VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Ben Nevis]

I agree with you 100%. I had the same problem with a Mercedes where it had to be resprayed TWICE with back to metal resprays.The ombudsman found I had no case because Mercedes and the Mercedes paintshop didn’t refuse to do the work even though it devalued the car quite considerably. I wasn’t prepared to wait for sprayjob Number 3 so just got rid with a massive loss.

They are just there to create well paid civil service jobs and placate the masses! They are certainly not on the side of the consumer, the bank I had complaint with told me all this in advance and offered me £200 before I referred it to the ombudsman. I refused and was eventually then awarded the max £200 by the ombudsman but it was so badly handled, my MP (Nicky Morgan) took up the case to the head ombudsman on my behalf and she too got nowhere further with it! Toothless and untouchable!

 

[SusiBus]

The ombudsman has no teeth whatsoever and will only be a complete waste of your time unless you're happy to spend endless time keeping them all happily employed all for an ultimate maximum award of £200 with no right to appeal against their final conclusion.

@SusiBus has been involved since the early days and might be able to help. I think the type of corrosion is well understood so it should be easy enough to find something on line that helps.

We spent many months fighting this issue between January 2013 and August 2014. When we recieved the letter offering "an addition 3 years goodwill paint warranty. Making 6 years in total from the date of registration. No cut off dates were included in the letter, or reference to model i.e. T5/T5.1. No legal or technical assistance was involved, just perseverance.
Owners with vehicles older than 6 years have tried to make claims, but to my knowledge have been unsuccessful.
The relevant letter was posted recently. If you want to chat, feel free to PM me.

 

[BEETS]

Booked in for paint work, earliest Claridges can fit me in is Feb 22

 

[BEETS]

Claridges website image….

 

[WelshGas]

We are NOT alone.

Roof blister motoring ombudsman decision.

Hi, I am one of the unfortunates who are now on the second replacement roof and out of warranty. MB refused to warranty the repair and as you will be aware the extended warranty doesn't cover the roof. I made a complaint to the ombudsman just to have some type of warranty put onto the new roof...

www.marcopoloownersclub.com

 

[BEETS]

After 2 years, this is where I'm at with my Ombudsman , last chance to find and submit some concrete evidence? Has anyone got anything?

 

[BEETS]

This is the best thing on the internet where VW have admitted the cause and liability....

In need more for my case....

 

[micheh20]

My van is a 2008. It bubbles a little and then some years it seems to disappear. Given it’s not actually rust I’ve decided to leave it be.

I have the same thing on my 2008 did you change anything to make them disappear?

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I have the same thing on my 2008 did you change anything to make them disappear?

The only problem about leaving it is how far will it spread? When I took mine in it was just microblistering. Would it have got worse? Who knows but the chances are yes it would and of coarse there are possibilities it could eat right into the Aluminium roof. Then repair would be almost impossible. As far as them disappearing on their own maybe if the roof rubber was changed early for something without any steel in it then maybe, but again without trying who knows. I would imagine that once the corrosion had started then just the fact that water was getting into the seal would cause it to spread even further.

 

[micheh20]

Worst thing I did was give Volkswagen my keys to make the repair.
Lesson learned.
Find a decent local body shop, rub down, repaint and apply the tape

can you apply the tape yourself and if so where does it do?

 

[BEETS]

can you apply the tape yourself and if so where does it do?

The tape goes under the rubber seal

 

[BEETS]

The tape goes under the rubber seal

I did a close inspection at the weekend on my roof… My van is 6 years old next week and will be out of warranty…. I found two small blisters just above the drivers head… It’s with VW warranty dept at the moment… looks like a full respray for me!!!!

 

[BEETS]

I did a close inspection at the weekend on my roof… My van is 6 years old next week and will be out of warranty…. I found two small blisters just above the drivers head… It’s with VW warranty dept at the moment… looks like a full respray for me!!!!

I suggest everyone does the same at the point of a lapsing warranty…

 

[WelshGas]

I suggest everyone does the same at the point of a lapsing warranty…

almost 7 years old and clean as a whistle , above and under the seal on the elevating section and front panel.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

I did a close inspection at the weekend on my roof… My van is 6 years old next week and will be out of warranty…. I found two small blisters just above the drivers head… It’s with VW warranty dept at the moment… looks like a full respray for me!!!!

Are the blisters on the front panel or on the roof under the roof rubber seal itself? If it’s the front panel they will replace it with a plastic one. If it’s the actual roof they will only repair it if it’s through galvanic corrosion.

 

[BEETS]

Are the blisters on the front panel or on the roof under the roof rubber seal itself? If it’s the front panel they will replace it with a plastic one. If it’s the actual roof they will only repair it if it’s through galvanic corrosion.

No… never had blisters on the front panel…. Mine are on the main part of the roof…

 

[Ozzy Pete]

No… never had blisters on the front panel…. Mine are on the main part of the roof…

If the blisters are nothing to do with the galvanic corrosion problem I really doubt VW will do anything. I had the same thing happen on the front and rear bumpers where the lacquer just all peeled off at exactly the same time after 5 years. Contacted VWCC Went through all the usual procedure with paint depth readings all over the van. Came back to me saying they weren’t prepared to do anything so had to pay to have the work done myself. There was no way they would change their mind even though it was nothing I had done. They said the paint warranty was for 3 years. End of no discussion.

