VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Max-Felix]

Ah, cheers WG, did that yesterday but still appeared as 'hidden from public view' which as I'm typing this I now understand...doh!

 

[RichardP]

Just received a call from our VW dealership, JCT600 in York, to book the van in for the warranty work. 28th November in Southport, presumably Claridge's, I had been told that the work would be done by Lookers (Benfield) in Newcastle. By then it will be over 4 years since the problem was reported and there will be about 6 months of warranty left.

 

[CLARA]

I reported the roof front panel corrosion at least 18 months ago .. It is still an ongoing issue with my 2011 Cali DSG 180 4motion.
I was told 6 months ago by my local VW centre it was going to be done next week .. I tried to book it in today .. They said they could not find any references for the job .. but they will look into it ?

 

[Jabberwocky]

I reported the roof front panel corrosion at least 18 months ago .. It is still an ongoing issue with my 2011 Cali DSG 180 4motion.
I was told 6 months ago by my local VW centre it was going to be done next week .. I tried to book it in today .. They said they could not find any references for the job .. but they will look into it ?

It beggars belief! Is it just incompetence?

 

[leightonjthomas]

Finally got hold of him again yesterday. It is on the list but will have to be done at one of the specialist body shops in Poole. He will let me have more details next week!

Again I have heard nothing. I contacted VWCS yesterday to lodge a complaint about the lack of communication. They said they will get back to me within 48 hours.

Tony from Breeze at Portsmouth rang to confirm that Nicki from Totton had been in touch - VW have agreed to rectify both paint issues i.e. roof corrosion and flaking paint above number plate. She will let me know by email details of body shop etc.
Eight weeks now since my first call. It will be interesting to see the waiting time for the repairs and if they will be using the new transparent strip described by those who visited the factory in Hannover.

I haven't heard anything from Portsmouth or Totton so rang VWCS to complain about the lack of communication. They said they would get back to me within 48 hours. The saga continues.

 

[RichardP]

I've been told on numerous occasions by VWCS that they will ring back, they never have.

 

[Donmeado]

Has anyone had thier Cali repaired by Gladwins Swavesey (Nationwide) yet? Mine is due to go there soon and I'm still debating whether to go ahead or not, based on some of the reports from people who have already had thiers done.

 

[Hotel California]

Cleaned the cali today and pulled the seal off to check again and to clean the moist away ....i left the roof up a few hours with the seal off to let it dry.
You can clearly see the bubbels

 

[sbmcd]

My T5 has the typical bubble corrosion as those who have been following the T6 roof corrosion post will know. It is booked in for repair in October (was offered earlier date). After finding out about the transparent tape now being fitted to the edge of T6 roof, to cover the paint under the seal, since end of 2016 I wrote to VW asking them if they would now be implementing the addition of the tape to the repair procedure.

You would think this would be a win win for VW they could now do a repair that matched the production method and hopefully the repair would be permanent rather than short term.

The answer I had today was VW have no plans to modify the repair procedure and that their repair is effective, pathetic response in my opinion.

I urge anyone who has a vehicle going in for an elevating roof repair to write to VW, do not phone or ask you dealer, write to VW directly, the more of us who do the more likely they will take notice, remember to point out the poor record of roof repairs they now have.

I did ask VW to confirm exactly what tape they are using, they have said they will get back to me on this. If the repair proc is not revised by October I will fit the stuff myself.

 

[Vantastic2]

Has anyone had thier Cali repaired by Gladwins Swavesey (Nationwide) yet? Mine is due to go there soon and I'm still debating whether to go ahead or not, based on some of the reports from people who have already had thiers done.

