VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[MarkW]

As per my previous e-mail the corrosion problem was for pre 2013 models and yours is not affected, however, the paintwork corrosion warranty on all California’s (including the elevated roof section) has been extended to 6 years.


The above was only for the front panel corrosion.... VW have not yet acknowledged that there is a inherent issue with the main roof corrosion...

This is why many prospective owners (including myself) are not prepared to order until VW acknowledges the issue and the remedial action for the main roof corrosion (I don't see sticking down the rubber seal as a fix),

 

[WelshGas]

Sorry but I disagree. I have written confirmation from my dealer that the elevating roof and front roof panel are covered. So even if VW refuse the dealer would be held to account, as confirmed by my tame legal eagle. Even so, regular checks whilst under warranty will be undertaken and anyway I want the abilities of this vehicle to enjoy, now.
If you have ever owned a Land Rover Defender then you would be well aware of this galvanic corrosion, methods of dealing with it, but if you love that vehicle then it is just one of those things you get used to.
This problem will be sorted by VW and even if not can be sorted by a good body shop as it is basically a cosmetic rather than structural problem. If this is the only reason not to proceed with the purchase then maybe the California is not for you. Sorry, just my opinion.

 

[MarkW]

Sorry but I disagree. I have written confirmation from my dealer that the elevating roof and front roof panel are covered. So even if VW refuse the dealer would be held to account, as confirmed by my tame legal eagle. Even so, regular checks whilst under warranty will be undertaken and anyway I want the abilities of this vehicle to enjoy, now.
If you have ever owned a Land Rover Defender then you would be well aware of this galvanic corrosion, methods of dealing with it, but if you love that vehicle then it is just one of those things you get used to.
This problem will be sorted by VW and even if not can be sorted by a good body shop as it is basically a cosmetic rather than structural problem. If this is the only reason not to proceed with the purchase then maybe the California is not for you. Sorry, just my opinion.

I think you misinterpreted my email...

My point is that VW have not acknowledged the main roof is a problem (which you seem to infer is not a problem to you and because of your Land Rover experience accept corrosion as part of vehicle ownership) - I appreciate any corrosion will be covered for 6 years (not much of a consolation to current Cali owners with older vehicles).

I believe most people buying any vehicle (let alone a 50K+ vehicle) would expect it not to corrode and see it as a design fault.

The reason (I believe) from reading contributors to the forum) that people choose a new California rather than a "classic" T1 or T2 is that they want the reliability of a new vehicle.

We do't live in the 1980's anymore and I think most people expect a vehicle that is not going to corrode within a year or two...


We can all go

 

[777111]

+1 MarkW

Entirely agree.
I would not have bought mine had I known about this issue.
Sure, any manufacturer can deliver a fault but the response, transparency and communication has been appalling. VWCS should ALL know about the issue - all aspects and it is pathetic that they don't.
Like it or not, I cant fail to see how this issue will not effect residual values. Not everyone has £40K of disposable, needing to know the cash can be recovered if needs be.
Customer Service is about comms and customer recovery in the event of a problem - VW could do a whole lot better.

 

[CALROE1]

Thoughts for meeting with vwhq .I have worked all my working life 35yrs painting vehicles presently at a bus factory of which the main body is made of aluminium .In service these do show signs of corrosion quicker than of a car but not on the timescale of a california roof mine is bubbling under rubber seal.14 plate. My thoughts are to fit a strip of anti abrasion tape to the edge of the roof before fitting the rubber putting a barrier between roof and rubber . I have put wax on the edge of my roof and refitted the rubber hoping that this slows the corrosion until a cure can be rolled out as repainting alone will not work thanks Michael.

 

[Brent]

Thoughts for meeting with vwhq .I have worked all my working life 35yrs painting vehicles presently at a bus factory of which the main body is made of aluminium .In service these do show signs of corrosion quicker than of a car but not on the timescale of a california roof mine is bubbling under rubber seal.14 plate. My thoughts are to fit a strip of anti abrasion tape to the edge of the roof before fitting the rubber putting a barrier between roof and rubber . I have put wax on the edge of my roof and refitted the rubber hoping that this slows the corrosion until a cure can be rolled out as repainting alone will not work thanks Michael.

interesting post according to VW the problem was fixed on 13 plate vans !!

