VW Assist & VW Customer Service

[PhilR]

So VW Leicester recently had our 6 month old Ocean in for a week to try and sort out a water issue - no sink/shower water. They had their Cali specialist working on it for the week but didn’t solve the problem. I had to have it back by the Friday as I needed it for the weekend. They said to rebook it in for another week. I tried doing this but the next available date they had was in 3 weeks time. So I booked this anyway.
However, shortly after doing this, I got a German error message on the control panel basically rendering it unusable and to take it to VW. I phoned VW Assist who said that because the roof was down and it could still be used as a car, it wasn’t something they could sort, but they said they would put it through with my local dealer and that they would make sure it was seen within 48 hours…..that was last Thursday, it’s Monday now and I’ve not heard a thing.
I went away in the Cali this weekend as I was doing a caravan manoeuvring course (another story!) so luckily being just myself I was able to sleep downstairs, however I had no water, roof function, levelling function, fridge or indeed any power/lighting to the back of the vehicle at all. The Aux heater only works from the remote fob - luckily it wasn’t needed until the morning. I put it on for a couple of minutes as I couldn’t control it and it was blasting red hot, hotter than it’s ever done.
So now I have a car not a Cali. I’ve checked as much as I can, ie all fuses, connections etc. There’s obviously some electrical gremlins somewhere as when I picked it up from Leicester the top control panel and everything else other than the water pump were working.

So, finally relevant to my thread title, I’m going to complain to VW as the Assist call was a waste of time and now I’m stuck with no camping functions until at least the end of the month. I know that what you spend on a vehicle shouldn’t make any difference, but this is by far the biggest purchase we’ve ever made other than the house. I was dreading this kind of service after ordering a VW, as previously I’d had a BMW and I know they’re not perfect, but the CS was ten times better.
Any advice on who best to contact? I’m not keen on contacting Leicester as their communication was atrocious, in fact non existent during the week they had the Cali.

 

[Perfectos]

Here you go Phil

 

[flying banana]

They had their specialists on it did they? They are sh1t then aren't they. Have you tried a control panel reset? Pulling the 4 fuses 5678 I think? Or disconnecting the start battery for a minute and reconnecting? I believe the panel Is powered from the vehicle battery

 

[PhilR]

They had their specialists on it did they? They are sh1t then aren't they. Have you tried a control panel reset? Pulling the 4 fuses 5678 I think? Or disconnecting the start battery for a minute and reconnecting? I believe the panel Is powered from the vehicle battery

Yep…..I know. Poor ain’t it.

Yeah I’ve tried that a couple of times, I first tried it whilst trying to figure out the water problem - resetting the control panel by removing the 4 fuses. That gave me the same message I’m getting all the time now, so I suspect it’s not getting any power for some reason. The fuses have obviously been checked by me before anyone asks!

I haven’t actually tried disconnecting the start battery but I will try that shortly…..

Thanks

 

[PhilR]

Here you go Phil

View attachment 109455

Thanks mate. I’ll see what they say.

 

[Californication69]

@PhilR
0113 733 4000
0800 279 7508
0800 783 4909
customercare@vwcv.co.uk

Be prepared to wait for this to be fixed.
As you know I waited for 4 months for my lacquer issue to be finally agreed upon.
I know a different issue altogether. But.
Have you tried VW Commercial Droitwich?
They took my kitchen apart to swap a EU plug to a UK plug in my MY20 Cali.
Give VW assist another call and ask them to book you in at Droitwich. They were good.
Good luck !

 

[PhilR]

Thanks, and yes I’m dreading the delay.

So I tried disconnecting the battery which didn’t fix anything, but just gave me a shed load of warning lights. So I called VW Assist again and they said they’d send someone out. Result. In the meantime I looked on here, and rotating the steering wheel and driving should clear the fault lights, which it did. I didn’t cancel VW Assist! The chap came round at 8pm and was really helpful. He ran some diagnostics and tried his best but said it was the Special Vehicle Control Panel J608 which seemed to be the culprit. After he’d gone, miraculously the control panel came back to life! The water pump still isn’t working and although some of the saloon lights came on, they wouldn’t work using the push buttons, so there’s still something wrong. It’s booked into Leicester on the 19th, but I’ll try Droitwich for sure to see if they can get me in earlier, or similar. Don’t see why I need to take it back to Leicester now it’s been diagnosed.

 

[flying banana]

Thanks, and yes I’m dreading the delay.

So I tried disconnecting the battery which didn’t fix anything, but just gave me a shed load of warning lights. So I called VW Assist again and they said they’d send someone out. Result. In the meantime I looked on here, and rotating the steering wheel and driving should clear the fault lights, which it did. I didn’t cancel VW Assist! The chap came round at 8pm and was really helpful. He ran some diagnostics and tried his best but said it was the Special Vehicle Control Panel J608 which seemed to be the culprit. After he’d gone, miraculously the control panel came back to life! The water pump still isn’t working and although some of the saloon lights came on, they wouldn’t work using the push buttons, so there’s still something wrong. It’s booked into Leicester on the 19th, but I’ll try Droitwich for sure to see if they can get me in earlier, or similar. Don’t see why I need to take it back to Leicester now it’s been diagnosed.

yes. warning lights after a battery disconnect is normal and they usually clear after a short drive. i should have mentioned that. at least the vw assist man seemed to get somewhere. it may just need a new water pump?

