VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[KGCali]

I think this Tape application etc: applies to vehicles as far back as 2010. Check with your local Dealership.
It is Not deemed a recall but would be carried out when the vehicle is next in for Service or if you call to book in beforehand.

I'll contact VW first but I thought the corrosion issue was only a 6 year extended warranty but worth a try. Thanks.

 

[WelshGas]

I'll contact VW first but I thought the corrosion issue was only a 6 year extended warranty but worth a try. Thanks.

That was for the Front Panel above the windscreen

 

[ArunAlec]

That was for the Front Panel above the windscreen

I found the details of the 6year cover for both parts of the roof, courtesy of @SusiBus
added this in Aug14.......

WARRANY FOR ENTIRE ALUMINIUM ROOF SECTION EXTENDED TO SIX YEARS

The timing of the article in VW Bus magazine may be a little unfortunate because today we have received a letter from VW which will be good news for all owners of Californias up to SIX YEARS OLD.

The salient points in VW’s letter are, and I quote:

..............“As you are aware, all repairs relating to the front panel section of the California roof are covered by our paint warranty policy, not body protection warranty. While we recognise issues relating to roof corrosion, it is not as a result of through-corrosion of the aluminium panel. As such, repairs are covered by the three year paint warranty policy. In an effort to offer our customers peace of mind, we took the decision to offer an additional 3 years goodwill, extending the terms of the protection from three years to six.

Following your most recent correspondence, we have again conducted a thorough review of the goodwill terms with our colleagues at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles HQ in Hannover. As a result, I can now confirm that Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will extend the terms of the goodwill to cover the entire roof panel. Any cases of roof corrosion to the main roof panel will now also be covered under our good will policy for up to six years.

This enhanced support is linked to the individual Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and is therefore transferable upon sale of the vehicle.

We will be notifying our Van Centres of this additional enhancement. I would ask that you encourage any of your members who may be affected by this issue to visit their nearest Van Centre so that their vehicle may be assessed ............”

We had requested that VW “offer a twelve year bodywork warranty, transferable on sale, with the word “perforation” deleted in relation to the aluminium sections of the vehicle”, but VW replied:

“This has been reviewed however we are currently unable to do so”

There you have it straight from VW Head Office – if your vehicle is under six years old and you have roof corrosion, it will be repaired under warranty. Therefore, it is up to you to check your vehicle particularly under the rubber seal, and if you do have corrosion then contact your nearest van dealer.

I am not sure if this new warranty extension will be applied to countries outside the UK as VW appear to operate as separate entities in each country. Warranties terms differ even within the EU.

SUSIBUS

 

[KGCali]

That's what I'd heard so looks like I'll have to find a private fix
Anyone know of good paint repair companies with aluminium experience near Essex?

 

[ArunAlec]

That's what I'd heard so looks like I'll have to find a private fix
Anyone know of good paint repair companies with aluminium experience near Essex?

It’s been suggested and makes sense that a classic car body specialist would probably be the best bet as they should have experience of working with aluminium bodywork.

 

[WelshGas]

I found the details of the 6year cover for both parts of the roof, courtesy of @SusiBus
added this in Aug14.......

WARRANY FOR ENTIRE ALUMINIUM ROOF SECTION EXTENDED TO SIX YEARS

The timing of the article in VW Bus magazine may be a little unfortunate because today we have received a letter from VW which will be good news for all owners of Californias up to SIX YEARS OLD.

The salient points in VW’s letter are, and I quote:

..............“As you are aware, all repairs relating to the front panel section of the California roof are covered by our paint warranty policy, not body protection warranty. While we recognise issues relating to roof corrosion, it is not as a result of through-corrosion of the aluminium panel. As such, repairs are covered by the three year paint warranty policy. In an effort to offer our customers peace of mind, we took the decision to offer an additional 3 years goodwill, extending the terms of the protection from three years to six.

Following your most recent correspondence, we have again conducted a thorough review of the goodwill terms with our colleagues at Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles HQ in Hannover. As a result, I can now confirm that Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles will extend the terms of the goodwill to cover the entire roof panel. Any cases of roof corrosion to the main roof panel will now also be covered under our good will policy for up to six years.

