Tiny blisters on roof

[edzt]

Before I start moaning I must say I’m delighted with mine.

But, the dealers!

I’ve got a couple of blisters on my roof, I’ve told my local dealer but I’m dreading getting it done

Van was serviced a month ago
Driving a week later I get the message on the display
Engine oil level
Reduce oil level

Back to the dealer, “ah they all do that sir we’ll reduce the oil level when we look at your roof”
By the way says I, when merc Stockport fixed the fridge stat they broke the under kitchen lights.....Not our problem, different dealer says my dealer. I’ve now got to get the van to Stockport and leave it with them.
Roof looked at, oil level reduced

Couple of days later I went up to Tynemouth, spent the night in the van and drove home. Lovely effortless drive, but when I got there fridge on setting 1 had frozen solid everything I’d taken and surprise surprise warning message came on
Reduce oil level etc.

So, everything I asked them to fix has failed and they’ve bust the effing lights to boot

They have agreed to change the awning which has a broken gearbox.....I wonder what kind of balls up they can make of that

 

[Steve B]

That is a lot of issues edzt; 'they all do that' reminds me of a time in the late 80's I had a new MG Metro (Cr*p car though) and got is serviced, the dealer cross threaded the sump plug, causing a leak. When I complained an old jobs worth stores bloke in a brown caretakers type coat said I must have done it and sent me packing. A mechanic friend of my dad put an oversized plug in which solved the problem - wish I had the confidence then as now!

 

[Carol]

My roof and bed frame have arrived, when, I don't know because they didn't notify me. I went in yesterday to the dealer and asked. I am booked for next month to have them fitted. They said it will take about 3 or 4 days.
I asked what is actually wrong with the mattress. They haven't got a clue. I asked if they have to paint the new roof. They said it should come colour coded to the chassis number. How true that is I wouldn't bet my life on it.

Iasked if the new roof would arrive colour coded ,the answer was no,the fitters have to spray itbefore fitting

 

[askho]

Iasked if the new roof would arrive colour coded ,the answer was no,the fitters have to spray itbefore fitting

Correct. Roof doesn't come colour coded. Body shop has to paint it. Dealer talking BS again. Wish they just be frank and say they don't know the answer instead of making up all these BS.

 

[Method7]

Car people.., Level pegging with estate agents, crack dealers and MPs.

 

[GeorgeG]

Our Marco Polo went back to the dealership to have the roof replaced, plus bed frame / mattress recall and a few other things. We booked it in before summer for September as we knew we would want to use it over the summer - so plenty of notice, plus I had started the conversation with them back in March, including showing them the roof blisters and corrosion.
A few days repair turned into 3 weeks. The roof was taken to a specialist body shop to be painted and then returned to dealer for fitting. The roof looks fine but it doesn't look like it fits properly at the back so that needs looking at again. But most frustratingly, they do not have the parts to replace the corroded bed frame. Honestly you would've thought with a recall that this would be sorted but like GeorgeG it appears to be par for the course. Got to say I'm unimpressed. Do you think there are MP owners out there who have nothing wrong with their vans and it's only those on the forum?? MB are clearly struggling with these repairs - not sure why Westfalia isn't involved, any one know why??
Apparently lack of parts is due to supply from Germany. Not sure how to escalate in MB so if anyone has any ideas that would be great.
Still love the van though........

I have a mole in the Westfalia factory in Rheda-Weidenbrück who used to work in the warranty department. With regard to the delay in supplying new roofs etc., he told me Westfalia always prioritise new conversion work for Mercedes over the production of spare parts. I think they may well have been particularly busy with orders since the facelift V- Class arrived.

Westfalia don't get involved directly with the Marco Polo because it is an OEM Mercedes product which is the responsibility of the latter when it comes to claims. I previously owned a Westfalia Columbus, purchased through a Westfalia dealer in the UK, and i was able to take it to the factory in Germany for some issues to be sorted out by them. Definitely not possible with the MP.

In my experience the MP is no worse than the California. I bought a California new in 2007 and ran it for 4 years. I got rid in the end because of having to continually take it to my nearest VW Van Centre (120 mile round trip to Exeter) for niggling faults. I lost any confidence I had in it as a long term proposition. The sickener is that I sold it over 8 years ago and similar age Calis are selling for only a couple of thousand less than I got for it all that time ago!

 

[GeorgeG]

You are correct. In fact the great majority of dealers don't have their own body shop, if any. Most subcontract the work to authorized body shops. But how many body shops would have removed and refitted a MP's roof with all the related mechanisms. Having said that how many dealers would have done that too. I think experience really counts in this case, so whichever way it's done, have to wait and see the result. Fingers crossed.

My local MB dealer is in Dorchester, but I took my MP to Poole MB for the roof replacement because they had already replaced 2 or 3 and admitted that they had learnt quite a lot in the process. The odd thing about this arrangement was that when the roof arrived in Poole it had to be shipped to a body shop in Dorchester only a stone's throw away from my local MB dealer (who incidentally were more than happy for me to take it to another branch!) And the roof had to go back to Dorchester to be repainted as the first attempt was poor. The replacement is fine, but the van was filthy inside when I collected it. Should have taken it up with the dealer, but I was going away in it the next day and couldn't cope with the hassle.

