Class Action Suite - Water Enters car

[Aronis]

Hi All,

I got my Class Action Suit Letter V. Audi re: Drains from sunroof and water getting into car.
My car has been dry as far as I can tell, but I'd like to do the Drain Cleaning and Plenum Drain Cleaning.

Does anyone have any information on the proper process to 'clean the drains' and 'clean the plenum'?

(where is this plenum they are talking about?)

Thanks,

Mike

[V8weight]

The plenum they are referring to is the cowl area where the coolant reservoir resides. Basically remove the cowl cover and remove any leafs or debris that you may find, and clean the two drains located at the bottom. I would say you should be able to blow the drains out with compressed air, and if I remember correctly, the coolant reservoir has to be removed to access one of them.

[JRS-RS6]

The plenum they are referring to is the cowl area where the coolant reservoir resides. Basically remove the cowl cover and remove any leafs or debris that you may find, and clean the two drains located at the bottom. I would say you should be able to blow the drains out with compressed air, and if I remember correctly, the coolant reservoir has to be removed to access one of them.

That explains all the water on your garage floor on the "How you do'in?" thread? :)

[V8weight]

That explains all the water on your garage floor on the "How you do'in?" thread? :)
Most of that water was tears....

[DHall1]

Is this a Audi C5 issue or RS6 issue?

[SAF]

C5 issue.

[R1]

got my letter too two days ago but i'm pretty sure no leaky on my RS
V8weight is right ... water tears lol

[JRS-RS6]

Is this a Audi C5 issue or RS6 issue?

See full details here: https://wateringresssettlement.com/

If you purchased or leased, new or used one of the vehicles listed below, your rights could be affected:
· 2001-2007 Volkswagen New Beetle equipped with sunroof (VIN below 3VW---1C-7M514779)
· 2001-2007 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan or Wagon equipped with sunroof
· 2001-2007 Volkswagen Golf, Volkswagen GTI equipped with sunroof
· 1999-2005 Volkswagen Passat.
· 1997-2006 Audi A4 B5 and B6 Platforms (including Cabrio, S and RS versions).
· 1998-2005 Audi A6 C5 Platform (including Allroad, S and RS versions)

Current owners or leasers:
· 1998-2000 and 2007-2009 Volkswagen New Beetle equipped with sunroof (VIN 3VW---1C-7M514779 or higher)
· 1997-2000, and 2008-2009 Volkswagen Jetta Sedan or Wagon equipped with sunroof
· 1997-2000 Volkswagen Golf/GTI and 2008 - 2009 Volkswagen Golf/GTI equipped with sunroof
· 1997 and 2006-2009 Volkswagen Passat equipped with sunroof
· 1998 Volkswagen Passat
· 2004-2009 Volkswagen Touareg
· 2005-2008 Audi A4 B7 equipped with sunroof (including S and RS versions)
· 1997 and 2005-2009 Audi A6 C6 platform equipped with sunroof (including S and RS versions)
· 1997-2009 Audi A8 (including S versions)

So to answer your question this issue includes all C5s and other VAG models as well.

[yokust]

From being a dealer tech and doing these recalls

You do NOT want to use compressed air on the sunroof drains. The drain tubes on the sunroof frame assembly are just pushed on (barely stay on really, and not clamped). If your drains are clogged you would blow the fittings off the frame and cause much more work on yourself or issues.

You want to pour water down the sunroof drain holes with the sunroof open and watch to see if the water comes out the drain fittings in the front door jam/hinge area (you will see a black grommet w/either and green or blue hose slightly sticking out)

9853

And if water does not run out as fast as you are pouring, it is time to clean the drains.

The tool the factory uses is really no more than weed wacker trim line.

You feed it thru the holes shown in the picture until you see it come out the door jam (be gentle). Once you can see it pull the line in and out, and start pouring water thru the hole again.

And repeat on otherside.


Audi/VW has also had issues with the hose failing off on the rear of the frame as well, or the hoses seperating from the slip fitting. And the only fix for that is to remove the headliner and I clamp the hoses onto the frame directly

[R1]

thanks great tip yokust

[JRS-RS6]

From being a dealer tech and doing these recalls

You do NOT want to use compressed air on the sunroof drains.

Thanks Yokust. How up the drains at the bottom of the cowl area?

Any tips for getting tears off of the garage floor?

[yokust]

The two drains in the cowl are pretty easy because they are fairly large in size, and normally dont have problems unless the sunroof ones back up.

One is under coolant res, and other is below brake booster area. You can see them also thru the steering rack holes, you will see the grommet hanging down that looks like a + sign.

