Otto Man

John, no offense but how long have you been washing cars? Dirty water will work its way anywhere it can. As you can see it stops right at the door gasket, so that thing is working.
Make washing that "hidden bodywork" part of your car, as well as the inside of your hatch a routine, every-wash thing to do. It only takes a second. On a $40,000 fun-car it is the least you can do. If you had a $2000 Toyota you could skip it every once in a while.
Washing the Q5 should not be something you hate, and do in a hurry. Take your time and don't press down. It will only scratch your finish.

zeus48

Today washing that area of the passenger rear I found that a rock hit the seam weld and put a nice chip in the paint. I guess that's the downside when you use the rear door as part of the fender well.

Otto Man

That sucks..........I guess we all need touch up paint