Condensation

[APM]

my wife has a tt roadster,1 year old if you drive then park for ten minutes or more the screen is covered inside with condensation,this does not happen in th summer,it's a real nuisance and the air con doesn't help much either once its fogged.

[shunt1tech]

Just to clear up the boot water ingress . it's not the rear lamps that need sealing it's a crack or pin hole in the sealing of the boot lid panels on the inside seam by the boot lid lamp units ..
Just check under the scuttle trim panel / brake fluid reservoir area for leaf litter build up . this may have partly blocked the drain tubes which would result in excess moisture or worst case water into the car through pollen filter housing .
Hope this helps. Stu

[karl]

Hey hey,

Been a while since I posted, had my car for 18 months and apart from a squeaky seat belt the car has been good as gold.

However,

On the first frosty day of the year I got a lot of condensation in the car which didn't completely go away even after a a 20 minute drive. Audi have looked at it but couldn't find anything.

Today it has been dry all day, drove the car at lunchtime for 5 minutes without any issues. I popped out to pick up the take away about 19:50 tonight and the screen fogged up and it took quite some time to clear.

I always leave AC on, never turn it off, generally drive the car everyday.

Thoughts anybody?

Anybody have similar issues?

Thanks in advance

I've just got a 2007 RS4 and noticed the moulding fitted at the base of the windscreen (aka cowl grille / leaf screen) sits flush to the glass on the outboard edges but sits away from the glass when moving inboard. This moulding is there to stop water getting past the bottom of the screen and is also there to separate water from air for the HVAC system (heating, ventilation. air con). I suspect this may well be one of the culprits of the condensation. If water manages to get through to the pollen filter within the HVAC systyem, then the air will be constantly damp. This was a common design problem on early Ford (sorry!) Focus's / Focii?

I've tried moving mine back in place but not sure how it's designed so I will be taking it back to the dealer on Monday as that isn't how it should be.

[RS Owner]

I commute to London by rail and park my RS4 Avant in the station car park. I arrive at the same time as other people who catch the same train as me in the morning. On the way home I return to my car and often find the inside of the windscreen drenched in moisture but the cars around me have clear windscreens! We have all been parked for the same period in identical conditions.
What happens is beyond a bit of mist, the screen can look like it has been hosed down from the inside. It is undriveable in this condition and the windscreen blower has to be run for a while to clear a hole in the water before you can drive it. The side windows are clear as far as I recall.

I used to wonder if it was just my car but reading other postings, it seems like a congenital fault with RS4s in general and likely the A4. (Come to think of it I should go looking for other A4s to see if they have the same issue)

[karl]

I commute to London by rail and park my RS4 Avant in the station car park. I arrive at the same time as other people who catch the same train as me in the morning. On the way home I return to my car and often find the inside of the windscreen drenched in moisture but the cars around me have clear windscreens! We have all been parked for the same period in identical conditions.
What happens is beyond a bit of mist, the screen can look like it has been hosed down from the inside. It is undriveable in this condition and the windscreen blower has to be run for a while to clear a hole in the water before you can drive it. The side windows are clear as far as I recall.

I used to wonder if it was just my car but reading other postings, it seems like a congenital fault with RS4s in general and likely the A4. (Come to think of it I should go looking for other A4s to see if they have the same issue)

That's exactly what I'll be doing at the dealer tomorrow; strolling around all the a4's to see if I can see a similar fit of the cowl grille to mine.

[RS Owner]

If anyone is suffering from the "RS4 massive windscreen condensation problem", then check the battery compartment under the floor of the boot. Mine was full of water (pints) around the battery and even in the toolkit itself.

I can not see any way the water could have made its way in? I found no water in the rear door after I removed the 2 plugs.

I am going to sponge it dry tomorrow and drive around with the battery compartment open to try to find out what is happening.

[xyber]

My spare wheel well had a few pints of water in it last week. No more condensation now

[RS Owner]

My spare wheel well had a few pints of water in it last week. No more condensation now

Do you know how the water got there?

[PetrolDave]

My spare wheel well had a few pints of water in it last week. No more condensation now

???

The RS4 has it's battery where the spare wheel normally goes on an A4/S4.

Was this on an RS4? So was your battery "swimming"?

[P_G]

That is part to do with one of the recall's on the car. The battery housing was not always secure and some incidents had seen the crack thorugh the floor allowing water ingress. So the recall is to check the battery housing and if necessary reseal this.

[RS Owner]

I sponged it all dry (around battery), and drove to the shops ~approx 800 yds and 3 corners. Weather dry roads dry.
I could hear water swilling around in the back during braking! and I opened the boot, there was water again! Its probably been like this since new (2 1/2 years).
One complication is that i cant remove the bulky plastic foam tray to the rear of the battery, but i can feel it is too light to contain any water.

A fair amount of water must be trapped under the loading area floor.
Its going back tomorrow.

That is part to do with one of the recall's on the car. The battery housing was not always secure and some incidents had seen the crack thorugh the floor allowing water ingress. So the recall is to check the battery housing and if necessary reseal this.

Thanks for that info, I was not aware of this recall.

[xyber]

My spare wheel well had a few pints of water in it last week. No more condensation now

???

The RS4 has it's battery where the spare wheel normally goes on an A4/S4.

Was this on an RS4? So was your battery "swimming"?

sorry, S4. No clue how it got there as nothing else is damp! I've put a ring of masking tape around the wheel well and drawn a line with a fountain pen around it. Running ink will point the way hopefully