But there were previous recalls on Passat's (same chassis as A6) and A4's, that had us remove the passenger side drain grommet. Which you just removed with a pair of pliers from the pass tie rod opening.

If you park under or around trees, just pull your plastic cowl off and clean debri often, and just spray water with hose in the cowl and make sure it drains and does not sit a few inches deep

[Benman]

Yokust,

Great post and thank you. Me, I am an anti-class action kind of guy. Going by the letter I got, and if I am reading your post correctly, properly keeping it clean is 90% the battle...

[LIRS6]

Yokust -

Superb, many thanks for sharing your professional knowledge

[BLITZEN]

Can anyone share the letter? I have problems with water getting into my car and with the car fogging on the inside during a storm, after a storm or sometimes even after a car wash. I do park under messy trees quite a bit and I heard somewhere else that when the cowl drains back up, water goes straight into the passenger compartment. Is that true?

[GEN XER]

The RS6 has no issue but my 01 GTI does.

[JRS-RS6]

Can anyone share the letter? I have problems with water getting into my car and with the car fogging on the inside during a storm, after a storm or sometimes even after a car wash. I do park under messy trees quite a bit and I heard somewhere else that when the cowl drains back up, water goes straight into the passenger compartment. Is that true?

Try the link found here: http://www.rs6.com/showthread.php/20971-Class-Action-Suite-Water-Enters-car?p=190459&viewfull=1#post190459 other than Name and VIN on both the letters I got this is virtually identical.

See what Dhall says below too...........

[DHall1]

It sounds like you have the classic symptoms. Did the posts above from V8 and Yokust help at all? Pop the cowl cover off and have a look at the cowl drains.


Can anyone share the letter? I have problems with water getting into my car and with the car fogging on the inside during a storm, after a storm or sometimes even after a car wash. I do park under messy trees quite a bit and I heard somewhere else that when the cowl drains back up, water goes straight into the passenger compartment. Is that true?

[Beastly]

yokust, again thanks, will add that to my routine..

[Aronis]

Thank you very much!! I greatly appreciate your insider input!

Mike


From being a dealer tech and doing these recalls

You do NOT want to use compressed air on the sunroof drains. The drain tubes on the sunroof frame assembly are just pushed on (barely stay on really, and not clamped). If your drains are clogged you would blow the fittings off the frame and cause much more work on yourself or issues.

You want to pour water down the sunroof drain holes with the sunroof open and watch to see if the water comes out the drain fittings in the front door jam/hinge area (you will see a black grommet w/either and green or blue hose slightly sticking out)

9853

And if water does not run out as fast as you are pouring, it is time to clean the drains.

The tool the factory uses is really no more than weed wacker trim line.

You feed it thru the holes shown in the picture until you see it come out the door jam (be gentle). Once you can see it pull the line in and out, and start pouring water thru the hole again.

And repeat on otherside.


Audi/VW has also had issues with the hose failing off on the rear of the frame as well, or the hoses seperating from the slip fitting. And the only fix for that is to remove the headliner and I clamp the hoses onto the frame directly

[Aronis]

I'm with you! I don't care about the legal part, just the proper technique to clean the drain myself.

I don't know why Audi did not just include a link to a website for DIY cleaning....save themselves some trouble and money.

Mike


Yokust,

Great post and thank you. Me, I am an anti-class action kind of guy. Going by the letter I got, and if I am reading your post correctly, properly keeping it clean is 90% the battle...

[mmaturo]

Recall my transmission Audi and/or extend the warranty to 10 years. THAT would be helpful.

[GEN XER]

I think this is just a ploy to get folks to visit the dealer. You got water coming in your car? Well we fixed that in the newer cars. Would you like to take a look at our new..... I'll tell you if I'm hit up for a new car when I take my GTI in for service. I don't even want to go to the dealer for a Service Action. That is bad. Mine is so bad that when I pour water down the sunroof, no water comes out the drain below. It all ends up in the car under my feet.

[DHall1]

You should close the sunroof before pouring the water. It helps


I think this is just a ploy to get folks to visit the dealer. You got water coming in your car? Well we fixed that in the newer cars. Would you like to take a look at our new..... I'll tell you if I'm hit up for a new car when I take my GTI in for service. I don't even want to go to the dealer for a Service Action. That is bad. Mine is so bad that when I pour water down the sunroof, no water comes out the drain below. It all ends up in the car under my feet.

[GEN XER]

You should close the sunroof before pouring the water. It helps

That might work Dave. I'll give it a go. LOL!

[JSRS6]

Haha, I just got my letter today from Audi for this. Hilarious. Well, if anybody needs any of these "special" tools, I'm selling them at a steal, lol.

