Not yet, when it rains next I will

 

Covered mine same location's with same tape no leaks .....

On 1/21/2024 at 10:09 PM, a6blacked007 said:

Covered mine same location's with same tape no leaks .....

Anyone have any updates I’m new to the leaking boot lid club 😀 Audi A3 convertible 2010.  Also added complication that the electronic boot catch has now stopped working, along with the nearside reversing light 

Hello Anthea,

Welcome and thanks for joining.

Failing rear electrics - the car is old enough to potentially suffer from fractured wires within the flexible harness section twixt body and tailgate/boot. 
Not claiming this is your problem, but always worth a first line eliminator, before moving on to more complex causes. 
Perhaps you could let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Gareth. 

On 3/28/2024 at 9:08 AM, fireyanth said:

Anyone have any updates I’m new to the leaking boot lid club 😀 Audi A3 convertible 2010.  Also added complication that the electronic boot catch has now stopped working, along with the nearside reversing light 

Check audi a3 section may get more correct info there .... 

On 1/8/2024 at 7:44 PM, IWalt said:

Not yet, when it rains next I will

 

Did you find out what caused the problem?

Hi all, I was having the same problem with water coming into the spare wheel area & around my Bose amplifier. I also tried sealing the lights, changing boot seals & trim. I finally found on my car that the water was coming in through a small venting flap located directly bellow the light units. This flap is designed to allow air pressure to be released when closing the boot lid, this vent overtime sticks open. when you get heavy rain the water will run down behind the light units & run through the open flap filling the area were the amplifier is located along with the spare wheel.Due to its location you will have to remove the rear bumper & replace with a new one from Audi. This has now solved my water ingress problem, I am please to say. Hope this helps you all. 
my model is a; A6 C7 SALOON 2015 

Thanks for that information. I would never have imagined that such a vent existed.

Hi, any chance of the Audi part number for the vent, and any photos would be helpful of its location on the car. Great info. Thanks Ian

Edited November 5, 20241 yr by IWalt

Hi guys and gals.

Has anyone ever got to bottom of this? I understand that the pressure vents behind the bumper was a possible solution... but I can't figure how water would get from there to the boot lid other than through the tailights themselves.

I was thinking the water runs down the channel between the rear wing and the boot lid and then in through the lights.

Did anyone ever work out how the water was getting in to the boot lid by the window, I just opened my boot and water just poured out of both sides at the hinges.

Hi has anybody got to the bottom of this issue as I’m having the same issue with my Audi A6 C7 2013. Thanks in advance

8 hours ago, Sunny_WV said:

Hi has anybody got to the bottom of this issue as I’m having the same issue with my Audi A6 C7 2013. Thanks in advance

Hi - What I did for my 2013 A6 was, on the trunk (sorry, Im' in the US), there is a little rubber plug on each side. I pulled one of them out. I only did one because my car will usually be parked tilted to the passenger side. If the lid is open, you'll see them underneath the tail lights.

 

Joe

 

I bought a set of used lights and fitted them, unfortunately they are still letting in water, ive now got a set of new tail light seals so im going to fit those and see if this cures the issue... if not then ill be at a total loss as to how the water is getting in.

Hi. I tried a new set of genuine gaskets some time ago.  No luck I’m afraid. But please post the outcome. They’re a bit of a fiddle to fit. Hope you have better luck than me. Ian.  

Hi all, this is my first post on the forum and unfortunately it’s about the dreaded water ingress into the boot lid.

The car is an Audi A6 C7 Saloon (2012) 3.0 TDI Quattro S-Line.

I first noticed the issue about a year ago when I opened the boot and a large amount of water poured out. At the time, I couldn’t tell whether it was coming from the hinges or from inside the boot lid itself.

Not long after, I started having problems with the rear indicators on the boot lid — only the LED strip mounted on the boot lid stops working, while the side indicators on the quarter panels work perfectly fine. During the summer months everything works normally, but as soon as the rainy season returns, the fault comes back.

I replaced the seal on one of the boot-lid indicator units, but in hindsight this may have been pointless, as the unit itself was completely dry and the repair made no difference.

A couple of days ago, I removed the boot lid trim to try and identify any wet areas. Unfortunately, it hasn’t rained since, so I haven’t been able to confirm the source yet, but I’ll keep monitoring it over the next few days.

One thing worth mentioning is that before removing the trim, I noticed the wiring that goes into the indicator unit inside the boot lid was wet, even though there was no visible standing water around it.