We have had our Cali repaired by them, it took three weeks, granted Easter fell in the middle of this period. On first inspection of the bodywork it appeared to be in order however when we took the van home from South Hereford Garage and washed and inspected it thoroughly 2 days later we discovered that the seal was not fitted correctly, it was scored with something sharp near the front and that our stainless steel side rails had been partially sprayed with our matching silver paint... not happy. We are currently in conversation with VW customer services after sending photo's to them. So far their response has been to take the van back to South Hereford for them to re-inspect. In hindsight, we picked up the van from South Hereford on a Saturday morning when the chap who had been dealing with our issue was not in work, we were desperate to get the van back in one piece, and had we thought it through should have dragged one of the other customer service staff to the van with us to give it a thorough inspection there and then. All we can say is we may have been unlucky, but in any event thorough inspection at the VW dealership when picking up the vehicle would have saved this extra hassle.

 

[Donmeado]

We have had our Cali repaired by them, it took three weeks, granted Easter fell in the middle of this period. On first inspection of the bodywork it appeared to be in order however when we took the van home from South Hereford Garage and washed and inspected it thoroughly 2 days later we discovered that the seal was not fitted correctly, it was scored with something sharp near the front and that our stainless steel side rails had been partially sprayed with our matching silver paint... not happy. We are currently in conversation with VW customer services after sending photo's to them. So far their response has been to take the van back to South Hereford for them to re-inspect. In hindsight, we picked up the van from South Hereford on a Saturday morning when the chap who had been dealing with our issue was not in work, we were desperate to get the van back in one piece, and had we thought it through should have dragged one of the other customer service staff to the van with us to give it a thorough inspection there and then. All we can say is we may have been unlucky, but in any event thorough inspection at the VW dealership when picking up the vehicle would have saved this extra hassle.

Thanks - well good or bad it's gone in so we'll see what happens. I will make sure I check over thoroughly before accepting it back and driving off. I took extensive video of it when I dropped it off. Will post back with how it went...

 

[Jabberwocky]

Look forward to that. Thanks.

 

[Kimmhu]

We've just got our beach back with repairs and so far so good. We booked it in through VW Wakefield and it was taken to Cheshire for the repairs (not exactly sure where). They did damage the bellows - but have put in some new ones, which are actually better than the old ones. VW Wakefield have been brilliant - the senior tech checked it out and did a water test on in, before letting us have it back. At the moment we're happy with the results. It was originally assessed about 12 months, but there's was an issue, a lady left and forgot to set the fix up. We chased and it then took 6 months. Here's a couple of pictures.

 

[Glyn]

Looks good. Why is there no window in the front of the bellows?

 

[Kimmhu]

The beach doesn't have a front window...although I did have to check out some old picture of the original bellows to confirm

 

[jts46]

Looks good. Why is there no window in the front of the bellows?

Original Cali had no front window in bellows

 

[Mr. S.Crossley]

Proposed compensation for your California roof

I like many California owners have the roof corrosion problem, and as my California is over six years old VW won’t correct the problem which I consider unfair and unacceptable. If you are interested in clubbing together to seek a joint legal opinion for claim or block of small claims (up to £10,000) against VW, please contact stephen.crossley@sportsmanshipfirst.co.uk

Please see the comprehensive history of the issue courtesy for first article to Ewan Mearns



https://wildaboutscotland.com/2015/12/07/vw-california-roof-corrosion-key-facts/





VW California roof corrosion – Key facts – Wild about Scotland
wildaboutscotland.com
At the time of writing (February 2017) a survey on the UK California Club Forum shows how many owners have reported roof corrosion: 40% front panel only (154 vans)




https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/vw-california-t5-only-roof-corrosion-general-discussion.9000/






VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion ...
vwcaliforniaclub.com
Blistering Paintwork Front Roof Pannel Hi All, Anyone else have blistering paint work on the front pannel of the roof? I'm talking about the metal...

 

[leightonjthomas]

Again I have heard nothing. I contacted VWCS yesterday to lodge a complaint about the lack of communication. They said they will get back to me within 48 hours.

I haven't heard anything from Portsmouth or Totton so rang VWCS to complain about the lack of communication. They said they would get back to me within 48 hours. The saga continues.

