E
EA Tony
Hello everyone,
After more than 20 years with Toyota and Lexus, including several RX, NX and CT models, I decided to move over to Volkswagen. I now have a brand-new ID.4, a brand-new ID.7 and a brand-new California Ocean 2.0 TDI DSG.
I knew before buying that Volkswagen might not be quite at the same level as Toyota or Lexus for reliability, but I honestly did not expect a California only a few months old to have this many problems.
The infotainment system was faulty from the day I collected the vehicle and had to be replaced under warranty. Now I have a much more serious electrical problem.
The van keeps showing Charging cable connected while I am driving, even though there is no cable connected. The leisure batteries are not charging at all, either from the hook-up or while driving, and the camper display has shown around 5 volts. The whole camper electrical system is behaving strangely and, at the moment, I cannot really use the vehicle properly as a camper.
The dealer connected it to diagnostics and told me there is a CAN bus communication problem involving the charging system and the camper electronics. Basically, the different control units are not communicating with each other properly.
They also told me they have not seen this exact fault before and that it looks different from the more common charging issues they have dealt with in the past. At first, they told me they had bad news because something important appears to have failed.
They do not want to guess or simply say it needs a software update. They expect the diagnostic work alone to take between four and six hours, and they may need to speak directly with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK before they can confirm exactly what has gone wrong.
The right-hand mirror motor has also started hesitating and stuttering when it unfolds. It seems to be getting worse, and I suspect it may fail completely soon.
Because the camper electrics are basically unusable and the leisure batteries will not charge, I have already had to cancel two trips, one to Cornwall and another to the French Alps. The van can still be driven, but I cannot use it properly for the reason I bought it.
I am still trying to stay positive and I have no intention of rejecting the California. I genuinely like it and want to keep it for many years. But for a brand-new, highly specified and very expensive camper, it is very disappointing to have a faulty infotainment system from new, followed only a few months later by what appears to be a much more complicated electrical fault.
The dealership has been excellent and is taking the problem seriously. I trust them to investigate it properly. I would be very interested to hear whether anyone else has experienced anything similar with the CAN bus, charging system, leisure batteries or camper electrics.
After more than 20 years with Toyota and Lexus, including several RX, NX and CT models, I decided to move over to Volkswagen. I now have a brand-new ID.4, a brand-new ID.7 and a brand-new California Ocean 2.0 TDI DSG.
I knew before buying that Volkswagen might not be quite at the same level as Toyota or Lexus for reliability, but I honestly did not expect a California only a few months old to have this many problems.
The infotainment system was faulty from the day I collected the vehicle and had to be replaced under warranty. Now I have a much more serious electrical problem.
The van keeps showing Charging cable connected while I am driving, even though there is no cable connected. The leisure batteries are not charging at all, either from the hook-up or while driving, and the camper display has shown around 5 volts. The whole camper electrical system is behaving strangely and, at the moment, I cannot really use the vehicle properly as a camper.
The dealer connected it to diagnostics and told me there is a CAN bus communication problem involving the charging system and the camper electronics. Basically, the different control units are not communicating with each other properly.
They also told me they have not seen this exact fault before and that it looks different from the more common charging issues they have dealt with in the past. At first, they told me they had bad news because something important appears to have failed.
They do not want to guess or simply say it needs a software update. They expect the diagnostic work alone to take between four and six hours, and they may need to speak directly with Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles UK before they can confirm exactly what has gone wrong.
The right-hand mirror motor has also started hesitating and stuttering when it unfolds. It seems to be getting worse, and I suspect it may fail completely soon.
Because the camper electrics are basically unusable and the leisure batteries will not charge, I have already had to cancel two trips, one to Cornwall and another to the French Alps. The van can still be driven, but I cannot use it properly for the reason I bought it.
I am still trying to stay positive and I have no intention of rejecting the California. I genuinely like it and want to keep it for many years. But for a brand-new, highly specified and very expensive camper, it is very disappointing to have a faulty infotainment system from new, followed only a few months later by what appears to be a much more complicated electrical fault.
The dealership has been excellent and is taking the problem seriously. I trust them to investigate it properly. I would be very interested to hear whether anyone else has experienced anything similar with the CAN bus, charging system, leisure batteries or camper electrics.
