Technical Service Bulletin
90 Instrument cluster driver information system display is blank
53 23 08 2071019/1 July 25, 2023.
Model(s)

Year

A4, and S4

2021

A4 allroad

2021

A5, A5 Cabriolet,
A5 Sportback,
S5, S5 Cabriolet,
and S5
Sportback

VIN Range

Vehicle-Specific Equipment

Ingolstadt: 000001 – 062322
Neckarsulm: 000001 – 012657
000001 – 062322

Analog Instrument Cluster

Ingolstadt: 000001 – 045240
2021
Neckarsulm: 000001 – 005166

Condition
Customer states: There is a creaking or knocking type noise heard from the rear of the cabin when driving on
rough pavement or thrusting the vehicle while cornering.
Workshop findings: The noises can be replicated in these driving conditions. The noises are diagnosed as
originating specifically in the rear cargo area from the sheet metal overlap of the left rear side panel and the left
rear cross panel.

Technical Background
To rule out noises generated by the contact points of the rear lid to adjusting buffer please refer to TSB 2068691
(55 Noises from rear of vehicle / rear lid while driving) and make the corrections described in 2068691 should
your diagnosis determine these areas as the source of the noises. If these corrections have already been made
and the rear lid noises have been resolved or if the rear lid to adjusting buffer contact is not the source of the
noises, proceed with the repair described as follows.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
Figure 1 shows the area of the rear cargo area at
issue.

Figure 1. Area of cargo area where noises are
generated.

Production Solution
The panel joining process has been optimized in production.

Service
Note:
The following repair requires tools, materials and training only available at an Audi certified collision center. As
such, this repair must be performed at an Audi certified collision center.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
1.

Detach the left rear luggage compartment
side trim panel according to the work
procedure in Elsa: Repair
manual>>Body>>Body Interior>>70 Interior
Trim>>Luggage Compartment Trim
Panels>>Luggage Compartment Side Trim
Panel, Removing and Installing.

Figure 2. Luggage compartment trim.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
2.

Figure 3 shows the exposed area where the
work is to be performed.

Figure 3. Area of left rear panel overlap to be repaired.
3.

It will be necessary to drill 3 holes using an
8 mm spot weld drill bit (e.g. VAS6322A/2).

Figure 4. 8mm spot weld drill bit (e.g. VAS6322A/2).

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
4.

Attach the drill bit to a drill motor. Figure 5
shows the spot weld that need to be
removed.

Figure 5. Location of the spot weld to be removed in the
rear panel.
5.

Figure 6 shows the 3 overlapping
panels. For the purposes of illustration they
are numbered 1 through 3 with 1 being the
support panel, 2 being the left rear cross
panel and 3 being the left rear side panel.

Figure 6. Overlapping panels in left rear of cargo area.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
6.

Drill the first hole directly into the upper spot
weld. Drill the second hole just to the right
of the first hole. Drill hole 3 on the other
side of the radius of the support panel as
shown in figure 7. All 3 of these holes must
not penetrate panel 3 (left rear side panel).

Figure 7. Holes to be drilled and their locations.
7.

Grind the area as these 3 holes will now be
welded.

Figure 8. Surface prepared for welding.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
8.

Grind out the holes with a deburring tool to
remove any residual primer from the
surfaces to be welded.

Figure 9. Removing residual primer from inside the drilled
area.
9.

Push the support panel as close to the
overlapping panels comprised of the left rear
side panel and the left rear cross panel as
possible using a drift. Isolate and protect
the surrounding area to prepare for welding.

Figure 10. Eliminating any gaps before welding.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
10.

If necessary, perform a test weld to ensure
proper settings for an optimum weld
application.

Figure 11. Performing a weld test.
11.

Weld all 3 holes such that they are
completely closed.

Figure 12. All 3 holes welded completely closed.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
12.

Prepare and clean the welded surfaces as
necessary. Thoroughly restore all corrosion
protection appropriately. The corrosion
protection will need to be applied using a
brush.

Figure 13. Welded surfaces cleaned and
prepped. Corrosion protection restored.
13.

After the curing time is complete, seal the entire work area with cavity wax (D 308SP5M1 or equivalent e.g.
3M™ 08852) both on the inside and outside. Test drive the vehicle to confirm resolution of the
noises. Reinstall the luggage compartment trim.

Warranty
Claim Type:

• 110 up to 48 Months/50,000 Miles.
• If the vehicle is outside of any warranty, this Technical Service Bulletin is
informational only.

Service Number:

5368

Damage Code:

0020

Labor Operations:

Sublet labor operation listed in Outside Labor

A0001600

240 TU

Diagnostic Time:

GFF

No allowance

0 TU

Road test prior to the service procedure

0121 0002

10 TU

Road test after the service procedure

0121 0004

10 TU

Claim Comment:
© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

As per TSB 2071019/1

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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.

Technical Service Bulletin
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.

Required Parts and Tools
Always check with your Parts Department and/or ETKA for the latest information and parts bulletins.
Part Number

Part Description

Quantity

D 308SP5M1

0.3

Anti corrosion wax
-OR3M™ 08852

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

Shop Supply (accounting under
warranty/goodwill is not
permitted).

Page 10 of 11

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.

Technical Service Bulletin
Cavity wax
N/A

Listed as MATERIAL in Outside Material

Tool Number

Quantity 1 each ($12)

Tool Description

VAS6322A

Spot Weld Breaker

Additional Information
All parts and service references provided in this TSB (2071019) are subject to change and/or removal.
©2023 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.

© 2023 Audi of America, Inc.

Page 11 of 11

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.