VW California T5 ONLY Roof Corrosion - General Discussion

[Andy]

My Van has been booked into Benfield Garage North Shields for some 6 months now. It is due for roof corrosion repairs soon I hope. The van is coming up for 3 years old at the end of this month and I want to make sure any other corrosion issues are dealt with at the same time and under guarantee. At present I can only see corrosion on the panel above the windscreen. No corrosion is visible on the roof and I don't feel inclined to peel back the rubber seal to look further as it seems quite firmly fixed.

Should I look further? Have other members found significant corrosion under the seal if it wasn't already visible above?

It will be some time before your van gets sorted, but it will get done eventually.

You really should pull the raising roof seal off as you most likely have bubbling under it. If so you will be able to get this done at the same time as the front panel, but you need to get a separate warranty claim in for it.

 

[IanE]

Mountainman - I was able to detect minute bubbling along the edge of the main roof panel where the rubber strip meets it (if that makes sense). Like you I didn't want to lift the strip. Hadwins, my local VW dealer took photos and my claim has been accepted. I must admit I was pleasantly surprised as the bubbling was barely visible in the photo. Good luck! Ian

 

[Les]

Is anyone satisfied with the elevating roof fix?

I was told that they:

- Respray the roof
- Glue a replacement rubber seal to the roof
- Let dry for 24 hours, weirdly I was told the customer cannot have access or view the roof at this point (weird for this to be pointed out)

They have the vehicle for a week and no replacement Cali is provided, this repair can be done at any approved VW centre.

Personally I would be happier if the rubber part was a newly designed part, I'm not happy that it's glued down, if it was glued down and corrosion was taking place then most people wouldn't know as it would be under the seal.

There's nothing that inspires me with confidence here at all.

Having previously been informed that the elevating roof repair did not require the replacement seal to be stuck on, I have now been informed by AB Crush that they ARE sticking the seal on with a special glue supplied by VW. The glue is applied all round the roof to provide a continuous barrier to stop water ingress and protect the "vulnerable" part of the roof. So there seems to be a disparity in the repair procedure as some owners are reporting that their seals are not being glued on.

This raises several questions:

1. Is there not a set VW repair procedure?

2. Hopefully the motivation for glueing the seals on is the desire to stop corrosion returning. The disadvantage is that it will stop owners checking if corrosion has returned within the extended warranty period.

3. Are the rubber seals on new Calis coming off the production line being glued on?

Please could we have some feedback from owners who have had their roofs repaired:

1. Glued?

2. Not glued?

3. Which bodyshop did your repair?

If you have recently purchased a new Cali, is the rubber seal stuck on?

Thanks.

We have just got ours back and was told a new seal was fitted and sealed/glued in place. It had to be left for 24hrs to set. Sealer was supplied by VW. There is quite a strong solvent smell in the Cali.

This was at Portslade Panelworks through SMG Cowfold.

My concern is if the seal is damaged in any way in the future is how do you replace?

 

[WelshGas]

In order for Bi-metalic corrosion to take place between the Aluminium alloy of the roof panel and the steel grip clips in the roof edge seal you require an electrolytic solution, in this case "water".
If the seal is bonded to the roof edge to keep out water then the likelihood of any reaction is severely minimised. Also paint and high zinc content primer also decreases the likelihood .
Thus in the repairs it seams the roof panel is cleaned - high zinc primer - paint and then the seal is bonded to keep out water.
If done properly the rest of the vehicle should have fallen apart before it needs doing again.
Land Rover Defenders have suffered from this problem since 1947, and over 70% of ALL Defenders are still going.
Do VW Transporters have such an enviable record? No.
Removing a bonded seal is fairly straight forward, but will have to be replaced rather than re-used.
If you have this problem then put in a warranty claim before the 6 year warranty is up. Get it repaired and ENJOY the vehicle.
If you are going to constantly worry then get some other make of Camper/Motorhome and complain about the fibreglass/plastic cracking or body warping. Your choice.

Here is some interesting reading.

 

[Ambler]

We are thoroughly enjoying our vehicle WG but I don't see why we should let Vw of the hook for shoddy workmanship.

In the case of the main roof it is not bimetallic corrosion but water against paint.
As I said above, in a six month old van (with fairly extensive bubbling down one side only) it smacks of an incorrect paint job. Not what we paid nearly £50k for.

