Sagging drivers side roof

[Tim&carolsvan]

After 2 nights the drivers side roof on our t6.1 brand new in May this year had sagged enough to stop roof lights from working the ram had moved about 2 inches I booked it In at our local VW dealership where it was purchased from they have had it for 3 days but claim the roof hasn’t sagged this is the second time it has been in for the same problem though last time they only had it over night I showed video and photo evidence of the sagging when I took the van in. I have now left it with them for a further 2 nights so see if they can see any sagging not sure where to go from here if they say there is no problem with it as it’s my word against theirs. Anyone had similar issues ?

 

[dspuk]

Sagging roof in heat

Hi. Yesterday and again today, my roof has sagged in the heat. Each time the upstairs lights do not work and the display shows an intermediate position. A quick open of the roof solves the issue. This is a t6.1 ocean, MY23, 3 months old. Question. Is, is it normal in 20-22 degrees to sag in...

vwcaliforniaclub.com

 

[GrumpyGranddad]

After 2 nights the drivers side roof on our t6.1 brand new in May this year had sagged enough to stop roof lights from working the ram had moved about 2 inches I booked it In at our local VW dealership where it was purchased from they have had it for 3 days but claim the roof hasn’t sagged this is the second time it has been in for the same problem though last time they only had it over night I showed video and photo evidence of the sagging when I took the van in. I have now left it with them for a further 2 nights so see if they can see any sagging not sureView attachment 113673 where to go from here if they say there is no View attachment 113674problem with it as it’s my word against theirs. Anyone had similar issues ?

Since buying our Ocean in November 2020 we’d never had any problems with a sagging roof until a recent holiday in France. Noticed the roof was sagging after about 3 days on-site. Slightly lowered it and put it up again and all ok for another couple of nights. Same procedure sorted it. Tested it back home and no sag whatsoever. Can only assume it was affected by the heat. Others on here have recommended opening and closing the roof 5 or 6 times re-pressurising the hydraulic system. Worth a try.

 

[yossarian]

Asymmetric sag is likely to require a new ram on the affected side. The good news is that this seems to be the first thing that VW advises dealers to change.

In the real world one would swap rams and see if the fault moved with it. I don't think VW will work like this.

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Edit 2024: having read further on the subject my opinion is now that the most common cause is a faulty non return valve in the pump. See https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/sagging-drivers-side-roof.51112/post-711611

 

[Corradobrit]

Asymmetric sag is likely to require a new ram on the affected side. The good news is that this seems to be the first thing that VW advises dealers to change.

In the real world one would swap rams and see if the fault moved with it. I don't think VW will work like this.

Not difficult to do either. Just a case of swapping the lines on the manifold.

 

[NickE]

Ah! Glad you posted your query. Now I've worked out why my roof lights aren't working. My roof sags (symmetrically) after 2 days on my new van. Another "feature" my 6.1 has over my old 5.1 along with the leaking bellows.

 

[Andyhcfc]

After 2 nights the drivers side roof on our t6.1 brand new in May this year had sagged enough to stop roof lights from working the ram had moved about 2 inches I booked it In at our local VW dealership where it was purchased from they have had it for 3 days but claim the roof hasn’t sagged this is the second time it has been in for the same problem though last time they only had it over night I showed video and photo evidence of the sagging when I took the van in. I have now left it with them for a further 2 nights so see if they can see any sagging not sureView attachment 113673 where to go from here if they say there is no View attachment 113674problem with it as it’s my word against theirs. Anyone had similar issues ?

Hi, sorry to see you are having the same sagging roof problem as I have. I too found it annoying that the roof sags and upstairs lights don't work.
I also have taken it back to my VW dealer, Eurovans Crawley, who says it doesn't sag when at the dealership. Some helpful people on here have suggested it's the heat in the south of France, but it happens in the UK as well. Also, atmospherics are different at the dealership? I don't think there is not much difference between Guildford and Crawley.
I have complained to Eurovans Crawley, and they have had the van a couple of times to fix this issue, but say it hasn't sagged when in their possession. They have suggested when it sags, I turn the ignition on and raise the roof. Not very helpful in the middle of the night when the lights are not working, and you have to reset Camping Mode if you switch the ignition on (not tried this yet).

VW Customer Services have promised to sort out this and my other issues with the van let's see what they suggest.