 

[Lambeth Cali]

I have the same thing on my 2008 did you change anything to make them disappear?

No it just seems to get smaller and pretty much disappear. It's one metal reacting to another. Its not rust and nothing to do with water as I understand it.
When my van is 13 years old it's difficult to imagine it getting bad now. Why would it?
I wouldn't let any VW I have dealt with remove the rubber seal. There is zero chance I would trust them to put tape on and then put the seal back on. The ones near me are hopeless.

 

[Surftanten]

I had my T5 2012 repaired for the galvanic corrosion problem on the front roof spoiler a bit over three years ago. Repair was done under "goodwill warranty" and paid by VW. Now I discovered that the sealant they have used have started to crack. When I took it to VW to have it examined, they say that they have to redo the whole operation and that the cost for this is approx 4500 EUR. The warranty for the warranty repair has expired and I have to pay for the new repair myself. Of course not happy with that response since I intend to use the car for many more years, and my expectations were that the repair should have a longer life time than 3 years!

Is there anyone that have had similar problems after having the front roof spoiler replaced by VW?
Any idea why this has happened? I guess the workshop must have done something wrong during the first repair, unless there are many more people out there with the same problem!?

 

[Ozzy Pete]

From your pi

I had my T5 2012 repaired for the galvanic corrosion problem on the front roof spoiler a bit over three years ago. Repair was done under "goodwill warranty" and paid by VW. Now I discovered that the sealant they have used have started to crack. When I took it to VW to have it examined, they say that they have to redo the whole operation and that the cost for this is approx 4500 EUR. The warranty for the warranty repair has expired and I have to pay for the new repair myself. Of course not happy with that response since I intend to use the car for many more years, and my expectations were that the repair should have a longer life time than 3 years!

Is there anyone that have had similar problems after having the front roof spoiler replaced by VW?
Any idea why this has happened? I guess the workshop must have done something wrong during the first repair, unless there are many more people out there with the same problem!?

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From your pictures it looks like the rubber roof seal has broken up. Could you replace the seal?

 

[Surftanten]

From your pi

From your pictures it looks like the rubber roof seal has broken up. Could you replace the seal?

I believe that is what I have received a quote to do, but not sure. I have tried to get in touch with the workshop to have a more detailed discussion on causes and alternative solutions, but no response so far.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

€4500 seems a bit excessive for a new roof seal. That’s something you could easily do yourself. The front would be more difficult but not impossible.

 

[clarinetbcn]

I had my T5 2012 repaired for the galvanic corrosion problem on the front roof spoiler a bit over three years ago. Repair was done under "goodwill warranty" and paid by VW. Now I discovered that the sealant they have used have started to crack. When I took it to VW to have it examined, they say that they have to redo the whole operation and that the cost for this is approx 4500 EUR. The warranty for the warranty repair has expired and I have to pay for the new repair myself. Of course not happy with that response since I intend to use the car for many more years, and my expectations were that the repair should have a longer life time than 3 years!

Is there anyone that have had similar problems after having the front roof spoiler replaced by VW?
Any idea why this has happened? I guess the workshop must have done something wrong during the first repair, unless there are many more people out there with the same problem!?

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I had the front cap and the roof perimeter done by VW two years ago. The roof edge is ok, but the cap had to be sent back almost immediately fir an air leak which whistled at highway speeds. After repair it’s fine, but I can see the sealant starting to crack. I will bring this up at servicing next month.

Knowing the experience of others now, I would have let VW do the roof perimeter, but not the cut and patch plastic front cap. I would have taken it to a good body shop and had the one small patch of corrosion above the windshield resprayed.

 

[haydnw2]

Does anyone have any recent experience with Audi Glasgow? Our T5.1 needs both the front cap and the under-seal work doing. I've been told they are now the only bodyshop VW van centres are allowed to use for these repairs, but previous comments about them on here are mixed / not filling me with confidence! I'm also not sure I want the van coming out of their workshop and all the way back down to the East Midlands without me looking at it first (I can see it being a pig to get it all the way back up there again if there is anything wrong, in terms of time and logistics). Thanks!

 

[Ozzy Pete]

Does anyone have any recent experience with Audi Glasgow? Our T5.1 needs both the front cap and the under-seal work doing. I've been told they are now the only bodyshop VW van centres are allowed to use for these repairs, but previous comments about them on here are mixed / not filling me with confidence! I'm also not sure I want the van coming out of their workshop and all the way back down to the East Midlands without me looking at it first (I can see it being a pig to get it all the way back up there again if there is anything wrong, in terms of time and logistics). Thanks!

If I were you I would seriously consider reading the previous post and go along those lines. Years ago they would do a complete change to the front panel costing many thousands of pounds. Now the do a plastic cap overlay with tragic consequences. By all means have the main roof work done ( if you can find somewhere) but consider paying a body shop yourself to repair the front panel.