VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[shambly]

Hi Martin,

LOL! I've been trying to speak to xxx ever since receiving a letter from them on 27th June.... I've finally had an email from them today promising a telephone discussion having made a nuisance of myself over on their Facebook page....

 

[robo]

Martin, I have had similar responses from VWCS. Names sound correct.

By the way I am hearing some of the delays are due to the special paint coming in 500litre barrels, which once opened have to be discarded. VW are sourcing the paint in smaller tins ( enough to do one van) to overcome this massive waste.

I wonder if they are calling in vans by colour?

If the 50,000th van has rolled of the production line and they all need fixing, that's 25 million litres of paint if they fix them all.

A standard Olympic-size swimming pool contains 2,500,000 litres of water.
So that would be 10 Olympic swimming pools. One in each colour!

One has to find the funny side.

rob

 

[Custardtart]

I agree that VW CS can be a bit hit and miss.

When I phoned to report corrosion on my elevating roof and in particular my concern that they'll fix it now but what happens if it comes back in 2 years when my paint warranty had ended they assured me corrosion was covered by the 12 year warranty.

I would be delighted if it were true but reading posts on here it seems much more likely it'll be classed as a paint defect and only be covered for 3 years.

 

[derek_j_buchanan]

When i completed the survey i couldn't find corrosion but I'm having my van checked by ridgeway in Wantage next week and will redo survey if corrosion is discovered.

 

[ChrisandPenney52]

What should be the lead time between submitting a report to VW and getting a response? My van was inspected by a dealer who is not one of the four repairers, and the report submitted on 31-7. This seemed to generate a BAID number (?) which they also emailed on to VWCS. What should happen next? Most people here seem to get quite a quick response. Currently I don't know if my claim has been reviewed, processed or queued.

Not a whinge, just trying to make sure I understand so know who to chase and how soon. I'm aware that there is a thread about the repair process but this is a question about what happens before we get that far

 

[wingate_52]

Just back from VWVanCentre Trafford Park Manchester. Repair to passenger airbag system costing £275. A letter is going to VW to ask to share costs. Photos taken of corrosion to front roof and rising roof, and our California is now in the system. Warning not to expect a repair soon as there are quite a few California's in front of us.

 

[stresseddad]

What should be the lead time between submitting a report to VW and getting a response? My van was inspected by a dealer who is not one of the four repairers, and the report submitted on 31-7. This seemed to generate a BAID number (?) which they also emailed on to VWCS. What should happen next? Most people here seem to get quite a quick response. Currently I don't know if my claim has been reviewed, processed or queued.

Not a whinge, just trying to make sure I understand so know who to chase and how soon. I'm aware that there is a thread about the repair process but this is a question about what happens before we get that far

Experiences on this forum seem to vary, but I suggest you don't hold your breath for a quick fix.
My experience is:- Registered corrosion on both fixed and elevating roof sections of my Oct 2010 California with VWCS on 01.04.14. Got an immediate reply to organise inspection at a Van Dealership. This was done at Chelmsford on 04.04.14. Received letter from VWCS acknowledging electrolytic corrosion on my California's fixed roof section would be fixed under extended 'goodwill 6-year' warranty.
Then nothing, despite many repeated calls to the dealership (all consistently unreturned/ unanswered/ignored) and to VWCS until 18.07.14 when I was advised that a DISS report had finally been submitted by the dealership after FOUR MONTHS.
I was then notified of a rejection of my claim on the grounds it involved both fixed and elevating roof sections.
The matter has now been escalated to a 'manager' at VWCS since 25.07.14
Others on this forum I think have been struggling for longer….

S.D.

 

[CaliforniaDAN]

What should be the lead time between submitting a report to VW and getting a response? My van was inspected by a dealer who is not one of the four repairers, and the report submitted on 31-7. This seemed to generate a BAID number (?) which they also emailed on to VWCS. What should happen next? Most people here seem to get quite a quick response. Currently I don't know if my claim has been reviewed, processed or queued.

Not a whinge, just trying to make sure I understand so know who to chase and how soon. I'm aware that there is a thread about the repair process but this is a question about what happens before we get that far[/quote

In my experience ring the dealer who examined the vehicle and obtain the BIAD number, if for whatever reason they can't provide it get onto VWCS by phone.

I backed this up with a written letter to VWCS, asking for confirmation of the go ahead of the repair and to which garage has been nominated to complete. Then you join the queue!

