A4 Avant Roof Channel rusting

[JohnboyC]

Hi folks.....been away a while....

Anyway we have had some good weather recently, so have started going over my 2.5 TDi Q Sport Avant to touch up the winter damage (stone chips, etc).

On giving the car a good wash and dry off I noticed rust bubbling up on one of the roof channels....

Knowing how Audi will only ever cough up if the panel has been perforated I was well pi$$ed off....looks like it will have to be a roof bar off and body shop job ......anyone else had this problem (mine is a Nov 2003 car)....and its been very well looked after/garaged, etc.

Top tip....if you dont have any rust in your roof channels give them a good wash out, and then polish & wax them......

 

[pj123]

This is a very common problem on the A3 but I haven't noticed it yet on our 52 plate B6.

I got audi to pay for a respray (both roof rails) on my 11 year old S3 as there is a 12 year corrosion warranty. They will try and fight any claim but if you are persistent they will agree as it is a manufacturing fault. The sealant along the weld between the roof panel and the side panel breaks down and allows the weld to corrode. Look on the A3 forum for 'corrosion warranty results', its a long thread with varying degrees of success. Try your local dealer and then phone the audi customer care line. The key is, dont give up and they will eventually do it for free.

Unfortunately polish and wax wont really help prevent this...

 

[quattrojames]

Have you got any pics John?

 

[swampdonkeygj]

Hi folks.....been away a while....

Anyway we have had some good weather recently, so have started going over my 2.5 TDi Q Sport Avant to touch up the winter damage (stone chips, etc).

On giving the car a good wash and dry off I noticed rust bubbling up on one of the roof channels....

Knowing how Audi will only ever cough up if the panel has been perforated I was well pi$$ed off....looks like it will have to be a roof bar off and body shop job ......anyone else had this problem (mine is a Nov 2003 car)....and its been very well looked after/garaged, etc.

Top tip....if you dont have any rust in your roof channels give them a good wash out, and then polish & wax them......

Hi JohnboyC, did you ever take your car to Audi to get this looked at?

I have a similar problem on my saloon, and took it in to Derby Audi last week to look at it whilst it was there for a service. They have called me back this afternoon offering to pay 70% of the repair. Obviously I'm not happy with that as it's a manufacturing fault.

Thanks