 

[PhilR]

yes. warning lights after a battery disconnect is normal and they usually clear after a short drive. i should have mentioned that. at least the vw assist man seemed to get somewhere. it may just need a new water pump?

Maybe!? Or maybe that J608 module is the culprit?? Who knows……vw hopefully lol

 

[flying banana]

Ask them if they can fit one of these panels as they're better.
Sorry

 

[andyinluton]

yes. warning lights after a battery disconnect is normal and they usually clear after a short drive. i should have mentioned that. at least the vw assist man seemed to get somewhere. it may just need a new water pump?

Plan A I found that if you call VW assist a couple of times a week they can usually get you booked into a dealer......You've already found a way to get a bunch of warning lights turned on..........

Plan B is ring VW Customer services & ask them straight to either get you booked in as an emergency or provide a hire van for that trip that you are supposed to be going on in a weeks time.

Plan C is to ring the dealer principle where you bought it from & tell him you are taking professional advice with regard to rejecting the vehicle as you can't go camping in it - unless of course he can get it into the workshop & fixed ASAP.


You've got nothing to loose by trying any of the above.

 

[Californication69]

Ask them if they can fit one of these panels as they're better.
Sorry

View attachment 109490

Why do you have a road angel from the 1990’s ?
Do they still update the database ?
I remember using that when I was driving 80k miles a year and having a new mondeo / Laguna every year as I wore them out !

 

[Californication69]

Plan A I found that if you call VW assist a couple of times a week they can usually get you booked into a dealer......You've already found a way to get a bunch of warning lights turned on..........

Plan B is ring VW Customer services & ask them straight to either get you booked in as an emergency or provide a hire van for that trip that you are supposed to be going on in a weeks time.

Plan C is to ring the dealer principle where you bought it from & tell him you are taking professional advice with regard to rejecting the vehicle as you can't go camping in it - unless of course he can get it into the workshop & fixed ASAP.


You've got nothing to loose by trying any of the above.

EV where Phil bought his from wasn’t wearing my claim of lacquer scratches over 50% of the Ocean.
Had to go via VW customer service and shout for 3 months before they finally coughed up £Xk to have the whole Cali re-lacquered.
VW customer service, Once they are on it. Get on it and sort things out. Takes another couple of months. But it will be sorted soon enough.
But 100% go down the VW Customer service route.
Going to Vic at EV is like talking to a brick wall….

 

[Jeaniethecali]

So VW Leicester recently had our 6 month old Ocean in for a week to try and sort out a water issue - no sink/shower water. They had their Cali specialist working on it for the week but didn’t solve the problem. I had to have it back by the Friday as I needed it for the weekend. They said to rebook it in for another week. I tried doing this but the next available date they had was in 3 weeks time. So I booked this anyway.
However, shortly after doing this, I got a German error message on the control panel basically rendering it unusable and to take it to VW. I phoned VW Assist who said that because the roof was down and it could still be used as a car, it wasn’t something they could sort, but they said they would put it through with my local dealer and that they would make sure it was seen within 48 hours…..that was last Thursday, it’s Monday now and I’ve not heard a thing.
I went away in the Cali this weekend as I was doing a caravan manoeuvring course (another story!) so luckily being just myself I was able to sleep downstairs, however I had no water, roof function, levelling function, fridge or indeed any power/lighting to the back of the vehicle at all. The Aux heater only works from the remote fob - luckily it wasn’t needed until the morning. I put it on for a couple of minutes as I couldn’t control it and it was blasting red hot, hotter than it’s ever done.
So now I have a car not a Cali. I’ve checked as much as I can, ie all fuses, connections etc. There’s obviously some electrical gremlins somewhere as when I picked it up from Leicester the top control panel and everything else other than the water pump were working.

So, finally relevant to my thread title, I’m going to complain to VW as the Assist call was a waste of time and now I’m stuck with no camping functions until at least the end of the month. I know that what you spend on a vehicle shouldn’t make any difference, but this is by far the biggest purchase we’ve ever made other than the house. I was dreading this kind of service after ordering a VW, as previously I’d had a BMW and I know they’re not perfect, but the CS was ten times better.
Any advice on who best to contact? I’m not keen on contacting Leicester as their communication was atrocious, in fact non existent during the week they had the Cali.

I had a problem with my fridge on our brand new Cali in March this year (it didn't work) and had similar experience with not being able to get the van into a service centre. The dealer I bought it from had no interest whatsoever. I wrote about my experience on VW commercials Facebook page, and within 2 hours they had contacted me. They did manage to get my van booked in 4 weeks sooner than I could have, and after some push back from me I got some credit to spend on any VW product I wanted.
Aftersales is shocking and build quality not what you'd expect from VW.