Passat Brakes - Beware

[MalcQV]

I fixed mine permanently.... and sold the car

[vwcabriolet1971]

I often wonder how the pre-production tests on new cars are performed . This kind of problem should be quickly found if they did tree blossom , leaf, etc tests as part of the environmental tests (Hot, Cold Humid wet. dry, etc tests ) . I suspect most tests are done in an environmental chamber as it's more convenient than real life testing.
I well remember being involved in Termite testing on GPO equipment for installation in Africa. The equipment had to withstand repeated attacks by angry Termites ! There was always a shortage of volunteers to enter the test chamber after testing was completed even though the termites were all gassed !

[nosecone]

Hi, having fixed this issue myself on an A4 1.9TDI 2001 - Audi were less than helpful - in fact I believe they have been told to deny any issues.

My Servo was corroded from the inside but NOT on the vacuum side but the other side of the membrane i.e. the normal air pressure side. So all the tests people suggest about removing the hose and testing; draining by the same port did nothing as the water was the other side of the internal membrane.

Audi did recall mine to 'remove the bung' to make the hole bigger - I was assured it had been done - it was still sitting there when I removed the battery. Now I pour water into the plenum (engine off) to ensure the hole is not blocked. It cost me around £400 fitted (including servo).

Audi said to me "lets change the cheap bits first" - my answer is unprintable. The only thing you want to work on a car is the brakes every single time; shame on Audi at least Toyota admitted their mistakes. Whilst I remember it did it more in the cold obviously the water was freezing.