Replacement of the Audi A3 rear wiper motor

Article Date: 16/07/22

This guide is aimed to help people with replacing the rear window wiper motor in their Audi A3. These motors are prone to seizing up and being potential fire hazards in the car. So if your wiper is broken, I recommend unplugging the connector (or pulling the fuse), until it's repaired to prevent any risk of it catching fire or shorting out until it can be repaired.

My camera batteries ran out when taking these pictures, so some are missing. This should fill in the blanks however.

Tools Required for rear wiper motor replacement

• Ratchet
• 10mm Socket
• 13mm Socket
• Torx Socket [T20 iirc] - I'll confirm
• Pliers (optional)
• Screwdriver (optional)

Part Numbers for Audi A3 rear wiper system

These are the part numbers for the rear wiper setup on my Audi A3 Sportback, that you will most likely need to replace. Or be the ones you will probably look for

Part numbers will be the same if not similar if you have a different model. It will give you a head start if you need to look them up or compare

Please note, the links on the items (linking to eBay) are affiliate links, it helps support my website, so if you need to buy the products I appreciate your consideration in using them, it gives me a share in the revenue from purchasing them. I've also listed the prices I paid for the products (where appropriate), incase you want to buy directly from the Dealer

ITEM/LINK	OEM PART NUMBER	PRICE I PAID	COMMENTS
Wiper Arm Nut	N01508315	£1.99	OEM Dealer Part / Price
Wiper Arm Grommet	8P4955758	£4.77	OEM Dealer Part / Price
Wiper Arm	8E9955407
Wiper Arm Cover	8E9955205
Wiper Motor	8E9955711	£34.95	eBay price - Dealer is ~£120
Wiper Motor Mounting Nuts	N90714303
Washer Jet	8E9955985	£14.66	OEM Dealer Part / Price
Boot Lid Cover Screws	N90775001
Lid Spring Clips	4B0867276A		Use part 4A0867276B on 2-door models

Steps on replacing the rear wiper motor

• Open the boot lid, at the rear of the boot, there are two Torx screws holding the boot lid to the cover, remove these

• Remove the cover caps giving access to the light bulbs

• Using the gaps pull down on the boot lid and remove, the spring clips will attach from the lid. Completely remove it. The spring clips are what hold it onto the boot lid
• Make note of the location of the spring clips on the body moulding, and the boot lid itself, it will make it easier for alignment with refitting to understand where they are all
• At this stage, if any spring clips or rubbers come off, reattach them ready

• Close the boot, remove the cover cap on the wiper blade, the easiest way to remove is pulling at the edge of it with a finger away from the arm, then lifting up
• After you have removed the cover cap, and old washer jet. Remove the old wiper arm nut using a 13mm socket (or spanner)

• The old wiper arm will probably be stuck as it's held on by splines. Or possibly already broken, if so just remove it
• Your wiper arm may end up breaking, if you don't have a wiper arm puller, the way I remove mine has been to lift the arm up. Then whilst pulling upwards wiggling the arm back and forth to free it
• You may get some luck by lightly tapping it whilst doing this. Be prepared to use a wiper arm puller, or buying a new wiper arm if required.

• Disconnect the washer pipe from the old wiper motor, use your finger nails or a small screwdriver / pick to do this.
• Reach behind the clip, and pull one side down, then the other. The clip itself doesn't come off. It just locks with the wiper. After it has been slide down you can disconnect it from the motor

• Disconnect the motor power connector (picture above if orientation needed for installation) - it's a one way fit so shouldn't cause an issue
• After you have removed the wiper arm, remove the 3 internal nuts holding on the wiper motor with a 10mm socket or spanner, and remove the motor from the rear window, pulling it through the grommet

• After you have removed the motor, you will have the remnants of an old grommet in your windscreen. (OR FIT A DELETE KIT - IF THAT'S YOUR THING)
• Remove the grommet, and install the new grommet with the writing going into the boot lid. Make sure it's seated properly and flush with the lid

• Once you have removed the old motor, and installed the new grommet, refit the new motor. I compared side by side here to make sure they were a good fit
• Installation is just pushing through the grommet and reattaching all connectors.
• I tested after installation without connecting it to make sure everything worked first. The pipes had to clear out themselves first, then I had a steady stream of fluid when my car "relieved" itself

• With the new motor through the grommet, attach the nut holding on the wiper. Keep the wiper level with the rear of the car window facing to the right

• The washer jet has been removed, and the new one I purchased from VW
• You can see the comparison between old and new jets, the other one was unusable
• After you've refitted the motor and nut, push the new washer jet onto the end connector, fitting it through the notch in the wiper arm ( gripping it with pliers may help to push it on )

• After you have reinstalled the wiper, it should look like the above. The default "off" orientation is the the right. It cleans right to left

• Refit the cover cap on the wiper arm, making sure to fully click it in place
• The jets should be visible
• After this give it one final test to make sure it all works

• After you have tested it, refit the panel back onto the boot lid
• The spring clips push into the notches shown that look like this. It is best to work from the rear of the window closest to the motor, get these lined up first
• Use the holes for the bulbs to get them lined up, and use fingers behind to get the first ones in
• Once the rears are in, everything will click into place, and shouldn't require anything but a firm push
• Once this is refitted, run your finger behind the panel, if your finger can get in a gap anywhere, it means not all the springs have gone in. If needed use pliers to straighten them up
• Once you can no longer fit your fingers anywhere, it's completely refitted
• At this point re-attach the covers and the screws, then the job is done

SOME OTHER ARTICLES YOU MAY LIKE TO READ

• Replacing the rear wiper motor on an Audi A3
• Replacing the front wipers on a VW Golf MK5
• Replacing the front wipers on an Audi A3
• Replacing the rear wipers on a VW Golf MK5