Panoramic Sunroof seals perished within a week

[wrightee]

Hi,

Picked up my A4 last weekend and just finished giving it it's first wash. Whilst doing so I noticed about a 30 x 5mm oval hole to the rear of the sealing strip. Does anyone know if this is a known problem?

Trouble is I live in the French speaking part of Switzerland so its a real pain trying to communicate with the garage with my very limited French. I'll be going to see them tomorrow but I have a feeling that they will claim that an animal or something has done it - so I'll have to pay for it! It would be nice to be forearmed with the knowledge that this has happened to someone else and add strength to my argument.

Any assistance greatly appreciated!

Cheers.

[sootyscottie]

could you post a piccy up?
Would make it a lot easier to see why/if the problem and explantion etc.

[wrightee]

Sorry about being a bit vague... Just tried to take some photos, they're far from ideal as it's already quite dark here now but they do show the problem:

http://gallery.me.com/mark.wright#100071&view=grid&bgcolor=black&sel=1

There are 2 separate damaged areas the very back edge is the smaller of the 2. The main hole is quite apparent and I notice a tiny split (not visible in the photos) which to me indicates that it might be a due to a flaw in the material.

I checked the mechanism and nothing is catching in those 2 regions so I'm quite lost as to how it could have got like that.

Thanks for the rapid response sootyscottie, much appreciated!

[sootyscottie]

That is very strange.

to be honest, i would say that it looks like the rubber has perished. Usually, when this happens , it will crack and go brittle. Are you sure somebody hasnt had a go at it to attempt entry to your vehicle etc.

In my honest opion, it does look like a man made problem.

Can you remember parking it anywere that it could of happened?

This is just my opinion though, and i may be totally wrong.

[B6Andy101]

Looks like someone took a liking to your car and tried to have it away.

How did you get on with the dealer ?

[wrightee]

Well it turned out it wasn't defective materials and was indeed malicious damage. In fact the culprit returned on Sunday night to try again and left behind evidence that the forensic team at the local Audi could identify him by.

Here he is....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beech_marten

Apparently this is quite normal in Switzerland, in fact my insurance has a specific clause covering "la fouine" as they're known by here. So, all will be paid by the insurance without excess or penalty on the policy. I've also ordered a ultra high frequency Fouine deterent that stays in the car to prevent further damage.

All in all, not the luckiest first week of Audi ownership, but it could have been worse!

[mkc]

Wow never heard of this before. Wildlife eating rubber! Most Ive got to put up with is a cat sat on the bonnet.

[awtaylor]

I would keep an eye on your tyres! Definitely "Low hanging fruit":D

[B6Andy101]

Well I bet thats a first for the forum.

Get a few coats of wax and sealer on your paint !!