Rear wiper issues

[TheBuell]

It stopped working a few days ago and I can hear it whining when I try to turn it on. What's likely to be wrong with it?

[Magnet]

Hello Alex,

Possibly/probably water ingress Alex. You wil obviously need to access it to check.

Please let us know how you get on.

Kind regards,

Gareth.

[TheBuell]

Yeah I probably will have a look at it tomorrow see if it's something I can sort easily before I refer it to my friendly local garage.

Thanks

[Stevey Y]

1 hour ago, TheBuell said:

It stopped working a few days ago and I can hear it whining when I try to turn it on. What's likely to be wrong with it?

Hi the gearbox inside the unit has nylon gears as Gareth said its water ingress which seizes the metal gearbox components and strips the nylon gears of their teeth, just buy a new unit they are cheap enough because you will only get away with re using the clips on the cover on the tailgate once as if you remove the trim twice they pop out and bend fairly easy job to do.

Steve.

[TheBuell]

eurocarparts sells replacements for about £170. Gawd knows what my friendly local garage will charge. I've just seen a video where someone extracts the wiper motor, disassembles it, pops the gears out of it and puts it in vinegar for a day or so, and it's fixed with some grease.

Has anyone tried that and had positive results?

[cliffcoggin]

That won't solve the leak that caused the problem in the first place. It's your money to burn as you wish, but Steve is right, the best solution is to buy a new one.

[TheBuell]

You may be right, I'll get it replaced. But I still think we should be able to repair these things rather than put into the landfills 😞

[Stevey Y]

3 hours ago, TheBuell said:

You may be right, I'll get it replaced. But I still think we should be able to repair these things rather than put into the landfills 😞

Hi why go to ECP there are plenty of offers on eBay which are much cheaper thats where mine all came from and if you do get a new unit please buy a new rubber spindle grommet, they go rock hard and shrink thats where the water gets in.

Steve

[cliffcoggin]

5 hours ago, TheBuell said:

 But I still think we should be able to repair these things rather than put into the landfills 😞

Agreed, but that is the way of things now. Glands or replaceable O-rings are more expensive to manufacture, and it is price rather than quality that is the prime concern of most motorists.

[Stevey Y]

2 hours ago, cliffcoggin said:

Agreed, but that is the way of things now. Glands or replaceable O-rings are more expensive to manufacture, and it is price rather than quality that is the prime concern of most motorists.

Hi Cliff I think we have had this conversation before, the parts aftermarket in real terms have actually become more reasonable but it still boils down to the fact that the whole unit is designed badly and guaranteed to fail sooner rather than later, my latest cab has a system whereby the washer fluid is sprayed from a separate nozzle at the top of the window and has no contact with the motor, therefore I have no real reason to believe the motor will fail during my ownership as has been the case with all the other cabs I have owned fitted with the same system, Audi seem to excel at building obsolescence in to various car parts especially the rear wiper motors, all for the sake of a £12.00 rubber grommet.

Steve.

[TheBuell]

It's particularly surprising given the Teutonic attitude to quality. 😞

[cliffcoggin]

That attitude was abandoned several years ago. Audi is just another car maker cutting corners to gain a bigger market share.