Water in Boot

[Deezer-D]

Went out to fit a hatchbag boot liner in my S3 earlier and whilst giving it a good clean and hoover in discovered water in the spare wheel area. Don’t think it’s coming from the rear lights so not sure what the cause is. Anyone had a similar experience?
Couple of pics

Also found these but not sure what they are, need to look up the part number

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[Leevr]

They look like the bumper bungs. 4 in total. Two in the light wells and two under the rear boot trim. I had water leaking in in my RS3. it was the rubber boot seal.

 

[Deezer-D]

They look like the bumper bungs. 4 in total. Two in the light wells and two under the rear boot trim. I had water leaking in in my RS3. it was the rubber boot seal.

Wonder why the bungs were lying in the boot? Boot seal leaked on our F56 mini too.
I’ve a warranty so will get it booked into Audi to get sorted.


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[Deezer-D]

Anyone know how to get at the bumper bungs? I’m guessing I need to remove this piece of plastic trim to the left of this pic?

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[Leevr]

The bumper trim pulls of fwd. Peel ( carefully) the rubber boot trim off the plastics ribbed trim. It car tear easily. Then its acase of pulling forward its tight. You may snap a clip. I did. Not detrimental lots holding it on. Reverse for fitment. Feed rubber over plastic trim. End to end. Good for the fingers.

 

[Deezer-D]

The bumper trim pulls of fwd. Peel ( carefully) the rubber boot trim off the plastics ribbed trim. It car tear easily. Then its acase of pulling forward its tight. You may snap a clip. I did. Not detrimental lots holding it on. Reverse for fitment. Feed rubber over plastic trim. End to end. Good for the fingers.

Cheers, I’ll give it a bash at the weekend


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[Leevr]

Cheers, I’ll give it a bash at the weekend


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Look inside boot at inside rear face. Do you have two coloured body clips coming through the plastic. If pull up not back

 

[Deezer-D]

Look inside boot at inside rear face. Do you have two coloured body clips coming through the plastic. If pull up not back

I’ll take a pic later


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[Deezer-D]

Managed to get the trim off by pulling up on it
The plastic bungs were missing so somehow they’d fallen out into the wheel well - no idea how though.

Replaced

Hopefully that was the cause and it’s now cured.

The boot floor covering was soaked so that’s now out and in the house to dry out for a few days

I’ll keep an eye on things for a few days to see if it leaks again before putting everything back in.


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[Deezer-D]

So this hasn’t sorted my problem. It’s either the boot seal or, because there’s water in the right hand side cubby hole for access to the rear light, it’s could be coming from the petrol cap.


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[will_0407]

Is there any update on this? I've just collected a second hand 2016 A3- removed everything from the boot to give it a thorough clean after getting it home yesterday and noticed the boot well was damp (wasn't a puddle like yours). Unfortunately no warranty other than "statutory rights" but I will obviously try and get any repair costs covered (I know, unlikely)

I have a decent audi specialist near me so I will probably end up taking it in there. I've dried it off a bit with paper towels and a hair dryer and not put anything back in the boot so I'll check it in the morning and see if it's got damp again (which would indicate a constant leak somewhere) or if it's still drying off which I guess would mean a leak when I'm activating something like the rear washer.

 

[will_0407]

@Deezer-D Did you manage to resolve this? I took it back to an audi specialist- first time they hosed it all over, couldn't find anything. Second time they cleared the sunroof drain thinking it was that as my 'symptoms' are the same as yours- bit of water in the right cubby hole, soaking wet boot well.

That was well before christmas, but now having lifted the hatch, it doesn't seem to have fixed it as the carpet is damp. The right cubby hole seems ok.

Can anyone point my in the right direction as to what to look for or possibly do next? I've stripped the boot well carpet, given that a bit of a clean so that's now drying. I've mopped up any excess water/dampness that was on the metal below the carpet but I can't see any obvious areas for potential water ingress.

Any advice? Would really like to get this resolved while the weather is decent so I don't have to worry about it over Autumn/Winter again.

