My VW Grand California is TERRIBLE!

🔥 *BUY Your Ultimate Scotland Guide Bundle!* 🔥

🔥 *The Ultimate Scottish Roadtrip Guide AVAILABLE NOW!* 🔥

Today I review and cover ALL of the problems I have had so far with my VW Grand California. These are all of the things I wish I knew before buying mine!

The VW Grand California 600 is a fantastic Campervan full of amazing features but this video tells you the truth of what its like to live with a VW Grand California.

Van life and Camper Van life is a dream but sometimes there are problems with your camper van and that is when it becomes a pain!

----
📷 *OUR KIT* 📷
What Kit We Use?

💡 *GUIDES & IDEAS* 💡
Camper van Gift Ideas

NC500 Road-Trip Guide

Isle Of Skye Road-Trip Guide

📧 *BUSINESS ENQUIRIES* 📧
Work With Us

[EhrlicherEdukator]

I had a 680 for 6 months and traveled with it a lot during the pandemic. It was one of the best decisions of my life. I didn't have a single issue with the car. I am saving some cash to buy one in 2025.

[garystoker]

Great honest review. I bought one, it was my first camper and regretted it big time. In the first three months in was in for repair FIVE times, eventually they said things were just going to break and they refused to continue to repair stuff. Badly thought out, badly designed, badly built and eventually got my money back. Got a nice Mercedes van and had it kitted out by a pro company and it was amazing. These things are really sold hard and they don't tell you of any of the issues. Mine was sold as being "bombproof" and "things never go wrong", it was just sales talk.

[SoloVagant]

Chris. The water pump cycling on and off is more than likely because they is small leak in the plumbing system. Check and tighten all the hose clamps/fittings etc and that should fix the problem. Those pumps are designed to build pressure and then turn off until a tap is opened and then the pump turns on. Hope that helps.

[ChrisBrown-jhmo]

Sounds like it was done by a "designer" who never has, and never will use a camper. That's one of the main reasons I do my own conversions, the other one is money.

[siestacampers]

we rent a fleet of these and have had so many problems, we don't bother with the warranty as it's not worth the hassle. They keep it for weeks and never resolve the problems. it's true that the technicians haven't got a clue to fix these even in Europe. We've come up with a whole series of upgrades that resolve the previous constant hassle we've had with recurring problems. Things like Dometic water pump upgrade, and fridge thermostat workaround. gas airlock issues when you turn the gas taps off. water tap upgrade. The vw one always leaks. The step can get so bad it freaks out the comfort ECU which you need to reboot. We've actually built our own crafter conversion, which is loads more reliable and solid. great video and an honest review.

[kevinnuttall]

What an honest review wish more people were like you when reviewing things. Vw is not what they used to be.

[MAN]

Designed by a bunch of graduates who have never spent a day in their life in a campervan, probably!

[bonzesdiary]

We just rent a GC600 and it is the worst and terrible camper we ever had.
First I wanna say, that the camper is a complete fail. Nothing in this van is convincing or has any comfort.

- water is leaking somewhere under the sink.
- after using the shower, water comes out of the bottom from the shower, it flows out under the rear seat and comes out of the back door. So I guess there is water everywhere under the floor
- the handles from the storage cases over the bed are broken
- the sunprotector at the driver seat is broken
- the battery is not loading
- the panel shows random numbers, sometimes 50% batteries but just 1
minute left
- the Electric step has always problems and won’t come out or in
- when we lock the car, the lamp over the rear seats get on, you can’t switch it off
- the touch panel gets stuck a lot and we have to turn off and on the main switch ( so we have to get everything out of the van to get access to the electric
- the 12 v port in the front are not working
- the outer toilet access is not closing properly, so we can’t use the toilet


And all the bad comfort

There is no place to store any kind of bottles. The kitchen stores is just a pain in the a….
If you don’t have any dwarf plates and pots, you will not get any of your stuff one the drawers

The window cover …. Why!!!! Very other van or motorhome has inbuilt windows cover (shutter )

So I can write a lot more but just let me tell you

DONT BUY A VW GRAND CALIFORNIA

[michaelmorley]

Buying the name, would rather have get a pro company to fit a Merc out. Good video thanks

[sfb]

All I have to say… ITs VW. Would never buy Audi or VW. All kinds of Transmission issues known in the cars and VW is known to have all stupid issues that drives you mad. One last thing VW is over priced what you get.

