VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[brendan]

Hi, i have pop top roof bubbles on the edge under seal round all my poptop roof but not yet on front panel, i understood that this repair was done by 1 0f 4 bodyshops and your van is picked up and a replacement cali left with you ! my dealer has said that this repair has nothing to do with the " roof corrosion problem" and i will not have this service for but will loan me a vehicle of some kind , is this correct ? also i have a bad stone chip on my front panel above windscreen will this affect my warranty if corrosion appears in future even if not in that area any suggestions, should i use a touch up pen to seal it. any help appreciated.cheers brendan 2012 180 dsg silver.

 

[Andy]

Hi, i have pop top roof bubbles on the edge under seal round all my poptop roof but not yet on front panel, i understood that this repair was done by 1 0f 4 bodyshops and your van is picked up and a replacement cali left with you ! my dealer has said that this repair has nothing to do with the " roof corrosion problem" and i will not have this service for but will loan me a vehicle of some kind , is this correct ? also i have a bad stone chip on my front panel above windscreen will this affect my warranty if corrosion appears in future even if not in that area any suggestions, should i use a touch up pen to seal it. any help appreciated.cheers brendan 2012 180 dsg silver.

Your dealer is correct. The bubling of paint on elevating roof is repaired under warranty as normal warranty repairs.
As the front panel is aluminium your stone chip will not corrode.
The bubling comes from under paint caused by galvanic reaction between aluminium & steel.

 

[stewie]

PLEASE LOOK AT OUR PREVIOUS POSTINGS.

IT IS SIX YEARS ON BOTH THE FRONT PANEL AND THE ELEVATING ROOF.
the issue of front box section perforation which i agree is a corrosion problem irrespective what vw say worries me .my claim and appeal have been rejected, my vehicle is 2006 model ,there is no evidence of damage to the roof itself , vw claim its a paint problem and not through corrosion,they vwcc stated the 12year corrosion/perforation warranty is still in place-good news,-bad news is i attempted to re build a vw t25 the van was 15 year old the cill section showed a small area of paint blisters which had not perforated through it appeared the original paint ,on repair the whole 6 foot box section had rust corroded inwards not outwards and virtually filled the hollow void and ended on the floor in flaked rust. i repeat only small paint blister on the outside. i feel the roof could be a separate issue. vw could nip this in the bud, a fibre optic inspection inserted in the box section is the reassurance i am looking for, or have vw carried it out unbeknown to any one, and in view of my experience if rust is present it will show on the outside after 12 years and vw will be in the clear will just sit tight and keep denying its a corrosion problem, for the moment us 6+ year owners have been hung out to dry. liked the goodwill gesture by vw to extend the paint warranty its good news even though i don,t qualify sorry if i sound pessimistic













It doesn't do the forum any favours if we keep asking the same questions. Customer Care may not know the answer, but we have it in writing from Head Office that "in an effort to offer our customers peace of mind we took the decision to offer an additional 3 yerars goodwill, extending the terms of the protection from three years to six".

This is not to be confused with the 12 year body protection warranty in which the important word is "perforation" which means a hole. If there ain't a hole, they are saying it isn't covered. I still maintain that this is corrosion emanating from within a box section due to a constuction fault therefore we should be offered more than a paintwork warranty.

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

 

[jts46]

This is for SU51BUS,
My Cali had a roof front panel (blisters) repaired by listers of coventry 02/07/2009, as the front roof panel is again blistering am i covered by any claim for repair to panel?

Could you raise this point with your meeting with VWCS please

John

 

[SusiBus]

Have you any final observations about the roof corrosion issue that you would like us to raise at our meeting with VW in case it's not on our agenda already?

Are there any Calis post 2013 with the new front panel that have signs of corrosion under the rubber seal?

If yours has had the latest repair, has the replacement seal been stuck on?

Post or PM us if you have any comments

Thanks

Susibus

 

[Raggedroy]

Have you any final observations about the roof corrosion issue that you would like us to raise at our meeting with VW in case it's not on our agenda already?

Are there any Calis post 2013 with the new front panel that have signs of corrosion under the rubber seal?

If yours has had the latest repair, has the replacement seal been stuck on?

Post or PM us if you have any comments

Thanks

Susibus

Is it worth posting the list of what is currently on the agenda?

 

[snowy55]

Hi SusiBus

My Jan 14 build SE has bubbling under the rubber seal on the elevating section of the roof, the fixed section of the roof appears bubble free at the moment.

Can you answer the following questions

1--- Am I right in thinking that the repair to the raising section of the roof on its own can be carried out at any VW approved paint shop and not at one of the "special 4" and therefore not subjected to the absolutely ridiculous waiting list time?

2--- What is the length of the warranty on such a repair?

3--- Is there a new painting procedure instructions issued to all VW approved paint shops to follow for the California roof or do just the "special 4" have this knowledge?