 

[snowy55]

Thoughts for meeting with vwhq .I have worked all my working life 35yrs painting vehicles presently at a bus factory of which the main body is made of aluminium .In service these do show signs of corrosion quicker than of a car but not on the timescale of a california roof mine is bubbling under rubber seal.14 plate. My thoughts are to fit a strip of anti abrasion tape to the edge of the roof before fitting the rubber putting a barrier between roof and rubber . I have put wax on the edge of my roof and refitted the rubber hoping that this slows the corrosion until a cure can be rolled out as repainting alone will not work thanks Michael.

interesting post according to VW the problem was fixed on 13 plate vans !!

VW put a gasket under the fixed part of the roof some time in 2013 I can feel something "spongy" on my 2014 Cali if you slide a credit card in the gap, but mine has corrosion bubbles under the rubber on the elevating part of the roof.Looks to me like the water that is permanently trapped in the rubber gets under the paint possibly through pin holes because it is never dries out.

 

[oilydavid]

I see the survey is closed... I am another roof corrosion case both on the elevated roof under seal rubber on nearside especially, with very small blemishes on offside + fixed nearside front panel has 2 blisters on the upper trailing edge

 

[scraynes]

Sorry for not reading through the entire post. I am currently looking to buy a used cali that is 2009, so in the affected period. I've yet to view the vehicle and will obviously be looking closely at the roof. What I'm wondering is, is the warranty on the roof transferable from original owners?

Sorry for the simple question.

 

[Freeley]

Yes the warranty claim is for the vehicle so if there is a change of ownership it's still valid.
If you're buying a 2009 that hasn't already had a claim accepted then you'll have to get your skates on as it will be in the final year of the warranty period.

 

[Martin]

Also if purchasing a private used van that has the corrosion, insist on seeing the letter from VW to say that the claim has been accepted.

You will also need to go into a dealer with a copy of the V5 and ID to have the address changed .

 

[scraynes]

Thanks for those replies. I'll just make should that there is no corrosion first. But it there is, I won't buy it unless the claim has been honoured. Hopefully I'll be back on the forum soon asking for more practical hints and tips.

 

[Stu]

To be perfectly honest you want to have corrosion on it, that way you can have a repair claim authorised within the warranty period. It's not a case of if but when it will appear and you for sure don't want to find it outside of the warranty.

 

[soundsk]

Wow, this really got me worried.
I didn't know about this when I closed the deal on my Cali. It's a 2007 model, I'm picking it up tomorrow, I'll have to check the roof.

If it's corroded I'm not sure how I should address the issue (I'm from Portugal)... I'll talk to my local VW dealer, but if there's no warranty, what are my options for repairing this? Will it be very expensive?

Cheers!

 

[Freeley]

If it's both the front panel and elevating roof then apparently it's a £5k job so you have reason to be worried.
I wouldn't consider buying a cali that was 6+ years old for this reason - not unless I'd got 5k off the price anyway.

 

[soundsk]

If it's both the front panel and elevating roof then apparently it's a £5k job so you have reason to be worried.
I wouldn't consider buying a cali that was 6+ years old for this reason - not unless I'd got 5k off the price anyway.

Thanks!
Well, what's done is done, now I have to deal with it.
First thing tomorrow when I pick it up will be checking out the roof. Anyhow, a 2009+ model would be too pricey for me, the one I bought is 2007, 11000 miles, cost me around 28k, but it's national and saved me the hassle of importing a van without seeing it first.

I'm a crafty bloke, I'll sort it out...
Nothing is robbing me of the joy of finally owning a California!!

Cheers!

 

[calikev]

Good for you

 

[Freeley]

Yeah sorry didn't mean to sound like a doom merchant!
Bit late for you now enjoy your cali!

 

[soundsk]

Yeah sorry didn't mean to sound like a doom merchant!
Bit late for you now enjoy your cali!