I had left it with them for 5 weeks in the hope that the bed parts would arrive. I've been waiting another couple of months and decided to phone the dealer yesterday for an update. Lo and behold, the parts were all in! I've no idea how long they'd had them and sadly, was not surprised. Anyway, it went in today and hopefully I'll be able to report back on a job well done.

I'm sure the Mercedes dealers mean well, but their ignorance of the product - which is inexcusable - doesn't help. Also, the whole approach of German car manufacturers when it comes to quality and warranty issues is really poor and seems to be getting worse. Between us, my wife and I have had terrible issues with VW's in particular, all bought new (2 Golfs, a Polo and the California mentioned above). Consequently, I would never buy any German car. Apart from a Freelander (which was also a disaster), our last 8 cars have been Japanese and Korean: 2x Honda; 1x Nissan; 2x Subaru; 1x Hyundai and 2x Toyota. All completely fault free except for a small issue with the X-Trail and a new clock bulb for a Forester at 7 years old!

As you can probably guess from the above, I'm not looking forward to my MP at post three years.

 

[Carol]

I have written asking whats happening regarding my roof , as heard nothing for 3 months now..
I have had BMWs and Hondas , they have never presented me with any trouble.
My previous T5 camper was really good , the only niggles were design and campervan conversion issues, thats why I wanted a complete factory built camper as the MP is , apart from roof lumps , rusty bed hinge ,dealer told me they will replace but the mattress is ok, although DVLA recall states a matress problem, also one of the seat switches keeps falling out,
WE do love the van very smooth and comfortable, just need to persevere with the dealership and workshop.

 

[Epigram]

The posts here are getting quite disturbing.

There is no recall on the roofs or requirement by MB to inspect them. The dealers I have questioned are either unaware or deny there is a problem. Yet it is clear it exists and that it is not being addressed particularly well.

This may be a daft question but would it be useful to set up a poll of members to find information such as:

1. The registration year of vehicles with roof problems This could determine whether it is a batch problem or whether it is continuing to recur. It will also provide an indication of the percentage affected because know the number of MPs are registered each year
2. The age of vehicles when first noticed and reported to MB
3. The time for dealers to resolve from when first identified.

On the basis that “knowledge is power” members would have more readily accessible data on if or when it might occur and how effectively it is being addressed by MB. (The information is there but buried in individual posts.)

Poll information could also provide leverage to reject a recently acquired vehicle in some circumstances if it can be shown that dealers are taking excessive or unreasonable time to remedy. Warranty work is lucrative for Service Centres with not much incentive to eliminate problems at source. Rejecting a vehicle is a good wake up call mainly because is up front and affects a different cost centres.
Looking at the way polls are set up in the forum it would seem there would meed to be several, one for each question.

So, this is a poll on whether it is worth setting up a poll(s) on roof blisters!

I’m not affected by roof blisters (yet) but clearly have a vested interest therefore and I’m happy to set a poll up to gather data if sufficient think it worthwhile. It will be an excuse to retire to the mobile man cave for half an hour to avoid jobs elsewhere !

 

[GeorgeG]

The posts here are getting quite disturbing.

There is no recall on the roofs or requirement by MB to inspect them. The dealers I have questioned are either unaware or deny there is a problem. Yet it is clear it exists and that it is not being addressed particularly well.

This may be a daft question but would it be useful to set up a poll of members to find information such as:

1. The registration year of vehicles with roof problems This could determine whether it is a batch problem or whether it is continuing to recur. It will also provide an indication of the percentage affected because know the number of MPs are registered each year
2. The age of vehicles when first noticed and reported to MB
3. The time for dealers to resolve from when first identified.

On the basis that “knowledge is power” members would have more readily accessible data on if or when it might occur and how effectively it is being addressed by MB. (The information is there but buried in individual posts.)

Poll information could also provide leverage to reject a recently acquired vehicle in some circumstances if it can be shown that dealers are taking excessive or unreasonable time to remedy. Warranty work is lucrative for Service Centres with not much incentive to eliminate problems at source. Rejecting a vehicle is a good wake up call mainly because is up front and affects a different cost centres.
Looking at the way polls are set up in the forum it would seem there would meed to be several, one for each question.

So, this is a poll on whether it is worth setting up a poll(s) on roof blisters!

I’m not affected by roof blisters (yet) but clearly have a vested interest therefore and I’m happy to set a poll up to gather data if sufficient think it worthwhile. It will be an excuse to retire to the mobile man cave for half an hour to avoid jobs elsewhere !

Good idea.

 

[Method7]

Whilst these blisters are a concern and in my case the warranty claim is in hand, just recently authorised by MB, took 8 weeks, the parts are ordered and the body shop is waiting for delivery.

I have no concerns regarding my claim so far and to be completely honest I have no issues with any of the MB dealerships I have used. Purchased in Manchester, recovered once to Perth Scotland (double puncture - pothole) and locally cared for at Salisbury MB. I knew what I was buying and why I wanted it, we were replacing a 20 year old V-280.