On a brighter note, while on holiday in France, the roof was sagging, and then raised itself all on its own at 2 a.m. in the morning, and has not played up since! Might be a software fix for the hydraulics controller? I am away for 3 nights this weekend in Dorset and will see what happens!!

Best of luck with your issue, and keep pushing the dealer and VW for a fix, there must be one!!

 

[Defender90]

Hi, sorry to see you are having the same sagging roof problem as I have. I too found it annoying that the roof sags and upstairs lights don't work.
I also have taken it back to my VW dealer, Eurovans Crawley, who says it doesn't sag when at the dealership. Some helpful people on here have suggested it's the heat in the south of France, but it happens in the UK as well. Also, atmospherics are different at the dealership? I don't think there is not much difference between Guildford and Crawley.
I have complained to Eurovans Crawley, and they have had the van a couple of times to fix this issue, but say it hasn't sagged when in their possession. They have suggested when it sags, I turn the ignition on and raise the roof. Not very helpful in the middle of the night when the lights are not working, and you have to reset Camping Mode if you switch the ignition on (not tried this yet).

VW Customer Services have promised to sort out this and my other issues with the van let's see what they suggest.

On a brighter note, while on holiday in France, the roof was sagging, and then raised itself all on its own at 2 a.m. in the morning, and has not played up since! Might be a software fix for the hydraulics controller? I am away for 3 nights this weekend in Dorset and will see what happens!!

Best of luck with your issue, and keep pushing the dealer and VW for a fix, there must be one!!

Strange how suddenly the roof automatically corrects now this hasn’t been a feature on the t6.1 until very recently I think

 

[dspuk]

Strange how suddenly the roof automatically corrects now this hasn’t been a feature on the t6.1 until very recently I think

I believe it’s been a feature since the T6.

 

[andyinluton]

I believe it’s been a feature since the T6.

Its been a feature since T5 ie since the first hydro electric roof on a cali.

 

[Defender90]

After 2 nights the drivers side roof on our t6.1 brand new in May this year had sagged enough to stop roof lights from working the ram had moved about 2 inches I booked it In at our local VW dealership where it was purchased from they have had it for 3 days but claim the roof hasn’t sagged this is the second time it has been in for the same problem though last time they only had it over night I showed video and photo evidence of the sagging when I took the van in. I have now left it with them for a further 2 nights so see if they can see any sagging not sureView attachment 113673 where to go from here if they say there is no View attachment 113674problem with it as it’s my word against theirs. Anyone had similar issues ?

Have you tried putting the roof up and down 6 or 7 times to see if you have air in the system?

 

[Glenn Blundell]

After 2 nights the drivers side roof on our t6.1 brand new in May this year had sagged enough to stop roof lights from working the ram had moved about 2 inches I booked it In at our local VW dealership where it was purchased from they have had it for 3 days but claim the roof hasn’t sagged this is the second time it has been in for the same problem though last time they only had it over night I showed video and photo evidence of the sagging when I took the van in. I have now left it with them for a further 2 nights so see if they can see any sagging not sureView attachment 113673 where to go from here if they say there is no View attachment 113674problem with it as it’s my word against theirs. Anyone had similar issues ?

Have you tried putting the roof up and down 6 or 7 times to see if you have air in the system?

After 2 nights the drivers side roof on our t6.1 brand new in May this year had sagged enough to stop roof lights from working the ram had moved about 2 inches I booked it In at our local VW dealership where it was purchased from they have had it for 3 days but claim the roof hasn’t sagged this is the second time it has been in for the same problem though last time they only had it over night I showed video and photo evidence of the sagging when I took the van in. I have now left it with them for a further 2 nights so see if they can see any sagging not sureView attachment 113673 where to go from here if they say there is no View attachment 113674problem with it as it’s my word against theirs. Anyone had similar issues ?

Hi, I am sorry to hear about this. I too have had similar issues with our roof from new. We also purchased our van from Crawley back in late 2020 and I discovered the sagging on the passenger side after being up a day or two. I've taken it to three different dealerships and neither one could find a fault and they said it didn't sag while it was with them? I ended up getting so frustrated and give up on it. I just close it and put it back up after a couple of days and that seems to do the trick. It's not very good when you buy a very expensive van, thinking it's the best on the market, only to find out it Obviously has design flaws, that VW try to brush to one side.
Our roof also closes unevenly ( which is a whole different issue ). I've had a nightmare trying to get this fixed and have got nowhere.
Good luck

 

[andywa119]

Put roof up and down a few times with engine (rev It a bit) running. Normally fixes the sagging roof in my van after a winter of little use.

