Leaking Audi TT Roadster

[Brad Erickson]

Hi,

I have a problem which the dealer seems unable to fix. There is a large amount of water ingress on the driver's side floor in the cockpit of the TT (the whole carpet becomes soaking wet in the slightest amount of rain - even when the car is parked). The dealer has replaced the door seal but to no avail. Whilst I understand water travels there is no dampness anywhere near the door.

Any thoughts or ideas?

Regards,

Brad

[RickT]

yeah or... check behind the plastic trim on the both sides just under the wipers under the bonnet and see if your drainage theres is blocked...

On the A4 it gets blocked with dirt over time and leaks into the P/footwell.

RicKT

[Brad Erickson]

Thanks Rick, I will have a look.

Regards,

Brad

[RickT]

any update on how you got on??

RiCKT

[mastertech]

Common on roadsters --the water drains become blocked at the rear roof corners--with roof up look behind roll bars in the corners are 2 drain trays (left+right)about 3/4 inches square these have a drain tube which exits at the front of the rear wheel arch . these trays collect water that gets between the roof back edge and the body if the tubes block they overflow and you get water in the rear footwells and quite often a lot of condensation in the boot.

[Gav]

The driver's selt belt is soaking wet in my TT Roadster with no water anywhere else & having read Mastertech's response it sounds as if I might have the same problem & unblocking the drain trays might clear it up. What would be the best way to unblock these trays?
Thanks, Gav

[Brad Erickson]

Hi Rick,

The problem was the water drains as described by masetertech. Thanks for your help.

Regards,

Brad

[Brad Erickson]

Hi Mastertech,

Thanks for your help, you identified the problem. I ended up taking the car to the dealer to do the work. They charged £182 to fix the problem.

[Brad Erickson]

Hi Annie,

Assuming you have the roadster, your problem sounds identical to mine which took a long time and hundreds of pounds to figure out, the solution to which I found on this website from mastertech. Unfortunately, I do not have any of the documents relating to the fix as I have since sold the care and we now live in Canada.

However, the problem arises because the drains which are located in the base of the rag top become clogged over time. They run right through the cockpit and when they become clogged the water has no place to go but inside - hence the continually wet carpets. This drove me mad for several months whilst I was trying to find the solution (one dealership tried to sell me new door seals for circa GBP 1,000 after charging me GBP 500 to try and solve the issue!)

The good news - once identified the dealer should fix it easlily (and permanently by simply cleaning the drainage lines). Once identified I think the problem cost less than GBP 200 to fix.

Whilst I do not have the details the dealership that fixed it for me was Docklands Audi in London. My car reg was Y491LGY. They should still have the repair on their records so if you give them a call your problem should be solved.

Lastly, once the repair was made the carpets dried quickly with no remaining dampness, mold or smell whatsoever.

Good luck and happy driving - I had mine for five years and absolutely loved it.

Regards,

Brad









Hi Brad:

We just bought a used 2005 Audi TT 3.2 Roadster. It had been raining for 3 straight days prior to us purchasing the car and we noticed when we got home that the carpet on the driver side is soaking wet. We steamed vacuumed the car and put a high power fan on it all night to dry it up. The carpet was dry the next morning but as soon as we drove the car, the carpet got wet again (mind you, it wasn't raining and the roads were dry when we drove it). That's when we realized there's a problem and googling it lead us to your post. Was your problem similar to ours? Was your problem resolved satisfactorily, and has the problem reoccurred? Does the carpet smell afterwards?

We brought the car in to the local dealer and they said they can't identify the problem. So we're hoping you can help.

Thanks,
Annie

[Bill Badger]

I have a similar problem with my 2004 Roadster. However, I can't see the drainage points because of the lack of space. My boot has condensation and I have water on the shelf area behind the driver's seat. I can't see much with the roof up, and with the roof down it seems harder to see anything!
Does anyone have any photos?

[Bill Badger]

Sorry, I'd forgotten about this post!

Clearing out the drainage system as per earlier in the topic worked wonders. The plastic drains are like miniature versions of drains on the side of older houses, and are about 70mm square. They sit just behind the seats on the top forward edge of the rear wings. I cleaned them out easily with the aid of a piece of bicycle outer cable, (similar to that used to hold up net curtains), and gently worked it up and down gently until water runs through the pipe again. The pipe exits through the floor section just in front of the rear wheel arches.

The roof is a clever piece of engineering, and you may not realise it, but when closed, the bottom edge of the roof forms a large tube which collects the water if the car is not parked on the level. I'm not sure what would happen if the car is left parked facing upwards on a slope though, since at some point it must fill the tube. However, I suppose the excess water would just run over the edge of the outer panels and onto the ground.

[Morse666]

I bought my wife a new TT Roadster in March 2015; it's currently in the garage for the second time being drained! We've already had new hi-fi amplifiers and electronics replaced...absurd. The dealer suggested he's trying to sort the problem free of charge out of the kindness of his heart! Really? He also asked if my wife parks under a tree! £40k for German engineering! Not happy.

[Bill Badger]

I can understand your annoyance with what is an almost new car. You must be very frustrated. Maybe they have Friday afternoon cars in Germany too.....

[nickeyzh]

I have the same problem. Cleaned the drains, but water has accumulated behind the front-seats, there must be a vacuum space there, so when I accelerate or break hard, the water moves back and forward... Anyone experienced this and how to empty the water accumulated ?

[Crasher]

It is not a good idea to reactivate a post that was started thirteen years ago, are you sure yours is a TT mk1, your symptoms suggest it is a Mk2?