Also, if it is faulty I would rather have it repaired now when I have the balance of the warrant to see if the repair is effective. The jury will be out on this one for several years to come.

 

[WelshGas]

Sorry, I apologise. I didn't know that water on top of a poor paint job on an aluminium panel could cause corrosion.
I must have a word with the unpainted aluminium panel I have in my garden that has been there for 20+ years and which is still not showing signs of corrosion.
I would suggest that the corrosion down 1 side was bi-metalic in origin, between the steel in the seal gripper and the aluminium roof panel in the presence of water between the seal and panel. Water ingress or a poor paint/zinc primer thickness in the presence of 2 dissimilar metals.
Solution
1. Get rid of one of the metals
2. Get rid of the water ingress and keep it dry.
3. Thicker insulation in the form of a thicker primer/paint finish

It would seem VW are carrying out 2 & 3 as a fix.

There will never be a 100% cure. If Land Rover haven't managed it in over 60yrs of producing the Series I, II, III & Defender all of which have Aluminium alloy body panels I cannot see anyone else managing it.

Enough said. Agree or Disagree but don't lose any sleep over it. Just Enjoy it.

 

[777111]

We are thoroughly enjoying our vehicle WG but I don't see why we should let Vw of the hook for shoddy workmanship.

In the case of the main roof it is not bimetallic corrosion but water against paint.
As I said above, in a six month old van (with fairly extensive bubbling down one side only) it smacks of an incorrect paint job. Not what we paid nearly £50k for.

Also, if it is faulty I would rather have it repaired now when I have the balance of the warrant to see if the repair is effective. The jury will be out on this one for several years to come.

+1

 

[Ambler]

Sorry, I apologise. I didn't know that water on top of a poor paint job on an aluminium panel could cause corrosion.
I must have a word with the unpainted aluminium panel I have in my garden that has been there for 20+ years and which is still not showing signs of corrosion.
I would suggest that the corrosion down 1 side was bi-metalic in origin, between the steel in the seal gripper and the aluminium roof panel in the presence of water between the seal and panel. Water ingress or a poor paint/zinc primer thickness in the presence of 2 dissimilar metals.
Solution
1. Get rid of one of the metals
2. Get rid of the water ingress and keep it dry.
3. Thicker insulation in the form of a thicker primer/paint finish

It would seem VW are carrying out 2 & 3 as a fix.

There will never be a 100% cure. If Land Rover haven't managed it in over 60yrs of producing the Series I, II, III & Defender all of which have Aluminium alloy body panels I cannot see anyone else managing it.

Enough said. Agree or Disagree but don't lose any sleep over it. Just Enjoy it.

I too must apologise to the owner of the paint shop (where the repair was carried out) who gave me this information. He clearly does not have the required knowledge for his trade.

 

[snowy55]

Sorry, I apologise. I didn't know that water on top of a poor paint job on an aluminium panel could cause corrosion.
I must have a word with the unpainted aluminium panel I have in my garden that has been there for 20+ years and which is still not showing signs of corrosion.
I would suggest that the corrosion down 1 side was bi-metalic in origin, between the steel in the seal gripper and the aluminium roof panel in the presence of water between the seal and panel. Water ingress or a poor paint/zinc primer thickness in the presence of 2 dissimilar metals.
Solution
1. Get rid of one of the metals
2. Get rid of the water ingress and keep it dry.
3. Thicker insulation in the form of a thicker primer/paint finish

It would seem VW are carrying out 2 & 3 as a fix.

There will never be a 100% cure. If Land Rover haven't managed it in over 60yrs of producing the Series I, II, III & Defender all of which have Aluminium alloy body panels I cannot see anyone else managing it.

Enough said. Agree or Disagree but don't lose any sleep over it. Just Enjoy it.

I too must apologise to the owner of the paint shop (where the repair was carried out) who gave me this information. He clearly does not have the required knowledge for his trade.

