IMPORTANT ALL READ. Rusting bottom of doors, when will it be yours?

Markb

Markb

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Following on from my original thread here, and VAGMAN1's Preventing rust forming along the bottom of the doors! here

Here is what I discovered to my horror when I actually removed the bump strips from the bottom of my drivers door:

rustydoorsdriversunderstrip02.jpg


rustydoorsdriversunderstrip01.jpg


As you can see quite clearly it is dirt gathering and causing the door to root upwards as I first thought, but as you can also see the paint has come off the door itself and the rust is spreading all along the bottom of the door.

Here is how it looked with the bump strip on:

rustydoorsdrivers01.jpg



It's the same all the way along mine now.

My advice is go and check your doors for rust and if you are lucky and don't have any rust forming read VAGMAN1's post on how to stop it in the short term. Otherwise get your self down to your nearest Audi Approved Body Shop and file that claim!!!

I think by the looks of it that is just a big problem waiting to happen to all A3's/S3's, and if Audi suddenly get a load of Anti Corrosion warranty claims I am sure they will have to react one way or another!!

Hope this helps you guys!


Update

*Links for pictures updated.
*URL's still broken (Looks like the threads may have been lost when the board was updated?)
 
I'll be checking mine on my next days off. Not looking forward to it tho!!

Mark, I'm surprised that the guys who sprayed you trims didn't advise you about the rust under them!
 
what about the trim behind the doors on the rear panel? does that just unbolt and pull back the same? if so just wonderin where them bolts are? may aswell check it all just incase
 
Sweet will have to take a look and see the state of mine
 
Audi UK website Says:[ QUOTE ]

Since 1997 the fully galvanised bodyshells throughout the Audi range have been covered by a 12 year anti-corrosion warranty.

[/ QUOTE ]
 
Right, just been out to my car and pulled the trims off.

The rear quarter panels were spotless underneath, so no problem there.

However, I too have some small areas under the door trims that are missing some paint. They haven't bubbled up or anything like Markb's, but its still a tad concerning.

The problem in my case is not anything to do with the clips or moisture, but due to vibration.

Whats happened on mine is the top inside of the trims have worn the paint away in a few places due to (I'm assuming) the vibration of opening/closing the doors and general vibrations through driving.

Its raining at the mo with, so I've just put the trims back on with a bit of waxoyl. When the weather is a dryer I will repaint the area in question.

As for a long term solution, I'm either going to cover the problem areas of the doors with protective strip before fitting the trims, or I'm going to forget the clip design and bond them on with sikaflex or silicone.
I've not desided yet.

But as Markb suggests CHECK YOUR DOORS OR GET SOMEONE TO CHECK THEM FOR YOU!!

This is indeed a bad design.
 
I think this post should be made sticky mods
Click to expand...


I was hoping that it would be made a sticky as well.

Come on Mods if you read.

I think this is something that will effect everyone.
 
So, if I understand correctly, if you find rust on the bottom of your doors then that is a breach of the anti-corrosion warranty and you can force Audi to replace the doors?
 
[ QUOTE ]
So, if I understand correctly, if you find rust on the bottom of your doors then that is a breach of the anti-corrosion warranty and you can force Audi to replace the doors?

[/ QUOTE ]

No not as such.

I am trying to make a claim at the minute and I am waiting for the go ahead from Audi to have the work done.

It's a bit unclear as to what is covered by the warranty.
 
If the car is under 3 years old you've got them and they can't wriggle out....

IF the car is over 3 years, Audi UK will argue that it is a paint defect but conveniently you're no longer covered under the paint warranty. They will then argue it isn't covered under the 12 year anti corrosion warranty either as this is only inside-to-out corrosion i.e. a metal impurity.

I am pretty certain that Audi UK know this is a bigger problem though but daren't own up..............
 
I've seen Audi wriggle out of paying anti-corrosion claims, on a TT. They said that because the rust was on a "folding edge" (in this case the flared wheelarch crease), it wasn't covered under warrantee...
 
[ QUOTE ]
I had this problem last year, I noticed bubbling on the bottom of the drivers door so I took it straight to the dealers. They asked me to come back when some bodyshop approval guy was around. About a week later I got the phone call and took it down, he took one look at it and signed it off as warranty work under the 10 year anti-corrosion warranty.....2 weeks later it was all sorted! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/yes.gif

I've yet too check the other door though!

[/ QUOTE ]

Was your car under 3 years old?
 
[ QUOTE ]
No its a 97' R so about 7 years old at the time....

[/ QUOTE ]

Well... looks like we might have a case in our hands chaps, which stealership did you use again? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
I went to Lancaster Audi in Manchester to have it done, they're usually quite crap but this time they did the job ok.

I'm not sure how they cured it, they had it for about two days. I don't think they replaced the whole skin as the whole door hadn't been resprayed. Whatever they did it looks good and there is no noticable sign of return.

