91 Washer system sprays automatically and uses an excessive amount of fluid
91 20 53 2053997/3 December 18, 2020. Supersedes Technical Service Bulletin Group 92 number 19-22 dated
October 9, 2019 for reasons listed below.
Model(s)

Year

VIN Range

Vehicle-Specific Equipment

A6, A7, A8,
Q8, and
Audi e-tron
quattro

2019 - 2020

All

With laserscanner

Audi e-tron
Sportback

2020

All

With laserscanner

Condition
REVISION HISTORY
Revision

Date

Purpose

3

-

Revised Service (Updated SVM code)

2

10/09/2019

Revised header (Added Audi e-tron quattro and MY 2020)
Revised Technical Background (Added information)
Revised Production Solution (Added information)
Revised Service (Added SVM Update)
Revised Warranty (Added Labor Operations and Claim Types)

1

04/03/2019

Initial publication

Customer states:
 The washer system sprays automatically.
 A pumping noise can be heard when driving slowly.
 Excessive use of washer fluid.

Technical Background
The vehicle is equipped with a laserscanner J1122 that has its own autonomous cleaning system.
If the laserscanner recognizes dirt on its screen, a message is sent to the onboard supply control module, J519
(address word 0009). Then it instructs the windscreen washer pump, J1100 to clean the laserscanner. The
laserscanner is only cleaned while driving (Figure 1).

Page 1 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

On the A6, A7, and Q8 vehicles the laser scanner is located in the right upper single frame area (Figure 2).
On A8 and Audi e-tron quattro vehicles the laser scanner is located in the center lower single frame area below
the front license plate holder (if equipped).
As a result, the customer can get the impression that the headlight washer system activates itself. Depending on
weather and road conditions (like snow, slush or dirt roads) the laserscanner might clean itself frequently.
If the sensor is very dirty, for example, due to driving over dirt roads or through slush, the laserscanner might be
unable to clean itself. After three tries, the cleaning function goes into a 45-minute timeout which is reset by an
ignition cycle.
If the dirt restricts the detection capabilities of the laserscanner, a message “Adaptive driving assist: limited
availability, see owner’s manual” is displayed in the instrument cluster and certain driver assistance features
might not be available.
As this also leads to higher consumption of the washer fluid, the customer might be concerned about excessive
washer fluid use.

Figure 1. Laserscanner cleaning system.

Page 2 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Figure 2. Laserscanner locations (A6, A7, and Q8).

Production Solution
There is a software update for the laserscanner, J1122 (address word 00CD) that addresses the problem.
With the new software, the cleaning feature of the laserscanner “times out” after three unsuccessful attempts at
cleaning the laserscanner for at least 45 minutes.
Only if the laserscanner detects that it has been sufficiently cleaned (either by hand or an act of nature) within the
preceding 45 minutes will it resume the automatic cleaning routine.
This prevents the laserscanner from using excessive amounts of washer fluid even though it detected that it is not
capable of cleaning itself. Additionally, the algorithm detecting the lens’ cleanliness has been optimized.

Service
1. Explain to the customer how the new cleaning procedure works as described under “Production Solution”.

Page 3 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

2. If the lens of the laserscanner is dirty, please wipe it carefully with a damp towel.
SVM Update Instructions
3. Follow all instructions in TSB 2011732: 00 Software Version Management (SVM),
operating instructions.
4. Update the laserscanner, J1122 (address word 00CD) using the SVM action code as listed
in the table below, if necessary:

Model

A6, A7, A8, Q8,
and Audi e-tron
quattro

Old Software Old
Part Number Software
Version

4K8907660B
4K8907660C
4K8907660D

New Software New Software SVM Code
Part Number Version
Input
(or higher)

0200
0201
0202

4K8907660E

0306

CDA003

0304

Warranty
Claim Type:

 110 up to 48 Months/50,000 Miles.
 G10 for CPO Covered Vehicles – Verify Owner.
 If the vehicle is outside any warranty, this Technical Service Bulletin is
informational only.

Service Number:

9159

Damage Code:

0039

Labor Operations:

Software Update

0151 0000

Time stated
on the
diagnostic
protocol (Max
75 TU)

Diagnostic Time:

GFF

No allowance

0 TU

Road test prior to the service procedure

No allowance

0 TU

Road test after the service procedure

No allowance

0 TU

Page 4 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Claim Comment:

As per TSB #2053997/3

All warranty claims submitted for payment must be in accordance with the Audi Warranty Policies and Procedures
Manual. Claims are subject to review or audit by Audi Warranty.

Additional Information
The following Technical Service Bulletin will be necessary to complete this procedure:
 TSB 2011732, 00 Software Version Management (SVM), operating instructions.
All parts and service references provided in this TSB (2053997) are subject to change and/or removal. Always
check with your Parts Department and/or ETKA for the latest information and parts bulletins. Please check the
Repair Manual for fasteners, bolts, nuts, and screws that require replacement during the repair.
©2020 Audi of America, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained in this document is based on the
latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property
rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes
at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

Page 5 of 5
© 2020 Audi of America, Inc.
All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property rights of Audi of
America, Inc., its affiliated companies and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.