VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Lost Boy]

Just a report. As I stated before I wasn’t going to check under the Elevating Roof seal until the 3 yr Warranty was almost up. Well that was today.
My California was built at the end of July 2014, so a 2015MY vehicle.
I understand they made a change to the Alloy composition of the Roof section above the windscreen in June 2014.
So today at the Dealers.
Front Roof Panel - No evidence of any Corrosion or paint problems at all.

Elevating Roof Section. Edge seal removed all around. - No evidence of any Corrosion nor any marks on painted area under seal on the outer or inner side of the panel. In fact the area under the seal was amazingly clean all around.

The vehicle is Natural Grey and hasn’t seen the inside of a garage since taking delivery almost 3 years ago. It did have the Lifeshine package pre-delivery. It is used most days, has covered 60,000 miles and is washed with Autoglym Shampoo with a soft long handled brush on the roof and lambs wool mitten elsewhere and I use a normal hose.
I don’t know if that has any bearing but I was pleasantly surprised. Next check will be in 3 years time, just before the 6 year extended warranty is due up.

Mine didnt show until 3 years

 

[WelshGas]

Mine didnt show until 3 years

Well mine is at 3 years, well in fact 3 years and 3 months, because it arrived early and the Dealer had to hang onto it until I was ready.
Anyway, judging by some of the problems people have had hear I think I will not look for another 3 years and if it does appear then, at the moment, I am considering going to a specialist body shop, that I know, that specialise in classic and exotic cars and have intimate knowledge of this problem, rather than VW allowing the lowest bidder to carry out a repair.

 

[Lost Boy]

Some of us are happy with the repairs carried out by the VW reccomended bodyshop and also happy we didnt have to pay for it. Hopefully yours will be one of the few vans that escapes the issue but if not......clearly you are happy to spend the £2500 (or more given its a specialist and not VW priced) to get it resolved. Enjoy!

 

[Hotel California]

@WelshGas ,
"They" looked and said it has no corrosion .
You have never looked ....

Before 3y mine was flawless also .

As i said sevral times here on the forum : every California eventualy will end up with roofcorrosion , aluminium and metal don't go allong .

No worries doh , only optical .....

 

[WelshGas]

@WelshGas ,
"They" looked and said it has no corrosion .
You have never looked ....

Before 3y mine was flawless also .

As i said sevral times here on the forum : every California eventualy will end up with roofcorrosion , aluminium and metal don't go allong .

No worries doh , only optical .....

I was there when they did the examination. I personally saw every inch under the Seal. So i’m Satisfied it is clear after 3yrs and 4 months.
My Defender had Galvanic Corrosion On 2 out of a possible 14 or so panels so it’s not a given that every panel will be affected.
Anyway I have another 3 years before the Extended Warranty is up so I’ll wait until then. The T7 might be out by then with a different type of roof.
I’m not going to worry about it. It’s in my electronic calendar to re-check on November 1st 2020.

 

[WelshGas]

Some of us are happy with the repairs carried out by the VW reccomended bodyshop and also happy we didnt have to pay for it. Hopefully yours will be one of the few vans that escapes the issue but if not......clearly you are happy to spend the £2500 (or more given its a specialist and not VW priced) to get it resolved. Enjoy!

Don’t know where you get your prices from. Definitely not something I recognise.

If VW come up with a proper fix then so be it. Anyway in another 3 years with over 100,000 miles on the clock and if I have Corrosion I might decide to just part-ex for aT7 and let the Dealer sort it.
Remember, I’m only referring to the Elevating Roof.

Personally I think VW realise they haven’t got a fix in place. There have been reports of it recurring after repair and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they start gluing the seal on after a repair, as some have had done already, so you cannot check. No different to the plastic cap on the front section rather than replacing the panel with one made with the different alloy mix they cover it instead.
Anyway I’m enjoying the vehicle too much to worry about it.