[ben916]

Haha, I just got my letter today from Audi for this. Hilarious. Well, if anybody needs any of these "special" tools, I'm selling them at a steal, lol.

did you register your car with AOA?

[hahnmgh63]

I have a friend with a Jetta that got his recall but his letter is different. His letter provides one free inspection and cleaning at the dealer on his car. I guess AOA figures were all rich and should pay for our cleaning instead of trying to do good customer service and give us a free cleaning too like the VW guys.

[JSRS6]

Actually, not yet. I just assumed after reading this post, that the letter was for the RS6, but it is for my S4. Didnt even look at the VIN, lol. And after its been sitting, i will definitely be doing this.

[BLITZEN]

I'm still getting water on the passenger side floor, right in the front right corner. When it happens from a car wash I vacuum it up immediately. Anyway, to try and fix the problem myself, I pushed a piece of trimmer line through my sunroof drain on the passenger side which passed straight through to the door jam easily. No blockages. So now with that eliminated, I'm guessing it's the cowl drain on the passenger side. Other than what's been offered on this thread thus far, does anyone have anything to add about how to clear this drain the best? With an air compressor? Or some other tool? How would a dealer do it? Thanks!!

[Elevens]

Happend to me last month. The entire front passenger carpet was soaked. Talk about being pissed!! I had just installed an HD tuner in place of the Onstar unit. Luckily I had covered it over with the Plastic which had originally covered the Onstar Unit. Any way after concluding that it was some kind of drainage problem I checked the cowl area and found that both drains were completly blocked with tree foilage. After cleaning them out I realized there are Rubber grommets in the drainage holes. I actually think its better to remove the grommets since they enhance the accumulation of debree. Once they are removed you are left with two larger holes with less chance of small debree blockage. The only reason I can see for having grommets there is to prevent back splash from entering the cowl area, which I have had no issues with.

[4everRS]

Guys, make sure to check the plastic strip that lays along the bottom of the windsheild. It this is not firmly against the glass, it is another entry point for water to get into the cabin filter area, and throgh the blower motor for the cars HVAC system.

[ben916]

Guys, make sure to check the plastic strip that lays along the bottom of the windsheild. It this is not firmly against the glass, it is another entry point for water to get into the cabin filter area, and throgh the blower motor for the cars HVAC system.

Can you take a photo of that area? I am having a brain fart on where that is...

I can smell the cabin filter each time I wash the car... :(

[V8weight]

Can you take a photo of that area? I am having a brain fart on where that is...

I can smell the cabin filter each time I wash the car... :(

Yeah, I had to replace that (called a water deflector in ETKA) because it was no longer firmly sealing to the cowl. Everytime I washed my car, there was a wading pool in my passenger footwell. I think the part was like $68. I have a feeling this is likely the culprit for most c5 chassis cars as opposed to the cowl drains.

[DHall1]

Nothing alittle quack tape couldnt fix.

Quack...quack...quack. Even matches those of us with Avus color cars.


Yeah, I had to replace that (called a water deflector in ETKA) because it was no longer firmly sealing to the cowl. Everytime I washed my car, there was a wading pool in my passenger footwell. I think the part was like $68. I have a feeling this is likely the culprit for most c5 chassis cars as opposed to the cowl drains.

[Elevens]

Yeah, I had to replace that (called a water deflector in ETKA) because it was no longer firmly sealing to the cowl. Everytime I washed my car, there was a wading pool in my passenger footwell. I think the part was like $68. I have a feeling this is likely the culprit for most c5 chassis cars as opposed to the cowl drains.

Definitely gonna check that out. Thanks...

[4everRS]

Here it ishttp://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/Picture001.jpg
Can you take a photo of that area? I am having a brain fart on where that is...

I can smell the cabin filter each time I wash the car... :(

[V8weight]

Here it ishttp://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/Picture001.jpg
Did you get your car buffed up already!? I can see a building in it. Also, you have the aero wipers?

[4everRS]

No buffing done yet, scheduled for the 27th. And yes, aero wipers. Been thinking about listing that on my "mod" list.
Did you get your car buffed up already!? I can see a building in it. Also, you have the aero wipers?

[BLITZEN]

Yeah, I had to replace that (called a water deflector in ETKA) because it was no longer firmly sealing to the cowl. Everytime I washed my car, there was a wading pool in my passenger footwell. I think the part was like $68. I have a feeling this is likely the culprit for most c5 chassis cars as opposed to the cowl drains.


I think I've now ruled out the drain. It seems pretty clear (but oh boy my cabin filter sure is nasty).

On my car this seal ya'll are talking about looks good along the glass, but there is a gap on the other side of it between it and the plastic cowl. Is it supposed to seal that?