 

[ChrisandPenney52]

What should be the lead time between submitting a report to VW and getting a response? My van was inspected by a dealer who is not one of the four repairers, and the report submitted on 31-7. This seemed to generate a BAID number (?) which they also emailed on to VWCS. What should happen next? Most people here seem to get quite a quick response. Currently I don't know if my claim has been reviewed, processed or queued.

Not a whinge, just trying to make sure I understand so know who to chase and how soon. I'm aware that there is a thread about the repair process but this is a question about what happens before we get that far

Experiences on this forum seem to vary, but I suggest you don't hold your breath for a quick fix.
My experience is:- Registered corrosion on both fixed and elevating roof sections of my Oct 2010 California with VWCS on 01.04.14. Got an immediate reply to organise inspection at a Van Dealership. This was done at Chelmsford on 04.04.14. Received letter from VWCS acknowledging electrolytic corrosion on my California's fixed roof section would be fixed under extended 'goodwill 6-year' warranty.
Then nothing, despite many repeated calls to the dealership (all consistently unreturned/ unanswered/ignored) and to VWCS until 18.07.14 when I was advised that a DISS report had finally been submitted by the dealership after FOUR MONTHS.
I was then notified of a rejection of my claim on the grounds it involved both fixed and elevating roof sections.
The matter has now been escalated to a 'manager' at VWCS since 25.07.14
Others on this forum I think have been struggling for longer….

S.D.

What was the rationale for rejecting? At worst I would have expected the two elements to be reviewed independently.

 

[DavidofHook]

What should be the lead time between submitting a report to VW and getting a response? My van was inspected by a dealer who is not one of the four repairers, and the report submitted on 31-7. This seemed to generate a BAID number (?) which they also emailed on to VWCS. What should happen next? Most people here seem to get quite a quick response. Currently I don't know if my claim has been reviewed, processed or queued.

Not a whinge, just trying to make sure I understand so know who to chase and how soon. I'm aware that there is a thread about the repair process but this is a question about what happens before we get that far

Our experience was that we reported this to Alex in September last year. He said that it would take a long time and explained the issues and I asked him to send me an email confirming that it was in the system which he did. I was happy with this, I felt that I understood what was going on. However, at some point a lot later I did ring VW Customer service and had a long chat with the girl who emailed an update of the position. And our van went off on the low loader on Monday the 4 August and we have a very nice (much better) van for 2 weeks. It sounds as if I had a better experience with Customer Service than Martin and some others
Hope that this helps

David

 

[Lost in the Forest]

Our Cali is off to be inspected by Breeze tomorrow for our claim to be registered.
They have already been quoted a one year waiting time for the repair :censor

Mark

 

[Mazvw42]

Our Cali is off to be inspected by Breeze tomorrow for our claim to be registered.
They have already been quoted a one year waiting time for the repair :censor

Mark

I wish you good luck with that, it took Breeze 4 weeks to send mine off!

 

[Stu]

Breeze would be my local dealer too and frankly I wouldn't entrust them with a model California. Save yourselves some heartache and give Alex + SMG a call, he has handled our claim with the utmost professionalism and what's more he actually knows what he's doing!!!

 

[Lost in the Forest]

cheers for the honest feedback.
I will ask Breeze tomorrow about their issue processing time otherwise it's a cruise to another dealership.

Mark

 

[owen_h]

I have dealt with Nikki at Breeze Soton, photos taken and sent to VW the same day. Repair approved within a few days. It then took quite a while (months) and few calls before I had any contact from Herritage who are down to do the repair. Nikki seems to deal with the issue quickly but you end wondering what's happening with Heritage. Think the guy there is swamped with repairs. I was number 26 on the list when I spoke to him about a month ago.

 

[777111]

What should be the lead time between submitting a report to VW and getting a response? My van was inspected by a dealer who is not one of the four repairers, and the report submitted on 31-7. This seemed to generate a BAID number (?) which they also emailed on to VWCS. What should happen next? Most people here seem to get quite a quick response. Currently I don't know if my claim has been reviewed, processed or queued.