 

[leightonjthomas]

Despite the changes they supposedly made to the front roof panel in June 2014 I don’t think we’ve heard the end of that problem yet. My May 2015 SE has got clear evidence of corrosion on the front panel and is going in on Monday, presumably for the cap repair.

 

[WelshGas]

Despite the changes they supposedly made to the front roof panel in June 2014 I don’t think we’ve heard the end of that problem yet. My May 2015 SE has got clear evidence of corrosion on the front panel and is going in on Monday, presumably for the cap repair.

Sorry to hear that. Mine is clear at present.
I just wonder what is going on as yours is younger than mine? Why should yours have it and mine not? Is colour, polish, location, kept outside all year etc: Sod's Law a contributing factor? I wish I knew.

 

[leightonjthomas]

Sorry to hear that. Mine is clear at present.
I just wonder what is going on as yours is younger than mine? Why should yours have it and mine not? Is colour, polish, location, kept outside all year etc: Sod's Law a contributing factor? I wish I knew.

Who knows? Ours is sand beige, kept outside, used every day, polished twice yearly. VWCV were quite concerned as they thought they had cracked it.

 

[Speedtrip]

Hi GwynF..I appreciate your post was some time ago but did you get the leak in the windscreen seal fixed. Just had my cali roof repaired and I am getting a leak from somewhere.

 

[Radio-active]

Hi, Has anyone else got corrosion around the front underside of the lift up roof where it sits on the seal? mine has it both sides, worth having a look if your putting it in for warranty.
How do they fix this?..rub down and repaint?
Do they put tape on to stop the aluminium 'rib' sitting on the wet seal?

 

[jts46]

@Radio-active
Has this been repaired previously?

 

[sbmcd]

Hi, Has anyone else got corrosion around the front underside of the lift up roof where it sits on the seal? mine has it both sides, worth having a look if your putting it in for warranty.
How do they fix this?..rub down and repaint?
Do they put tape on to stop the aluminium 'rib' sitting on the wet seal?


View attachment 27541 View attachment 27542 View attachment 27543

I have no sign of this on my van, could be dirt between the two surfaces causing pits and subsequent corrosion? Looking carefully at the photos looks like there is also some blistering on the flat section of under roof adjacent to the obvious problem.

 

[Radio-active]

Not repaired before to my knowledge, its due to be done under warranty, I just didn't know if it was a common problem like the fairing and the rim?

 

[leightonjthomas]

Despite the changes they supposedly made to the front roof panel in June 2014 I don’t think we’ve heard the end of that problem yet. My May 2015 SE has got clear evidence of corrosion on the front panel and is going in on Monday, presumably for the cap repair.

Just dropped mine off at Breeze Southampton- excellent service from Nikki and Derek. It will now travel up to Marshalls of Newbury to cap the front roof panel and to try (again) to sort out the bubbles under the roof seal. Amazingly I’ve been given an Ocean as a courtesy vehicle. Breeze were also amazed as that is very rarely the case these days.
I’ll let you know the results, probably in a few weeks time.

 

[sbmcd]

Just dropped mine off at Breeze Southampton- excellent service from Nikki and Derek. It will now travel up to Marshalls of Newbury to cap the front roof panel and to try (again) to sort out the bubbles under the roof seal. Amazingly I’ve been given an Ocean as a courtesy vehicle. Breeze were also amazed as that is very rarely the case these days.
I’ll let you know the results, probably in a few weeks time.

Good luck with that repair.

 

[RonB]

Hi, Has anyone else got corrosion around the front underside of the lift up roof where it sits on the seal? mine has it both sides, worth having a look if your putting it in for warranty.
How do they fix this?..rub down and repaint?
Do they put tape on to stop the aluminium 'rib' sitting on the wet seal?


