HOW TO: Repair the rear wash wiper hose

[Mattyj]

Ok so noticed the other day that the rear washer fluid wasn't tracking as normal maybe something and nothing but after a little digging i found this:

With thanks to ajmoir36 he sent me the vw repair guide:

And the routing of the hoses:

After having a quick look at the vw guide i decided against this as the rigid plastic pipe will no doubt break again and the repair would be on the the part that has the most stress on it due to it going through the tailgate rubber boot so this is how i did it.

Firstly to get access i removed the large tailgate lower panel:
This is done by removing the two torx screws inside the grab handles then carefully pull off it is just held in with a fair few clips

Secondly the top half of the tailgate panel:
This is just clipped in

Thirdly the rear straight panel at the back of the headlining:


Then to remove the parcel shelf mounting bracket remove the boot light first then remove the screw under the boot seal:

Then drop the rear seat forward and remove the small trim tab to reveal this screw:

In this pic there are two holes the one to the right is for the shelf support the left one is the remove the large panel with the airbag clip in it which we will need to remove also

To remove this next screw i disconnected the battery as it exposes the air bag remove the small airbag clip(a pain) as there is a screw behind it remove this:
Also in this picture to the right is a bolt remove this too then pull the panel off again just alot of clips

This is what you will be presented with:

At the lower end is:
This is after the repair hence the clear rubber tube this clip is removed by using a small flat blade either side it unclips it does not remove i managed to cut the standard vw clips out of the old line be very carefully if you do this as you can easily ruin them i pulled the old line out fed the new one in to the tailgate following the original route i did trim it down a bit :-):
The washer end is a little tricky it has the same clip as the lower but is near impossible to get at awful access i think i managed to do it with more luck than skill/judgement here the access:
You have to get in through the small hole

I think thats it obviously panels back on as you took them off oh and a leak check the clear plastic/rubber type i used was a perfect fit for the fittings again more luck than anything any queries don't hesitate to get in touch

[mikegti77]

Thought I'd the be first to say thanks Mattyj...

.... I have just experienced exactly the issue, with exactly the same pipe break.  Your guide was very useful, thanks for taking the time to write up.  In the end I chicken out of replacing the whole pipe, I bought VW's repair 'kit' - male / female pipe connectors as shown in diagram - and fitted these.  Cost was around £11 from dealer, no leaks yet, see how long it lasts for. 

When I was collecting my repair kit the dealer commented that this pipe break is common, indeed google shows it happens on Audi avant's a lot also!

German engineering 

[Mattyj]

Your very welcome budd :-)

[Jamister989]

Sorry to bring up old topic, but I found this guide very helpful and wanted a few more details if you can remember them.
What size/type tubing did you use to replace the VW corrugated tubing and connector size?

[Mattyj]

Sorry mate still need the details?

[itavaltalainen]

Thanks for the guide!
Easier to read on here with decent photos compared to B&W stamp sized images in Haynes manual!
Just found that this has happened to my better half's car. Well it already screwed up the antenna boosters....

[itavaltalainen]

Screwed up aerial cables, hoping boosters are OK.
Will end up rebuilding the entire loom.

Tubing I'll use to replaced the corrugated stuff is Tygon 2375 (very good resistance to alcohols), ID 3/16 (4.8mm), OD 5/16 (8mm).
It's a little stiff but quite resistant to bending and doesn't kink as easy as e.g. Tygon 4040 (which is also a little less resistant to alcohols).
 

[Xavier53666]

I have done it localy just 3 inches , where pipe bends.. Silicone tube+ flexi glue+strong thread.15 minutes of work..

[Zugly]

Firstly many thanks to Mattyj for very informative and clear instructions. I have a Mk 6 Golf and the hose has split open exactly half way through the rubber "accordion" hose where the bending takes place every time the boot is opened. There is also some wiring through there attached to the hose by tape except at the point of split. Trying to avoid the complete replacement as described by Mattyj but similar to Xavier by using two VW kits and a new piece of flexi hose so that the joins are not at the flex point. VW note: repair points must not be subjected to pulling or bending forces. Many thanks.

[Zugly]

Update: On inspection, looking at the amount of work needed to do two joins using the VW kit (£33.07) as they could not be flexible so needed to remove panelling to do them either side of the rubber "accordion", I purchased a piece of silicone tubing(50p) 6mm on inside, which when warmed with a hairdryer fits very tightly over the VW water pipe. 3" join working well so far without any glue etc. so thanks to Xavier.