2023 Ocean leaking roof fabric

[Jeaniethecali]

So the issues with our brand new Cali continue. After having to have a brand fridge fitted as the original never worked, we have now discovered that a seam in the roof fabric leaks water when it is raining.
Yesterday was the first day away in the van, when we have encountered rain. Whilst sat looking forward, I noticed water dripping onto the seats. When I looked up, water was running in all along the seam that runs along the bottom of the semi circle window (photo attached). The ledge at the bottom where the light switch is was soaked with water. My local van centre have stated that there is a £320 charge for investigating water ingress, which will be payable if the issue isn’t covered under warranty (I’m pretty sure it will be).
Has anyone else had issues with leaking bellows on an Ocean 6.1 with the new fabric?

 

[andyinluton]

Is that the first time the roof has got wet?
The fabric needs to get wet a couple of times for the fibres to expand to make it fully waterproof.

Is the roof the same colour inside as out? From your photo it looks grey on the inside not the cream colour of the latest two layer roof fabric.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

Is that the first time the roof has got wet?
The fabric needs to get wet a couple of times for the fibres to expand to make it fully waterproof.

Is the roof the same colour inside as out? From your photo it looks grey on the inside not the cream colour of the latest two layer roof fabric.

Hi, yes it’s the first time the fabric has got wet, and yes it is the new fabric… grey outside and cream inside.
So you think it’s normal to leak so much when new?

 

[andyinluton]

I don’t know if it’s normal, but I seem to remember it was recommended to wet the canvas on our T5.1 before first use and I’ve done it on our subsequent vans & never had a leak other than through the mesh vents.

 

[Californication69]

Interesting, mines a MY23 Ocean, but now realised I have grey in & out roof bellows.
Just rained a lot on the front side of the California around 4 hours ago. First time it’s had a proper soaking. No water ingress.
Picture below.

 

[Hawthorn37]

We’ve only had a few drops of water on the inside front, but nothing since. However, we take some precautions, like pointing the ‘low’ end towards prevailing wind, and keeping the roof down if heavy rain + strong wind is forecast.

 

[COAST22]

Interesting, mines a MY23 Ocean, but now realised I have grey in & out roof bellows.
Just rained a lot on the front side of the California around 4 hours ago. First time it’s had a proper soaking. No water ingress.
Picture below.
View attachment 108255

New fabric should be white/cream inside on latest model

 

[Perfectos]

If the dealer wants £320 to investigate, I would proceed Under protest, purely to get the warranty inspection carried out, but I would also state in an email to the dealer that you proceed on the understanding that the agreement to a charge is an imposed requirement by the dealer to facilitate the inspection of a clear fault that is covered under factory warranty. On a new vehicle.

The van is designed & fitted with a canvas, fitted at the factory, which has been specifically designed to provide a weather proof / water tight sleeping environment on a vehicle that is specifically sold as a camper van for use in all weather conditions for many many years of use.
Therefore the camper / canvas is clearly defective by the very definition & not fit for the purpose it was designed & you specifically bought the van to fulfill the requirement (I.e, camping)

Further, should they (VW / garage ) decide otherwise & decide to charge you, you will seek legal advice To recover the cost of the inspection of a clearly faulty part, as is demonstrated by your photos!

Example: if you bought a £30 tent, that was meant to provided weather protection (implied of otherwise) & the tent was found to leak after the first use or within a reasonable time thereafter, you would be entitled to a full refund under your consumer rights as the tent was not fit for purpose.

should VW not agree to fix the the issue fully, further damage will be caused as a direct result of the faulty canvas, any resulting damage caused as a result of the obvious fault will be claimed by yourselves

Note: you can easily check the canvas at home, with a hose, by spraying water directly at it (the method the garage will use) !

if the canvas is found to be faulty (it must be) I would be asking VW / the dealer, to provide a large dollop of good will (in response to their request for a fee to investigate a clear fault of a part covered under the factory warranty).
Canvas water check is part of the factory QC check , clearly not on this one.

I wish you the best of luck, report back to help others

 

[NBY Barnstaple-Devon]

I had exactly the same problem, in the same area as you have. Spoke to dealer who had van back to test. They agreed it leaked, funny that! No cost to check and no cost to replace. The only issue is they replaced it with the old style bellows. I haven't checked if its water tight yet as we have put a wrap around it as its been cold so that has given it the water protection.
I mentioned to the garage they have replaced a new style bellows with an old style but I have given up trying to get an answer why.