 

[steverobertsbbc]

I seem to remember another post where water in the boot was caused by the drain hose from the fuel-filler surround being disconnected - the hose should lead down to just behind the bumper, IIRC. You could try putting some Blu-tack in the drain hole in the surround and seeing if that fixes the leak. I suspect the purpose of that drain is mostly cosmetic to prevent water running out from the bottom of the fuel flap.

 

[gimk]

I seem to remember another post where water in the boot was caused by the drain hose from the fuel-filler surround being disconnected - the hose should lead down to just behind the bumper, IIRC. You could try putting some Blu-tack in the drain hole in the surround and seeing if that fixes the leak. I suspect the purpose of that drain is mostly cosmetic to prevent water running out from the bottom of the fuel flap.

Good idea but before sealing hole why don’t you pour water around the area to see if water collects anywhere in the boot.

 

[Deezer-D]

@Deezer-D Did you manage to resolve this? I took it back to an audi specialist- first time they hosed it all over, couldn't find anything. Second time they cleared the sunroof drain thinking it was that as my 'symptoms' are the same as yours- bit of water in the right cubby hole, soaking wet boot well.

That was well before christmas, but now having lifted the hatch, it doesn't seem to have fixed it as the carpet is damp. The right cubby hole seems ok.

Can anyone point my in the right direction as to what to look for or possibly do next? I've stripped the boot well carpet, given that a bit of a clean so that's now drying. I've mopped up any excess water/dampness that was on the metal below the carpet but I can't see any obvious areas for potential water ingress.

Any advice? Would really like to get this resolved while the weather is decent so I don't have to worry about it over Autumn/Winter again.

View attachment 204717 View attachment 204718

Sorry, missed your first post. Yes, mine is resolved. The black plastic trim that covers the boot latch wasn’t seated 100% due to a couple of bent metal clips.

This meant the boot seal wasn’t seated properly. New clips fitted and the issue seems to be resolved. Will check it again next time it rains


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[will_0407]

Thanks all for the replies, will try each, starting with checking the clips and then putting some water down the drain hole, and maybe then the blue tack

 

[royalsteve68]

I had an issue about 18 months ago with my 17 years old Peugeot 307xsi and the boot would mysteriously fill up the tyre well. Took ages to identify where it was coming from. Checked lights etc, someone using a hose. Nothing straight way. So restorted to taking everything including the lining out of the boot and taped cloths along the boot.

Soon found the issue after a heavy rain storm. There are 2 rubber boot vents behing the bumper and because the car is old the seal around them had failed. Couldnt get new or replacement so just resealed

Removed bumper, put loads of silicone sealant around it. Problem disappeared and has been done for 18 months.

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[will_0407]

Poured some water down the drain in under the fuel flap- water drained straight out so no problems there. Checked the clips, all look good. So now I'm a bit stumped.

@royalsteve68 Thanks for the suggestion may have to look into taking the bumper off now.

I'll apologise in advance to everyone now as Im hoping for some rain in the next week or so! then Ill take it for a drive and hope to see some water coming in from somewhere.

 

[will_0407]

So my wish came true as we had a mini downpour not long ago. I've checked the boot and there is a little puddle of water in the back left. This ties up with the fact that when I lifted the plastic boot protector off, the left tip of the soft padding felt a bit damp- right side was dry. I looked behind the carpet type lining and saw a couple of little spots so it looks like it's coming from behind there. I've attached some pics- I didn't want to starting trying to remove more bits of the lining without any idea of what I'm actually looking for.

Any advice appreciated!

 

[Lavalamp]

I had this too a couple of months ago, they noticed it during servicing, it must have been a lot of water or been lingering in there a long time as even the staples from my warning vest packaging which lies next to the subwoofer were rusty.
I never looked under the boot flap so never noticed anything. My car is just 3 years old and 2 of the 4 panorama roof drain pipes were brittle.
It cost me 1000 Euros on top the 600 Euro Service..I was so happy that day...

 

[CanadaA3wales]

I had this too a couple of months ago, they noticed it during servicing, it must have been a lot of water or been lingering in there a long time as even the staples from my warning vest packaging which lies next to the subwoofer were rusty.
I never looked under the boot flap so never noticed anything. My car is just 3 years old and 2 of the 4 panorama roof drain pipes were brittle.
It cost me 1000 Euros on top the 600 Euro Service..I was so happy that day...

