S3 Tailpipe Corrosion

[96cr]

Hello,
I've not long joined the site as I just got myself a 2014 S3.

I've seen on here in various threads that some people have had issues with the chrome starting to pit on the tailpipes – some of whom have had these replaced under warranty. I think I have a pretty serious case of pitting and I'm waiting on a call back from my local dealer to get my car booked in and hear their thoughts.

In the meantime, I wondered if anyone could give their opinion on where I stand with this. Not sure if Audi will try and blame poor care from the previous owner?

Some pics of the exhaust and my car. Got an RS 3 style grill, 19" RS 6 style alloys and white S3 badges so far.



Thanks in advance!

 

[pburv]

Wow that's bad!
Thanks for bringing that to my attention I will keep an eye on mine..
As to where you stand with your dealer my guess is you have a valid claim as they shouldn't deteriorate that bad in such a short time regardless of the former keepers lack of cleaning/maintenance .Are you still inside your twelve month warranty ? If so you definitely have grounds for a claim..
Good luck and let us all know what happens..

 

[A3_Rider]

Would they honour the warranty with those mods? I know it's an unrelated area but they'll probably be picky... "Oh your wheels emitted an element that causes the tail pipe to erode" ...or something similar :/

 

[veeeight]

This is mine:

This is @The Challinor 's:

More pitting and pics in these threads:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s3-exhaust-trim.239410/
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s3-dirty-exhaust-tips-solution.216930/

 

[wideboybloke]

A 2014 S3 on a15 plate? Manufactured in 2014 but registered in 2015?

 

[96cr]

Wow that's bad!
Thanks for bringing that to my attention I will keep an eye on mine..
As to where you stand with your dealer my guess is you have a valid claim as they shouldn't deteriorate that bad in such a short time regardless of the former keepers lack of cleaning/maintenance .Are you still inside your twelve month warranty ? If so you definitely have grounds for a claim..
Good luck and let us all know what happens..

Yeah definitely worth regular cleaning to try and avoid this, as it's doing my head in! I think I would be outwith the 12 months as it is a May 2014 car. But I still feel as if it shouldn't be happening - especially as it seems that it's a common problem. Fingers crossed.

Would they honour the warranty with those mods? I know it's an unrelated area but they'll probably be picky... "Oh your wheels emitted an element that causes the tail pipe to erode" ...or something similar :/

To be honest I did think of that but quickly dismissed as I just thought 'surely not', but these things have happened in the past I guess.

This is mine:

This is @The Challinor 's:

More pitting and pics in these threads:
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s3-exhaust-trim.239410/
http://www.audi-sport.net/xf/threads/s3-dirty-exhaust-tips-solution.216930/

Not good at all. Don't suppose you've raised with Audi?

A 2014 S3 on a15 plate? Manufactured in 2014 but registered in 2015?

It's a private plate XXX XXX. Only the XXXX XXX style prevent new plates being used.

 

[Shawn8V]

A 2014 S3 on a15 plate? Manufactured in 2014 but registered in 2015?

Clearly it's a private plate

 

[veeeight]

Not good at all. Don't suppose you've raised with Audi?

Dealer wasn't hopeful that it would be accepted by Audi UK.

To be honest, my car has had far more serious issue at the time it was in the dealers, this was just superficial.

 

[pburv]

Yeah definitely worth regular cleaning to try and avoid this, as it's doing my head in! I think I would be outwith the 12 months as it is a May 2014 car. But I still feel as if it shouldn't be happening - especially as it seems that it's a common problem. Fingers crossed.



To be honest I did think of that but quickly dismissed as I just thought 'surely not', but these things have happened in the past I guess.


Not good at all. Don't suppose you've raised with Audi?



It's a private plate XXX XXX. Only the XXXX XXX style prevent new plates being used.

Hi connor Robb.
What I meant about the 12 month warranty was the date you yourself bought from the dealer not when the car was registered new.

 

[96cr]

Hi connor Robb.
What I meant about the 12 month warranty was the date you yourself bought from the dealer not when the car was registered new.

Oh right, apologies. Yeah I am still well within that. I will see what they say!

