VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[GSX1300R]

I was told by our VW bodyshop that when the problem with the roof came to light they used to sand down the aluminium roof and respray back to original colour... The front panels were removed and replaced at a cost of £4000 just to replace the front panel... NOW they sand the area where the rubber is on the main roof then treat it with a magic substance then GLUE the new rubber in place. (It cannot be removed for inspection).
The front panels are no longer replaced but they have a panel fitted OVER the top of the old panel..
Thats VW trying to save as much money as they can. I have heard from people who have had the new front overlay panels that they are nowhere as neat as the originals....

 

[stevieb]

Mines at Claridges at this point in time. Speaking to them it seems that the new repair may be similar to the original repair with different adhesives/sealants. So the panel has to come off and a new one painted, dried, set in place, and left for the seal to cure ( if that’s the right term). We’ll see how it goes this time.

Hello

Has your repair been completed yet ?

Our van went in to Claridges on Friday 16th August after a 3yr wait.
As of yesterday they were waiting for authorisation from VW as 4 more areas were found under the roof in the 4 corners.

Keeping everything crossed.

Steve and Gill

 

[Bramco]

What have people been offered as a replacement vehicle whilst VW fix their roofs? I thought VW had to offer a California.

We were given a Cali - but it came from a 3rd party rental company - it wasn't one of the vans the dealership would normally sell after 3 months with low (delivery) mileage.

We were very surprised as this must push the cost up massively for VW.

 

[Kenb17]

An update - note ours is a 2013 SE.
I have no marks in the front of the front panel but was advised of corrosion when in for gearbox service in February.

Martins Basingstoke called me in for more pictures.
The service manager went round the pop top removing the seal a little at a time looking for corrosion. There was a limited amount below the seal on the near side this was photographed. From the earlier articles this sounds like the grime rubbing the paintwork issue.

This was submitted and approved (same day) for repair at the martins body shop. Note this is not a full repair that would have to go to the one of 18 approved body shops that have a 2 1/2 year waiting list. It is booked in for 11 September for a 2 day job.

I am relieved it is not more serious and hope it remains so.
Ken

 

[GSX1300R]

The pain bubbling is caused by the metal strip that runs inside the rubber seal.. Its a reaction because of the 2 metals, steel and aluminium. Nothing to do with water or dirt and unless it was REALLY bad and the bubbling showing ABOVE the rubber seal they will take off the paint under the seal and they dont actually repaint any of the roof just use a aluminium treatment and rubber sealer. It cant be seen when its been done and you cant take the rubber seal off again to check under it....

 

[clarinetbcn]

I checked mine just AFTER buying it thanks to this forum. Bubbling under seal and one small patch on leading edge of cap. I was booked into Motorsol in Barcelona two weeks later. They had the van for a month, gave me a Caravel as a replacement vehicle. Edge of roof all around sanded, treated and resprayed. I haven't checked if it's glued, really don't want to look. Corrosion cut out of cap, new plastic cap fitted over. The only way you can tell is that it's slightly higher, but you wouldn't notice unless you knew what you are looking for. The guy at Motorsol didn't until I told him. He checked with the body shop and got back to me with a detailed description of the repair, which at first no one wanted to give me. I must say all in all, they tried to be as helpful as possible. But, they gave it back to me just before a 2000km trip with an air leak on the leading edge which made a whistle that nearly drove me mad. Obviously no one had test driven or checked for leaks after the repair. Back into the shop for a week and fixed. A year later both the front side mouldings have come unglued from the cap and drip water on the front window controls if you open the windows after a rain. The say they will fix it in September.

I just want to say that the guys at Motorsol have done everything they can to solve this quickly and satifactorily. But they have to send roof repairs which involve the cap out to a VW approved body shop, which is the one which has screwed up twice.

 

[Kenb17]

The pain bubbling is caused by the metal strip that runs inside the rubber seal.. Its a reaction because of the 2 metals, steel and aluminium. Nothing to do with water or dirt and unless it was REALLY bad and the bubbling showing ABOVE the rubber seal they will take off the paint under the seal and they dont actually repaint any of the roof just use a aluminium treatment and rubber sealer. It cant be seen when its been done and you cant take the rubber seal off again to check under it....

Thanks Peter, I think I will make enquiries as to want they will be doing sounds a little less than satisfactory and guess the problem could re-occur.

Ken

 

[californiakid]

Mine went in for repairs in Hull and took 2 days. On further inspection at home i found the old seal to be split at the front corner so called them and was told they had a new seal in stock and they would fit whilst i waited. Asked if old seal or new seal was glued on, they said no. Checked at home and it seems it is not glued on.

 

[GSX1300R]

Thanks Peter, I think I will make enquiries as to want they will be doing sounds a little less than satisfactory and guess the problem could re-occur.

Ken

What treatment technique did they use on your roof? All I know is with mine the NEW rubber seal they fitted after treating the roof panel is fixed with glue or sealant It cant be removed like the original.... I was told by the bodyshop it is a Kit that VW supply to them including the new seal...

 

[Harrythecat]

Hello

Has your repair been completed yet ?

Our van went in to Claridges on Friday 16th August after a 3yr wait.
As of yesterday they were waiting for authorisation from VW as 4 more areas were found under the roof in the 4 corners.

Keeping everything crossed.

