I feel a bit dumb for this, but I cant find the rear sunroof drains on my 01 A6. I searched Google and a few forums, which said I have to remove the rear bumper to get to them. Well, Ive taken the bumper off (thanks to Richard Solomons writeup that I found on VAGlinks) but still cannot find them. I can see the drain for the gas cap on the passenger side, but that's it. I cannot see any tube or nipple on either the side or the underside. Any ideas?

 

IIRC on my Avant they don't drain around the bumper ... I think they drain around the wheel well tho it's been a while since I've run some water thru to check the flow.

 

Here's a picture from Bentley. On my 2001, the rear drains actually end in front of the rear tires behind the fender liner (ignore the picture) The rear drains go down between that small triangular window and the rear door window. You don't say what problem you are trying to fix, so I'll assume a leak. Three common issues are the drains are clogged (clear the drain with a speedometer cable), or the sunroof rail end cap with the connector to the drain tube has cracked (the white plastic piece at the rear of each rail) (replace the end cap), or that the drain hose is leaking between the green hose and the white plastic end that clips onto the sunroof rail white plastic piece (put 3M Clear Sealant around the joint of the green tube and white plastic connector). If you need to drop the headliner, there is a tech article to do it.

 

Thanks for the info. Yea I suspect I have a sunroof leak, that is the reason for all of this. After a rainstorm (I park on an incline) I noticed a stain on the diver side C pillar. I popped the trunk, the mat was damp, and I could see drops of water on the vent on the driver side. I figured it was due to a clogged drain. I hope its just a matter of fishing a line up the drain and clearing it, as Im sure that its a whole world of fun pulling the liner down. Ill have to wait till tomorrow to check the spot you suggested. If I find the drain tomorrow ill post a pic in case anyone else runs into this.

 

Please try to post in the proper location within the thread. Thanks.

 

It's not hard to drop the headliner, just slow. Taking it down is a one person job, putting it back up takes two people.

This is the cap at the end of the sunroof rail:


This is where the drain comes out behind the rear wheel fender liner:

 

So if its behind the liner, then do I have to remove the wheel to pull the liner down to get to it?

Also would this below be accurate?

 

Yes, your updated document correctly shows the route of the rear drains, and to access the drain end you would have to remove the wheel and liner. Water leaks are nasty, I'd seriously consider dropping the headliner and checking the entire situation to ensure no parts are broken/cracked and putting clear sealant around the hoses where the have that white plastic connector.....and I'd never park the car on a slope again....BTDT...

 

Ill go ahead and make a day of it and pull both the head liner and fender liner down. Ill post the results. Thanks for the help!

 

I had the same problem, but at least found the outlet in the wheel well without taking off the bumper.

You can do this job with the headliner in place.

If you take off the c/d pillar trim, you can sneak you hand between the headliner and the roof to pull off the connector. Gently pull down on the edge of the headliner to get enough space for you hand. Then you pull the tube to the side of the headliner in order to snake the tube with a wire. I used a piece of 14 guage solid conductor insulated wire. Just stiff enough to snake down the tube, but not so rigid to tear the tube.

My tube was clear, but the problem was a cracked connector, as discussed above. So with the connector pulled to the side, I was able to butter it up with a small amount of silicone, and then reattach the connector to the sunroof nipple. I tested the connection by pouring some water into the sunroof channel before I reinstalled the trim. No leaks, so I put back the trim. No more stains. This saves hours of work removing all the pillar trim, mirror and headliner.

I did the whole job in less than 1 hour, taking my time. Second time would take less than 1/2 hour. Following the instructions for the headliner removal in the link above, remove the d/d pillar trim but do not remove the entire "B" trim or "A" trim, just the top fasteners of the B pillar and end of the A pillar. You will be able to drop the headliner enough on one side to access the sunroof nipple and connection.