 

[RockinNRollin]

I had exactly the same problem, in the same area as you have. Spoke to dealer who had van back to test. They agreed it leaked, funny that! No cost to check and no cost to replace. The only issue is they replaced it with the old style bellows. I haven't checked if its water tight yet as we have put a wrap around it as its been cold so that has given it the water protection.
I mentioned to the garage they have replaced a new style bellows with an old style but I have given up trying to get an answer why.

I would be pretty annoyed by that; the new bellows will make the interior much more airy; I would be digging my heels in and demanding the new style bellows.

 

[RockinNRollin]

I don’t know if it’s normal, but I seem to remember it was recommended to wet the canvas on our T5.1 before first use and I’ve done it on our subsequent vans & never had a leak other than through the mesh vents.

Wasn't the original canvas (including up to fairly recently) a single layer of material which behaved a bit like an old Force Ten tent, but the newest bellows a two-layer material, implying a waterproof membrane? If this is the case, I wonder if the seams haven't been sealed.

 

[Ozzy Pete]

When we bought our van 8 years ago we always had a certain amount of drips inside the canvas especially when it was raining hard.
I decided to give it a spray with fabric waterproofing which made a significant difference and we had very little on the inside.
Recently we had our canvas replaced because VW service centre trapped the old canvas in the scissor mechanism and destroyed it along with 2 lovely creases in the roof panel.
The new canvas is much lighter grey and makes the upstairs lighter inside. I have checked to see if it makes a difference to privacy at night when a light is on but you don’t even get the slightest shadow.
Result was brand new panoramic single skin canvas plus roof off and Complete respray after fixing the dents.
I’ve yet to try the new canvas for waterproofing as yet but will have a couple of cans of waterproof spray at the ready.

 

[Perfectos]

The issue with the garage charging an “inspection “ fee whilst the van is under factory warranty simply is not right.

possibly they are mis quoting ?

if you contact VWCV advise them of tge problem, they will advise you to take it to a VW approved garage, there should be no charge for clearly faulty items to be inspected Under manufacturer warranty

 

[DevillBelgium]

There is otherwhise a Product wich is used to Seal up om tents to make them again waterproof. Maybe this is something to look at. Should be sold in any decent outdoor center where they sell tents ofcourse. ;-)

 

[Trojax]

Like all canvas materials it needs to get wet a couple of times before it will seal..on old tents the cotton would expand along with the cotton stitching and seal all the holes from stitching...With all the new materials now used this does not happen as much relying on the cotton stitching to expand to seal all the little stitching holes. When we had a brand new folding camper the kitchen units were destroyed the first time we used it when it pissed it down and the kitchen soaked up the water not good for wood chip and fibreboard.

 

[Ch1pbutty]

There is otherwhise a Product wich is used to Seal up om tents to make them again waterproof. Maybe this is something to look at. Should be sold in any decent outdoor center where they sell tents ofcourse. ;-)

Fabsil Waterproofer & UV Protector 5 Litre - Grangers - Wow Camping

Fabsil Waterproofer & UV Protector 5 Litre - Grangers Price: £25.50 SKU: 102820

www.wowcamping.co.uk

 

[SusiBus]

Do your own water test report with a hosepipe a couple of times. This will either allow the fabric to expand as mentioned in previous post, or confirm there is a fault with the bellows.
Then go back to the dealer, tell them you've tasted their faulty product, which they should have tested for free under warranty, and tell them you found it to be faulty. They will then obviously retest the bellows, presumably find them faulty, and you can then request £320 goodwill compensation. Or you could go to another dealership if that's geographically possible.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

Interesting, mines a MY23 Ocean, but now realised I have grey in & out roof bellows.
Just rained a lot on the front side of the California around 4 hours ago. First time it’s had a proper soaking. No water ingress.
Picture below.
View attachment 108255

Looks like that's the previous fabric... which by all accounts seems better than the new fabric on my van.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

If the dealer wants £320 to investigate, I would proceed Under protest, purely to get the warranty inspection carried out, but I would also state in an email to the dealer that you proceed on the understanding that the agreement to a charge is an imposed requirement by the dealer to facilitate the inspection of a clear fault that is covered under factory warranty. On a new vehicle.

