Fixing Your Audi A6 Water Leak (Video)
Rain has dominated the Shenandoah Valley during the last few weeks. I can appreciate the value of precipitation, since rain = good water levels which = more kayaking excursions. However, the precipitation hasn’t been very kind to my 1999 Audi A6 Avant.
A few weeks ago, I noticed a water leak in the Audi. As I drove uphill, water came rushing through a vent near the passenger side floor. I figured this is one of those problems you can’t really ignore.
Instead of dropping $150+ to have a dealer fix the problem, I decided this was something I would try to fix on my own. The good news for me is that I fixed the problem in less than an hour. The good news for you is that I’m a nice guy and I took some raw video of the process.
I won’t make any guarantees, but this video should help Audi owners who are experiencing similar problems. When you’re done fixing your water leak, feel free to send me a check for the difference.
[…] Fixing Your Audi A6 Water Leak A few weeks ago, I noticed a water leak in my 99 Audi A6 Avant. As I drove uphill, water came rushing through a vent near the passenger side floor. Instead of dropping $150+ to have a dealer fix the problem, I did some research and found that a drainage hole underneath the battery was clogged. I made a video tutorial showing how to fix this problem. You can see the video tutorial here: Fixing Your Audi A6 Water Leak | iamjwal.com – web design, history, philosophy, theology and sports […]
[…] https://iamjwal.com/2009/05/31/fixing-your-audi-a6-water-leak-video/ […]
I too had the same problem, sadly my A6 was deemed a write-off by my insurers today. I believe this is a design fault and Audi should be accountable. They are aware of this problem yet make no mention in the service manual. I would be very interested to know if anyone else lost their Audi to this fault.
It is a fairly common problem…a quick Google search turns up a good number of forum posts.
Sorry to hear about your Audi loss.
Thanks for the video!
Had the same issue. Did exactly what you did! Thanks so much. You probably saved me $100+
Thank you. I will attempt this tomorrow. My experiment leads me to think that my leak is caused by condensate from the air conditioning unit finding its way into my passenger compartment, but before I go looking for that, I will check these drains. Thanks again.
Cliff,
Any luck?
hi there, I just bought a 2003 A6 Avant . drove it home and as I put the mats in noticed the wet carpet. THe dealer had to change the alarm module which apparently sits under there due to water damage. Getting too late to do it tonight but I just had a quick look under the cover and noticed my own little pond – so will be fixing tomorrow in the daylight.
Do I have to do anything special other than reset the radio when I re-connect the battery ?
Hey Neil,
All I needed was the radio code, but I can’t tell you for sure with a 2003 A6.
Have fun.
Thanks for this, took me about 30 minutes and hopefully will sort this out now.
Hi JWAL,
We had the same problem, we baught Audi 2002 A6 on thursday, due to heavy rain on friday, we got pond same as seen in your video, our insurance company toed the car to their garage, we didn’t hear anything yet from them. It would be great if you could give one answer to my following question. Does that water damage the engine of the car? we have seen white smoke when we started the car on friday.
Thanks in advance,
Art
Hey Art,
Usually blue or white smoke coming from your exhaust means there’s some water in the engine. It’s possible that some of the standing water in the car found its way into the engine. A local mechanic should be able to check and let you know either way.
It’s not the end of the world though. If you just bought the car, I would have the oil changed right away, ask your mechanic if he sees any water, and then change it again in the next few weeks. That will give the car a chance to clean itself out.
I hope that helps. Congrats on the Audi purchase.
JWAL
Hi I live in the UK and have got an Audi A6 2.4lt automatic and this morning we had a lot of rain and on the drivers side there was about 2 inches of water the car started OK and I got to work about 2 miles but when I came to go home the car started again OK, but when put into drive there was nothing there, it just would not move, also in reverse, you can put it in to drive and rev the engine and nothing it does not move, so some one said there is an E.C.U. unit under the drivers seat and because it has got wet it needs to be re-programed is this true, and if I dry the car out will it drive or has it got to go to a garage first. Please advise me.
Thank you for you time.
