Cargo Cover Noise Fix

Whoever designed (or approved the design of) the 'shelf' cargo cover on the A3 really should have looked at the cover on the Mk. 4 Golf/GTI. The one on my old GTI made contact with the hatch when it was closed, so that the cover was held firmly in place and didn't move. On the A3, there's a gap between the cover and the hatch which allows the cover to move up slightly - not enough to have any actual purpose, just enough so that the cover will 'jump' and bang when you go over a speed bump, for example. Also, on the GTI the strings that let the hatch pull up the cover had nice little spring retractors that sucked the excess string in when the hatch was closed or the strings unhooked from the hatch; the A3 has two weights that pull the strings down where they dangle in the cargo area. AND they bang around. This is really annoying lack of attention to detail in every way.

To solve the major problem, which is the cover 'jumping' and making noise when you drive over anything rough, I simply used velcro. Velcro has two parts, the 'hook' part and the 'loop' part. I got some peel-and-stick adhesive velcro and took care of it in two steps:

• Cut a 2" (5cm) square of the 'loop' velcro about and apply it in the correct position on the hatch.



• Cut another same-size square of the 'loop' velcro and of the 'hook' velcro, and stick the adhesive sides together back-to-back forming a pad with the 'hook' on one side and the 'loop' on the other. Stick this new pad onto the velcro square on the hatch, to make it thick enough to press against the cargo cover and hold it tightly in place.