Why would you pay that on a 3 year old car? Regardless if out of warranty, EU law states it should last a reasonable amount of time, and the cost of new cars and 3 years old is not reasonable. I would have threatened court over a 1000.00 bill.

 

[will_0407]

I had this too a couple of months ago, they noticed it during servicing, it must have been a lot of water or been lingering in there a long time as even the staples from my warning vest packaging which lies next to the subwoofer were rusty.
I never looked under the boot flap so never noticed anything. My car is just 3 years old and 2 of the 4 panorama roof drain pipes were brittle.
It cost me 1000 Euros on top the 600 Euro Service..I was so happy that day...

That doesn't sound great! Fingers crossed it's not that. Just waiting for some more rain so I can sit inside the car and try and see some drips coming in from somewhere!

 

[Lavalamp]

The servicing garage called Audi and asked for goodwill with a no as it was out of warranty. I couldnt be bothered to take it any further, i was depentent on the car as i was starting a new job etc. I was glad to have it back after three days as the dried it beforehand.
I know what you mean and i was all but chuffed about it but oh well.

I hope it's not that either Will...I take it you do have a panorama roof saying that?

 

[will_0407]

@Lavalamp yes I have a pano roof. I'm assuming the drain pipes aren't easily accessible which is why it was such a high cost?

 

[Lavalamp]

They swapped all 4 to be safe. 180,60 Euros was for the pipes, the rest labour costs. yes they have to take the roof lining off etc. That alone cost 521 Euros. Tssss

 

[will_0407]

A nice heavy downpour today so I jumped in the car (back seats down) and switched my torch on! Saw two trickles of water coming in, one that was down through the boot latch so possibly a seal has gone somewhere, and then another in the back left. Arrows on the pics point to the spots.

Can anyone point me in the direction of how to remove the rear left carpet trim? (white arrow pointing to it). I need to take that bit off so I can get to the bit where the water is coming in on that side.

EDIT; been out to have another look. my rear wiper doesn't appear to be seated properly, could this be causing the trickle that's coming in down the middle? I can't seem to get it to sit back down flush so may have to take it to a garage.



Managed to get the trim off enough to take a better photo of where the main water ingress is coming from

I've no idea where that water is coming from originally, I could just put a bit of clear sealant over it and see what happen? Worth a shot?

 

[zac7654321]

this is all in line with the rear wiper where you know it's not sealing properly so start there... dry it and clean it of dust and then you can try with silicone to be sure if this is the source of your problem... silicone because you can peel it off later and go to wherever for them to do it properly

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[will_0407]

this is all in line with the rear wiper where you know it's not sealing properly so start there... dry it and clean it of dust and then you can try with silicone to be sure if this is the source of your problem... silicone because you can peel it off later and go to wherever for them to do it properly

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Thanks- I've booked it in at my local audi specialist next week. I think I've gone as far as I'm comfortable with. The wiper is likely the cause of the trickle down the middle, but the back left is still a mystery to me.

 

[zac7654321]

the rubber seal around the rear wiper looks the same on my car as it does on the pic you posted, the significant difference being that my boot is dry as gunpowder... so unfortunately didn't help you much

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[will_0407]

the rubber seal around the rear wiper looks the same on my car as it does on the pic you posted, the significant difference being that my boot is dry as gunpowder... so unfortunately didn't help you much

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No it does help, because it means at least I know it's unlikely to be coming from there.

 

[zac7654321]

fair enough

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[Raph43l]

I have the exact same problem on 2014 a3 sportback. Anorld clarke claimed to have fixed a few months ago but here i am again.
I'll do my own investigation following your guide.

 

[will_0407]

I have the exact same problem on 2014 a3 sportback. Anorld clarke claimed to have fixed a few months ago but here i am again.
I'll do my own investigation following your guide.

mine was the boot seal- the two locations that i saw water dripping from both had water marks on the inside of the boot seal to indicate water was getting through it. It seemed so obvious when we finally cracked it!