 

[96cr]

Dealer wasn't hopeful that it would be accepted by Audi UK.

To be honest, my car has had far more serious issue at the time it was in the dealers, this was just superficial.

Ah right okay. Thanks. Yeah it is a pretty small issue but frustrating nonetheless.

 

[pburv]

Oh right, apologies. Yeah I am still well within that. I will see what they say!

Stick your heels in and don't get fobbed off by their excuses (but be polite whilst doing so)..lol

 

[PanamaS3]

sorry to hear about your pitting issues....looks really bad....I'm not giving my pipe tips (oooherrrr missus) any love as I'm gonna change the exhaust some time soon I hope with black round tips.....but loving those white badges @Connor Robb ! where did you get those?

 

[96cr]

sorry to hear about your pitting issues....looks really bad....I'm not giving my pipe tips (oooherrrr missus) any love as I'm gonna change the exhaust some time soon I hope with black round tips.....but loving those white badges @Connor Robb ! where did you get those?

I did notice Milltek do a black tipped system but I just love the chrome look! And the badges, it really is as simple as pulling the red sticker off the original. Just use something sharp to get it started and the rest peels off pretty easy. I bought some red badges off eBay for £4.99 (Audi are £40?!?!) in case I get bored of the white, but the cheap badge that came is a fair bit smaller so no use. Think I will just buy a red sticker and cut to size or plastidip etc. if I ever go back to that. Saves the hassle of pulling off badges and sticking them on too

 

[cuke2u]

Nitric acid I guess, all petrol engined cars do produce it so as it is very corrosive how can it be prevented?

 

[96cr]

Nitric acid I guess, all petrol engined cars do produce it so as it is very corrosive how can it be prevented?

I am a designer in an oil and gas company, and that's a similar format of a brief that we would be given, and made to solve.
It's the job of the car designer to anticipate corrosion under normal operating conditions and design a system that can with stand at least a year, surely?

 

[Pulp84]

After owning many a sporty VAG car over the years I have become used to these low quality exhaust tips they use rotting after a few thousand miles. If they have pitted bad then they will need replacing.

It's a pain in the a*se truth be told. Mine are perfect but this is due to some pretty OCD behaviour as follows:-

- Clean them as soon as you can after a spirited drive. I keep an MF in the boot to wipe them off after a run. Once they are clean they are super easy to maintain if you do this. People will look at you strange after you park up but hey, that's the price you pay

- If kept clean, top up regularly with Meguiars NXT metal polish Tried them all and have had the best results with this stuff (I'm sure there are others out there too). I also add some wax to them once clean. Not sure if that helps really with the heat and all but it doesn't seem to hurt.

- If they are black and polish won't get it off then very, very, very, very gently use wire wool / kitchen scourer with plenty of metal polish. Been too aggressive and in the past I have removed the sheen from the tip and made the pitting worse.

Some tips hopefully that will be useful when Audi replace them under warranty.

 

[96cr]

After owning many a sporty VAG car over the years I have become used to these low quality exhaust tips they use rotting after a few thousand miles. If they have pitted bad then they will need replacing.

It's a pain in the a*se truth be told. Mine are perfect but this is due to some pretty OCD behaviour as follows:-

- Clean them as soon as you can after a spirited drive. I keep an MF in the boot to wipe them off after a run. Once they are clean they are super easy to maintain if you do this. People will look at you strange after you park up but hey, that's the price you pay

- If kept clean, top up regularly with Meguiars NXT metal polish Tried them and have had the best results with this stuff (I'm sure there are others out there too).

- If they are black and polish won't get it off then very, very, very, very gently use wire wool / kitchen scourer with plenty of metal polish. Been too aggressive and in the past I have removed the sheen from the tip and made the pitting worse.

Some tips hopefully that will be useful when Audi replace the tips under warranty.

Thanks a lot for your help! I bought some NXT Metal Polish to try bring them back to life but had no luck. I did, however, see how good this stuff was on the unaffected areas of the tip.
I will definitely take what you've said on board once I get some decent tips on the go... Whether that be through Audi or replacing them myself.

