Rear Glass / Condensation

[Lee S]

I used to get a "small amount" too.... It will get worse.

Mine is in with the dealer now. I will report back with Audi's findings ASAP.

[Lee S]

OK. Diagnosis carried out. The rear screen has indeed de-bonded along the top edge. This will be rectified by removal and cleaning up and re-bonding, but of course it came with standard warning that "we may break the screen in which case you will need to pay for another one". I told them not to break it !! We will see what happens....

[1781cc]

Originally Posted by Lee S

OK. Diagnosis carried out. The rear screen has indeed de-bonded along the top edge. This will be rectified by removal and cleaning up and re-bonding, but of course it came with standard warning that "we may break the screen in which case you will need to pay for another one". I told them not to break it !! We will see what happens....

Thats what I thought they might say - although not about the top edge, disgusting that its clearly a manufacturer fault but they don't want to cover it - fingers crossed for you dude

[Lee S]

Well the plot thickens.

They have contacted me today to inform me that the removal, cleaning and re bonding of the screen went well and no breakages. It has all been leak tested and dried out and trim refitted, so sorted.

But then he tells me that the screen has been removed and refitted at some point in the past !! The car's only 6 years old and I've had it for 3 of those, so I need to find out a bit more there.

It's the original Audi tinted privacy screen so doubt it's been replaced by someone like AutoGlass, so will ask the dealer if they knew of any work done by themselves. The car was owned/used by director of that dealership for a year and then owned by a local person who would have taken it to that same dealer for any work for sure and it would have still been under warranty anyway. Bit odd but never mind. I will get some more information from them tomorrow and see what they can find out.

That was the reason for my leak anyway. Poor fitment or poor adhesive or both. Hopefully now it will be sorted for years to come and no more condensation or leaks.

[1781cc]

glad you got it sorted, thats got to give you some serious peace of mind, how much did it set you back all in for them to do and which audi dealership did it?

Very strange about it being taken out and in before though!

[Lee S]

It was £350 for the diagnosis, which covered strip down of all interior trim and seats and drying out of all that stuff as well as two of the rear lights that had condensation in them, do the soak test and locate the leak and then refit it all after the repair. The repair was £180. So it was £530.

If you're sure that it's the seal then you could forego the diagnosis and the guy that did the work wasn't Audi staff either. They just get the local "auto-glass" fella in. So you could go straight to your local fitter and he'd probably charge you a bit less. I wasn't sure it was the windscreen though so went for the whole hog. Dealer was Swansea Audi.

[1781cc]

Cool, thanks for this, I think I am going to have to bite the bullet at some point and have the glass out and re-sealed, run the risk of cracking it and take it from there.

[Lee S]

The thing is, I have seen mobile fitters a dozen times taking screens out.. They make a small incision near the top and then just cut it out with cheese wire. I don't see how they could break it unless they dropped the thing. It's just a standard warning. I think they will manage to get it out whole 95% of the time. I mean... you only have to go onto our own sponsors site and they have at least 3 or 4 rear screens for sale from D3s. How did they manage to get them out without breaking them.

I wouldn't worry too much if you have good, careful fitter that isn't ham-fisted and takes their time. I was told if the screen DID break on removal that it could be a 4 week wait for a new one, so maybe worth paying the little extra at Audi and at least you will have a courtesy car and know that it's undercover while it waits for the new screen.

[Lee S]

Well a few days of rain and just washed the car with a pressure washer. Looks good to me now. No more water pouring in anywhere, but here's a funny thing.

Car had been sat outside all day in the sun. Snow-foamed the car and then rinsed off with pressure washer. Obviously the water coming out of pressure washer is stone cold, but after the rinse, the whole front windscreen is steamed up inside. Completely white with condensation. No other glass in car was like this. The rest of the glazing was clear and dry.

Now is it possible I have a leak in the windscreen seal as well? Or could it be moist air getting in through the vents? Blocked drains somewhere (I don't have a sunroof). I'd have thought with ALL leaks sealed up the air inside the car should be bone dry now as I always have the AC on. Why only the front screen too?

[Norretal]

UV screen absorbing and retaining heat and the cold water causing the condensation? No idea really, just a suggestion

Only because you said it has been sitting outside in the sun all day, I'm assuming the inside temperature is quite warm?