This enhanced support is linked to the individual Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) and is therefore transferable upon sale of the vehicle.

We will be notifying our Van Centres of this additional enhancement. I would ask that you encourage any of your members who may be affected by this issue to visit their nearest Van Centre so that their vehicle may be assessed ............”

We had requested that VW “offer a twelve year bodywork warranty, transferable on sale, with the word “perforation” deleted in relation to the aluminium sections of the vehicle”, but VW replied:

“This has been reviewed however we are currently unable to do so”

There you have it straight from VW Head Office – if your vehicle is under six years old and you have roof corrosion, it will be repaired under warranty. Therefore, it is up to you to check your vehicle particularly under the rubber seal, and if you do have corrosion then contact your nearest van dealer.

I am not sure if this new warranty extension will be applied to countries outside the UK as VW appear to operate as separate entities in each country. Warranties terms differ even within the EU.

SUSIBUS

That's what I'd heard so looks like I'll have to find a private fix
Anyone know of good paint repair companies with aluminium experience near Essex?

The reason I said 2010 vehicles may be subject to the Tape application “Recall” is this Post by @VW Guru

 

[jts46]

I missed out with the front panel replacement on my 2006 cali with front roof corrosion by a 1 or 2 years, although the front roof panel was repaired under warranty after it started to bubble.
the paint has now started to flake exposing the ally panel, what primer do i need to do a temp repair?

 

[ArunAlec]

The reason I said 2010 vehicles may be subject to the Tape application “Recall” is this Post by @VW Guru

View attachment 44959

I reckon we need a diagnostic flow chart with all the permutations!

 

[VW Guru]

The reason I said 2010 vehicles may be subject to the Tape application “Recall” is this Post by @VW Guru

View attachment 44959

Hi yes @WelshGas your correct the the workshop action which we call a 75A1 only effects T5gp (5.1) so that is from 2010 onwards which will be an A chassis I.e WV1ZZZ7HZAZ...... before that this workshop action is not applicable. It runs to January 2017 so midway through H chassis.

 

[KGCali]

Thanks for that @VW Guru, do you have any official VW reference or documentation that I could give to my local VW Van Centre in Chelmsford about the roof tape recall 75A1, mine is a September 2010 VIN WV2ZZZ7HZBH01XXXX so hopefully covered.

 

[KGCali]

Thanks for that @VW Guru, do you have any official VW reference or documentation that I could give to my local VW Van Centre in Chelmsford about the roof tape recall 75A1, mine is a September 2010 VIN WV2ZZZ7HZBH01XXXX so hopefully covered.

Thanks for all the help @WelshGas I'll let you know what the dealer states when I book it in.

 

[bramhuyghe]

I have the same problem, they tried to fix it once. But now it is back. I have a 2006 cali and wondering how long this warranty lasts? Would it still be possible to add this to the warranty?

 

[jeff16]

I took our 15 plate California in for service and was told that it had been subject to a VW recall for roof issues. I regularly check for signs of corrosion and could not find any but was advised signs had started on one side of the pop up roof. Apparently not bad enough for the body shop and the long wait others have experienced but was something dealers had been authorised to fix. They were a little vague about the process but from what I could gather it involved taking the seal off, rubbing down the area where small bubbles were seen and then covering with some form of protection before replacing/renewing the seal. It looks OK but not sure how effective it will be in the long term.

 

[Lorri]

Took the van in for MOT at Dartford today, was told of an outstanding “recall”
This turned out to be “check paintwork on roof” for problems of blistering reaction between primer and top coat.
Thankfully all is good
We have van in Reflex Silver - is problem with CERTAIN colours ? ?

 

[JohnLin]

Blistering Paintwork Front Roof Pannel

Hi All,

Anyone else have blistering paint work on the front pannel of the roof? I'm talking about the metal body pannel thing that meets the windscreen and forms the 1st part of the roof at the front.

There's another thread about this sort of thing, but I think it's a different part of the roof.