After several more phone calls and emails I have been offered various dates from early June at TCW Tonbridge. I've just checked their website and some of the reviews are awful. Has anyone had their Cali repaired at TCW Tonbridge? Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Jabberwocky]

Proposed compensation for your California roof

I like many California owners have the roof corrosion problem, and as my California is over six years old VW won’t correct the problem which I consider unfair and unacceptable. If you are interested in clubbing together to seek a joint legal opinion for claim or block of small claims (up to £10,000) against VW, please contact stephen.crossley@sportsmanshipfirst.co.uk

Please see the comprehensive history of the issue courtesy for first article to Ewan Mearns



https://wildaboutscotland.com/2015/12/07/vw-california-roof-corrosion-key-facts/





VW California roof corrosion – Key facts – Wild about Scotland
wildaboutscotland.com
At the time of writing (February 2017) a survey on the UK California Club Forum shows how many owners have reported roof corrosion: 40% front panel only (154 vans)




https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/vw-california-t5-only-roof-corrosion-general-discussion.9000/






VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion ...
vwcaliforniaclub.com
Blistering Paintwork Front Roof Pannel Hi All, Anyone else have blistering paint work on the front pannel of the roof? I'm talking about the metal...

Excellent idea Steve. I am sure you will get some takers to hel bring this matter to a great conclusion. All the best JW (Rik)

 

[leightonjthomas]

After several more phone calls and emails I have been offered various dates from early June at TCW Tonbridge. I've just checked their website and some of the reviews are awful. Has anyone had their Cali repaired at TCW Tonbridge? Any advice would be appreciated.

No replies. I think that TCW are a recently approved bodyshop for VW and I don't want to be a guinea pig, even though the dates they offered were all within the next few weeks! Now awaiting re-allocation to another body shop. I'd prefer to wait and try(?) to make sure that the repairs are done properly.

 

[2into1]

Those following this issue will be aware of the 'crimp' lines that seem to frame the initial area of the raising roof corrosion bubbling.
This part of VW's own video shows the rubber moulding being crimped and you can see the degree of pressure applied :

Don't blink or you'll miss it. It's 2 seconds in from the linked start (so at 5m 40s).

The tool used has vw clearly marked on it, and you can clearly see the moulding changing shape under the pneumatic or hydraulic pressure the machine applies. No wonder those lines appear.

Quite what role (culpability) this crimping has in the speed with which bubbling can start is unknown (but plenty of T6s showing within 12 months) but i think a few of us suspect it is part of the jigsaw.

 

[Custardtart]

No replies. I think that TCW are a recently approved bodyshop for VW and I don't want to be a guinea pig, even though the dates they offered were all within the next few weeks! Now awaiting re-allocation to another body shop. I'd prefer to wait and try(?) to make sure that the repairs are done properly.

I've had work done at 2 different VW authorised body shops in the past and the quality of both was very poor. In my experience their seal of approval is worthless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jabberwocky]

Ha! "seal of approval" must be unintended joke..............made me smile.

 

[Donmeado]

Well, predictably my 7-10 days has gone to 17 days with another 10 at the very least as they have "found other things that need doing" - but no-one can tell me what. So I have a van which they will charge me £12 per day damage waiver and I can't go camping in. VWCS didn't bother getting back to me last week either despite thier promises, as usual I have to do the chasing. What a shambles.... Let's hope all this extra time equates to a fantastic quality job - to be fair I dont want it rushed but I suspect they probably haven't even started it yet.

 

[deccauk]

Well, predictably my 7-10 days has gone to 17 days with another 10 at the very least as they have "found other things that need doing" - but no-one can tell me what. So I have a van which they will charge me £12 per day damage waiver and I can't go camping in. VWCS didn't bother getting back to me last week either despite thier promises, as usual I have to do the chasing. What a shambles.... Let's hope all this extra time equates to a fantastic quality job - to be fair I dont want it rushed but I suspect they probably haven't even started it yet.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

I am surprised at lack of activity in this thread. Is no one making any progress with their repair?

I'm still waiting for a date from Lookers of Newcastle...