Audiman761

Hi All, new owner of a 2004 A8!!! Luvin' it.
Gorgeous car but has a broken drivers side trunk hinge. Estimate for a new one for parts and labor is $450...ouch. I Can pick up a used one on ebay for around $35. Is this a reasonable DIY project?....and has anyone replaced one of theirs? I saw where quite a few folks here took them back to the dealer for replacement but nothing on AW or anywhere on the new regarding the process or difficulty involved. I figure for $35 and my labor why not take a run at it!

Apparently there was a recall but I assume that's probably out the window at this point due to elapsed time.

Thanks!

Panelhead

The "hinge" is not very standard. Once swapped it may require adjusting. But the dealer option may take a couple trips.
35.00 to try sounds like a deal.

05SilverA8

You can also paint it yourself to match the car. Go to dealer and spend the money to buy the paint for the car in a can. It is not very expensive.

Mister Bally

Dealer said they cannot get beige pearl metallic in a touch-up bottle or spray can. I bought it from Automotive Touch Up Paint from PaintScratch - Order Pro Grade Paint - PaintScratch.com Located in beautiful Incline Village, Nevada.

aTOMic

Hey, Welcome, Jeff! Glad you took the plunge; the car is really nice.

Having seen the hinge in question, I only saw one pivot point which was broken (the bolt or hingepin or fulcrum or whatever the correct term is has snapped). Why not try drilling or grinding it out and replacing it? Tomorrow I'll look at mine and see if there's enough clearance for a nut & bolt. Worst case you're out the cost of a dremel bit! Glad to help with that, you know where I live!
Also, especially since you have the power close, IIRC the hinges were TSB'ed due to slight twisting which lead to improper alignment... don't know if there was a "campaign" or just a new part created but either way you should try to get the newer revision hinge if you go that route... someone who knows the facts will reply with part numbers, I'm sure.

See ya soon I'm sure... (I'm his VCDS source for now)
-Tom
PS You do have emissions testing in your county, right? If so, it won't pass because of lack of "readiness" as we talked about, since we cleared the codes but they understand (to some limited degree)...

TSHong

If you want your power trunk to work, buying a used hinge will probably defeat that feature. If you don't use that feature, and if you can paint it, the install should be easy but not sure about how hard it is to adjust.

kanaudi

Hi Audiman
I have replaced a boot hinge with one I picked up on ebay. If you go to a paint seller he should be able to get the correct paint easy spray and a tin of laquer.
Open the boot and disconnect the strut. unbolt the old hinge being careful when it starts to remain on the remaining hinge. the point of the corner will rest on the back window. simply bolt on the new hinge but do not tighten all bolts leave loose enough to align with the car. close the boot and align, it is really not difficult. Once correctly positioned carefully open the b oot again and tighten the bolts. replace the strut. lubricate hinge when paint is dry. best of luck!

allenst

in fact my a8 2004 always drives poorly compared to other seasons here in canada.
the suspension is cross your fingers in winter, trunck and so on.

not sure if you need to change trunk hinges.

Audiman761

Final analysis. Since I was at my Indy having the MMI worked on he sourced me a used hinge for $35 from his parts supplier Charged me a half hour to paint and swap and adjust it! It needs needs some urging to go up and down with the power option. But, it softs closes great...very happy with the result.

aTOMic

Dude, Jerry must really like you! Great deal!