MarkW57

Hi Gareth. I had the same issue with an A3 8P some years ago, had the wiring under the drivers seat checked/renewed, the problem was still there. In the end it was the clock spring in the steering wheel that was dirty. Hope that helps. Regards Mark

Hi all, As promised previously I have further videos to share with you. The garage I used sent these to me and I hope they help others suffering from the same thing. This was a water test before the members were drained and the TSB acted upon. NelsonP If you do escalate to the motor ombudsman please let me know, I will be glad to help. 20260305_141244_319386368654464.mp4 20260305_141219_319361456999265.mp4

NelsonP Please keep me informed and in the loop if you go to the ombudsman as I would be happy to help. Regards Mark

Hi Lee, No problem buddy, glad to help, keep an eye on these posts for further pictures and videos. How many miles has yours covered? I have had to have new discs and pads at 32k and considering I'm not heavy on brakes I wasn't too pleased about it. Another £800. Never mind service and MOT in two weeks. Not so easy when you are on a state pension. I have also had a quote for a gearbox service which Audi recommend at 30-60k that's another £410. The joy of motoring eh. Regards Mark

Hi LT Sorry to hear that you are suffering from the same issue. I am lead to believe that there are about 5-6 rubber grommets underneath that need to be removed to allow water to drain out of the sills. I believe they are hidden under the underbody protector. The water is getting in to them from the front offside wheel arch (see the TSB from Audi u.s.a as mentioned by others) I will attach it to this note if I can. You will need a borescope/laparoscope to see inside the area that is shown, I got one from Amazon for £23. The electrics you need to concern yourself with are under the drivers seat under a plastic plate (See my pictures in earlier posts) Be careful as the yellow one is the airbag! If I can be of anymore assistance get back to me. Good luck Mark MC-10178440-0001.pdf

Hi all, I have just contacted my independent garage again to provide the videos and photos that they have regarding my vehicle, and will upload as soon as I get them to support anyone who opens a case with the ombudsman, I am happy to help! I didn't see the point contacting the Audi dealership I bought from or Audi UK as clearly they are just not interested. It has been my intention to compile all the information I can and then make contact with Audi Germany to see what they have to say with regard to this issue affecting customers across the globe. With regard to the TSB my garage followed this and reported they were unable to get a finger into the hole to spread around sealer, so they sprayed in sealer instead to seal the area. There is also video of water coming in through the floor sealing tape, obviously taken before the underbody plugs were removed and the water emptied from the longtitudal section. Livia The quote you have seems very fair. (See my attached bill) Regards Mark

Hi all, I have an update......as soon as the garage send me the photos and videos I will post on here for all to see. There is a video of the cabin area filling up from the sills through the sealing tape on the floor! That's now been sealed! Obviously the sills fill up then the water runs across the latitude member with nowhere to go except the cabin. The garage now sealed the area suggested by the TSB. Plugs taken out so the longtitudal member can drain should any water get into it in the future. Total bill was £1203. (A bit of a difference to Audi quoting £6k)

Hi Livia, I'm sorry to hear that you have experienced this problem as well. I will be getting my car back today from the garage that I use in Bromsgrove. They have been really good so far and at a fraction of the cost. It's taken a month to dry out naturally and sort out the electrics. When the water was removed from inside the car they then put it on a ramp they removed the grommets from the longtitudal section underneath the car and gallons more water poured out, the grommets have now been left out completely. Water doesn't travel up and the holes are protected anyway by an underbody shield The situation has not been made better due to the weather we have had obviously. They water tested when things had been dried out and still couldn't see how the water was getting in. So they have also followed the TSB issued in the usa and sealed the insulation as per the TSB. I haven't tried to push Audi UK as previously others have tried and it does appear to be a non-starter. My thinking is to compile as much information as possible and then have a go at Audi in Germany where the cars are made. Audi are aware of this issue which is clearly a design fault. Please get back to me if I can help you with more information. Regards Mark

Hi Nelson, It seems Audi UK and local dealers really don't want to know, 'customer support' what customer support? With regard to the TSB it looks as if you need a borescope to see inside the member then cover the area in mastic through the other hole to waterproof it. The big question has to be how does the water get to that point in the first place? My quest continues Regards Mark

Hi Arialcor. Your English is perfect, and thank you for the reply to my post. The garage I am using to do the work on my car haven't been able to locate exactly where the water is getting in but they did remove the plugs located on the the underside of the car and more water poured out so the plugs have been left out permanently to stop the members filling up again. It has taken two weeks so far to dry out the carpet. As you will see it the close up picture of the electrical multiplugs are heavily corroded, that tells us that this water ingress has been happening over a long period of time. Audi should be ashamed about this issue and given the cars cost so much you would like to think they would have the decency to recall all the affected vehicles to put this right. Good luck with drying your Avant out and if I do manage to pinpoint where the water is getting in I will post the information for all to see. I will be writing to Audi Germany and see what they have to say as soon as I have compiled all the evidence I can. I bet they refuse to do anything though. Regards Mark