Malc
Hey Malc,
Unfortunately, I’m not really sure about your situation. If you can get a wet/dry vacuum over there and give it a day to dry out, you can see whether or not it will shift into drive. I know an E.C.U. can be used for modifications to the car, but I’m not sure if it can regulate something like your transmission.
Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Let me know how it turns out.
JWAL
Had the same water issue this past week. I live in the Boston area and was driving to Philadelphia when the car would not go when put in gear. I had it towed to a dealership near Maplewood NJ and ended up paying $2,200 to fix it. They needed to replace the transmission computer because it got wet. When I started driving back up it got wet again. I folled this video this morning but the car continued to drip. I am hoping that it was the last of the water working its way out. I will have to check the AC drain if the water continues. Make sure you clean the water out as soon as possible so that you do not have the same issue. My car is a 1999 Audi A6 and probably only has a trade in value of $3,000.
Thans alot for the video! Just fixed my 01 allroad with the exact same problem.
Matthias
Iceland
Matthias,
I’m glad the video was helpful.
JWAL
there are holes under the car where u can let the water out from, they are plastic circles, just hit them hard with a screw driver and hey presto!, thats what i did, but i did learn the hard way which was by removing the carpet.
Hi Jwal, had the same problem as most on here, so much water along the length of the front of the car, discovered after it poored into the passenger side, what if I drill a tiny hole to allow future water to escape, just to one side of the batttery maybe?
Hey Chris,
Just make sure you know what’s underneath where you plan to drill. You may also want to cover the edges of where you drill with a silicone sealant or something that will keep the metal from rusting over time.
Have fun.
JWAL
thanks a lot just followed your video instructions and the water has now gone. Hopefully this will solve the problem. Iain ,Glasgow Scotland
Iain,
Glad the video helped.
Enjoy Scotland for me.
JWAL
Thanks for the video. I had the same problem; happily, your same solution provided the fix.
Thanks! I think I managed to drain without removing the battery by fiddling with the valve to the right/driver’s side of battery. (Not sure if this is sufficient??) I had the battery replaced on my 2000 A6 in May and evidently the cover/flap to the battery compartment was not replaced securely with trim, etc. Now its the Fall rainy season and I end up with soaked carpet on right/passenger’s side. Removed the flap and discovered a gallon plus of water and a compost heap of cedar needles stewing in the battery compartment. What a hassle, I’m glad I didn’t go running to the shop with this.
i have audi A6 01 avant, i bought this car a week ago and on testdriving found the alarm for the radiator water came on.It was topped up but now after a week its empty.Where does the water go?
Thanks for the great video. We just fixed a 2003 Audi A4 with the same problem. Now I just have to figure out how to dry my carpet. Thanks again!
Chicago
Hey Julie,
It sounds like your fix worked just fine. If water starts filling up that area again in the next few months, you may want to take out the battery, etc. to do a more complete cleaning of that area. Good work.
JWAL
Edwin,
It’s possible that your Audi has a coolant leak, but I couldn’t say for sure without seeing the car. Add more coolant and run the car, see if there’s any coolant leaking underneath. If you still can’t diagnose the problem, have a local mechanic check for you.
Good luck.
JWAL
Does anybody know how to take out an ventilator in Audi 100 quatro, V6?
Did the water leak damage anyone’s transmission module?
JWAL:
This looks promising. I’m having the same problem and am just about to go try your solution. One question: did you replace the plug after draining the water? Can you think of a downside to leaving the plug out?
Thanks.
JWAL,
Just wanted to say thanks for the video posting. I had water coming into the passenger side footwell in my 2004 A6 and was dreading the thought of taking it to the main dealers, but after watching your video away I went to have a go and hey presto problem solved and all the leaves and junk have been cleared out to give a clear path for the rain water.
Thanks again from Scotland……
Your video just saved us a ton of cash. The water flow into the passenger seats now cured, thanks to you. What a great video – many, many thanks for posting this!!!!!!
drago,
The only “plug” in the reservoir is usually leaves and other debris. Once you clear those out, that hole should always stay open.
Have fun,
JWAL
Martin and Tommo,
Glad I could help. Enjoy your Audi.
