water on floor of 2001 A6, trans controller fried

[VFChris at aol.com]

This happened to a friend of mine, so I don't know all the details, but  
basically the symptoms are a wet floor and a transmission that wouldn't  shift.  
So, he had it towed to the dealer, and they gave him an estimate of  $4000 
(GULP) to change a damaged transmission controller, carpets, and a bunch  of other 
things.  All of this is due to water getting on the floor, and the  dealer 
claims it is due to a clogged "cowl drain."   This is my  friend's fault because 
he parks it under trees that shed leaves and/or  buds.
 
Has anyone else has this problem?  I've parked a lot of cars under  trees, 
and never had this happen.  
 
Is the "cowl drain" the same as the AC condensate drain?  His  dealer charged 
him to clean the AC condensate drain a while ago (when he also  complained of 
a wet floor), so I wonder whether this problem had been going on  before, and 
the dealer misdiagnosed it.
 
Any experience would be helpful.  Thanks very much.

Chris  (_VFChris at aol.com_ (mailto:VFChris at aol.com) )