Hi There,
I am new to the "Forum" but thought I might put out some information regarding a recent problem on my daughters Sharan. On the motorway ,heavy rain and spray, windscreen wipers slowing down with smell of burning! Not a nice situation.
The problem was due to the wiper blade drive shafts seizing up due to ingress of "sludge". The burning smell was due to the motor doing its best to keep going....The pollen filter is directly behind the motor taking in the burning smell....Whilst the mechanism was removed the pollen filter was replaced....smart move as word from the VW workshop is a dislike to replacing the filter.