I searched for hours and hours, and I cannot find anything for unclogging the sunroof drains on an A6.
However, I came across this great write up on clearing the drainage channels, but for an A4.

I will try anyway to look tomorrow and maybe I can find what the problem is and why is leaking (the cover panel under the sunroof is soaked), but I wanted to ask you guys prior to attempting anything.

Can someone confirm/infirm please that the existing drain holes are located in similar places for an A6?

Thank you.

 

yepp, thanks for all the great help.

 

There is a much easier fix and most likely its not caused from a clogged drain. They usually leak where the hoses connect to the sun roof track. You just need to pull down the headliner enough to get your arm in there and pull the hose off the track. Then pull the hose towards you and let it hang kinda outside the door, the little white piece on the end of the hose is where it leaks from, its just super glued on there, you need to pry it off and coat the inside with clear silicone and re-install it. If you want to clear the line with compressed air at this time you might as well do it while you have it. Do this to all four lines (two front and two back) and you should be good to go. The only thing you will have to remove is the handles on the headliner to pry down the headliner.

 

Thanks much for the input, auditech.

I wish I would have had this insight before 1 PM today..... As a matter of fact I "unclogged" the drains, and at least I hope the procedure will help someone in the future, as I plan on doing a write-up. Just need to resize the photos and then write the "article".

Definitely pulling down the headliner will be my next step, and I thank you for the tip. I'm actually "affraid" of pulling down the headliner, as I never done anything similar on a car, but I guess there's a beginning for everything.

What I don't understand is how the water that trickles by the sunroof's weatherstripping is guided toward the drainage channels. If the water sips down on the "lengthy" sides of the sunroof coinciding directionally with the "front" and "rear" of the car, the water would dripp exactly on the headliner edges, or right on the cover panel if it is closed.
Conversely, if the water sips past the weatherstripping on the "width" sides of the sunroof - coinciding directionally with the laterals of the car, then I can understand that it just drips on the plastic lining of the sunroof rails bed, and of course it would run toward the drainage holes.

Is this "design" on all Audi models? In my opinion is very faulty.

The sunroofs I have seen in other cars have some sort of a ledge with a raised lip that actually doesn't allow the water to touch the headliner, even if it sips past the weatherstripping.



Anyway, I truly appreciate your help. THANK YOU!

 

You can easilly see how it works if you remove the sunroof glass or take down the entire headliner (way too difficult) But to put it simple there is a plastic tray thats smaller than the width of the actual sunroof glass that traps the water that falls down and directs it to one of the 4 sunroof drains depending on how you are driving at the moment. They mostly go towards the back drains because of accelleration.

The problem is where the hose connects to the track, it leaks through the super glued point and runs down the outside of the drain and usually stains the lower part of the upper pillars.

 

Since I got you "pinned down" to answer , I want to ask you a couple more things if you don't mind.

First one: could the weatherstripping be replaced, or all the replacement sunroofs pieces (the glass) come with it already glued in place?
Moreover, from what I see, no matter how new the rubber is, the water would still sip down because of the design.
If that's the case, then I shouldn't worry too much about replacing the weatherstripping?

Second: In what position can you take the glass down, opened or closed?
Besides two hex screws on each side that I noticed, what else should I look for to be able to take it out?
I am asking because if I can access the back holes with it off (so I can re-glue/re-caulk/re-seal the hoses), it would save me the whole headliner headache.

Thanks again for your help and trouble.
Have a Happy New Year!

 

There is no replaceable weather stripping as far as i know, and if there is its part of the entire sunroof track which would be your worst nightmare to replace. Luckilly i have never seen one leak from the track. You can easilly see what im talking about if you take the glass out.
Taking the glass out is pretty easy actually, but if the adjusment is off you will get one hell of a wind noise. Put the sunroof in the Tilt position by pushing up on the switch. Now while looking at it from inside the car remove the little fans or plastic guards on the sides of the glass (they are only there to hide the bolts) they just snap in. Once those are out you will see three T25 torx bolts on each side. These hold the glass to the track and its also your adjustment, so before you take the bolts out close the glass again and check the fitment of the glass to the roof. Now put it back into tilt mode and use some white out and use it around the bolt so you kinda know where the previous adjustment was. Once you take out all 6 bolts the glass will kinda drop towards you, you have to push the glass out from the top, so either put a towell down on the roof to prevent scratching the paint or have another person help you. Removing the glass probably won't let you see the actual drains though, you could probably see them with a small mirror and a flash light though.

 

Auditech, please accept my belated thanks for the generous and detailed reply.
I really appreciate your willingness to help, sir.
The forum really needs more people like you.

 

Damn man, thanks

 

Ok, sorry for bringing back this ... oldish topic, but I caught a sunny day last Friday - about 43 degrees, and I started on the project.
Upon finishing it, I will post a detailed writeup with photos.

Anyway, I was only able to work on this for only about 3 hours, before it got dark.
So far I only removed the handles (for which I will need new plastic light casings; apparently got all brittle over the years and just disintegrated in my hands - both sides!!! - as they were already cracked into several pieces), the B-Pillars two-section trims, and the sills lower trims.
The reason for the above: the sills lower trim (running front to back) is placed over the B-Pillar middle section, which in turn is screwed over the top section. I had to remove them all so would not brake/crack any of'em. I already bought the car with the C-Pillars (is this how the back most pillar is referred to as, in a sedan?) cracked, so I am a bit overconcerned with limiting my expenses.
The headliner is also held in place by the doors' weatherstripping, as well as the C-Pillar covers in the rear window area. The shoulder or back support section of the bench covers the pillars' upper section's screws so I need to take that off as well. It doesn't bother me, as it is a good time to do some leather care as well... After that I should be able to lower the whole rear section of the headliner, as I already noticed it pops easily out of the retaining roof clips.

Although I can wait for a warmer day again, and refrain from wasting your time, I have a few questions:
1) Would I be able to see/access easily the drainage holes after pulling down the headliner?
2) Moreover, can the reglueing be done with the sunroof in a closed position, or it needs to be open?
3) Lastly, as it would be a proper time to grease the sunroof tracks, would you be kind to confirm/infirm if this product is good for the tracks/rails?

As always, I appreciate the help.
Thank you.