Any advice or common causes I should check would be greatly appreciated.

I have changed the boot seal and one inside light seal and just waiting for the other seal to come, I’m having the indicator fault on the dash and flicker from the indicator light itself, I had this issue a couple of years ago and changed both seals on the lights and it fixed the problem, I could see condensation inside the boot lights, I will update once I have changed the seal.

 

Ok so I replaced both light seals and the boot seal, still leaked, I stripped the boot lid down completely, spent hours hosing the boot whilst laying inside it, even had a camera and monitor trying to see where it was coming in from, i concentrated on the N/S light as it was always condensated,I could just about make out it was bypassing the top of the seal (don’t know why) the water then runs down to the bottom of the boot lid and so when you open the boot the water then pours out of the hinges both sides, I decided just for now to put a bead of clear sealant outside on the top of the light and around the left side of the light to see if it stopped the water getting in and it has. The light looks fine and obviously it’s a new seal so I’m puzzled as to how the water is getting pass, I’m going to look for a second hand light.

That sounds interesting, please post when you have an idea if the sealant improves matters. Thanks again for posting your findings. Has anyone had any luck in contacting Audi direct to find out what they say about this common problem with the A6. I can't find any andress or contact details on thier site. Just info regarding selling cars.

1 hour ago, IWalt said:

That sounds interesting, please post when you have an idea if the sealant improves matters. Thanks again for posting your findings. Has anyone had any luck in contacting Audi direct to find out what they say about this common problem with the A6. I can't find any andress or contact details on thier site. Just info regarding selling cars.

Ok so I replaced both light seals and the boot seal, still leaked, I stripped the boot lid down completely, spent hours hosing the boot whilst laying inside it, even had a camera and monitor trying to see where it was coming in from, i concentrated on the N/S light as it was always condensated,I could just about make out it was bypassing the top of the seal (don’t know why) the water then runs down to the bottom of the boot lid and so when you open the boot the water then pours out of the hinges both sides, I decided just for now to put a bead of clear sealant outside on the top of the light and around the left side of the light to see if it stopped the water getting in and it has. The light looks fine and obviously it’s a new seal so I’m puzzled as to how the water is getting pass, I’m going to look for a second hand light.

 

just to confirm, water is now not coming in to the boot after using some sealant on the outside top and left side of the light.

Thanks for that, just to confirm how I understand where you put the sealant, it is on the outside of the car where the light unit meets the paintesd body work, I have I got that right, sorry to be a pain just won't to make sure, Thanks Ian

I could have sealed around or on the light gasket but for testing I wanted it to be easy to get the light out again, it doesn’t look pretty but then you can’t really see it.

 

9 hours ago, Jaso_n said:

Ok so I replaced both light seals and the boot seal, still leaked, I stripped the boot lid down completely, spent hours hosing the boot whilst laying inside it, even had a camera and monitor trying to see where it was coming in from, i concentrated on the N/S light as it was always condensated,I could just about make out it was bypassing the top of the seal (don’t know why) the water then runs down to the bottom of the boot lid and so when you open the boot the water then pours out of the hinges both sides, I decided just for now to put a bead of clear sealant outside on the top of the light and around the left side of the light to see if it stopped the water getting in and it has. The light looks fine and obviously it’s a new seal so I’m puzzled as to how the water is getting pass, I’m going to look for a second hand light.

 

just to confirm, water is now not coming in to the boot after using some sealant on the outside top and left side of the light.

Is it the plastic side covers that you sealed up or the whole light cluster?

I can't understand how this is such a common problem and no fix to it 🙈 you'd think new seals would be enough to fix the issue 🤬

 

Cheers bud

I did the top of the light and underneath side just out of easiness, I’m not sure why the seal has failed it’s brand new, maybe the light is faulty somehow, I have just gone to check it’s still dry as it’s raining and it is, you can’t see the sealant with the boot closed so I’m not fussed, I think if I had of sealed around the back gasket you wouldn’t see it at all but may become a problem when you need to change the bulb.

On 1/19/2026 at 10:29 PM, joejsullivan said:

Hi - What I did for my 2013 A6 was, on the trunk (sorry, Im' in the US), there is a little rubber plug on each side. I pulled one of them out. I only did one because my car will usually be parked tilted to the passenger side. If the lid is open, you'll see them underneath the tail lights.

 

Joe

 

Thanks for replying mate, just got around to sorting this as been busy with work