I’m quite use to MB’s complete lack of product knowledge, it doesn’t effect the service they provide, I never enter expecting answers I often enter MB with anticipation, something interesting is just about to happen.

V-Class ownership is a voyage that often drifts off course. I think the key to enjoying it lies not in the battle but in the surrender.

 

[Carol]

The posts here are getting quite disturbing.

There is no recall on the roofs or requirement by MB to inspect them. The dealers I have questioned are either unaware or deny there is a problem. Yet it is clear it exists and that it is not being addressed particularly well.

This may be a daft question but would it be useful to set up a poll of members to find information such as:

1. The registration year of vehicles with roof problems This could determine whether it is a batch problem or whether it is continuing to recur. It will also provide an indication of the percentage affected because know the number of MPs are registered each year
2. The age of vehicles when first noticed and reported to MB
3. The time for dealers to resolve from when first identified.

On the basis that “knowledge is power” members would have more readily accessible data on if or when it might occur and how effectively it is being addressed by MB. (The information is there but buried in individual posts.)

Poll information could also provide leverage to reject a recently acquired vehicle in some circumstances if it can be shown that dealers are taking excessive or unreasonable time to remedy. Warranty work is lucrative for Service Centres with not much incentive to eliminate problems at source. Rejecting a vehicle is a good wake up call mainly because is up front and affects a different cost centres.
Looking at the way polls are set up in the forum it would seem there would meed to be several, one for each question.

So, this is a poll on whether it is worth setting up a poll(s) on roof blisters!

I’m not affected by roof blisters (yet) but clearly have a vested interest therefore and I’m happy to set a poll up to gather data if sufficient think it worthwhile. It will be an excuse to retire to the mobile man cave for half an hour to avoid jobs elsewhere !

I think the idea of a poll is positive, I have often quoted to MB I am not alone with all these problems.. I also have rusty hinges ,but was told my mattress does not need replacing. The recall state the mattress was not up to standard and can cause the corrosion, so again there are differences across dealerships as some are having mattress replacements. When I raised roof concerns with MB UK ,the customer service person told me if I was not happy to go to the automobile ombudsman.
Just today received a call my new roof is in and will be fixed next week . my vehicle is reg Dec 2017, and microblisters first noticed Jan Feb 2019. first roof replaced after 6-7 weeks , I rejected it the following day as instead of microblisters I had a massive bulge in the roof, the workshop attitude was well its fibreglass it cannot be perfect like steel, eventually agreed I need another new roof. so from begining to now say Feb to October to resolve

 

[Carol]

I had not heard from dealership workshop for over 2 months , and had spoke to customer services at MB UK without any joy, l was even told they will sand my roof down and respray after l had been told my new roof was on back order .l told them l would not accept this and she said well you can take it up with auto ombudsman, l then did a search and found a German factory site and posted my concerns. I received an email from cs.uk@cac. Mercedes-Benz.com stating they would investigate, . Then Weds my dealerships rang to say roof is in and hinges for bed will be replaced , goes in on Tuesday,Yesterday received a tel phone call from MB Netherlands +31 20 721 9722, had l been contacted about my new roof. So fingers crossed

 

[sashko]

Hello! I have problem with roof blisters on the roof. But I have no warranty more. MB said that they will not be make any repair after warranty with my roof. There is no exploitation problem. There is manufacture defect. Have anybody repaired your roof after warranty ending?

 

[Carol]

I feel sorry if sashko cannot get his work carried out after warranty has ended.
I think this just highlights the need to ensure we get new roofs and not accept a sanded down roof with a respray,

 

[Steven rhodes]

I feel sorry if sashko cannot get his work carried out after warranty has ended.
I think this just highlights the need to ensure we get new roofs and not accept a sanded down roof with a respray,

Yep true I rejected my respray which was done without my consent I was told I was having a new roof and they must of thought I wouldn't of noticed the difference, im still waiting for a new roof

 

[Carol]

Yep true I rejected my respray which was done without my consent I was told I was having a new roof and they must of thought I wouldn't of noticed the difference, im still waiting for a new roof

Thats good ,keep the pressure on

 

[Carol]

Hello! I have problem with roof blisters on the roof. But I have no warranty more. MB said that they will not be make any repair after warranty with my roof. There is no exploitation problem. There is manufacture defect. Have anybody repaired your roof after warranty ending?

Hello! I have problem with roof blisters on the roof. But I have no warranty more. MB said that they will not be make any repair after warranty with my roof. There is no exploitation problem. There is manufacture defect. Have anybody repaired your roof after warranty ending?

I think you should raise the issue with MB again and inform them this is a major manufacturing problem , count how many on this site have a roof problem or had one rectified

 

[sashko]

I decided to sue the manufacturer. My car 06/2017 (40.000 km). I need to expertise the roof. Do you have any experience with it?

 

[WILLH]

Mercedes really should be stepping up and covering this for you-is the bodywork warranty for a longer period than normal manufacturers warranty for the van?Given the competence(lack of it!) of most MB dealers I’ve experienced my preference would be a repair if my van had the same issue-changing the roof for a new one could cause more problems than it solves!