The van is designed & fitted with a canvas, fitted at the factory, which has been specifically designed to provide a weather proof / water tight sleeping environment on a vehicle that is specifically sold as a camper van for use in all weather conditions for many many years of use.
Therefore the camper / canvas is clearly defective by the very definition & not fit for the purpose it was designed & you specifically bought the van to fulfill the requirement (I.e, camping)

Further, should they (VW / garage ) decide otherwise & decide to charge you, you will seek legal advice To recover the cost of the inspection of a clearly faulty part, as is demonstrated by your photos!

Example: if you bought a £30 tent, that was meant to provided weather protection (implied of otherwise) & the tent was found to leak after the first use or within a reasonable time thereafter, you would be entitled to a full refund under your consumer rights as the tent was not fit for purpose.

should VW not agree to fix the the issue fully, further damage will be caused as a direct result of the faulty canvas, any resulting damage caused ax a result of the obvious fault will be claimed by yourselves

Note: you can easily check the canvas at home, with a hose, by spraying water directly at it (the method the garage will use) !

if the canvas is found to be faulty (it must be) I would be asking VW / the dealer, to provide a large dollop of good will (in response to their request for a fee to investigate a clear fault of a part covered under the factory warranty).
Canvas water check is part of the factory QC check , clear not on this one.

I wish you the best of luck, report back to help others

It does seem ridiculous that I might have to pay for them to soak the bellows with a hose pipe.... especially when I can provide photos of the actual seam leaking.
As for VW's quality control, I think my van missed that process completely.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

I had exactly the same problem, in the same area as you have. Spoke to dealer who had van back to test. They agreed it leaked, funny that! No cost to check and no cost to replace. The only issue is they replaced it with the old style bellows. I haven't checked if its water tight yet as we have put a wrap around it as its been cold so that has given it the water protection.
I mentioned to the garage they have replaced a new style bellows with an old style but I have given up trying to get an answer why.

Strange that they replaced the bellows with the old fabric... surely it should be replaced with the new fabric, after all its meant to be an improvement on the old one... or maybe not!

 

[Jeaniethecali]

I would be pretty annoyed by that; the new bellows will make the interior much more airy; I would be digging my heels in and demanding the new style bellows.

I won't be accepting a replacement with the old fabric. The new fabric is much nicer and keeps the light out in the morning...pity it can't keep the rain out though.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

The issue with the garage charging an “inspection “ fee whilst the van is under factory warranty simply is not right.

possibly they are mis quoting ?

if you contact VWCV advise them of tge problem, they will advise you to take it to a VW approved garage, there should be no charge for clearly faulty items to be inspected Under manufacturer warranty

I'm sure I won't be paying for the inspection... as I'm sure there is a fault. I will be in touch with VW customer care (again) because this is the second major fault on this van, and faults that were clearly there on delivery

 

[Jeaniethecali]

Do your own water test report with a hosepipe a couple of times. This will either allow the fabric to expand as mentioned in previous post, or confirm there is a fault with the bellows.
Then go back to the dealer, tell them you've tasted their faulty product, which they should have tested for free under warranty, and tell them you found it to be faulty. They will then obviously retest the bellows, presumably find them faulty, and you can then request £320 goodwill compensation. Or you could go to another dealership if that's geographically possible.

The van is booked in for the beginning of June, so I'll re test the bellows a few times between now and then.

 

[Julesverne2000]

It would be interesting to know how prevalent the issue with the new fabric is. After all, it is meant to be more waterproof in theory - you’d hope the stitching would have been factored in to the overall assessment. There have also been a few similar posts of ingress on Facebook recently. I’m a 2023 T6.1 owner as well and was pretty nervous going to bed last Sunday, with such a poor forecast for Monday morning. Fortunately ours remained dry on the inside but we weren’t subject to any prolonged, horizontal rain. Will keep an eye on it and probably do a hose test when the weather is decent.

 

[Jeaniethecali]

It would be interesting to know how prevalent the issue with the new fabric is. After all, it is meant to be more waterproof in theory - you’d hope the stitching would have been factored in to the overall assessment. There have also been a few similar posts of ingress on Facebook recently. I’m a 2023 T6.1 owner as well and was pretty nervous going to bed last Sunday, with such a poor forecast for Monday morning. Fortunately ours remained dry on the inside but we weren’t subject to any prolonged, horizontal rain. Will keep an eye on it and probably do a hose test when the weather is decent.

Yes I’ve seen a couple of posts on Facebook with exactly the same problem as I have on 2023 vans. When it happened we were parked on the coast and facing the wind, however the rain wasn’t that heavy.