T5 roof won’t come down

Help! It seems the hydraulics for my van’s roof may have died. It went up and down fine earlier in the day, and then up again… and then silence when I push the control panel button. The button still works for other functions so it’s not that. I ended up trying the manual lowering using the screw behind the control panel and the roof started slowly going down but only on one side so it is now slightly down on the right side only and twisted. Any suggestions of how to release the other side so I can get it fully down? Or, as I now can’t drive it at all, any suggestions of anyone near North London who can come to the van to fix it?

grab a ladder. go to the stuck side. have someone pull down on it at the same time as you release the bleed screw. also in the hidden menu have you any faults logged ? if so clear those. also try sending the roof back up again fully by shutting the bleed valve and operating normally

Thanks for the advice. I tried that (opening the valve again and giving a more forceful pull on the roof) and I did indeed get it to shift. Brilliant. It means the roof is now down and I can now secure it (don’t have the proper Velcro straps but will find a way) so I can drive the vehicle. As it happens I have it booked in to have a general check up (including checking the roof works, ironically!) and a habitation check so I’m very relieved I’ll be able to deliver the van and hopefully get the problem sorted out. We’re taking the family away in July to the French Alps for our first big camping trip since Covid so I’m pretty pleased this problem happened now when we’re at home rather than up a mountain! Thanks again for your help…

Have a look at the hydraulic oil tank to see how much is in there.
If you've already got to the bleed screw then you're not far off it.

It could be that the oil is low and needs a top up, you can do this yourself
with a big syringe. Then pump the roof up and down a few times
and bobs yer uncle.
Most of this stuff is here on the forum, it'll save you a few quid if you can
do it yourself.

Thanks for the advice. I found a diagram of the whole roof mechanism and hydraulic system somewhere on this forum when I was searching over the weekend but I can’t find it again now! Any chance someone can point me in the right direction for that please?

Have a read of this thread ...
Post in thread 'Leaking oil behind control panel of 2008 T5' https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/leaking-oil-behind-control-panel-of-2008-t5.19984/post-236525

Thanks!