The black circles highlight the red rust stains from the steel embedded in the rubber seal which doesn't appear to cause the bubbles as they are separated by some distance.It looks like the water that is permanently trapped in the seal has got into/under the paint to cause the paint to lift up into a blister, if you squeeze the blister water comes out.
Due to work and Holiday commitments the vehicle not been inspected yet by VW.

Many thanks for all your efforts on this matter.

Regards snowy55

 

[jmg21]

Snowy, sad to see it on a newish van. When I got my 2012 van repaired I argued to have the complete roof replaced as recommended by the VW workshop. They basically said that corrosion will return. 5 weeks away for front section and roof. Delay was due to the fact that the new roof section does not come painted so internal roof cloth etc needs to be masked off. Go luck.

 

[Nottledim]

Susibus, I was booked into Shorade for the repair to both front and elevating sections of our roof but have been told there is a delay because Shorade are waiting for parts. You might like to ask VW why this is happening because;
The repair process and schedule must have been planned to include the provision of parts to the repair shops.
The delay simply lengthens the duration of the repair, and it looks unprofessional.

At present the delay is one week but that is yet to be confirmed.

Andrew

 

[trevorfearnley]

Hi , just had 2010 Cali checked and confirmed that rust is in the roof and front panel. Booked in for repairs " at the end of next year!" Hope I live that long! Best wishes Trevor ( in Australia at the moment.)

 

[SarahsBlossom]

Update: After disappointing very poor customer service at national and local level claims on both front and main roof panels were submitted to and accepted by Volkswagen this September but we are being told informally that it will probably take 12 months now before “Blossom's” turn in the queue for repair. Scheduled repairer being the Canterbury centre. Thank you to the 'Club for all the information put out via the forum it bolstered our failing confidence (nigh on despair') several times until we got results. :clap

It is a poor reflection though on VW Group that the first official representation I made locally for a claim was this January (2014) and it took a full 9 months and several visits/letters/Emails to get claims lodged. The front panel was eventually fairly readily accepted but for the main panel I had to strip off some of the rubber trim from "Blossom's" roof, whilst parked on the dealers' forecourt, to expose the blisters - the visible deterioration above the trim being put down as "impact damage" by the dealer! :evil:

Best Wishes
Stephen

 

[SusiBus]

This is for SU51BUS,
My Cali had a roof front panel (blisters) repaired by listers of coventry 02/07/2009, as the front roof panel is again blistering am i covered by any claim for repair to panel?

Could you raise this point with your meeting with VWCS please

John

John, did you receive my PM?

 

[jts46]

Yes thank you am in sw France, in bed with a tummy bug, gastro something or another hence no action yet

John

 

[SusiBus]

Below in red is the list of questions that we have left with VW. It may be some time before we get answers because VW want to defer to Hanover before they respond, which is only reasonable and to be expected.

Proof that they are taking the Cali Club seriously was that we met with:
Head of Customer Quality & Network Development
Head of Press and PR
Head of Service & Parts

We were there for over two hours of quite intense discussions. We really think they are taking the Cali Club seriously and the issues associated with Cali ownership. They have also suggested that they enter into dialogue with the club on regular intervals in the future - which will obviously be of benefit to both parties.

As well as naming and shaming some dealers, we did praise others, and we did try to show the positives of Cali owning as well as the negatives so hopefully this came over.

Graham


ITEMS REQUIRING ANSWERS FROM VW

GENERAL COMMENTS

Set up specialised dealerships for California servicing – many van dealers not up to task of servicing a £50,000-£60,000 vehicle

More repair centres required – 4 not enough – 34 in Germany

Long waiting time for acknowledgement of warranty claim being accepted

Long delays for repair in UK (over a year) – 3/5 months in Germany

Concerns about who provides the warranty for the repair – VW or bodyshop?

No proper extended VW warranty available, only insurance based

Dealerships and VWCS to be brought up to speed on the current procedure and situation with repairs


FRONT PANEL

Forum members unhappy about UK 6 year cut off – Germany warranty from 2006?

Previously repaired vehicles (just resprayed, not replaced) if now older than six years and corrosion reoccurs

What does the repair procedure consist of?

Modified build date (March 2013)

Parts delay


ELEVATING ROOF

Forum members unhappy about UK 6 year cut off – Germany warranty from 2006?

New vehicles still being delivered with corrosion

Part number of replacement seal the same – does not provide remedy.

Is it part of the repair procedure for the seal to be stuck on? If yes, is the seal being stuck on production vehicles? Why no new part?

What does the repair procedure consist of?

Who provides the warranty for the repair – VW or bodyshop?

If a vehicle is repaired at 5 years 11 months, is it under warranty until the vehicle is 6 years old, or 3 years from the repair date?

