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Technical problems and/or solutions concerning the Grand California.
A
Aldo
Could you please elaborate how you fixed the blinking fridge light issue thanks a million!
"Worked out the problem with the 5 blinking lights on the fridge. The error code pointed to a dodgy thermostat. We traced this to the actual thermostat probe in the back of the freezer compartment. If it touches the metal of the freezer it sends it into fault mode. We managed to remove it and insulate it better, This resolved the situation for now"
"Worked out the problem with the 5 blinking lights on the fridge. The error code pointed to a dodgy thermostat. We traced this to the actual thermostat probe in the back of the freezer compartment. If it touches the metal of the freezer it sends it into fault mode. We managed to remove it and insulate it better, This resolved the situation for now"
A
Aldo
Ok, took it to garage, the guy said both the Fridge and the Step need to be replaced. "They are on back order" with no timeline as to when they may arrive. He also said some latches of the van need to be replaced in the overhead lockers, he said part of a 'recall process'.
So obviously some teething issues as its a new range, however, warranty is for 3 years so its a portable fridge with a 'BESTEK 200W Power Inverter' until then.
So obviously some teething issues as its a new range, however, warranty is for 3 years so its a portable fridge with a 'BESTEK 200W Power Inverter' until then.
J
Jester
Top Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
My step is getting worse, now has a mind of its own when it opens and closes.
Yes was aware of a recall for certain parts mainly overhead lockers.
when did you receive your 600?
Will
satuja
Replying to myself again.
Water leaking problems have been solved now. Factory had left water in the pipes when testing the water system and had not dried the piping/faucets properly, so when the van arrived in Finland at -20 celsius the water has freezed and broke two of the faucets (The shower one and the outside shower one). These have been fixed now.
The good the in that as the water system does not have water preassure when faucets/taps are closed the water leaked only when the faucet/taps were open. And as we noticed the leakage at our first try there were only small amount of water that leaked inside the toilet cabinet.
Still waiting for a reply for our complaint from VW dealership for some sort of refund for our troubles...
Wild Phil Hic
Hi guys
I am a new member and have been reading about the problems about the GC and the lack of help coming from the dealerships.
i have been having some issues that many other members are having including;
- fridge not working - all lights flashing showing error code. I have spoken to Hereford dealership and they said that my van is on for re-call however (5 hour job!)no parts available so will let me know in about 10 days!
- step has a mind of its own. Still no feedback from dealer as to what we can do. Speaking to other members who have said you just need to deal with it and it always works when you start the van.
- Ambient lights stopped working. This fault seems to happen a lot to other owners and again dealership was considering a complete system overall which I get the impression that they really don’t want to do It. Speaking to a friend who as a 600 he told me to go to the electrical cupboard under the bed and turn the red battery button anti-clockwise and leave it for 10 secs, than turn it back again. Guess what it’s sorted it out, however it does require you the re-set the heating and water after.
Anyone who can help with fridge problems please let me know.
I am a new member and have been reading about the problems about the GC and the lack of help coming from the dealerships.
i have been having some issues that many other members are having including;
- fridge not working - all lights flashing showing error code. I have spoken to Hereford dealership and they said that my van is on for re-call however (5 hour job!)no parts available so will let me know in about 10 days!
- step has a mind of its own. Still no feedback from dealer as to what we can do. Speaking to other members who have said you just need to deal with it and it always works when you start the van.
- Ambient lights stopped working. This fault seems to happen a lot to other owners and again dealership was considering a complete system overall which I get the impression that they really don’t want to do It. Speaking to a friend who as a 600 he told me to go to the electrical cupboard under the bed and turn the red battery button anti-clockwise and leave it for 10 secs, than turn it back again. Guess what it’s sorted it out, however it does require you the re-set the heating and water after.
Anyone who can help with fridge problems please let me know.
A
Aldo
Latest problem (after having fridge replaced, overhead lockers hardware recall, and step replaced), is now the water pump runs but no water coming out. Tried sucking to remove any air locks, fuse replacement. So I'm assuming it's the water pump (numerous threads on waterpump issues with no quick fix). No water in sink, shower, or toilet. Think I'm just going to sell this piece of junk.
N
NickMidi
VIP Member
Afternoon
We have a small VW California rental business (we also love using the vans ourselves). We have two Oceans and added a GC600 to the fleet in May (ordered last November). We are at the point of thinking of selling the van as the 1st edition niggles it has make it a bit of a pain when renting out. People generally come back having had a great time and loving the van but there are a few consistent issues which make it a bit of a pain. I must say I think it drives really well and has many impressive features but as a family, we are all clear that we prefer our Oceans.
Anyway, here are some of the faults we have experienced:
01 - Boiler faults, the worse being the fault that needs a manual reset which involves taking the rear seat apart (we have only had this once so far). But otherwise, it just seems to like to kick up faults a lot of the time after not being used for a few days or if the gas tap has been turned off and then back on. We now know how to talk these through with renters but it just seems a shame that it doesn't work faultlessly every time.
02 - Tap/pump issues. We are on our third kitchen tap now. I believe water gets into the tap and shorts the microchip and it means the water pump intermittently kicks on and on occasion wont turn on at all. Because the pump is positioned under the bed and likely where someone would have their head, this is an issue when it happens at night. We have fitted a small switch that you can easily get to from the bed while lying down so we can turn the pump off if this happens in the night. I have no doubt it is a manufacturing issue with the pump but I guess VW have not prioritised a replacement.
03 - Bathroom light with a life of its own. We have heard that closing the vent in the bathroom should help solve this because of the fact it has a movement sensor. It definitely has improved it but its not completely solved the issue - a light switch would be better, interesting to read that someone else had this replaced by the dealer.
