VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Shiny Rusty]

@Rich20 - I can't recall now if they mentioned doing that.

@Alan - I'm hoping the repair will last a few years. There wasn't any corrosion in the roof.

@hotel california - Here's hoping!

 

[MattBW]

They found corrosion and some white marks on mine. It’s been logged and I’ll get a call from the warranty guy next week.

Glad to have it found and logged and also pleased VW are now treating this as a recall to check instead of owners having to pursue it.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[WelshGas]

Just wanted to add some good news to the thread. Following advice I received a few weeks earlier about corrosion on the front panel of my van, I took the van into a body shop for repair. As far as I can tell, Witherspoons in Edinburgh did a great job. I've posted before and after photos of the repair. Total cost under 400 pounds.
View attachment 40815View attachment 40816 View attachment 40817View attachment 40818

Excellent job. Your California is 10 yrs old, so repeating this repair every 5 yrs, and it could be longer, is well worth the cost and totally avoids all the hassle with VW and their moronic repair plans that keep failing.

 

[Rich20]

Corrosion has been found on mine under the seal and on the front panel despite it being a 2015 MY. It’s booked in for February. No sure I want the plastic cap repair. I suppose my only other option would be to pay for it to be repainted when necessary but that would limit my options should the repair process change in the future (based on others members having problems with the plastic cap).

 

[leightonjthomas]

Corrosion has been found on mine under the seal and on the front panel despite it being a 2015 MY. It’s booked in for February. No sure I want the plastic cap repair. I suppose my only other option would be to pay for it to be repainted when necessary but that would limit my options should the repair process change in the future (based on others members having problems with the plastic cap).

I had the plastic cap repair on my 2015 SE in November 2017 and have had no problems so far. The work was done at Marshalls, Newbury, via Breeze, Totton.

 

[Kenb17]

Good evening,
my 2013 California has been in to Martins Basingstoke for the DSG fluid and filter change and they inspected the roof as a warranty recall.
The service guy explained if the corrosion was found to be below the seal they could fix in the workshop if more then it would have to go to a specialist repair shop. In the event it is more and they have sent the pictures to VW warranty.
Pleased as pro-active and pleased with the service today.
Good to hear Marshall’s Newbury provided a good resolution, are there any other recommendations I can feedback to the service guy in the Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey areas.

Thanks
Ken

 

[Paul_W]

Good evening,
my 2013 California has been in to Martins Basingstoke for the DSG fluid and filter change and they inspected the roof as a warranty recall.
The service guy explained if the corrosion was found to be below the seal they could fix in the workshop if more then it would have to go to a specialist repair shop. In the event it is more and they have sent the pictures to VW warranty.
Pleased as pro-active and pleased with the service today.
Good to hear Marshall’s Newbury provided a good resolution, are there any other recommendations I can feedback to the service guy in the Hampshire, Berkshire, Surrey areas.

Thanks
Ken

It’s good they are being proactive now, so long as they do a proper repair when they find evidence of corrosion, unlike those shocking images on the previous page where they appear to have sprayed over the corrosion with silver paint and made a complete dogs dinner of it

I was told like you as part of the recall if they find minor corrosion below the seal they will fix in the service centre, rubbing down, painting and applying the tape before putting the rubbers back, even so the job woukd take a couple of days to allow proper drying time. Any worse they said it would go the the body shop for attention.

They told me all this when I collected mine which had been in the shop for 10 days having the 18 month old roof repair fixed as the front panel had come loose. They did a great job of fixing the repair but at the time this recall was new as in it was issued whilst the van was in the shop and they were not fully up to speed on the process and recommended it wasn’t done then but left until it went in for MOT in August. This was on the basis by then they would be fully familiar with this new recall repair process. Also having just fixed the roof including painting and bonding they didn’t want to start messing with the seals. All made perfect sense and fingers crossed come August they know what they’re doing

A big thumbs up the the VW van centre in Trafford Park by the way, they were excellent and did all the negotiating with customer services about the repair on my behalf

 

[Kenb17]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I am a little nervous about what comes next. The guy at Martins said he would discuss where it is referred to with me as I said there were varying reports amongst the California community. Heartened by Marshall’s of Newbury getting a good review as they are probably the closest for me.