Steve and Gill

Sorry. Just seen this. I’m due to pick it up Monday. It all got a bit complicated! Firstly they found some corrosion on the main roof brackets and the roof itself so Claridges dismantled it.

I only found that out after 2 weeks when I made a call to VW and then to Claridges to see what was happening. I also found out that VW hadn’t officially authorised any of the work, despite previously being told they had. I spoke to the man who apparently has to apply for authorisation who knew nothing about my van despite it having been booked in for a long time. Fred Carno’s circus

Luckily Claridges ploughed on with the repair, albeit slowly and it should have been conveyed to my dealership by the AA today. The man who gets the repairs authorised wants to talk to me on Monday when I take their van back. That’ll be fun!

 

[stevieb]

Sorry. Just seen this. I’m due to pick it up Monday. It all got a bit complicated! Firstly they found some corrosion on the main roof brackets and the roof itself so Claridges dismantled it.

I only found that out after 2 weeks when I made a call to VW and then to Claridges to see what was happening. I also found out that VW hadn’t officially authorised any of the work, despite previously being told they had. I spoke to the man who apparently has to apply for authorisation who knew nothing about my van despite it having been booked in for a long time. Fred Carno’s circus

Luckily Claridges ploughed on with the repair, albeit slowly and it should have been conveyed to my dealership by the AA today. The man who gets the repairs authorised wants to talk to me on Monday when I take their van back. That’ll be fun!

Hello
Our van was picked up by the AA on Wednesday from Claridges and delivered back to VW Preston, it was away for exactly 3 weeks. Our story is very similar in that we spoke to Claridges and was told they were still waiting for authorisation but fortunately they carried on with the works anyway. More corrosion was found by Claridges in addition to the original blister which was reported 3yrs ago.
We are very happy with the work they have done a good job. On returning home the only small thing was to spend half an hour re-adjusting the ISO Top internal liner. On reflection we possibly should have removed it before hand.
Hope all goes well with your van too.
Steve and Gill

 

[Kenb17]

My update...
The van is due to be with Martins Basingstoke for 2 days on Wednesday, the initial assessment is the corrosion is below the seal line. Spoke to the body shop manager who advises they will remove seal and check it is indeed below the line - if not te long wait begins. If so they rub down, apply a primer, then the special tape and clean up and replace the original seal (no seal replacement).
Update later in the wee.

Ken

 

[GSX1300R]

It just sounds like every dealership just does it their own (probably the least expensive way) All of The posts have given different methods as to how they rectify the problem. Mine was Repaired the the NEW seal was STUCK in place. To tell the truth I’m not really bothered how it was done because even if I have any other problems in 5 or 10 years it will go back and they can do it again....

 

[Kenb17]

An update: camper in to Martins on Wednesday, all according to plan (seal off; primer; tape and seal back on), in at 9am and finished by 4pm.
I couldn’t see the corrosion above the seal before so all looks the same to me.
Hopefully sorted, at least for now.
Ken

 

[TimR]

After years of waiting my SE is finally getting booked in for the roof repair. Is there anything I should be aware of before it goes in?

 

[clarinetbcn]

After years of waiting my SE is finally getting booked in for the roof repair. Is there anything I should be aware of before it goes in?

Is the front cap involved? If it is, they will probably fit a new plastic cap on top of it, so it will be slightly higher. Doesn’t solve the problem, just covers it up. On mine the section of the original cap that was affected was cut out before fitting the plastic cap. It was poorly fitted and whistled at highway speed. It went back for another week and was fixed. Be sure and test it at highway speed for wind noise before accepting it. It was almost impossible to get VW to tell me exactly what was done, but after much insisting I was finally given an in depth explanation. You should do the same.

 

[TimR]

Is the front cap involved? If it is, they will probably fit a new plastic cap on top of it, so it will be slightly higher. Doesn’t solve the problem, just covers it up. On mine the section of the original cap that was affected was cut out before fitting the plastic cap. It was poorly fitted and whistled at highway speed. It went back for another week and was fixed. Be sure and test it at highway speed for wind noise before accepting it. It was almost impossible to get VW to tell me exactly what was done, but after much insisting I was finally given an in depth explanation. You should do the same.

Thanks yes the front bit and around the seal on all sides. Will do the highway test as you say.

 

[ArunAlec]

It makes me wonder whether it’s worth having the cap fitted if all it’s doing is masking the spread of corrosion underneath.

 

[Jukebox70]

Had a recall on the corrosion on my roof. Look at how they fitted the new seal. Its gone back to be sorted hopefully.

 

[calikev]

Shocking

 

[EddieEagle]

What a mess ..
Mines booked in and I pray they don’t let a gang of work experience school kids loose on it like yours was ?
Terrible.....

 

[Jabberwocky]

That's just plain tardy!

 

[Jukebox70]

Went to pick it up today, still the same gap, apparently it will mould to the contours over time.....yeah right! So I've left it with em, they're going to replace the rubber with one off a new California. Watch this space.

 

[Jukebox70]

Anyone else had this problem with the seal not fitting properly?

 

[Barbarajohn]

Just been to collect our used ocean from the seller in Sale. Learnt its recall had been brought forward. Drove it to VW Manchester. They are sending it to Southport for 3 weeks to have the roof repaired and a full body check. Hopefully they will deliver it back to us in North Wales. Timed beautifully.
Pleased we are heading into October and not June.