Not a whinge, just trying to make sure I understand so know who to chase and how soon. I'm aware that there is a thread about the repair process but this is a question about what happens before we get that far

Experiences on this forum seem to vary, but I suggest you don't hold your breath for a quick fix.
My experience is:- Registered corrosion on both fixed and elevating roof sections of my Oct 2010 California with VWCS on 01.04.14. Got an immediate reply to organise inspection at a Van Dealership. This was done at Chelmsford on 04.04.14. Received letter from VWCS acknowledging electrolytic corrosion on my California's fixed roof section would be fixed under extended 'goodwill 6-year' warranty.
Then nothing, despite many repeated calls to the dealership (all consistently unreturned/ unanswered/ignored) and to VWCS until 18.07.14 when I was advised that a DISS report had finally been submitted by the dealership after FOUR MONTHS.
I was then notified of a rejection of my claim on the grounds it involved both fixed and elevating roof sections.
The matter has now been escalated to a 'manager' at VWCS since 25.07.14
Others on this forum I think have been struggling for longer….

S.D.

That is exceptionally poor even by VWCS standards.
I cant imagine how they could persist in rejecting any aspect of your claim but we really should not have to fight this through every step of the way.
There is still a worrying lack of consistency here - some customers do ok others treated like c***. And still no formal acknowledgement of the the elevating roof section.
What a mess.
We keep pushing....

 

[Martin]

Anyone who is booked in to Heritage Westbury you can find out where you are in the queue by calling 01373 253169 and asking for Darren.

At the moment they have done nine repairs but are awaiting parts again.

 

[bvddobb]

I keep being asked by the system to partake in the survey, but I can't, my option is not there: no corrosion yet...

 

[Trudy]

Hello Bob, we thought the same in that we escaped the bubbling however we decided to remove the rubber seal from the main roof to check , low and behold there were small blisters under the rubber.

Everyone check under your rubber seal, even if you have a van under a year old like we do

 

[Stu]

I keep being asked by the system to partake in the survey, but I can't, my option is not there: no corrosion yet...

Given that your van is a pre facelift and would be at least approaching the 6 year cut off (if this applies in NL) I would urge you to book into your local dealers to have it checked.

 

[steph]

Hello Bob, we thought the same in that we escaped the bubbling however we decided to remove the rubber seal from the main roof to check , low and behold there were small blisters under the rubber.

Everyone check under your rubber seal, even if you have a van under a year old like we do

Just discovered it on ours, 2014 plate, is that right? :evil:

 

[Stu]

It's a worry Steph and why we are urging absolutely everyone to check their roof system, especially under the rubber seal of the elevating roof.

VW have accepted there is an issue with the front, fixed, section and have devised a repair which includes revised parts and in your case with a new van will have implemented a change to the build process to include the revised parts.

HOWEVER - as of this time they have not accepted there is a common issue with the elevating roof and therefore (so far as we are aware) have not revised manufacture process to include new parts or devised a repair process that includes new/revised parts.

 

[bvddobb]

I keep being asked by the system to partake in the survey, but I can't, my option is not there: no corrosion yet...

Given that your van is a pre facelift and would be at least approaching the 6 year cut off (if this applies in NL) I would urge you to book into your local dealers to have it checked.

Thanks, Stu, but I don't think there is any such arrangement in NL as you guys have reached in the UK. And then again, we bought our Cali second hand from Germany. I am not even willing to think what hornet's nest we would be stirring up trying to get arrant on this issue in this set up... Want to spend our energy driving around in out! We will deal with the corrosion if wand when it comes. We are good austriches !

 

[bvddobb]

Hello Bob, we thought the same in that we escaped the bubbling however we decided to remove the rubber seal from the main roof to check , low and behold there were small blisters under the rubber.

Everyone check under your rubber seal, even if you have a van under a year old like we do

But the warranty deal is just for the front/spoiler, isn't it, and NOT for the elevating roof itself?
We have no corrosion on the front/spoiler (yet). And the elevating roof is aluminium, so we aren't that worried about corrosion there.

 

[Stu]

Hello Bob, we thought the same in that we escaped the bubbling however we decided to remove the rubber seal from the main roof to check , low and behold there were small blisters under the rubber.

Everyone check under your rubber seal, even if you have a van under a year old like we do

But the warranty deal is just for the front/spoiler, isn't it, and NOT for the elevating roof itself?
We have no corrosion on the front/spoiler (yet). And the elevating roof is aluminium, so we aren't that worried about corrosion there.

I think you may have misunderstood the problem Bart.

The front section is cast Aluminium. The elevating roof in also Aluminium, albeit from sheet material, and both will corrode due to Galvanic action. VW UK are repairing the front and elevating sections under warranty or goodwill.

Please, please check yours and follow up with your local VW outlet, the cost of a repair if you have to pay yourself is eye watering.