rex2001

Just been advised by service technician that my passenger side cooling is not working due to corroded connector. Must replace complete fan unit, parts $1250 Cdn + 5.5 hours labor. The corrosion was due to water in the connector. Can someone please advise how water got in there and Audi CPO is not covering the repair.
Any suggestion will be greatly appreciated.

Worldwidebeagle

AH - the joys of Audi CPO -- perhaps some day we will find out what it does cover. Quoting the famous line in the movie "Shakespeare in Love": its a mystery.

All Audi electric supplemental fans go eventually. Usually 80-125K. All the ones i have seen were motor burnout, never seen a bad connector. Not sure why then cannot just replace the connectors - unless the connector is part of the fan motor body. The fans I have replaced on A6 C5 and C6 had long pigtails.

Good question how water got in there. The VAG connectors are a tight seal. I am guessing, but perhaps the connector was not put on tight at the factory or during a service or perhaps someone cleaned the engine and pointed a power washer at the connector. I have taken off many 10 year old VAG electrical connectors under hoods and have never seen corrosion or water. The connectors are not weak spots unless someone screws them up taking them off.

Hate to sound cynical, but could it be the dealer is trying to get you to pay for something that was a factory error??

Has the dealer actually tried to clean off the corrosion? Or once they saw it, they want to replace everything in site.

I have head the OEM Audi fans run $1k. Lots of places sell the exact same Gates (I think) OEM fan for $250-300 or so. Looks like they need to take off the bumper cover - sorry not familiar with the S6 under the hood. My guess is that an Indie shop would charge half of the dealer.

Since you are in Canada and its Feb., I would guess you do not need to do this immediately. I have had bad aux fans all winter and its not until June and A/C time that I get my *** in gear.