This is a picture of the bubbling under the seal of my Jan 2014 Cali SE, taken when it was 6 months old.
The horizontal lines are where the seal grips with the steel "claws" and you can clearly see brown/red stains from the rust in the black circles. This is not where the bubbling is.
The bubbling has taken place where the water was trapped in the seal. I suspect "pin holes".
So to my mind the paint shop owner is correct in saying "it is not bimettalic corrosion but water against paint"

WelshGas
Your 20 year old unpainted aluminium doesn't have a layer of paint or a seal to trap water that never dries out. Bare aluminium forms a layer of oxide that makes it look dull, this prevents further oxidisation.

Hope this helps.

 

[WelshGas]

Exactly steel , water, pinhole, aluminium = Bimetallic Corrosion.
Remove water, or improve paint/primer insulation.
Or are you telling me there are NO pinholes in the paint over the rest of the Aluminium roof panel only in this one area or that the roof never gets wet.
I would suggest you had the problem one side only because water got behind the seal, whereas the other side didn't developer anything because there was no water ingress.

You could be right about the paint shop owner.

 

[snowy55]

There will be pinholes all over the paint but they are not submerged in water 24/7 365, this in my opinion is what causes the paint to bubble. The photo shows the steel rust well away from the bubbles

 

[WelshGas]

Exactly metal - electrolyte - metal. They don't have to be in physical contact just electrical contact to make a circuit.

 

[snowy55]

Exactly metal - electrolyte - metal. They don't have to be in physical contact just electrical contact to make a circuit.

And of course all this salt they put on the roads that gets onto the roof and gets under the seal makes the water more conductive.

 

[shambly]

Just had a call to say that our bus will be delivered back on Wednesday, so that is 9 days door-to-door. They're definitely getting quicker at performing the repairs (ours was both front and main roof).

So who is next at Heritage? You should have got the call today...

Simon

 

[janet]

Hi
can anyone tell me where to find the link containing details about getting the corrosion fixed on my roof. I can see other people have had it repaired but I was told there is a standard letter to send to vw to get them to fix it. where can I find this?

 

[Martin]

Hi
can anyone tell me where to find the link containing details about getting the corrosion fixed on my roof. I can see other people have had it repaired but I was told there is a standard letter to send to vw to get them to fix it. where can I find this?

What age is your van Janet?

 

[janet]

Its 2007!

 

[reserves]

Its 2007!

:cry:

 

[Martin]

Its 2007!

Sorry to say Janet, you may have a fight on your hands.

Best thing to do is get it down to your local dealer ASAP and get a claim put in. Let us know how you get on.

 

[janet]

Oh dear!
I will give it a go. I understand there was a draft letter to VW that we are advised to send - can anyone give me the link to the details please - Ive waded through this discussion but cant find it anywhere.

 

[Martin]

Oh dear!
I will give it a go. I understand there was a draft letter to VW that we are advised to send - can anyone give me the link to the details please - Ive waded through this discussion but cant find it anywhere.

Janet, the offical response letter from VW is here: Official Response from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK | VW California Club

 

[reserves]

Janet, the offical response letter from VW is here: Official Response from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK | VW California Club

Janet, I wouldn't get too excited about that letter, it doesn't really say much!

 

[shambly]

So ours arrived back yesterday from Heritage after having the front panel replaced and elevating roof repainted.

In summary:

1) The new canvas has two large greasy marks
2) The new canvas has been fitted twisted to one side
3) The Brandrup Isotop velcro that was previously fitted to the canvas has not been replaced (despite assurances it had)
4) They reused the elevating roof seal and it no longer seals properly on the drivers side against the front panel (not glued on though)
5) There is untidy silicon around the awning rail
6) The roll out awning is scratched.

So, all in all, the usual quality of work performed by anyone working on behalf of VW.

Email with photos sent to Lee in the executive office but I expect the usual excuses and toothless assurances

 

[WelshGas]

I would suggest taking photos. Send them to VW Customer Services and Heritage with a statement that No Satisfactory reply with a guaranteed date to repair/make good the defects then the pictures etc: will be published on the Web, either in this forum or elsewhere with the tags Volkswagon California, Heritage and Roof Corrosion, within 48hrs of the email being sent.

 

[MichaelB]

Hi Shambly

Sorry to hear of your troubles.

I would suggest giving Daren at Heritage a call. I found him to be extremely helpful and keen to put right any issues and there was absolutely no need to read him the riot act. Clearly they are not the type of issues you expect to get but if my experience is anything to go by they will be dealt with without question.

Best of luck!