Sports exhaust - winter degradation

[wildbore]

Last year, whilst I was waiting for my RS6 to be built, the forum was quite active on the subject of sports exhaust tail trims corroding.

Naively, I thought this might have been a bad batch of trims, or that Audi would fix it (enough owners complained!) but, no, it seems that the problem is ongoing.

I washed the car at the weekend and found that both trims were pretty much ruined. It hasn't even been a bad winter - I can only remember driving on salted roads a couple of times, and the car was last washed in December and the tips were fine then.

Well, they aren't now.

So, I need to talk to the dealer and see what can be done. I remember last year some people received a sympathetic response whilst others were (pretty much) accused of mistreating the car (as if washing it could cause this). Anyone else had the same problem?

[RS6chris!]

Last washed in December...

[W8PMC]

Last washed in December...

I spotted that & wonder if it's possible with such a long time between washes it's just moisture that's caused that degradation rather than salt on the roads.

I'm certainly no cleaning expert but it doesn't look like corrosion so won't a light polish get that out?

[wildbore]

Well, I have to say that December doesn't seem that long ago to me in car washing terms - my car is a daily driver that does about 16000 miles a year so it's out there chugging up and down the motorway, no time for weekly washes.

But this is corrosion, not marks. As I mentioned, there are a few threads on this forum from last year; several owners experienced the problem and some of them had their exhaust tips replaced under warranty. The general consensus was that it is salt that damages them.

And, the way I see it, if a car cannot last 10 weeks through winter without being washed, then it isn't fit for purpose in my book; this is an Audi, not a Ferrari (actually, I have no experience of a Ferrari's ability to withstand a British winter in winter, so I really mean a Ducati, which I can personally testify visibly corrodes before your very eyes).

[wildbore]

Here you go:

viewtopic.php?f=76&t=113178&hilit=sports+corrosion

[wildbore]

Nine owners with the same problem on that thread I just linked to... And some of them washed their cars frequently!

[anth8910]

Well, I have to say that December doesn't seem that long ago to me in car washing terms - my car is a daily driver that does about 16000 miles a year so it's out there chugging up and down the motorway, no time for weekly washes.

But this is corrosion, not marks. As I mentioned, there are a few threads on this forum from last year; several owners experienced the problem and some of them had their exhaust tips replaced under warranty. The general consensus was that it is salt that damages them.

And, the way I see it, if a car cannot last 10 weeks through winter without being washed, then it isn't fit for purpose in my book; this is an Audi, not a Ferrari (actually, I have no experience of a Ferrari's ability to withstand a British winter in winter, so I really mean a Ducati, which I can personally testify visibly corrodes before your very eyes).

IMO there should be no signs of corrosion throughout the warranty at all.

[RS6chris!]

It will be salt.

Both of the exhausts on my last two RS,s and now the Panny suffered same fate....albeit different type of corrosion.

Gotta keep on top of them with the Autosol if your Anal about keeping your car clean...especially in winter months.

[Nigelo2]

Fully agree with autosol which I also use but finishing off with very thin film of ACF50 (brilliant stuff but not cheap) on my Pani.

hope this helps

[wildbore]

Fully agree with autosol which I also use but finishing off with very thin film of ACF50 (brilliant stuff but not cheap) on my Pani.

hope this helps

Thanks for the tip (I hear good things about ACF50 from the bike forums) but really I bought an Audi partly because it should be made well enough to be just left out in the winter and still be in good condition in the Spring.

I go through this grief with my Harley, which is fair enough, but on a brand-new German made car? My wife's Porsche doesn't need this kind of mollycoddling - good grief, even the lowly shopping Fiat is showing less signs of deterioration after 5 winters out on the drive!