Bulletins
| Bulletin | Bulletin date | Replacement Bulletin | Item no. | Summary | Added |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING - HEADLIGHTS | |||||
| 20056243 | 02/26/2007 | 10022141 | Headlight aiming, using hella universal beamsetter. *kb | 07/06/2007 | |
Consumer Complaints
| Fail date | miles | occurences | Purchase date |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXTERIOR LIGHTING | |||
| 08/15/2012 | 60000 | 1 | |
| Right headlight flickers and goes out repeatedly. *tr | |||
| 08/15/2012 | 60000 | ||
| Right headlight flickers and goes out repeatedly. | |||
| 09/12/2011 | 63800 | 1 | |
| This issue affects audi a4 and s4 vehicles with hid headlights. one or both of the headlights repeatedly fails while driving. this is not an issue with the headlight bulb. if the operator turns off the ignition after one or both of the headlights fails, and then immediately restarts the car, both headlights will operate properly. the issue occurs primarily within the first 5 to 10 minutes after starting the car. once the car has been warmed up, operating for more than 10 minutes, the issue does not reoccur. the specific scenario: i will start my car. both of the headlights initially seem to be operating properly. within a minute, one or both of the headlights will begin to flicker, and one or both of them will fail, causing a headlight dipped warning on my dashboard. the issue often occurs during braking, acceleration or when the car goes over a bump. the issue may occur with either the left or the right headlight or both lights, resulting in a severely unsafe condition. restarting the car will cure the problem but it often reoccurs until the car has been driven for at least 10 minutes. this issue occurs almost every time i drive the car with the headlights on, usually every day, or at least several times per week. moisture (rain/car wash) does not seem to make the issue worse. audi of america is aware of the issue and has issued several technical service bulletins about the issue, but will not pay for repairs unless the vehicle is under warranty. audi has not identified a specific repair technique that will definitely fix the issue. the repair attempts include replacing the light bulbs, replacing the hid ballasts and/or control modules, and installing shims around the light housings to quell the vibration that may be a cause of the issue. it is a trial-and-error repair process and it is very expensive for a vehicle that is out of warranty. *tr | |||
| 09/12/2011 | 63800 | ||
| This issue affects audi a4 and s4 vehicles with hid headlights. one or both of the headlights repeatedly fails while driving. this is not an issue with the headlight bulb. if the operator turns off the ignition after one or both of the headlights fails, and then immediately restarts the car, both headlights will operate properly. the issue occurs primarily within the first 5 to 10 minutes after starting the car. once the car has been warmed up, operating for more than 10 minutes, the issue does not reoccur. the specific scenario: i will start my car. both of the headlights initially seem to be operating properly. within a minute, one or both of the headlights will begin to flicker, and one or both of them will fail, causing a headlight dipped warning on my dashboard. the issue often occurs during braking, acceleration or when the car goes over a bump. the issue may occur with either the left or the right headlight or both lights, resulting in a severely unsafe condition. restarting the car will cure the problem but it often reoccurs until the car has been driven for at least 10 minutes. this issue occurs almost every time i drive the car with the headlights on, usually every day, or at least several times per week. moisture (rain/car wash) does not seem to make the issue worse. audi of america is aware of the issue and has issued several technical service bulletins about the issue, but will not pay for repairs unless the vehicle is under warranty. audi has not identified a specific repair technique that will definitely fix the issue. the repair attempts include replacing the light bulbs, replacing the hid ballasts and/or control modules, and installing shims around the light housings to quell the vibration that may be a cause of the issue. it is a trial-and-error repair process and it is very expensive for a vehicle that is out of warranty. | |||
| 11/15/2006 | 5000 | ||
| Hid xenon headlights randomly flicker and shut off during driving. it's getting worse. dealers never found problem which reoccurs continually so they never fixed this issue under warranty after being asked several times since the vehicle was new. 100's of other stories about this online. huge safety issue when headlights just quit at random. | |||
| 12/24/2011 | 101000 | ||
| While driving, the right headlight flickered and went off (hid lights). the information system registered an error dipped right headlight head light comes on when ever the car is started, and goes out with the same error again at a later time. so far this error has occurred the last 3 times i have driven (all three times since first occurence). this is a safety issue since night illumination is involved.i have read on internet audi websites that this is an all too common problem, that audi of america is not taking seriously as far as offering a clear solution. | |||
| 12/14/2011 | 120900 | ||
| The headlights flicker, then the dash says they are dipping, then they go out. if you stop the car turn it off then back on the lights come back on, only to do it again. there seems to be wide spread reports of this happening with these audi's and the hid lights. | |||
| 03/23/2011 | 49650 | ||
| Dipped headlight issue. the event is happens almost every night and multiple times. my headlights of my 2006 audi s4 continue to go out as i drive often at highway speeds. this is a common complaint which audi has chosen not to fix. their multiple service builitins never fixed the issue and now that my car is out of warranty they chose to replace cars headlights with this issue. i only have under 50,000 miles on the vehicle. this is a serious concern and one that could lead to a accident and death. this is my 9th audi as well. | |||
| 02/21/2011 | 35000 | ||
| My headlights flicker almost all the time and occasionally go off as a result. this problem has been widespread as literally hundreds of people in the audi online forums are reporting the same exact issue. once one or both headlights go out, i get an error message stating left headlight dipped, right headlight dipped, or both. once the car is turned off and restarted, light comes back on. they still flicker and go out again at random intervals and random sides (left and right). there should be a recall in place as it costs many hundreds of dollars to repair, and many times, the repair doesn't fix anything. it is so widespread, it has reached epidemic proportions and it has become a real safety hazard. this problem effects a wide range of audi models and years as reported by hundreds of other people experiencing the same issues of various years and models. it is also grounds for a traffic violation in my state as well as most others. additionally, the car needs to be turned off, headlights turned off, then restarted in order to restart the headlight. this action presents a myriad of safety concerns itself as this happens at random times during traffic. with the regularity of this problem across many years and models, audi should be held accountable and perform the repairs at their expense as this is clearly a design or implementation flaw. | |||