RE-OCCURING FAULTS

1. CONTROL UNIT -

Known defective item

LCD screen malfunctions (goes into lines)

Knob spline breaks

VW cost of replacement £600-£700

Replacement should be covered for six years under Sale of Goods Act 1979

Cali forum members have made replacement knobs in Germany and UK for €16-€18. Why can’t VW produce a replacement knob? Ideally that can be replaced without taking the unit to pieces.

2. AIRBAG WARNING LIGHT

Wiring beneath passenger seat fails because of constant swivelling of seat

3. MAIN BATTERY GOES FLAT DURING EVENING IF WILD CAMPING – can’t use stereo or electric sliding door – not fit for purpose

4. ELECTRIC SLIDING DOOR – failure to close

OTHER PROBLEMS

Sink doesn’t drain without modification

Fragile window blinds

Exploding fridge glass – one at 6am when children asleep in bed next to fridge

Floors you can’t clean

EGR valves – 180bhp

Roof shutters that constantly creep open

Steering column clonks

 

[Neiljbg]

Well...we were just in the process of starting to look for a second hand Cali....having read the above we are now seriuosly thinking of reconsidering....any reassurance from current owners would be welcome...

 

[KernowLad]

Ours is booked in for the second time for the front roof section (Heritage). I've just noticed the main roof is also going too… Well we've had it back three whole days after it was in for eight weeks with an unidentified issue… :censor

 

[Meoncoast]

Well...we were just in the process of starting to look for a second hand Cali....having read the above we are now seriuosly thinking of reconsidering....any reassurance from current owners would be welcome...

would not put me off, ( roof) as long as the van you get is under 6 years old will be repaired and replacement Cali provided (over 6 years and issue being addressed but no news) other issues not all Calis as VW reply to the list will come to forum you may find you feel happy following this. I am glad issues are being address via the forum rather that individually

If you want a camper van look and all the others out there as many of us did I am happy we went for a California over conversions or other makers

 

[Californiaman]

Mine has been superb. It'll be four this Christmas and we'll have spent nearly 400 nights in it by then at some 85 different campsites. We had very few problems within the warranty period and although the roof bubbled, it was dealt with by SMG,VW and AB Crush brilliantly. If the California suits you, I wouldn't be that put off. You only see the bad stuff on a forum after all...

Sent from my HTC One using Tapatalk

 

[KernowLad]

We've had more than our fair share of issues but still love it to bits.

A corroded roof isn't great but it's not exactly catastrophic.

At the height of our problems we looked at alternatives and found ourselves feeling rather depressed; nothing comes close.

 

[Piadro]

Hi

I have a 57' plate California with paint bubbling on the panel above the windscreen where the elevating roof seal meets the panel. After reading the threads on this Forum I booked in to my nearest VW dealership - Heritage In Dorchester. They took pictures and took paint depth readings and said I would be contacted shortly but the queue was quite long for claims. I then received a message from their warranty department saying that there would be no point in them putting in the claim as my vehicle is older than 6 years!

I then contacted Breeze in Poole where I have taken the van in the past for servicing etc and they were helpful but came back with the same 6 year response. They said I could contact VW UK and I am considering trying this next.

I have read on this site that people with 07' plates have been successful with claims and I just wondered if anyone had any advice of what course of action I should take as I understand that in Germany the time period is 8 years rather than 6 in which case my van would qualify.

Any advice / suggestions would be most appreciated.

Many thanks

Piadro

 

[SarahsBlossom]

Piadro - the dealer I referred to above in my post of 13 October 2014 was Heritage (Dorchester) and whilst I try to be diplomatic in public arena I am not at all surprised by the attitude you encountered given it took us 9 months to get through the fogging and repeatedly overlooked representations we made to them. I recognise that you are unfortunately falling foul on the 6 year guillotine but although it is hard just keep on trying (remember the Sinatra song about butting the Dam. )

Regards
Stephen

 

[snowy55]

Rang my local VW dealer to have elevating roof paint bubbles looked at.He thought a 2014 Cali has a "composite" roof!
O dear, this is going to be hard work.

 

[Dave_T]

The body shop at my local dealer said the roof was fibreglass!

 

[snowy55]

Rang my local VW dealer to have elevating roof paint bubbles looked at.He thought a 2014 Cali has a "composite" roof!
O dear, this is going to be hard work.

Back from the garage now.
The man from the body shop took photos of the paint bubbles under the seal on the elevating part of the roof with his mobile whilst stood on the step on one leg telling me that I have 7or8 years warranty on the roof and was surprised that it was aluminium. Watched him input the details into a PC. We will see what happens next.

 

[Bleur fleur]

I collected mine from the dealers last week, having had the main roof resprayed and new seal. I have one small bubble on the front panel (it has already been resprayed under warranty.) it is now on the waiting list to go to Benfleet...at least a years wait!!