Thanks again

 

[PanamaS3]

I did notice Milltek do a black tipped system but I just love the chrome look! And the badges, it really is as simple as pulling the red sticker off the original. Just use something sharp to get it started and the rest peels off pretty easy. I bought some red badges off eBay for £4.99 (Audi are £40?!?!) in case I get bored of the white, but the cheap badge that came is a fair bit smaller so no use. Think I will just buy a red sticker and cut to size or plastidip etc. if I ever go back to that. Saves the hassle of pulling off badges and sticking them on too

very cool! and so simple!

 

[Rob2k68]

I don't suppose any aftermarket tips from Scorpion, Milltek etc will fit the standard system ? They can't be too different in size in order to fit under the cutout in the valance.

 

[cuke2u]

I concur, the best solution is too get rid of the chrome tips as using a nitric acid solution is the accepted method of stripping chrome from anything. Mine, however, after two years, have no pitting and this might be due to the driving conditions as a cold catalytic converter, apparently, produces more..

 

[WarwickL]

GTI MKV for 4 years, R MKVI for 4 years and now the S3. None had any issues with pitting on the chrome exhaust tips but I do detail the cars regularly and always wipe down the tips with the cloth used to apply sealant to the paintwork after each detail.

I would have thought the sealant would have burnt off due to heat generated but would appear to have helped.

The S3 is currently at 4,000km (had it for 2 months) and so far, they are as new.

Maybe our fuel is better down here (doubt it).

 

[HawkeyeS3]

Thanks a lot for your help! I bought some NXT Metal Polish to try bring them back to life but had no luck. I did, however, see how good this stuff was on the unaffected areas of the tip.
I will definitely take what you've said on board once I get some decent tips on the go... Whether that be through Audi or replacing them myself.

Thanks again

NXT Metal Polish (blue tub/green lid) is great on them once they are clean, but is not abrasive really to clean the stains off - its more for putting a high shine on "clean" metal. What I start with is the Motorcycle NXT Metal Polish (black tub/red lid) first applied with a stockingette, as this gets the the staining off (as this is what its designed to do to motorcycle exhausts) and then use the NXT Metal Polish to add that sparkle afterwards. If it's really baked on then I have used autosol, but only gently as that can be quite abrasive in my experience.

I have thought about trying some carb cleaner on it when its really stained to see if that works in advance of polishing to get the stains off, but haven't yet....my logic being if it shifts built up crud in carbs, then it might just help soften/loosen the worst. Ah well just a thought

 

[batch]

Cape Cod cloths, elbow grease and then a bit of Silvo or wheel wax to finish...

 

[Simon L]

Cape Cod cloths, elbow grease and then a bit of Silvo or wheel wax to finish...

Good man..................keep the Cape Cod flag flying!! lol

............the other tip, although rather obvious, don't let em get like that in the first place. Two minute wipe once or twice a week and yer golden

 

[WarwickL]

Must admit, I think the rolled tips look out of place on the S3 anyway. Might make more sense to go aftermarket and get some angle cut bigger tips.

 

[hnnhm]

Did Audi ever get back to you Connor?

I own a 2014 Audi s3 which I purchased in May 2016, and upon delivery noticed some seriously bad pitting...

I'm in Glasgow and car was delivered from Aberdeen so wasn't as simple for me as to just drop in...I rang the dealer and got fobbed off, got told to email my sales advisor which I did and she told me (copied from email): "Unfortunatly they are not covered under the anti corrosion warrenty but they will polish up quite well.
Anything that has crome pipes will discolour/pit."

Did you have any luck with the dealership?

 

[RedRS3Reilly]

Did Audi ever get back to you Connor?

I own a 2014 Audi s3 which I purchased in May 2016, and upon delivery noticed some seriously bad pitting...

I'm in Glasgow and car was delivered from Aberdeen so wasn't as simple for me as to just drop in...I rang the dealer and got fobbed off, got told to email my sales advisor which I did and she told me (copied from email): "Unfortunatly they are not covered under the anti corrosion warrenty but they will polish up quite well.
Anything that has crome pipes will discolour/pit."

Did you have any luck with the dealership?

Did Audi ever get back to you Connor?