| 01/29/2011 | 50000 | ||
| Audi 2006 s4, there is a more frequent occurance of my headlights dipping my xenon headlamps will stop working while driving, it would either be the left or the right, but not until lastweek when both went out at the same time. i would put car in neutral while driving and turn car off and back on and it will reset itself and lights will then work, it seems to stop occuring when car is warmed up and it is worse with colder weather and vibration or bad roads. it will occasionally occur when car is even warm well after 30 minutes, i am now concerned because last week both went out at the same time, that had never happened before, it was always one or the other, it has happened for the past 18 months or so. audi has no answer, they have erroneously replaced working xenon lights, ballasts, etc and it continues to occur to many individuals that i read up on in audi forums. frequency is now each and every time i start car and get going literally feet to less than a block. when it first started, it was once a couple of weeks, then once a week, to once every couple of days, to now each and every time at least a couple of times until warm. i am in colder climate, detroit, mi. | |||
| 01/19/2010 | 46394 | ||
| Just purchased a formerly certified 2006 audi s4 w/ 46k miles and factory xenon lights. when i turn my headlights on, the right xenon light goes out intermittently, and i get a right dipped headlight message on the information display. the right headlight stays off until i turn the car off. usually when i restart the car the, the headlight is fine. the problem is dangerous because the light turns off without warning, so far it has only happened on one side, but i am concerned it will affect both lights. dealer states they have encountered the problem before, and that replacing the ballast will address it. | |||
| 11/17/2010 | 34250 | ||
| No incidents or crashes, yet. my 2005.5 audi s4 with 35,800 miles, has a cronic problem where the headlights, left or right, flicker and then turn off involuntarily. sometimes only one side does this, more recently, both have been turning off. when the light goes out, a notice appears in the center information area of dipped headlight, either right or left respectively. the only way to restart the light/s is to turn the light switch off and back on manually. this only temporarily resets the headlights, and the same events start again shortly thereafter. | |||
| 01/19/2010 | 46394 | ||
| Just purchased a formerly certified 2006 audi s4 w/ 46k miles and factory xenon lights. when i turn my headlights on, the right xenon light goes out intermittently, and i get a right dipped headlight message on the information display. the right headlight stays off until i turn the car off. usually when i restart the car the, the headlight is fine. the problem is dangerous because the light turns off without warning, so far it has only happened on one side, but i am concerned it will affect both lights. dealer states they have encountered the problem before, and that replacing the ballast will address it. | |||
| 11/17/2010 | 34250 | ||
| No incidents or crashes, yet. my 2005.5 audi s4 with 35,800 miles, has a cronic problem where the headlights, left or right, flicker and then turn off involuntarily. sometimes only one side does this, more recently, both have been turning off. when the light goes out, a notice appears in the center information area of dipped headlight, either right or left respectively. the only way to restart the light/s is to turn the light switch off and back on manually. this only temporarily resets the headlights, and the same events start again shortly thereafter. | |||
| 05/22/2009 | 33510 | ||
| I own a 2006 audi s4 with bi=xenon hid lights. numerous amounts of times the indication comes up that i have a dipped headlight. this in turn is because the headlight is off and i'm driving at night. this safety violation will end up costing me every time i go to the dealership to get new parts installed and labor and the high probability of a ticket for having a head light out from the police or other agencies in the area. | |||
| 02/19/2006 | 39000 | 1 | |
| My 2006 audi s4's low beam headlights flicker while driving on very cold days. occasionally, my left or right headlight will turn off completely. i haven't had both go out at the same time, but i am worried that this will occur eventually. the flickering is very dangerous as it happens at low speed while i am driving through my neighborhood. i am worried that i will not be able to see children crossing the street going to school. i have had the car serviced by the audi dealer for this issue and it is still occurring. *tr | |||
| 01/03/2010 | 1 | ||
| When driving my 2006 audi s4 at night, one or both of the right or left front dipped headlights will flicker, and then temporarily fail. the car has continued intermittent problems with this issue, and in searching the web, i found a site that indicates at least 124 other similar issues: http://www.audizine.com/forum/showthread.php?332613-class-action-lawsuit-dipped-headlight-flicker-problem/page2. *tr | |||
| 12/18/2009 | 49000 | 1 | |
| The xenon lights flickrer and then stop, very dangerous at night happened to me on few occasions, dealer not sure what is the cause *cn | |||
| 11/15/2009 | 25000 | 1 | |
| Intermittent headlight malfunction. over the course of a year and a half of ownership, the right headlight has malfunctioned (turned off), with no consistent cause apparent. the specific error message that appears in the driver information screen is right headlight dipped. this condition is both unsafe, and illegal - as many states will issue a traffic violation for driving with a non-functioning headlight. it has happened about 7-8 times, the headlight flickers, then goes out, but will come back on when the car is restarted, then be fine for weeks or months at a time. the dealership has been notified of the problem on at least 3 visits, and has claimed that everything is fine and they can not reproduce. they have suggested/guessed that it is the xenon light bulb itself, however it has checked out fine each time, and as mentioned, has functioned flawlessly after each occurrence with merely a restart of the vehicle. no parts have been repaired or replaced, however they have claimed to perform a visual inspection of the electrical connections on at least one visit. anecdotal evidence (conversational, and via internet owners' forums) suggests that the problem is widespread among a substantial portion of audi's model range and years. *tr | |||