Does anyone know what the outcome was to the class action against Audi VW for clogged drains? I need to get my drains cleared, tried to have them cleared with air by alternative Audi center but he stated that the left front drain was clogged too bad and the headliner may need to be partially removed to unclog.

Thanks for any help...

 

As I understand it, they now have to clean the drains at certain Service Intervals.

It was one of the things they did at my 75K.

My guess is if you haven't been doing dealership service on the specified intervals they are not going to be too willing to help.

Might call AoA Flagship customer service to see what they say.

 

interesting....when I got the car over 2 years ago it had 72k miles, its a 2004. it wasnt until after I had the car that I received notice of such a class action. I cant afford to go to Audi because the last few times, they misdiagnosed and suggested I spend the $,$$$ thousands they were suggesting...they were in left field and turned out all they problems I had could be fixed with resets and changing tires...so my level of faith in them is 5%. Thanks for the tip, I will contact them and see what they say otherwise I will take it back to the alternative Audi/VW guy and have him do it.

 

I can understand that - have heard some real horror stories about some dealerships.
My dealer is very good, but, I still double and triple check everything before they touch the vehicle since they are expensive regardless of how good they are.

Forgot to mention: the Bentley talks about using a flexible plastic rod to clear the drains.
Would avoid anything like a coat hanger or metal rod like the plague since it could rupture a line.
Two in the sunroof area and 2 in the rear as I recall that empty through the wheel well area.

There is also a good write up PaulW did on Audipages that shows how to clean the front cabin drains.

Even if AoA doesn't budge, that might help your guy if he's not familiar with the procedure.

 

Thanks for the info!

 

This was very Time-full!

I was hearing a swashing of water from the dash vent when starting...

my left was draining but my right was not...so until it all was "swashed" to the left (drivers side) tube, it would just swash.

this post helped as did the page listed above.


i have a 2001 D2 a8l. and though the page shows that he pulls the carpet back gently, on my vehicle, it is actually a complete panel that gets pulled out.

on the passenger side, you first pull up the carpet and the subfloor carpet, showing the carriage and a wood panel in the firewall area.

on the console surround, there should be a carpet "U" cut that you can fold back and take that screw out.

then take the four screws out from the wood board. when you take the wood board out, you will see a panel for switches.

then be sure you have the seat as high as it will go and as far back as it will go. grab the side panel from the left bottom and the right bottom and try to slide it toward the fire wall to get past the edging and then gently wedge it out.

when it is out, you will see the wire harness and a foam block behind it. remove the foam block and you will see the rubber elbow.

HAVE A TOWEL WITH YOU!

pull it out. it will drip if there is anything to drain.

to clear it, i used a couple of q-tips to clean the immediate residue buildup, then a couple blasts of air from canned air, while pinching the rubber around it. then i used a suringe that you would use to give a child a dose of medicine, and it fits perfectly snug in the hole, and squirt water down the tube, clearing the rest and being sure that it drains.

Note: if it was clogged and leaking, you may have the wood panel a bit swollen and also, under the carpet, there was this rubber-ish part connected to the sidewall. i used the towel and slid it under the rubber part and pressed really good to be sure it squished the funky water out.


the drivers side was a bit more dificult to get to.

you will need an allen wrench too.

take the carpet out

there is one screw on the side panel, take it out.

under the throttle pedal, you will use the allan wrench to take the two screws out to get the button cover off the top. after that, twist the button harnes to the left to pop it out. you can leave it connected.

again, be sure to have the seat up and back as far as possible.

then grab the right and the left bottom of the carpet panel and slide it toward the firewall and gently wedge it out.

again you will see the foam, pull it out and repeat as the first side.


the process is quite easy, but a pain to get the panels out. get an old blanket for your knees on the floor!

took about 1.5 hours after i figured it out.