[jonasm]

I'm in the states, California specifically, and I have a Eurovan MV. It's on its 3rd transmission and has a load of other issues that needed to be corrected/fixed all the time. Its a love-hate relationship. I think in the 20+ years we owned, its been in shop about 26 months. The love part is now I have it running perfectly, have fixed almost everything, and I can use without worrying about getting sand or dog mud on it. The hate part is that I bought a Promaster (Man Van/ Ducato) to convert, and I wouldn't buy anything else ever again. I couldn't care less that the Grand California may be released in the states, VW is out of favor with me, and had they taken on some responsibility in fixing my Eurovan, perhaps they would have kept me as a consumer.

[ukgroucho]

Wow. Very honest review. I'd be really disappointed with that level of faults especially because VW seem to charge a premium for the PVCs. I've got a Fiat Ducato based PVC (6.36m) from one of the Rapido group companies. Had it 18 months and 7600 miles and it's been faultless. Yes we get some rattles and squeaks but we can't really tell if that's fixtures or stuff we've packed - need to have a concerted effort to empty the kitchen drawers and get to the bottom of it. Your license to drive the >3500Kg vehicle is not 'HGV' It's most likely category C1 - kinda Light Goods Vehicle as you are licensed to drive stuff up to 7500Kg - unless you went the whole hog and did the C or CE category test.

[satujasatuja]

We had a GC680 4motion for 8 months and drove it some 25000kilometers. Then we had enough of the continuous problems and we returned the van to the dealer. Didn't get all our money back but we were satisfied after some negotions. Here is a list that was wrong with our van: 1. The toilet light has a life of it's own in cold weather. It's turns on and off on its own. 2. We received the van in January in Finland when there are freezing temperatures like -20 degrees celsius. And our first time we took water in the van 4 months later we found out that there had been water left on the pipes from the factory and our pipes had popped and water was leaking into the toilet cabinet and from the back shower also. Those were replaced but our questions about possibility of water damage to the van were ignored. 3. The electric step worked sometime and sometime it did not. It got replaced after which it worked fine for 2 weeks and got jammed totally on out position on a gas station and we had to force it back in to continue our journey. It got replaced again. 4. The control panel in the living area is a toll mess, it gets "jammed" and some of the buttons don't work, solar stops charging, battery info can show like -512A as the current usage. Endless fuse pull outs and mains on and off switching to get it back to its senses. 5. We had the diesel heating and one of the worst problems was that it stopped heating at random times, most likely at night time and you woke up freezing to see that the heating has turned off and the control panels is showing that the battery is empty even though it has 70%+ of juice left in it. This happened many many times for us and the dealership tried to fix it but had no luck in that. 6. Our final decision to return the car was when the whole camper side except for the freezer stopped working on our 2 week trip on Åland isles. After several hours of googling found out on german internet board that a way to truly to boot up the camper side, there is a blue plug under the glove compartment that needs to be pulled out for a few minutes while the mains on the camper are off and that fixed for us for the time being. After the trip we returned to the dealer and informed that we want to know on VW side when and how these continuous problems will be fixed. And the VW answer answer was that they do not know. And our decision was crystal clear after that was said. We returned the van.

[michaelflinn]

This sounds horrid. Thanks for your honesty. I'm going to skip buying this one.

[diwarburton]

I’ve always bought VW because I rate German engineering. However, I buy Transporter panel vans and have them converted to my spec (never a problem because I believe simple is best). I think half the problem is the California is majoring on all the latest technology (which isn’t tried and tested) and they fail. Great vlog.

[dominichayhoe]

I’m sorry but you don’t seem to have read your manuals as you make many incorrect assumptions.

Frost protect is a standard Truma part that is fitted to most vans. It is so you don’t damage the system. Have you not owned a motorhome before? I’m on my 4th all different makes and it’s been on every van.

