (SMG Tonbridge). As the initial three year manufacturers warrantee will expire in March, I thought now was the time to get a couple of issues checked out:

1. Parking heater has just started making odd noises.
SMG dismantled the Eberspacher Parking Heater and discovered that the main blower impeller had shed a metal disc which should be firmly fixed to it. New parts fitted. Problem solved under warrantee at no cost.

2. Sliding door still making knocking noises. This noise has been there since the van was new and is slowly driving me mad. It presents as an intermittent knocking noise from the B post adjacent to my right ear. This is most noticable when traveling at around 30mph over poor road surfaces. It's not the awning!
SMG changed the sliding door location fittings on the O/S B post under warrantee. Unfortunately it hasn't cured this fault.

Whilst in the workshop they also carried out the workshop corrosion recall work on the pop top roof. A previous examination had revealed two very small spots that required attention.
View attachment 40768
View attachment 40769


This corrosion was ground back, primed and the clear protective tape fitted. As far as I can see you wouldn't know they had been anywhere near it. A very neat job by SMG Tonbridge. As to whether this VW fix has cured this issue, only time will tell. Frankly, I not filled with optimism.

Overall, I am pleased with the service from SMG even though the sliding door rattle is slill present. I have tried all sorts of diagnostics to solve this rattle over the last thirty one months without success so I'm not surprised it's still present.
Good to hear that you still have faith in your dealer. You are incredibly patient over your sliding door issue, hats off to you.. Would driven me to desperate actions by now.
 
Good to hear that you still have faith in your dealer. You are incredibly patient over your sliding door issue, hats off to you.. Would driven me to desperate actions by now.
Hello Rik,
I really don't know what to look at next. Having followed your excellent advice and given the awning the comprehensive cushion pad treatment, these sliding door location plates now seem the obvious culprit and despite the recent work maybe still are. As the noise is definately coming from around the upper plate it maybe just a question of adjustment. However the garage have now had two attempts at fixing this issue including brand new replacement parts and yet still it persists. I'm now wondering, could be something rattling about inside the B post itself? :headbang
 
Hello Rik,
I really don't know what to look at next. Having followed your excellent advice and given the awning the comprehensive cushion pad treatment, these sliding door location plates now seem the obvious culprit and despite the recent work maybe still are. As the noise is definately coming from around the upper plate it maybe just a question of adjustment. However the garage have now had two attempts at fixing this issue including brand new replacement parts and yet still it persists. I'm now wondering, could be something rattling about inside the B post itself? :headbang
Could it be the the roller mechanism at the top of the door that, when the door is closed, is literally by the right side of your head behind the trim. I'm sure you have looked at this but just in case.......
B pillar trim removal for a butchers?
 
Hello Rik,
I really don't know what to look at next. Having followed your excellent advice and given the awning the comprehensive cushion pad treatment, these sliding door location plates now seem the obvious culprit and despite the recent work maybe still are. As the noise is definately coming from around the upper plate it maybe just a question of adjustment. However the garage have now had two attempts at fixing this issue including brand new replacement parts and yet still it persists. I'm now wondering, could be something rattling about inside the B post itself? :headbang
Try pulling they blind down an inch - works on mine!
 
Try pulling they blind down an inch - works on mine!
Unfortunately I 've just driven back to Kent from Bristol with all the blinds down and still it persisted.
 
Could it be the the roller mechanism at the top of the door that, when the door is closed, is literally by the right side of your head behind the trim. I'm sure you have looked at this but just in case.......
B pillar trim removal for a butchers?
I take another look but I'm not hopeful.
 
If it’s any consolation, mines developed the same symptoms, after the sliding door went in for attention (electric).
 
Mine's in today with that rattle problem reported. See what happens when collected.
 
Dealer called to say that the door locator pin assy is ordered and will be replaced tomorrow.
 
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