View attachment 27541 View attachment 27542 View attachment 27543

Hi, I have something similar on the sub-frame but at the rear on each corner angle. It has been examined and a warranty repair submission made. I'm told it will be a 6 to 8 week time frame before I hear back. The elevating roof has already been treated for bubbling under the rubber seal (about 16 months ago) and this has just appeared over the summer. Assume it will be rubbed down/repainted but I await response. Anyone else had similar issue?

 

[soulstyledevon]

Well today is 7 weeks since my vehicle was taken away.
I’ve been in touch with Volkswagen customer care for the last week demanding my vehicle be returned. So far I have had 4 missed completion targets.

To say I’m unhappy is an understatement.
I have asked they take back the Caravelle and replace with either Beach or Ocean. Just waiting to hear back...?

VWCS believe the vehicle return should be today or tomorrow.

This whole affair made me see sense. I was booked in last Saturday to look at a replacement Beach, over £50k in value. I decided to cancel and will definitely not be replacing my current vehicle until roof corrosion is properly sorted. Even if that means a wait until the T7 is released unless I become tempted by something else in the mean time.

Volkswagen = Very poor

 

[Meoncoast]

today is 7 weeks since my vehicle was taken away.

Can I ask why your van has had been away for so long .

 

[leightonjthomas]

Well today is 7 weeks since my vehicle was taken away.
I’ve been in touch with Volkswagen customer care for the last week demanding my vehicle be returned. So far I have had 4 missed completion targets.

To say I’m unhappy is an understatement.
I have asked they take back the Caravelle and replace with either Beach or Ocean. Just waiting to hear back...?

VWCS believe the vehicle return should be today or tomorrow.

This whole affair made me see sense. I was booked in last Saturday to look at a replacement Beach, over £50k in value. I decided to cancel and will definitely not be replacing my current vehicle until roof corrosion is properly sorted. Even if that means a wait until the T7 is released unless I become tempted by something else in the mean time.

Volkswagen = Very poor

Commiserations- that really is incredible!
Totally understand your feelings and decision. What could they possibly have been doing for seven weeks? Good luck for a final resolution.

 

[soulstyledevon]

Can I ask why your van has had been away for so long .

That’s the million dollar question.
I have said to Volkswagen what kind of repair lasts this length of time...?
They are unable to answer.

I’m due to go away this weekend and have said I will take them to small claims court for any additional costs above and beyond that of camping.
Now as I don’t have my vehicle that will be hotel costs plus food.

I’m told the delays are because of the bodyshop work load.
However that’s down to Volkswagen commissioning a third party contractor to carry out the work.
This work IMO should be completed by Volkswagen themselves.

 

[Digger]

Agree. In house rather than sub contract. Approved bodyshops will prioritise insurance company work and put our awkward repairs back as accident damage is profitable and insurers have to pay exhorbitant hire rates for cars off the road. It is beyond belief that VW just don't buy in carbon fibre replacement roofs and get rid of the problem permanently.

 

[Trebor]

Agree. In house rather than sub contract. Approved bodyshops will prioritise insurance company work and put our awkward repairs back as accident damage is profitable and insurers have to pay exhorbitant hire rates for cars off the road. It is beyond belief that VW just don't buy in carbon fibre replacement roofs and get rid of the problem permanently.

Carbon fibre and aluminium/ stainless steel / metal causes more corrosion problems than aluminium. I have a boat with a lot of carbon . Grp would work but heavy .

 

[Digger]

Other companies do carbon fibre roofs for VW Campervan conversions. Also look at the number of upmarket cars using carbon fibre in the bodywork panels. Carbon fibre with isolating seal would not come into direct contact with metal body. As for boat use I cannot comment but salt corrosion is a different matter.

 

[Meoncoast]

That’s the million dollar question.
I have said to Volkswagen what kind of repair lasts this length of time...?
They are unable to answer.

Thanks for update it is mad considering the old type repair last a max of 2 weeks !!!! bet it has been sat in a corner of the workship with no working taking place. Are they looking after your leasure battery's during the time away