The blisters are all along the leading edge with no obvious signs of chipping. The van is only 2.5 years old, so I took it in this weekend (also having the reversing sensors sorted as they have packed in) and ask them to take a look. I will get the verdict as to whether the body work is covered under the 15 year bodywork warranty next week. I assume that if there were chips, the blistering isnt covered. I'll post with their verdict next week.

Yes I have 2011 California, had the corrosion done 3 years ago it was on the panel right at the front of the roof line. Yesterday took it in for some work to be done and was told there is another recall for corrosion under the roof sure enough there was corrosion, waiting to here from VW as to when it will be done. There are only 5 places in the whole country where the work can be done. I live in Southampton my nearest will be Newbury.

 

[JohnLin]

OOps Sorry not the whole country the south of the country.

 

[Harrythecat]

I had the front panel of the roof mended in November 2016 and all has been well until lately when I noticed water ingress coming from the driver's side A pillar. A close inspection revealed that the 'flexible' seal at the back of the front section had failed in two places and that seems to be the source of the water given it was happening only in heavy rain when the van was parked.

Fair play to Steve and the team at the Sheffield Van Centre. I took it in this morning and within a few hours he's got it booked to go back to the repair centre, Claridges, in early August and promised me a loan vehicle for the duration. In the interim he's going to try to seal the join because I need to use the van for a trip this month.

Can't fault the VW Van Centre Service but what does worry me is that their seems to be a fair degree of flex in that roof panel and I don't want to be taking the van back every couple of years. We'll see what the solution looks like!

 

[topmonty]

Check Your Tape !
If you have followed up on the recall notice and had preventative tape applied as I have, check it is still in place and doing what its supposed to. Mine has decided to start coming off already, so back we go again.
Doh.

 

[Alistair Hardy]

Blistering Paintwork Front Roof Pannel

Hi All,

Anyone else have blistering paint work on the front pannel of the roof? I'm talking about the metal body pannel thing that meets the windscreen and forms the 1st part of the roof at the front.

There's another thread about this sort of thing, but I think it's a different part of the roof.

The blisters are all along the leading edge with no obvious signs of chipping. The van is only 2.5 years old, so I took it in this weekend (also having the reversing sensors sorted as they have packed in) and ask them to take a look. I will get the verdict as to whether the body work is covered under the 15 year bodywork warranty next week. I assume that if there were chips, the blistering isnt covered. I'll post with their verdict next week.

Hi Rob,
I took my 15 plate T5 Cali in for a service at main dealer last week.
When I picked it up they said the roofs had become a check and recall issue now and they were booking our vehicle in as a matter of course as they'd found some corrosion. They have a 5 month back log to deal with and it will be away for three weeks in the winter.
I assume it's the same for all vehicles.
Good luck
Al Hardy

 

[owen_h]

Adding another one (2012 Beach) to the 'needs to go off to a bodyshop for roof fix' list.
While in for service & MOT yesterday (all good on that front at least) Breeze (Totton) checked the elevating roof edge as part of the campaign and found bubbling. Needs to go to a bodyshop for the repair as more than they can deal with apparently. Only timescale I was given is 'likely to be quite a while'.
Anyone know how many bodyshops are approved for the more extensive roof edge repair? Do VW allocate to the nearest or one with least backlog?

This will be the 2nd rub down & repaint of the elevating roof edge. It was also done back at the end of 2014 at the same time as the front panel replacement.

 

[David Eccles]

Seems to be quite a few of us with same issue and same history!
I was initially told 2 years wait!!!!! Dealership (Listers Cov) hassled VWCS and apparently it will be in next 6 - 8 weeks or so but it has to go all the way up to North Scotland !!!!!!

 

[Digger]

Seems Mercedes are also having problems with roof too. https://car-recalls.eu/listing/mercedes-benz-v-class-marco-polo-2017-2018/. At least they have the decency to do a recall.

More worrying for MP is their rust may effect the structure and integrity of the vehicle. Ours is cosmetic.

 

[Bellesca]

Add another one to the list. Service at Heritage in Bristol and the recall check of the roof...argghhh. Expect a phone call in December at the earliest and at least a two year wait to fix it.

 

[ArunAlec]

All this talk of corrosion makes me nostalgic for my old Alfasud!

 

[jts46]

Or Vauxhall Viva