You can still clear the error code either by providing gas or electric, or if you’ve not resolved the issue and managed to get as far as the system locking you out you need to wait 15 min tires then it will clear. You can still get heat without water.

Micro switch inside tap needs to stay dry. If it gets wet it creates an electrical connection. Resolution is to prise apart the contacts slightly which fixes it easily.

The over cab bed option is only available in the 600 which by standard is 3.5 tonnes not 3.88 tonnes so you don’t need the C1 classification on your licence.

.

[sixpotshot]

A brilliant report. I can only wish things will get better as you go along as it is a lot of money for a piece of kit that looks great. Personally VW group is a banned company through terrible and appalling customer service I have received several times over the years through one of its brands (whose cars were bought before the diesel gate scandal). Other than that I will say here what I have said before elsewhere: VW and VW group cheated European and US customers in a grand scale: diesel gate scandal and tried to get away with it (note as this is extremely important: they were not irresponsible once but twice with the same matter and courts - with a better system in the US - had to be used to put these fellas in the right place through stress and time wasting for their own customers... One does NOT reward cheaters with personal custom (as people keep doing like you have done) as when we do it that is exactly what these kind of abusive companies want: a passport from their own customers (!) to carry on with their wrongs...Through our custom we are just telling these guys it is ok to carry on cheating, cause we don't mind, cause we want their goods regardless through the iWant One disease giving our own ok for them to keep releasing sub-standard products and providing sub-standard service. Customers of Land Rovers should think rather than falling...

[AlanDCowie]

Hi Chris Thanks for your honest review of your Grand California, I waited 18Month for my Highline Kombi my dream van, spent a fortune at Leighton Vans, and now the Fuel Gauge sticks at 90% full all the time, its been in 3times now to the dealer, new sensor, new fuel tank now they are stuffed and they dont know what to do, I have had it since Oct 2022 and only driven it 1400miles, its definitely a love hate relationship but it does look & drive awesome

[graffixus]

"Don't buy an RV if you don't like to fix things." Should be a saying stuck on the bumper of every RV ever sold. They break and need lots of maintenance and the manufacturer is rarely of any help.

[dg]

Great honest review!
Had some of the problems you describe. 

BUT you should mention that NON of those failing components are VW!
Step: Thule
Heating system: Truma Kombi 6, water pump... not even sure who's. 

Truma: So the frost protection is from Truma. They have the most idiotic engineering decisions ever. their own panel below the seat does not communicate properly. the reset button is located under a plastic cover on the heater unit itself... that requires you to take the seat off... I can go on... no clue who designed this idiocy of a system. The cherry on top is that if the small panel under the seat looses connection to the heater unit... guess what - the blower goes into max mode and you cannot switch it off... will just keep on blowing cold air no matter what... Truma ppl - if you are reading this - you have idiots designing your products! 

Had my 600 in service 4 times over almost 1.5 y I have it (one of the first made) and learned a lot. Had the step changed, toilet light now has a switch... and the biggest one is the control panel of the Truma - 3 out 4 visits were coz of freaking Truma heater... only changing the whole electronic board on it helped. Truma was not authorising change of the unit until VW tried everything else. 

So viewers - chances are you will end up with Truma in most of conversion campers, unless you have Aldi water heating... 

Now, for the good parts: 

- 600 is compact and fits in most parking spots. 6m long and takes same space as normal delivery van - a HUGE plus! I go to city centres and don't fear parallel parking it.
- It drives really well (I was going 140 km/h on highways in Germany no problems)
- Can be used all year long for travel : took it to Lapland on skiing vacations and it was great to come back to warm cabin to change. Heater works well) Would not sleep in it in winter. Get Swedish Kabe if you want to winter in camper van.
- Consumption is ok (about 10l if you go 100 or below)
- Seats are amazing
- LED lights are amazing
- Adaptive cruise control is excellent
- Apple CarPlay
- Its not heavy and engine is powerful enough to keep up with everyone and overtake lorries
- Layout is very smart overall.
- Bed is comfy (Upper bed is great for kids. Not suitable for adults )
- It works really well as mobile office - I use it a lot to work from nice locations
I am very happy with ours so far. I am sure it will give me headaches, but I don't see alternatives on the market.