[V8weight]

I think I've now ruled out the drain. It seems pretty clear (but oh boy my cabin filter sure is nasty).

On my car this seal ya'll are talking about looks good along the glass, but there is a gap on the other side of it between it and the plastic cowl. Is it supposed to seal that?
There is a seal (a pretty cheesy foam rubber strip) below the water deflector that seals it to the actual cowl beneath. Over time this seal pushes it's way out and water is allowed to enter beneath and straight into the cabin filter, regardless of how tightly the water deflector appears to be seated against the windshield. If I remember correctly, you may be able to see this seal if you remove the cowl cover under the hood.

[BLITZEN]

Wow! Well it's been a while since I posted on this thread but I was finally able to fix my leak into the interior of my car. :applause:

Here's how it came to be.. As I went through a car wash I kept my hand in the front left corner of the front passenger footwell to find how it was entering. During the rinse it seemed to pour straight down inside. So I went into the engine compartment, pulled out the cowl cover, started looking around in the area and discovered my interior air filter was a complete mess! It was filled with seeds and debris. It was so bad it made me wonder that when I went in for regular service (when it was supposed to be replaced) whether it was or not. Regardless, I went to a dealer, bought a new one, installed it and all of a sudden the water stopped leaking into that footwell the way it had for so long.

To sum, if anyone else gets this problem in the future and searches out this thread, check that filter!!

[ben916]

Here it ishttp://i864.photobucket.com/albums/ab210/crocodile64/Picture001.jpg

Ok so I have the part number for that one...
How is the install???

[Benman]

Wow! Well it's been a while since I posted on this thread but I was finally able to fix my leak into the interior of my car. :applause:

Here's how it came to be..


Thanks for that Blitzen. :cheers:

Ben

[ben916]

Yeah, I had to replace that (called a water deflector in ETKA) because it was no longer firmly sealing to the cowl. Everytime I washed my car, there was a wading pool in my passenger footwell. I think the part was like $68. I have a feeling this is likely the culprit for most c5 chassis cars as opposed to the cowl drains.

Is this the Part number? 4b7819403A - Genuine couldn't find it...

[V8weight]

Ya, that's the number, weird, It was listed on their site earlier this summer. I'll double check my invoices when I get home to make sure that part number hasn't been superseded.

[yokust]

Wow! Well it's been a while since I posted on this thread but I was finally able to fix my leak into the interior of my car. :applause:

Here's how it came to be.. As I went through a car wash I kept my hand in the front left corner of the front passenger footwell to find how it was entering. During the rinse it seemed to pour straight down inside. So I went into the engine compartment, pulled out the cowl cover, started looking around in the area and discovered my interior air filter was a complete mess! It was filled with seeds and debris. It was so bad it made me wonder that when I went in for regular service (when it was supposed to be replaced) whether it was or not. Regardless, I went to a dealer, bought a new one, installed it and all of a sudden the water stopped leaking into that footwell the way it had for so long.

To sum, if anyone else gets this problem in the future and searches out this thread, check that filter!!


I hate to rain on parades right now.

But the polen filter should not be able to become wet, if your pollen filter is getting wet you have one of the cowl covers leaking onto the pollen filter

[ben916]

I hate to rain on parades right now.

But the polen filter should not be able to become wet, if your pollen filter is getting wet you have one of the cowl covers leaking onto the pollen filter

Not raining - I suspect it is letting some H2O squeeze by so I am trying to get the part number to replace it...
Pollen filter occasionally smells like wet dog, at least to be it does...

[yokust]

I am not saying do not replace the pollen filter

But I am saying that NO water should be able to get to the pollen filter unless its just from moisture in the air

If the pollen filter is getting WET at all, there is problems. It is not a seal or sealed in there at all, it is meant only for dust and pollen

[BLITZEN]

All I know is:
1) I didn't do anything to the car other than take that cowl cover off, replace the pollen filter and put the cowl cover back on.
2) No longer does water stream down the front corner of my passenger footwell.

So rain on!

[V8weight]

All I know is:
1) I didn't do anything to the car other than take that cowl cover off, replace the pollen filter and put the cowl cover back on.
2) No longer does water stream down the front corner of my passenger footwell.

So rain on!
Did you take the filter out of the bag? ;)

[yokust]

All I know is:
1) I didn't do anything to the car other than take that cowl cover off, replace the pollen filter and put the cowl cover back on.
2) No longer does water stream down the front corner of my passenger footwell.

So rain on!

Its just a matter of time before that pollen filter soaks up all the leaking water and starts running thru it again

They can only absorb so much, since they are not meant to absorb any at all