VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Ambler]

I've receive a mail saying I haven't yet voted.
My Cali was new in mArch 2014, there is no option for "no corrosion" so how do I vote?

 

[Stu]

There is no need to worry if you don't have corrosion however I would strongly urge you to pull back the rubber seal around the elevating section of your roof as we've had a number of reports from owners of vans as late as 2014 finding it once they look under the rubber.

 

[Martin]

We are not asking for a vote, this is a standard email that was sent and if not relevant please ignore.

I would however say it is worth checking no matter what age your van is.

 

[drmanhattan]

I've just found corrosion in several places under the seal on the elevating roof. I've inspected the front panel but that appears to be ok.
My van 's warranty expired in March.
I first spotted paint blisters on the elevating roof back in January and reported it to a local VW dealer and it was dealt with by their body shop.
However, I noticed a couple of smaller blisters remained on the elevating roof and this time I took the van to another local VW dealer. The dealer said a claim was made but this time it was refused by VW.
I was unaware about checking under the seal prior to my warranty expiring. Had I known I would of course checked and reported what I've found within the warranty timeframe. The photo below shows the worst corrosion, but it occurs in several other places too under the seal.

 

[Stu]

You should be covered by the '6 year rule'. I would ask them to resubmit.

 

[drmanhattan]

Thanks. Yes I'll ask them to resubmit a claim. Is the elevating roof covered by the 'six year rule'?

 

[shambly]

As Stu said, resubmit. I was told by VW that they, as of today, have decided to extend the main roof warranty to 6 years in line with the extension on the front roof warranty. :goodone

I'm sure Martin / Susibus will be along shortly with some official word on this matter from VW.

 

[drmanhattan]

Thanks, that's good to know.

 

[passoni24]

Was on holiday when this issue raised itself and had head in sand since!
However, following helpful reminder from the forum I finally made a close inspection and my April 2010 Cali appears to suffer from the early signs of this corrosion issue to both front panel and particularly under the roof seal. Contacted local dealer in VW Van Centre in Cleckheaton who appeared quite familiar with the issue and intend to call for their photo shoot and claim submission process soon. Fingers crossed! Hope to upload photos.
Lesson learned. Pull the roof seal back. It's probably hiding in there!

 

[baffinp2]

Hi,
I have contacted my local dealer who will look into the matter here in Norway.
2 pic's - frontpanel and door handle sliding door ??

My vehichle :
2006/4 motion.

 

[Lost in the Forest]

All sorted by Nikki @Breeze within one day (Registered, claim accepted, booked onto Bristol body shop list)

 

[passoni24]

Here some snaps of minor corrosion to my 2010 Cali.

 

[Elizabeth Silman]

I had roof corrosion on my front panel earlier this year - couldn't work out what caused it but got it repaired by a local bodyshop. My plumber told me about the general problem that is now causing us concern. I will be keeping a close eye out for any more blistering.

 

[Stu]

A great shot of the classic corrosion that will help others see what could be under the rubber seal when you check.

 

[Mark_Dyche]

Does this repairs extend back to a California registered in early 2006 (probably built 2005)?
I have not checked yet for corrosion but noticed in last two weeks that I have a damp patch on lining above the passenger side windscreen pillar, and intend to look further. I know this is related to rain and happenns even if the van has not moved during the rain.

Mark

 

[Stu]

I think you will need to join the ranks of those with a fight on their hands.

So far VW are limiting claims to vans up to 6 years old however if it is proven that there was a manufacturing defect, and it has, then I would suggest you have a strong case.

 

[yanathem]

If all the people that have had their claims rejected on 6 year old + vans can email us at admin@vwcaliforniaclub.com we can then build up a database.

This is now on page 40 most of the new poster's won't have seen it.
Would it be better for the forum administer's to start a new seperate post for claims that have been refused because of the six year limit? At least then more people will see it.

 

[Stu]

We are keeping a note of them as we see them in the staffroom discussion thread yanathem, but very well worthwhile pointing out again.

 

[Mazvw42]

This may be a question that has been dealt with or is just ......obvious! But I have corrosion on the front panel which has been acknowledged, but I can't seem to easily remove the rubber around the roof to see if there's any there, this seems to be glued on. How difficult should it be and where's the best place to start???

 

[Stu]

I have looked at a couple and it can be a little bit tight when you first start but it's easy once you get it going.

One of the long sides might be a good place to start.

I'm assuming you have partially elevated the roof?

 

[Mazvw42]

Thanks fir the tips , I have elevated the roof enough so I can reach it and it wasn't keen on being removed. I'll try again at the weekend

 

[Stu]

There's probably a couple of years of dirt holding it in place. :mrgreen:

 

[Silawrence]

You have asked for updates to the following questions,

Has your claim been refused because you are outside of warranty? No

Have you found corrosion since the previous email/survey back in June? No as i havent seen my vechicle sine january of this year when VW took it in last.

Your claim should be approved/refused within a few days, how long have you been waiting? Work being done they have painted it twice and replaced the pannel twice the corrosion was first spotted Oct 2011 and it has been going been ongoing since then.

If you have dealt with VW Customer services about this matter? How was their understanding/response? They are full of appoligies but dont really care if i had 50 vechicles in a fleet then they would do somethig about it as far as they are concerned it is a comercial vechicle so delt with different to retail. they are now dealing with our soliciter lets see how they like that.

Images - We still want your images of roof corrosion -

if i had my time over i would rather have had a roof with corrosion than let the VW cowboys attempt to fix it,

 

[mike samson]

Hi, I have completed the paperwork on line and have not heard anything since. How can I check if my post has been received, mike

 

[smgcowfoldparts]

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

Mine are back with me with 2-3 working days. They email everything to Volkswagen and they then reply and authorise or decline the repair. If authorised then the dealer sends details onto the body shop who will then contact you directly when your vehicle is ready for repair.

thanks