Ken

 

[Paul_W]

Thanks for sharing your experience, I am a little nervous about what comes next. The guy at Martins said he would discuss where it is referred to with me as I said there were varying reports amongst the California community. Heartened by Marshall’s of Newbury getting a good review as they are probably the closest for me.

Ken

Best of luck! Getting your local VW van centre on your side and a good relationship with them seems to help with proceedings, I’m on first name terms with the manager at Trafford and just contact him directly now. Our van went from the van centre to the VW paint and body shop a few miles away to have all the roof work done so within the VW network. The van centre should fully quality check the repair when it comes back them, just make sure when you are collecting it you can do it in daylight and have a good look yourself whilst the van centre staff are present so you can highlight any concerns and get them documented before you leave. Hope all goes smoothly for you. Keep us posted...

PS mentioning you’re an active member of the California club and that people are following your story can’t do any harm either, positive feedback goes a long way for the van centres I think.

 

[SHedman2401]

I had the warranty repair done on my van and it looked led OK. Tested the roof once and it was fine. Second time I went to elevate the roof it was stuck and the control was dinging saying roof fault, diagnostic 1000. Roof was working fine before repair. Let’s see what happens. It’s in the workshop now. Not happy, naturally. It was done at the Trafford Park VW Centre BTW.

 

[MattBW]

Just a little update on mine and pretty happy so far. We will see how the repair goes.

I am booked in for the 8th of March with a loan vehicle, pretty soon really. My repair is being carried out by the local Listers VW body shop which makes me feel confident it will be done right. I do know that the paint has been rubbed off in places where the pop top seal meets the body, so that may be the area they are referring to as white marks i.e. its the undercoat that is showing as white I suspect.

Kept me updated at Coventry and pretty proactive to book me in which made me feel well treated as a customer.

Things do seem to be much better with this issue these days, fingers crossed.

 

[David Eccles]

You must live nearish to me Matt as I am a Cov Listers user too!!!! I am near Lutterworth Leics...
Mine was id'd as needing more work recently but its gone silent so am chasing after reading your post!

 

[Denzilgts]

Further update on my vans roof , after the horrendous repair did e in the dealership. (Vw Lancaster) they collected my vehicle to take to a body shop in Wigan for repair. They have had the van for two weeks. We organised the return only to find a large rubber seal in the rear area of the van.

When I called Vw Lancaster to ask what it was. They were a bit hesitant at first thinking it was my rubber nothing to do with them.... they admitted it was the seal form the awning to the van to stop dripping into the awning area. This should of been fitted back on after the repair at the body shop.

Once again the van would have to go in to get the rubber put back on where it should of been.

Arranged to take it to a local Vw dealership to use the workspace and someone from Vw to come and do the job.

Received a call to say mechanic was in Bolton ... not my local centre..

What a serious lack of customer care .. iam sick to the back teeth of failures at dealer servicing and repairs. I am losing all confidence in anything to do with the brand. They are quick enough t take my money

 

[westfalia]

Further update on my vans roof , after the horrendous repair did e in the dealership. (Vw Lancaster) they collected my vehicle to take to a body shop in Wigan for repair. They have had the van for two weeks. We organised the return only to find a large rubber seal in the rear area of the van.

When I called Vw Lancaster to ask what it was. They were a bit hesitant at first thinking it was my rubber nothing to do with them.... they admitted it was the seal form the awning to the van to stop dripping into the awning area. This should of been fitted back on after the repair at the body shop.

Once again the van would have to go in to get the rubber put back on where it should of been.

Arranged to take it to a local Vw dealership to use the workspace and someone from Vw to come and do the job.

Received a call to say mechanic was in Bolton ... not my local centre..

What a serious lack of customer care .. iam sick to the back teeth of failures at dealer servicing and repairs. I am losing all confidence in anything to do with the brand. They are quick enough t take my money

View attachment 41404

It is easy enough to put back on, the awning has to
be off to do it though.

 

[Denzilgts]

It is easy enough to put back on, the awning has to
be off to do it though.

Maybe so.. but why did they not do it .. they had the van for two weeks !,,

 

[westfalia]

Maybe so.. but why did they not do it .. they had the van for two weeks !,,

The short answer is that they don't know what they're doin.