Hi there, I had this issue on an A3 some years ago, had the underside of the seat wiring replaced and that didn't cure it. In the end the issue was the clock spring in the steering wheel that needed cleaning. Hope that helps 👍

Hi all, latest update. A water test has been done by my garage and there is no obvious point of entry for the water ingress into the car. Car was put on ramp and under body protector removed, drain plugs removed and water poured out of logtitudal member, plugs being left out permanently! Clearly the drivers side longitudinal member is getting a lot of water in and when full it empties into the cabin, clearly this is a design fault. Wheel arch protector will be removed and the garage will try and gain access to the soundproofing as detailed in the TSB as mentioned by others. As we all know Audi won't recall to give good after sales services to it's customers and so the bill is growing. The under seat electrics are heavily corroded and the wires are brittle and will have to be bi-passed to restore functionality back to the seat (see picture attached) this sort of water damage hasn't happened overnight this must have taken years. The carpet padding is still wet after a week of drying so far, I expect at least another week maybe more, I will update again when I get more information. Cheers all

Hi all re: water in the rear footwell. Update as promised. WOW!😭 I am Absolutely shocked to say the least. The garage I am using rang me and asked me to go in and take a look at my Audi paddling pool. 3" of water in the rear footwell and to make matters worse also in the front. The electrics under the seat have been completely ruined. (See pics and video) They are going to get the water out next and then water test to see where all this water is coming in from. (Point of entry) As soon as I find out I will post pictures so that everyone can know what the issue is that Audi are choosing to ignore. I'm not going to let this go without a damned good fight. This surely makes these cars not of merchantable quality or something like that. I told the garage I'm using all the information that I had got from you guys in the forum and hopefully they will be able to join the dots so to speak. I will update on here soon. Regards Mark PXL_20260204_162317019.mp4

Hi Gareth, Thanks for your support 👍 Any help from anyone who as experienced this unexpected little twist is greatly appreciated. Mandeep how did you resolve this issue with your A6?

Cliff, Thanks for your support 👍 A big thanks to all of the other Audi owners who are responding, any help is much appreciated. As an OAP I can do without spending all this money.

Hi Cal, Thanks for getting in touch, sorry to hear of your loss, however you don't have the Audi paddling pool to deal with now. I'm just seeking as much information as I can to try and find out the cause and make it as easy as I can for the garage to resolve. Cheers M

Hi Paddy, Yes I read all your emails to and fro from Audi. Let's hope my garage can find the place where the water gets in and then take it from there. Look out Audi 🤬

Hi Nelson thanks for getting in touch, thanks for the TSB, I am aware of that one. Yes it would be great if we could find how the water is getting into the car in the first place, let's wait and see what the garage can find out. The gutter at the bottom of the screen was the first place I checked, the 'plenum' drain grommets. They were all ok. Haven't got a sun roof so that rules that out. Door seals look fine so that's out as well. Thing is while the car is stood on a flat surface in rain it's filling up. There has to be an opening into the box sections somewhere? Fingers crossed the garage can find it. Thanks for your help Regards M

Hi Paddy, Thanks for the prompt reply, I'm sure that the information you have provided is going to be a big help, I will let the garage know. Unfortunately the water has already got to the electrics under the drivers seat but I'm hoping that it has just taken out the fuse. The water has got to be drained out and the carpet dried so we have to wait and see what happens. I hope the garage can find out how the water is getting in. Did you have any central locking issues? I have had intermittent problems as reported by the on board computer and each time it has been the o/s rear door. Perhaps that is related. I think we as a community should play merry hell with Audi over this, perhaps approach the German head office. I know they are built just outside of Munich. Clearly Audi UK aren't going to do anything about it, even though they are aware of the issue, all about money! I'm aware of the TSB that they put out and have printed that out to help my garage. I did see someone else comment that they removed the cover under the car and removed the grommets to let the water drain out. We need to know how the water is getting into these box sections in the first place. I believe my garage have dealt with an Audi paddling pool before as the boss showed me a video of all the water under the carpet. Let's hope I can get some Answers. Regards M

Hi paddy755 I have a 2020 A6 c8 BLK ed with 32k on the clock and I have the exact same issue, water ingress into the rear o/s footwell. I have today put the car into my local garage (who I trust) the only reason I found this problem is the drivers seat suddenly stopped working. I assume water has got into the electrics under the seat and blown the fuse. My garage have said they need to take out the seats and remove the carpets to dry them out, (at least a week) They will then water test to identify where the water is coming from. I have asked them to provide photo/video evidence so I can have a go at Audi later. 'Actionmansingh' has the same problem as well. Sadly he doesn't give an explanation of how he resolved the problem. My garage will try to identify where the water is coming in and rectify the issue, so I will try to keep everyone up to date with my garage's findings so the information is there for everyone, this does seem to be a common fault that none of us expect from a prestige brand like Audi.