Hi,
Just a quick update on the 8. Ever since the respray, I've really enjoyed having the 8 again...more so than before. I i've been to Holland and back a few times and wanted to treat her and had her serviced with Audi last month. The fixed price servicing actually is pretty decent and Barclay Audi is literally 1/4 mile away from my house. I must admit, i was impressed with the service and the Audi Cam video footage they shared.
Ever since I've had the car, I've always been dissapointed with the rain sensor responsiveness. I always have it set to the most sensitive setting on the right stalk and yet it would need a significant amount of rain to get it moving. I read somewhere about a year back that the issue could be the silicone gel pad that sits between the rain sensor and windscreen.
Sometimes, the gel pads go brittle or people replace their windscreens without replacing the pad causing it to not operate as it should. Given the issue, I decided to change it. I can confirm that having replaced it, it is working so much better so i would highly recommend this to anyone else who may have the same symptoms.
Below you'll find a quick how-to in case anyone else would like to fix the same issue.
Thanks,
Oliver
HOW-TO:
Step 1: Buy a new gel-pad.
I found mine on eBay
here costing £6.
Here is a quick guide on the part number suitable for Audi A8s...you need part number 13360151:
Step 2: Remove the light and rain sensor cover
Step 3: Separate the cover from the light sensor to get it out the way and remove the rain sensor clip using a small flathead screwdriver
Step 4: Pry out the rains sensor from its holder. I used a plastic trim remover to avoid scratches being made in the process
Step 5: You can see the brittle gel pad remains. Carefully clean this off...this took me ages as it really sticks but eventually got it off.
Step 6: Put new gel pad on rain sensor
Step 7: Make sure you clean the rain sensor holder and remove any old gel pad residue
Step 8: fit it all back together again...