Well I'm (extremely!) happy to report that today I'm picked up my Cali and guess what:

No corrosion anywhere to be seen!
I'll keep a close eye on both the front panel and roof, but I'm starting to think this issue might very well be aggravated by harsher climates than the one we have over here (Portugal).
Snow is pretty much non-existent, and temperatures don't often drop below zero, although we do have a fair bit of rain in the winter.

So for now all it desperately needs is a good wash, inside and out!!

Cheers everyone!

 

[Alan]

That's great news
Enjoy

Alan

 

[777111]

I need your feedback for my meeting at VWHQ. Get posting your thoughts!!!

Graham,

In danger of restating the obvious or known, at least in part , and apologies if I do that, but the information I feel we all need is this-

In respect of both the front panel & main roof panels separately -

1)A defined cause.
2)Vehicles affected (both roof parts) - by VIN number
3)Remedial work required detailed including replacement parts and methodology. Part numbers of modified replacement parts would be a useful cross check and future reference point.
4)Warranty variation applied - i.e. referencing vehicle the age of the vehicle and time warranty work is carried out.

Whereas as a result of your efforts we have had answers to some of these specifics do we for example actually know what is causing the main roof corrosion? Do we know if this rather suspect action of glueing the same (part number) rubber seal back on is "approved"?
I think it is particularly important that we can all identify which vehicles are likely to display the defect(s) so these can be flagged as needing to receive / have received warranty repairs and then benefit from such extended warranty as decreed by VW.

And finally once this information is finally comprehensively made available can VW please get the same information out to all VW Commercial Centres and VWCS representatives to avoid an awful lot of owner confusion and dissatisfaction.

We have by the efforts of an yourself and others here got a long way to unearthing this issue but it really should not have been such a task and it would be good to end speculation & unknowns once and for all - I really don't see why that is not possible.

Do hope that helps.

 

[Ambler]

Further to our exchange back up the thread, I feel we need confirmation re. 6 year warranty on both parts and that this is fully understood by VWCS operators as well as all the dealers, which is not the case at the moment.

 

[shambly]

A positive and a negative from VWCS whilst chasing up why between them and the dealer, 6 weeks on from a dealer visit, I'm still waiting for a DIS report to be filed on my main roof and tailgate handle corrosion.

The positive. The warranty on the performed roof repair will be backed by VW, not the body shop.

The negative. The repair has only a 3 year warranty. 6 years is for the roof prior to repair.

Apparently I mustn't wait for the roof repair to get the tailgate handle repaired - it might propagate to the tailgate and cause further unwarranted damage. My declaration of Bullshit (plastic handle; steel tailgate) did not go down well with the VWCS representative....

I need the DIS reports accepted before they'll send any relevant guarantees that have been made regarding warranty repair acceptance/guarantee/transferability in writing...

 

[Ambler]

Thanks for posting this Shambly.
It is as I suspected.
So, if I had waited to report my roof when it was noticeably bad (bearing in mind it is under the seal) then I could have had a 6 year warranty on the main roof. As it is, because I have reported it now (age of vehicle 5 months when reported) I have only 2.5 years left. This is getting ridiculous.

Mine is due into the body's hop next week.

As I reported earlier, I expect this is what the VWCS rep. was trying to say when I asked the questions. Good job we both asked.

 

[Stu]

As I understand it there are a couple of key numbers to appreciate.

6 Years from first registration - The time period where VW will consider claims for repairs to either the elevating roof or front panel. The first three years is new vehicle warranty, the remaining three years is goodwill.

3 Years from date of repair - The period in which there is a warranty on the repair. What is not clear is who will honour/support this warranty and is something we will address with VW. We feel it should be VW and not the bodyshop carrying out the repair. For example should we find in 2 years time we are doing history all over again the deluge of repairs at £5k a pop is going to put most bodyshops out of business (assuming they are still in business - no body thought Woolworths would go bust).

Something I have asked for consideration is to have some formal and unique (vehicle specific) documentation regarding the repair status. Initially a letter confirming the vehicle will be repaired at no cost to the owner at the time of calling forward by the bodyshop. Followed by a sticker for the service book to indicate a repair has been carried out accompanied with a letter to the current owner for inclusion with the vehicle documents.