JWAL
JWAL,
One of my friends suggested to me the same process you did. I cleaned up everything (removed battery, battery plate…) with an air hose. The thing is I still have water coming inside of the passenger side from the same spot, not from the vents, it’s between your feet if you raise them to the bottom of the dash. It’s a lot less water than before. Would you have any idea from where the water is coming from? I noticed that the plastic trim outside in the bottom part of the windshield (the one you have to remove to take the windshield wipers support off) has a little gap close to the passenger side and is not touching the windshield properly.
THNX I had the same problem onlu i had it with green water from wash car laundry and your video really helpd me to locate at once instead of searching around. Best regards
Thanks for the video JWAL. I had the same problem with my 2000 A6. I actually figured it out before I saw your video, but I wanted to add a comment. The water only gets in once the bulkhead area has completely filled-up to the point where it overflows into the air intake for your cabin vent. At first I thought the water was getting in directly from the windshield, and had that re-sealed by the glass guy. I figured it out by running a hose into the bulkhead area and watching it fill and not drain. Took me about 30 minutes to get the battery out and clean the drain. If you don’t resolve this problem when it first occurs, you will be buying a new transmission computer for $2500 [which resides inconveniently on the passenger floorboard]. Best of luck, and thanks for the public service.
Mike,
Helpful points for anyone trying to fix this problem.
Thanks for contributing.
hi
water sees to get into the REAR passenger side footwell of my 2003 audi A6 whenever it rains hard – front is dry?
battery area is clean? – really aannoying having a flood in the car every oftrn
Hi Imi,
Not sure I can help you with water entering into the rear of the video. If the A6 has a sunroof, it’s possible that water is getting in through there. Obviously you would want to make sure the sunroof is closing all the way, but you may also want to open it a check all of the weather-stripping to make sure it isn’t worn or cracked.
Best of luck to you.
JWAL
Hi, A qick thanks for your help and guidance on the leak issue. I have a 2003 Audi A6 with a water leak on the passenger side from and it also worked its way to the passenger rear. Thanks to your video the probelm is now fixed gratis. Much appreciated,
managed to solve the problem! Reached under the bulkead where the battery is situated and pushed my finger upwards through the plug hole! I have now reduced your 30 min fix into a 5 second fix!!!
Chris
Lots of thanks for your post. Saved me a bunch of money. Had the driver side rear floor wet as well as the front passenger floor. About 5 inches of water under the battery. No electrical damage as of yet.
Martin and Monty,
Glad the video helped.
Chris,
Glad you found a more time-efficient route. The only nice part about taking your battery out is that you can clean do a thorough cleaning of the area.
Enjoy your Audi.
JWAL
Thank you very much for that video. You really made my day! Now I understand why my transmission is in a “safe” mode. It is a water damage! Does anyone know how to remove ECU from Audi Allroad 2002? Where can I buy a new one?
Scotland again…must be the rain!
Brilliant video. I’ll try the 5 second fix first though.
Rear washer has stopped working in my 2004 A6 avant and I think I hear water scooshing into passenger footwell when motor activated. I think a connector has come apart. Has anyone else come across this as a cause of wet carpet?
Had the same problem with A6 Estate 2.5 Tdi 1998.
Water came in on the driver side following the snow, buckets of it. It played with the electrics and caused damage to the ECU unit. A big bill! Wish I had seen your video earlier.
Audi have made a mistake, drainaige hole should not be there as you can never see it. The Audi 100 used to have this hole where you could see it and if you saw any leaves covering it when you opened your bonnett you cleaned it. One bad mistake in Audi design.
Just a quick response to Bruce in Scotland…..
Try taking the rear quarter panel out in the boot passenger side (where the little storage space is) and checking the washer pipe hasn’t disconnected, if not and you still have a wet passenger side footwell open the passenger door and there are three or four screws located under the glove box holding a triangular piece of trim in, remove these and reconnect the washer pipe behind. This happened to mine and when I used the rear washer I saw water coming into the footwell from this panel as this is where the rear hose is routed… Good luck
My hero. Just found out the secret pool under the hood. Stumbled upon your site after a little googling. Gonna try it tomorrow.