 

[MattBW]

You must live nearish to me Matt as I am a Cov Listers user too!!!! I am near Lutterworth Leics...
Mine was id'd as needing more work recently but its gone silent so am chasing after reading your post!

Hi David, I’m in Bedworth so not far away. They did say they’d call me the same week but it has taken a few more than that. I spoke to Katie she seems good.

 

[MattBW]

Mine has gone in today for the repair, I have a nice T6 kombi LWB until its done.

Appears that i have minor under the seal and also the seal has rubbed the paint from the roof. It shouldnt be a lengthy repair like many experience as the roof doesn't need removing entirely in my case..

 

[californiakid]

Mine has gone in today for teh repair, I have a nice T6 kombi until its done.

Appears that i have minor under the seal and also the seal has rubbed the paint from the roof. It shouldnt be a lengthy repair like many experience as the roof doesn't need removing entirely in my case..

Hi Matt just got mine back from JCT600 Hull. Same repair exactly with excellent service. Took in Thursday and collection the following Wednesday. Had a Shuttle with DSG really good and could not believe the throttle response. Definitely a DSG for me if i ever change. Average mpg display recorded 42mpg. Good luck with yours. Mike

 

[calicasas]

Re: Blistering paintwork

OK, as promised, here's the follow-up.

I'm getting it sorted under warranty. Nice.

Took my 2011 Cali for an MOT yesterday morning and the dealer checked my roof and found no corrosion which was good news, but they did remove the whole seal and applied a clear tape before replace said seal - this is apparently to help reduce the risk of corrosion in the future (I guess to reduce the risk of damage/rubbing). Curiously they confirmed to me that irrespective of age, the corrosion problem will be covered under warranty going forward...

 

[DelB53]

Hi everyone.
I've been waiting 4.5 years for the corrosion problem fix after having it photigraphed and agreed by my local dealer in Cardiff. I knew there would be a delay (they were talking 18 months- 2 years!!!). As it didn't affect driving and I wasn't planning to sell I haven't pushed it as hard as I should, but was told a while ago that there were some problems with the body shop doing the repairs, then a year ago I was told (fobbed off?) that they were working through the backlog and had finished all the 2011 models ( mine is April 2012). Still no progress but I'm booked in for an MOT today and have been told that they need to take more photos and then get approval, which will take @6 weeks before the job can be done. This sounds to me like they've lost all my details and I've been lost off their radar. I've also been told that I can have a loan vehicle but not a California - has anyone else been fobbed off with this? I'm keeping my finger' crossed.
Cheers Del

 

[Blueeyedboy]

Hi Del
5 years ago I took mine to Sinclair Cardiff who photographed areas and sent off for approval which too about 24 hours Matt was the chap I dealt with. He then told me that VW Hertiage would be doing repair as at the time only 4 approved workshops could do it.
I then contacted Hertiage found out who the foreman was and basically nagged him. This paid off as work got done about 4 months later with the AA collection ours and giving us a loan California.
I have heard that Sinclair are sending some to there own workshop but the roofs are not replaced purely repaired.
If your not happy put pressure on VW Direct as there is too much of a don’t care attitude.
Good luck hope this may help.

 

[DelB53]

Hi Blueeyedboy. Thanks for the info. I'm in at Sinclair Cardiff later today and hope to speak to Matt - who I've been told is the service manager. I think they are planning to send it to Swansea VW dealer, so hope it's a proper replacement, not a patch up job. I'm also not happy with the offer of just a loan vehicle and will try and get a California. I believe that was the original agreement. Thanks for the good luck wishes - will let you know how it goes

 

[2into1]

Please fill in some vehicle details on your profile @DelB53 . The answers here depend somewhat on the age of the vehicle, which we can’t see.

 

[MattBW]

Hi Matt just got mine back from JCT600 Hull. Same repair exactly with excellent service. Took in Thursday and collection the following Wednesday. Had a Shuttle with DSG really good and could not believe the throttle response. Definitely a DSG for me if i ever change. Average mpg display recorded 42mpg. Good luck with yours. Mike

.

That is good to know thanks, the Kombi is nice indeed but I do already miss my cali, it has a level of refinement that the kombi simply doesnt have.
I also noticed the performance increase on this van, 6 speed manual though. I'm not sure what it is but the performance is leagues ahead of mine which I think is a 102 or a 114. It has convinced me to get a remap done.