Audi A3 - faulty rear wiper pipe - €400

BionicRasher · 24-10-2011 1:46pm #1

Wife has an Audi A3 and long story short the pipe feeding the rear wiper/washer has corroded and leaked in to the boot latch mechanism causing the sensors to think the boot is constantly open and hence alarm goes off all the time
Only solution is to leave the car unlocked and that’s a non runner. To get it fixed is almost €400 (need to replace wiper motor and boot latch mechanism etc)

Question is – should this be covered under any kind of anti corrosion warranty etc or will we have to fork out the €400?
Car is March 2007 reg and not a happy bunny at the moment – costs a fortune to keep this thing on the road and I don’t fancy having to cough up another €400 for something that frankly should not happen in any type of car

Any ideas anyone?

24-10-2011 2:00pm

Surely if you pull the electrical connector to the boot mechanism the alarm will think the boot is closed all the time? So that's an easy fix.

Bigus · 24-10-2011 2:17pm

Have a look at this yourself, a bit of universal plastic pipe will cost you a few cents, and lock might come back into its own when fully dried out or terminals cleaned.

BionicRasher · 24-10-2011 2:34pm

yes all good ideas - Have been doing a bit of Goggling and it seems like a common fault – I think I will take a look at it and see what can be done – maybe a bit silicone or superglue and WD40 will do the trick
Local Audi dealer is checking warranty as they say the pipe shouldn’t corrode but the think it’s not covered unfortunately

Bigus · 24-10-2011 3:00pm

[QUOTE=tui0hcg;75104131 I think I will take a look at it and see what can be done – maybe a bit silicone or superglue and WD40 will do the trick
Local Audi dealer is checking warranty as they say the pipe shouldn’t corrode but the think it’s not covered unfortunately[/QUOTE]

replace the corroded part of the pipe with plastic pipe, it should push on ...otherwise you're messing

Anan1 · 24-10-2011 3:02pm

Are you sure the pipe corroded? I'd be surprised if it were even metal, TBH. I'd say a more likely scenario is that water froze in a plastic pipe and ruptured it?

BionicRasher · 24-10-2011 3:56pm

Bigus wrote: »

replace the corroded part of the pipe with plastic pipe, it should push on ...otherwise you're messing

yes agree - the less messing I have to do the better. I just thought I might need a bit of WD40 or Vaseline to get the lock protected from the elements etc for the future.

Anan1 wrote: »

Are you sure the pipe corroded? I'd be surprised if it were even metal, TBH. I'd say a more likely scenario is that water froze in a plastic pipe and ruptured it?

That's what the garage tells me although I need to take a look myself as soon as I can

Audi A3 - faulty rear wiper pipe - €400

Comments