Water leaking through front door trims

[Hawthorn37]

Has anyone else observed that, after rain or washing the car, the inner sill (and inner rubber seal) become soaked? The issue I have found with my 7-week old Audi Avant A6 s-line is that as water drains from the windows, it passes through the door trim cavity, and comes out between the trim and door frame. Occasionally the water has brimmed over, and into the footwell - only a small amount, but concerning.
My main worries are, 1) what will the water do to the door electrics? 2) in winter the door seal will freeze solid onto the door frame.
After taking the car to my dealer, they agreed it wasn't correct, and in testing another car in their fleet the same happened apparently, but not to the same extent. A technical query has been sent to Audi UK as the dealer hasn't seen the issue previously, and doesn't want to start changing seals at random. I just wondered if there were any other experiences, and to alert other people to this condition.
If the dealer comes up with a fix, I will post this.
By the way, great car otherwise!

[rickerby]

Has anyone else observed that, after rain or washing the car, the inner sill (and inner rubber seal) become soaked? The issue I have found with my 7-week old Audi Avant A6 s-line is that as water drains from the windows, it passes through the door trim cavity, and comes out between the trim and door frame. Occasionally the water has brimmed over, and into the footwell - only a small amount, but concerning.
My main worries are, 1) what will the water do to the door electrics? 2) in winter the door seal will freeze solid onto the door frame.
After taking the car to my dealer, they agreed it wasn't correct, and in testing another car in their fleet the same happened apparently, but not to the same extent. A technical query has been sent to Audi UK as the dealer hasn't seen the issue previously, and doesn't want to start changing seals at random. I just wondered if there were any other experiences, and to alert other people to this condition.
If the dealer comes up with a fix, I will post this.
By the way, great car otherwise!

Having seen this post I thought I would check my new A6 saloon - collected yesterday - after a night out in the rain. Sure enough, on the drivers door only water does seem to have come through the trim with a small splash on the plastic sill trim. Not entirely sure it has come through the trim though as the window when wound down and back up again seems dry. It may be running round the rubber and collecting in the bottom. Anyway my car is visiting the dealer on Thursday as the air bag light is permanently on. I will get them to look at this at the same time. These niggles apart it is a fantastic car!

[robbyg]

Noticed similar on my 3 week old avant. driver and rears doors are fine. Front passenger inner rubber seal was wet on inside and outside, nothing had run down the trim into the carpet, but it was only a mm or so away.

Its normal for water to run inside the doors from the window and out of drain holes. It should never run down the inner door trim though. I couldnt see where it had come from on mine. Will test when i wash it.

Please keep the results posted! Hawthorn, did you get it fixed?

[Hawthorn37]

You might find that if you look at the underside of the inner door trim when open, drops of water coming out between the trim and metal of the door. Use a bottle of water to test, the evidence is immediately obvious. Spookily, I have collected my car from the Derby Audi dealer today following 2 days work, being fitted with additional bead seal on the inside of the door, which is an Audi UK approved fix. I am happy to report that it appears to have worked, the Derby dealer tested it (and so did I after them failing to fix it the first time, as they only "cleared" the drain holes). The dealer reports they have another A6 waiting for the same job. It surprises me there's not been more confirming posts however, maybe when winter sets in and door seals freeze there will be more recognition. I also wouldnt be surprised if there isn't a recall at some point.

I would recommend you pre-warn your dealer about the door seals, and have them contact Audi UK to confirm the above. They will need to order parts, and schedule a couple of days to do it (allowing for the adhesives to set).

I agree though, apart from this glitch, it's a great car to drive!

[Hawthorn37]

See my latest post - fixed today. You should get your car booked in. By the way, I also thought it was only the passenger front door that was leaking. When tested, it was actually both front doors.

[krupatel]

You might find that if you look at the underside of the inner door trim when open, drops of water coming out between the trim and metal of the door. Use a bottle of water to test, the evidence is immediately obvious. Spookily, I have collected my car from the Derby Audi dealer today following 2 days work, being fitted with additional bead seal on the inside of the door, which is an Audi UK approved fix. I am happy to report that it appears to have worked, the Derby dealer tested it (and so did I after them failing to fix it the first time, as they only "cleared" the drain holes). The dealer reports they have another A6 waiting for the same job. It surprises me there's not been more confirming posts however, maybe when winter sets in and door seals freeze there will be more recognition. I also wouldnt be surprised if there isn't a recall at some point.

I would recommend you pre-warn your dealer about the door seals, and have them contact Audi UK to confirm the above. They will need to order parts, and schedule a couple of days to do it (allowing for the adhesives to set).

I agree though, apart from this glitch, it's a great car to drive!

I read this thread with interest. Are you saying this is a fault that Audi will rectify for cars that are not showing signs of leaking seals too?

[TopherGeorge]

Yep same issue here. Noticed two weeks ago

[Hawthorn37]

I really don't know about that, all I can say is that my car was corrected under an Audi warranty approved method. If your car is not showing the same issues then I guess you just keep an eye on it?

[Hawthorn37]

Yep same issue here. Noticed two weeks ago

In a weird way, sort of comforting that a few others have the same issue! At first, I'm sure my dealer's service team thought I was being overly picky. It's just when you say, at +20deg it's no problem, what about -20deg? that the penny drops. Also just a little concerned about all the electrics within the door trim.

[rickerby]

You might find that if you look at the underside of the inner door trim when open, drops of water coming out between the trim and metal of the door. Use a bottle of water to test, the evidence is immediately obvious. Spookily, I have collected my car from the Derby Audi dealer today following 2 days work, being fitted with additional bead seal on the inside of the door, which is an Audi UK approved fix. I am happy to report that it appears to have worked, the Derby dealer tested it (and so did I after them failing to fix it the first time, as they only "cleared" the drain holes). The dealer reports they have another A6 waiting for the same job. It surprises me there's not been more confirming posts however, maybe when winter sets in and door seals freeze there will be more recognition. I also wouldnt be surprised if there isn't a recall at some point.

I would recommend you pre-warn your dealer about the door seals, and have them contact Audi UK to confirm the above. They will need to order parts, and schedule a couple of days to do it (allowing for the adhesives to set).

I agree though, apart from this glitch, it's a great car to drive!

Thanks for the update. My car goes in tomorrow so I will print this and take it with me. It does beg the question, if this is a known fault with a known fix, why on earth wasnt it checked and dealt with before my car was handed over on Monday? A question I will be posing tomorrow!