Thank you VW headquarters Germany!!

[Patrick Lima]

I simply want to share my gratitude towards VW Headquarters in Germany for acknowledging responsibility for a major rust repair. In short, a 2015 cali with 11500km, bought from Germany, imoported to Czech republic, discovered heavy roofline rust under the marquese railing, former owner admitting it went to the recall in 2019, and the rest, the pictures tells the story. It took months and months to convince VW that car was doomed from its original build, and they finally accepted with the instructions to bring the car to a recall dealer in Germany. It took 5 weeks to repair, they cut the pillar and replaced it with a new one, including the whole roof, tent and railings! I am highly impressed at the outcome and I say once again, THANK YOU VW!

 

[vmaxkiddy]

Another failed roof repair, Hopefully I’ve caught mine in time. I’d suggest that owners of vans that have had the plastic cap repair remove the small piece of trim and check for corrosion underneath. I don’t think I’d get the same response from VW in the UK.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

Glad you eventually got it sorted!

The corroding roof was one of the reasons that we got rid of our Cali. We only had minor bubbling on the cap / roof edges but it used to annoy me. We got put on the repair waiting list 5 years ago during 1st service under our ownership at SMG Cowfold and were told of a 1-2 year wait. No update given during subsequent services, just told we will check and get back to you. Van was finally serviced shortly before selling so enquired about the repair who said that there was no record of a booking in the system, possibly due to “staff changes?” within the dealership. Told us that they would follow up with VW, never heard anything back, nothing was ever given in writing and no comment made on service invoices, since sold the van so it becomes the new owners problem.

We now have a van with a fibreglass / GRP roof to avoid the issue completely.

 

[Patrick Lima]

Sorry to see that….i suggest you write to Germany directly. If your van was built there, they are responsible. Your case is as major as what I had

 

[Gazbibelots1860]

I just posted about our issue, I need to check the passenger side fully but the drive side doesn’t have as much corrosion as others, any advice on what I should do?

Front of awning rail come off!

Hi. Apologies firstly I feel like I’ve been asking on here a lot in the last week or so but start of the season, spotting new things! I haven’t seen many other posts on this kind of topic, let me know if you know otherwise. We have a 2011 Cali. In noticed this winter that the front section of...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[vmaxkiddy]

I just posted about our issue, I need to check the passenger side fully but the drive side doesn’t have as much corrosion as others, any advice on what I should do?

Front of awning rail come off!

Hi. Apologies firstly I feel like I’ve been asking on here a lot in the last week or so but start of the season, spotting new things! I haven’t seen many other posts on this kind of topic, let me know if you know otherwise. We have a 2011 Cali. In noticed this winter that the front section of...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

It won’t get better on its own, so you need to go to a body shop to get an assessment . If you haven’t already done it, remove some of the adhesive the rail was secured with to see the full extent of the damage. I’m waiting on an estimate for mine at the moment, the Windscreen has to come out and be replaced, new cap of course, and the full extent of the corrosion won’t be known until the cap is removed, it ain’t going to be cheap.

 

[Gazbibelots1860]

Eek, I really don’t want to peel that adhesive off!

 

[slapping tim]

My front trim pieces almost fell off so I pulled them off and I found the same issue. I posted this and more info on the long running corrosion thread on this website. Mine looks better than the first post but worse than the second post here. I had this out with my dealer and VW HQ and they just say that the corrosion warranty repair itself is now out of warranty and there is nothing they can do. This is despite the fact that they've clearly botched the fix (I had this confirmed by one of the designated body shops who say the procedure was changed) and the fault was there from the outset with the corrosion all happening within the warranty period. I'm still deciding what to do because the fix will be expensive as the new plastic cap will have to come off. you can see its lifted anyway. But I'd agree with the posters here, you should probably see if you've got the same issue before it gets as bad as the first here. And so far VW UK have not been as helpful as VW Germany.

 

[slapping tim]

Sorry to see that….i suggest you write to Germany directly. If your van was built there, they are responsible. Your case is as major as what I had

I've one important question for you Patrick. Did you take this up with VW within the warranty period of the original recall warranty repair. I guess if that was done in 2019, its very likely that it was still under warranty which makes your case much stronger.

 

[slapping tim]

BTW our van is also a 2011 model.

 

[chez786]

just had ours fixed ……………. after a 3 year wait . It went off somewhere for 7 weeks .

 

[vmaxkiddy]

just had ours fixed ……………. after a 3 year wait . It went off somewhere for 7 weeks .

Was that the front cap repair or the A pillar corrosion in the photos ?

 

[Marco Venturi]

Looking at those photos, it would seem I am wrong in thinking then that California bodyshell metalwork is galvanised (as VW cars that I've had have been) before being spray painted?

 

[Gazbibelots1860]

BTW our van is also a 2011 model.

Thanks @slapping tim - would be interested to know what you decide. As ours is 2011 (and we only bought it from someone last year, who knew if they knew about it), I’ve no idea of knowing when this happened.

I take it VW Germany wouldn’t even consider touching ours being 2011? Our only option is to pay for it to be sorted, or live with it/sell the van?

 

[Gazbibelots1860]

just had ours fixed ……………. after a 3 year wait . It went off somewhere for 7 weeks .

How old is the van? And when did you report it had happened?