I think they use a BMW bodyshop in trafford to handle paintwork jobs as they don't have the facilties themselves.
 
Can someone explain exactly how you get the rubber strips (A3 style, rather than S3) off the doors? On my '97 A3 (which is bubbling just above the strips), I've unscrewed the screws in the front lower corner of the doors but they appear to be captive, and the strips show no sign of budging. Where and in what direction should I start pushing/pulling?

Cheers,
 
Can someone explain exactly how you get the rubber strips (A3 style, rather than S3) off the doors? On my '97 A3 (which is bubbling just above the strips), I've unscrewed the screws in the front lower corner of the doors but they appear to be captive, and the strips show no sign of budging. Where and in what direction should I start pushing/pulling?

Cheers,
Click to expand...

You need to pull the drivers side to the left and the passenger side to your right as you look at them side on.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Is there this same problem with S3 door strips?

I checked mine and it seems ok...

[/ QUOTE ]

Apparently so. A member of this forum had one of his door skins replaced on his S3.
 
Mine is a 3.5 yr old facelift model. Doors not rusted but bits of bare metal exposed.
Screws securing trim to door had begun to rust.
 
With galvanised body panels you get an effect called galvanic corrosion which in effect means that the zinc coating on the panels should oxidise before the steel as it has a greater positive charge, so in effect becomes a sacrificial anode. So if the door suffers corrosion in less than 12 years one could only assume that the zinc plating was/is not thick enough to last the 12 years before it was exhausted allowing the underlying steel to oxidse.
 
Interesting you meantion that as my marks are black and not the usual rusty brown. So would this be the galvanic corrosion?
Once the the black has occured, does this layer protect the steel beneth, or with the steel eventually rust as well?

Also if I plan to repaint, would I need to remove all the galvanic corrosion?

Thanks.
 
If it is the zinc which has oxidised then it should be left as it is protecting the steel underneath. Metals such as copper zinc and lead when they oxidise the oxide coating is well bonded to the base metal underneath, unlike steel when it oxidises the oxide physically has a greater volume and does not bond to the base metal it just flakes off along with your paint.
 
/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif Hi Guys, I read with interest the above posts and had a quick gander at mine, and to my horror there is a small bit of bubbling going on. Has anyone made a successful claim as of yet and can claims be made via any Audi dealership?

Cheers Simon

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/beerchug.gif

1999 T 1.8T Sport
 
Hi Guys, I read with interest the above posts and had a quick gander at mine, and to my horror there is a small bit of bubbling going on. Has anyone made a successful claim as of yet and can claims be made via any Audi dealership?

Cheers Simon

1999 T 1.8T Sport
Click to expand...

Still waiting on mine will keep you updated though

As for what garage to go to you require one with an Audi approved bodyshop. Have a check on the Audi website.
 
rigth after nearly 2 and a half months of waiting and many phone calls i finally got my verdict today on my doors, the company dealing with it M&M vehicle repairs still sed they didnt no anything, got hold of the name of the guy at stoke audi who was dealing with it and got the response '' the disision was made on the 12th april, hasnt any1 rung u'' good start ey.

anyway long story short i aint got a cat in hell chance, my application has been refused.

my car is a 1999 t-sport with full audi history and im well p@#sed. i always considered audi to be a highly rated car thats a bit special to the normal, my thoughts now are that my old 1993 corsa sri may not have the glamour of the a3 but was a dame good car and was pretty tidy for its year. maybe i should of stuck with the corsa
 
rigth after nearly 2 and a half months of waiting and many phone calls i finally got my verdict today on my doors, the company dealing with it M&M vehicle repairs still sed they didnt no anything, got hold of the name of the guy at stoke audi who was dealing with it and got the response '' the disision was made on the 12th april, hasnt any1 rung u'' good start ey.

anyway long story short i aint got a cat in hell chance, my application has been refused.

my car is a 1999 t-sport with full audi history and im well p@#sed. i always considered audi to be a highly rated car thats a bit special to the normal, my thoughts now are that my old 1993 corsa sri may not have the glamour of the a3 but was a dame good car and was pretty tidy for its year. maybe i should of stuck with the corsa
Click to expand...

As I said to you Sunday mate it's not what either of us wanted to hear.

I also had a Corsa, but mine was a 94 SRi. It was a good car, but it doesn't really compare with the A3.

Not sure what to do now about mine though. Why should ours be any different to others?
 
That's ****** mate... utter ******. Feel for ya...

WTF are Audi thinking!?

I've always hated those damn lower door trims and it just goes to show that they're not actually doing the job they were intended for, in fact they're contributing to making it worse!

I really don't understand how, with all the R&D that goes into building such a high-end car, that these things don't even come up! The first thing I said when I saw the trims years ago was that they'd cause problems later in life, it's obvious!

Schoolboy error on Audi's part there I think.

Where to go from here though eh...? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/bang.gif

/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/burningmad.gif
 
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