04 - Flooring easily damaged. It just doesn't seem tough enough for a campervan which is principally an outdoor vehicle. We have a few spots of damage on it that I think have simply been someone having a bit of grit in their shoe
05 - The laminate on the toilet unit under the door on the outside of it and under the rear seat is starting to bubble - I am concerned it may be a leak, waiting to get it into the dealer to check.
06 - Surely the heater vent doesn;t need to be below the window and therefore preventing you from opening the window while the heater is running on gas???
07 - The two straps that hold the bed up have come away from the bolts. On closer inspection of how they have fastened the end of the straps to under the corner of the bed they just don't look like there was much chance of them lasting.
08 - I don't think I have had the rattling sliding door issue some have mentioned but I do think it needs far to much of a slam to close properly, hopefully later editions will have the aided close like they have on the Oceans.
09 - I don't think this is likely to change but I think the over cab bed option that we have on ours is not ideal and more limiting than the pop top on the Oceans. I think the van would be better functionally and aesthetically over all if it had a pop top like you see on the Auto Trail Adventure vans.
This sounds like the long list of a unhappy owner but it isn't, I really do like many aspects of the van and when I look at the likes of the Auto trails and other similar sized vans, none of them attract me more than the GC600 did.
I guess I am just going to have to wait for the second edition when hopefully they will have sorted a lot of these points.
We have a small VW California rental business (we also love using the vans ourselves). We have two Oceans and added a GC600 to the fleet in May (ordered last November). We are at the point of thinking of selling the van as the 1st edition niggles it has make it a bit of a pain when renting out. People generally come back having had a great time and loving the van but there are a few consistent issues which make it a bit of a pain. I must say I think it drives really well and has many impressive features but as a family, we are all clear that we prefer our Oceans.
Anyway, here are some of the faults we have experienced:
01 - Boiler faults, the worse being the fault that needs a manual reset which involves taking the rear seat apart (we have only had this once so far). But otherwise, it just seems to like to kick up faults a lot of the time after not being used for a few days or if the gas tap has been turned off and then back on. We now know how to talk these through with renters but it just seems a shame that it doesn't work faultlessly every time.
02 - Tap/pump issues. We are on our third kitchen tap now. I believe water gets into the tap and shorts the microchip and it means the water pump intermittently kicks on and on occasion wont turn on at all. Because the pump is positioned under the bed and likely where someone would have their head, this is an issue when it happens at night. We have fitted a small switch that you can easily get to from the bed while lying down so we can turn the pump off if this happens in the night. I have no doubt it is a manufacturing issue with the pump but I guess VW have not prioritised a replacement.
03 - Bathroom light with a life of its own. We have heard that closing the vent in the bathroom should help solve this because of the fact it has a movement sensor. It definitely has improved it but its not completely solved the issue - a light switch would be better, interesting to read that someone else had this replaced by the dealer.
04 - Flooring easily damaged. It just doesn't seem tough enough for a campervan which is principally an outdoor vehicle. We have a few spots of damage on it that I think have simply been someone having a bit of grit in their shoe
05 - The laminate on the toilet unit under the door on the outside of it and under the rear seat is starting to bubble - I am concerned it may be a leak, waiting to get it into the dealer to check.
06 - Surely the heater vent doesn;t need to be below the window and therefore preventing you from opening the window while the heater is running on gas???
07 - The two straps that hold the bed up have come away from the bolts. On closer inspection of how they have fastened the end of the straps to under the corner of the bed they just don't look like there was much chance of them lasting.
08 - I don't think I have had the rattling sliding door issue some have mentioned but I do think it needs far to much of a slam to close properly, hopefully later editions will have the aided close like they have on the Oceans.
09 - I don't think this is likely to change but I think the over cab bed option that we have on ours is not ideal and more limiting than the pop top on the Oceans. I think the van would be better functionally and aesthetically over all if it had a pop top like you see on the Auto Trail Adventure vans.
This sounds like the long list of a unhappy owner but it isn't, I really do like many aspects of the van and when I look at the likes of the Auto trails and other similar sized vans, none of them attract me more than the GC600 did.
I guess I am just going to have to wait for the second edition when hopefully they will have sorted a lot of these points.
L
leeb
All irritating and relate to what I believe to be really poor QC at the production plant. As a rental vehicle I would agree...far to fragile in its current format
As an owner of a GC680 (currently in week 4 of a summer trip) it has performed pretty well, though some of the issues you raise are familiar. The water pump is either not powerful enough or the microswitch is not sensitive enough
As an owner of a GC680 (currently in week 4 of a summer trip) it has performed pretty well, though some of the issues you raise are familiar. The water pump is either not powerful enough or the microswitch is not sensitive enough
L
leeb
And position water fill point so that it can't be sliced off by sliding door when open. obviously being VW it is an outrageous 50 odd quid to replace....!
N
NickMidi
VIP Member
Ha ha, yes, guilty of that.
T
T3Z-GB
Guest User
And additional or more powerful solar panel, on the 600 a 104 watt panel is not enough considering it’s a 4 birth, with kids etc opening and closing the fridge all day how is that going to keep the battery tipped up ? Mine can’t with just 2 adults.
N
NickMidi
VIP Member
I have not got the solar panel but did find the battery drained quicker than expected in the early days but seems to have improved. Not sure if that's more my perception than reality.
J
Jester
Top Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
What setting is it on
P
Per-Stefan
J
Jester
Top Poster
Lifetime VIP Member
ok well you do the obvious sounds like a fault with the thermostat. Back to the dealer.
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