I took my 2005 A6 to the dealer for a 15K mile service. They told me that the Plenum drains were clogged because of leaves, dirt, etc... Theyh claim that without getting that taken care of, my engine could become waterlogged and that would not be covered.

I don't drive in excessively woody areas & have never heard of this elsewhere. Could anyone out there shed some light on this situation?

Thanks.

Anuraag

 

I don't know about the engine taking on water, but it will cause water to enter the cabin onto the carpet. Also, the drains are very small, and it doesn't take much to clog them. I usually blow them out along with the sun-roof drains using an air compressor once a month. This is probably one of Audi's poorest design choices.

 

Thanks for the info. If I can bother you again, where are the drains & can you just blast the junk out of them?

 

'ere's the scoop...

Open hood. Locate plastic plenum covering where battery is located (near the windsheild). Remove rubber trim strip which holds it in place all along leading edge (runs from fender to fender) & set aside. Slide plastic plenum cover forward, remove & set aside. Peer into holes where you will find lots of leave & other junk. Remove as much as you can by hand. Remove the rest with a vacuum cleaner and fine wand attachement. Wash out with water. If the water does not run through & builds up, stop. Remove battery. Underneath battery you will find drain hole which may be clogged. Unclog. Rinse with water. Reassemble. Have beer and pat self on back for learning important, new A6 maintenance.

 

I just got this car and it looks like the previous owner bailed on a simple problem but not before frying out the transmission ICU. I bought it in the winter and all the water was frozen for a couple months and the transmission has been progressively failing. After pulling the ICU, it is clearly fried. There is a substantial amount of water on the passenger side. The carpet and underlying foam are soaked. There is slightly less water on the driver side. I have not pulled the carpet and would prefer not to. The back seat carpet is also wet but not drenched. What other surprises am I likely to encounter as spring sets in? Provided the Plenum cleaning fixes the water intrusion problem that is.

 

Hi, like the previous post states, the user also cleaned their sunroof drains.... if you don't do that one your get a stained roof lining Other than those two, I haven't had any other water related issues on my 18 year old A6 - so far!