I own a 2014 Audi s3 which I purchased in May 2016, and upon delivery noticed some seriously bad pitting...

I'm in Glasgow and car was delivered from Aberdeen so wasn't as simple for me as to just drop in...I rang the dealer and got fobbed off, got told to email my sales advisor which I did and she told me (copied from email): "Unfortunatly they are not covered under the anti corrosion warrenty but they will polish up quite well.
Anything that has crome pipes will discolour/pit."

Did you have any luck with the dealership?

Hi, I'm in Glasgow tomorrow if your about I've got some cream metal cleaner I bought at audis in the park last year and it worked a treat on my tips, my car is 1 & 1/2 yrs old and the tips look brand new

 

[prt57]

I polish them up with NXT then give them a liberal coating of WD40 on a piece of kitchen roll. It has kept our TT sparkling for 3 years now.

 

[AudiNutta]

I'm very surprised to see these pipes corroding! I've had 2 Audi's now with chrome tips, my precious A3 came with extremely dirty tips that had changed to a dark grey colour not chrome. Plenty of Auto Sol and 10 minutes later, they were like new.

The only thing I could comment on is after 12 months or so with the A3, I started to notice that on the bottom of the tip a combination of exhaust deposits and frequent polishing seemed to be wearing away at the chrome finish. Something I'm being very careful of on the S3, so I'm keeping polishing to a minimum.

 

[Rob2k68]

My tips were pitted so I replaced all for at a cost close ton£140 so I don't want that to happen again!

Every other day they're wiped with a baby wipe then if there are any black sooty deposits left at wash time they get a very quick wipe with Gtechniq M1 which seems a lot less abrasive than other cleaners I've used in the past (autosol).

 

[RedRS3Reilly]

That's the one I'm using, seems pretty good as they are still really shiney

 

[batch]

My tips were pitted so I replaced all for at a cost close ton£140 so I don't want that to happen again!

Every other day they're wiped with a baby wipe then if there are any black sooty deposits left at wash time they get a very quick wipe with Gtechniq M1 which seems a lot less abrasive than other cleaners I've used in the past (autosol).

Rob can you send me some details for the trims please as I'll want a spare set at some point!

 

[Rob2k68]

Rob can you send me some details for the trims please as I'll want a spare set at some point!

Think I've archived them (code for hid them in the garage loft with the rest of my parts) - I'll dig them out had planned to get them re-chromed but not done so yet. Don't think the pitting was particularly bad just that I'm a fussy git with me cars.

 

[batch]

Think I've archived them (code for hid them in the garage loft with the rest of my parts) - I'll dig them out had planned to get them re-chromed but not done so yet. Don't think the pitting was particularly bad just that I'm a fussy git with me cars.

Well I'd happily have them off you matey.

 

[Rob2k68]

Well I'd happily have them off you matey.

Sounds like a plan - I'll send you some pics over the w/e and we'll sort something out.

 

[Svenedin]

I was cleaning my exhaust tips today (with Autosol) and noticed that all of the tips are pitted at the bottom on the inside lip. It is worse on the inner 2 pipes. The car is in for an oil change in 2 weeks and I will certainly mention this. I do not think this is "satisfactory durability". My car is 16 months old and under warranty.

 

[Boydie]

I went to audi with mine and asked to have them replaced under warranty.

They said it didn’t fall under their warranty claim as it corroded through wear and tear or something like that.

I said the car was just over 2 years old with 12k Miles. You would paint an arch if it was corroded up to 12 years old or replace a corroded alloy wheel so what was the difference here?

Couldn’t answer me but I still left without them being replaced.

Bought a milltek instead.

 

[StevieS3]

Just received a set free of charge from the dealer I bought the car from after i moaned about the chrome, laughed when i saw they were made in China

 

[davc]

Cheap Chinese junk unfortunately.

It's a lottery whether your tips corrode or not. I have looked after mine and once a month or so I take them off and clean with Gtechniq M1 polish.

I then seal them with Blackfire Wet Diamond All Metal Sealant. A quick wipe down removes any build up without much effort.

BTW this stuff is awesome on alloys as well, brake dust has no chance of sticking to it.