 

[Dysie]

Add my MY22 Cali from Eurovsns to this list. Never had a problem before, but this week in chamonix the roof has started to sag& lights do not work.
Sometime in the middle of last night….. i woke up as it raised itself ! This morning… the lights work ! Would not have believed it if I had not heard it myself. It’s been hot ish in the day but cools down rapidly at night..

 

[Steve340]

My van does exactly the same thing, sagging on the drivers side. VW Exeter have said that this is a common thing with vans and W’s recommendation is to put the roof up, then put it down and up again to expel air in the system. They will not replace under warranty. I have asked why this is not in the manual and surely if this procedure was normal and acceptable then it should be an official instruction in the manual. Waiting for an answer.

 

[Tim&carolsvan]

My van does exactly the same thing, sagging on the drivers side. VW Exeter have said that this is a common thing with vans and W’s recommendation is to put the roof up, then put it down and up again to expel air in the system. They will not replace under warranty. I have asked why this is not in the manual and surely if this procedure was normal and acceptable then it should be an official instruction in the manual. Waiting for an answer.

According to the manual the roof should automatically retension after 10 hours and then every 5 hours until the ignition is switched back on so there should be no need to manually retention the roof were off tomorrow in our so will see how it goes though I feel another phone call to vw Leicester may happen around Thursday

 

[andyinluton]

My van does exactly the same thing, sagging on the drivers side. VW Exeter have said that this is a common thing with vans and W’s recommendation is to put the roof up, then put it down and up again to expel air in the system. They will not replace under warranty. I have asked why this is not in the manual and surely if this procedure was normal and acceptable then it should be an official instruction in the manual. Waiting for an answer.

I had my roof pump replaced under warranty in 2020 for sagging on one side. They went through the process & replaced the roof rams first & that didn't work.
My understanding at the time was that there is a non-return valve on the pump which wasn't sealing properly, it was reputed to be a particular batch of pumps that had some manufacturing swarf caught in the valve.
Putting the roof up and down a few times in quick succesion may well be a good way of moving anything that is caught in the valve. Whether it fixes it or not, it's a simple no cost exercise thats got to be worth a try.

 

[dayslikethis]

Happened again since yesterdays post - still in Spain but booked in for return

 

[Tim&carolsvan]

roof has sagged every day this week and has been reset each evening before bed time. Van now booked in for the third time this Tuesday on return from holiday

 

[dayslikethis]

Yes ours keeps doing it and booked in. Reset again today here in Galicia

 

[Begize]

I had the same issue with sag on one side (passenger) on my Sept 2022 RHD Ocean within minutes of putting it up. First time dealer had it a couple of days and claimed they could find nothing but changed the hydraulic fluid. It happened again as soon as I got it back, so got pictures and was booked in again. Dealer had it a week, did see the problem and swapped the rams claiming it was fixed.

It wasn't - booked in again. This time they had it nearly 3 weeks, swapped the pump, problem still occurred, swapped the pump again and this time seems to be fixed.

Dealer hadn't seen the issue before but as I picked up my van, they had another with an identical issue. Would appear to be a batch of faulty pumps with a leaking valve.

I've also had an issue where after a few days in 30c + heat, the roof dropped a little on both sides and had to be re-raised but hasn't happened in more "normal" temperatures.

 

[dayslikethis]

So the van is now with the dealer. They state it’s not sagging enough to be covered by warranty work.

 

[yossarian]

So the van is now with the dealer. They state it’s not sagging enough to be covered by warranty work.

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I would ask your dealer for the Volkswagen document they relied on to determine the sag was within limits. If they say "2010030/8" this has a limit of 10 - 20cm over 72 hours and makes no mention of acceptable asymmetric sag.

 

[dayslikethis]

Got My van back today. I will now video and photo my own evidence of the sag and measure. I’ll then write to Vw direct. It’s not right and no it doesn’t retention itself. Footnote; there was another new Cali in the showroom and believe it or not there was a slight sag in the roof on its nearside. Will update this thread on progress thank you for your comments.

 

[dayslikethis]

Followed the advice on forum. Raised and lowered 5 times and it seems to have worked. Roof been up for almost 3 days with no sag.