2006 AUDI A4 Complaints

WHEN DRIVING WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON ONE OR BOTH INTERMITTENTLY GO OUT. A "HEADLIGHT DIPPED" MESSAGE APPEARS ON THE DRIVERS DISPLAY. IF YOU CYCLE THE SWITCH THE PROBLEM RESOLVES UNTIL THE NEXT INCIDENT. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS AT VARIOUS TIMES AND SOMETIMES NOT AT ALL. APPARENTLY AUDI HAS NO IDEA WHY OR HOW TO FIX. THIS SEEMS LIKE AN OBVIOUS DESIGN FAULT AND WARRANTS A RECALL-FIX. *TR

I WAS DRIVING MY AUDI A4 A FEW NIGHTS AFTER I PURCHASED THE CAR. AFTER ABOUT TWO MILES FROM MY HOME THE AUDI A4 DRIVER'S SIDE HEADLIGHT STARTED FLICKERING AND THEN WENT OUT (VERY DANGEROUS) SO I THOUGHT THE LIGHT HAD BURNED OUT. THE NEXT MORNING I STARTED THE CAR GOING TO LOOK FOR A BULB TO REPLACE THE HEADLIGHT, NOTICED THE LIGHT CAME ON WHILE I WAS IN MY DARK GARAGE. THE LIGHT ONLY COMES BACK ON AFTER I TURN THE LIGHTS OFF WHICH IS ALSO VERY DANGEROUS. I LIVE IN AN UNINCORPORATED AREA THAT'S NOT WELL LIT SO I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THIS CAR AT NIGHT. I HAVE CONTACTED AUDI, BUT I HAVEN'T GOTTEN A RESPONSE. I TOOK THE A4 TO AN AUDI DEALERSHIP IN DENVER AND WAS TOLD AUDI DOESN'T KNOW IF THE ISSUE IS THE LIGHT ITSELF OR THE BALLAST/IGNITER. I'VE REPLACED THE BULB AND THE PROBLEM STILL EXIST SO I TOOK THE A4 TO SEVERAL INDEPENDENT EURO SHOPS AND GOT THE SAME DIAGNOSIS, THE IGNITER IS A COMMON PROBLEM WITH AUDI VEHICLES. I AM ASKING THE NTSB TO PLEASE ISSUE A RECALL FOR THIS VEHICLE. *TR

OWNER WAS DRIVING, VEHICLE STARTED TO EXHIBIT A SLIGHT BUCKING, SMOKE CAME INTO PASSENGER COMPARTMENT. PULLED OVER AND OBSERVED SMALL FIRE ON TOP OF ENGINE. ANALYSIS REVEALED FIRE ORIGIN AT #1 IGNITION COIL ON TOP FRONT OF ENGINE. FIRE WAS EXTINGUISHED QUICKLY AND VEHICLE IS REPAIRABLE. *TR

"INTERMITTENT HEADLIGHT MALFUNCTION. OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR OF OWNERSHIP, THE HEADLIGHTS HAVE MALFUNCTIONED (TURNED OFF), WITH NO CONSISTENT CAUSE APPARENT. THE SPECIFIC ERROR MESSAGE THAT APPEARS IN THE DRIVER INFORMATION SCREEN IS "LEFT (OR 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 APPROX. 40 TIMES, THE HEADLIGHT FLICKERS, THEN GOES OUT, BUT WILL COME BACK ON WHEN THE CAR IS RESTARTED OR CLEAR IF THE HEADLIGHT IS TURNED OFF THEN BACK ON. IT WILL THEN BE FINE FOR DAYS OR WEEKS AT A TIME. IT HAS BEEN CONSISTENTLY GETTING MORE FREQUENT AND WORSE. AT TIMES, BOTH HEADLIGHTS WILL TURN OFF BY THEMSELVES WHILE DRIVING CAUSING A VERY DANGEROUS SITUATION AND QUICK ACTION TO AVOID INJURY OR DEATH. THEN RANDOMLY TURN BACK ON. MULTIPLE DEALERSHIPS HAVE 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, OR BALLAST. ANNECDOTAL 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

OUR 2006 AUDI A4 HAS A REOCCURRING ISSUE WITH THE FRONT LEFT HEADLIGHT. IT WILL REGULARLY BEGIN TO FLICKER FOR SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE COMPLETELY SHUTTING OFF. THE CAR WILL TELL US WE HAVE A "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT". TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS COMPLETELY OFF AND THEN BACK ON WILL FIX THE ISSUE FOR SEVERAL MINUTES BEFORE THE FLICKERING STARTS AGAIN AND REPEATS THE CYCLE. THIS HAD OCCURRED AS MANY AS 5 TO 6 TIMES BEFORE THE HEADLIGHT WILL STAY ON. EVEN THEN IT HAS HAPPENED AGAIN LATER IN THE EVENING. WE BROUGHT THE CAR TO TWO DIFFERENT AUDI DEALERSHIPS AND BOTH SAY THEY COULD NOT RECREATE THE PROBLEM AND THAT IT IS PROBABLY JUST A BULB GOING BAD. THIS PROBLEM STARTED IN THE FALL OF 2008 AND THE BULB HAS BEEN GOING "BAD" FOR 3 YEARS. I'VE ASKED THAT THEY SWITCH THE BULBS TO TEST THEIR THEORY AND THEY WOULD DO IT BUT FOR $100. A REPLACEMENT BULB WOULD COST UPWARDS OF $500. BOTH VISITS OCCURRED WITHIN THE WARRANTY PERIOD, UNFORTUNATELY FOR US WE ARE NO LONGER WITHIN THE WARRANTY PERIOD. HEADLIGHTS RANDOMLY TURNING OFF IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT IS MOST CERTAINLY A SAFETY ISSUE. THE FACT THAT AUDI HAS NOT BEEN WILLING TO GET TO THE BOTTOM AND FIX THIS ISSUE IS MOST DISCONCERTING. *TT

ON MULTIPLE OCCASIONS OVER THE LAST TWO YEARS THE LEFT AND RIGHT HEADLIGHTS GO OUT AND A "DIPPED HEADLIGHT" WARNING LIGHT SHOWS UP ON THE DASH. TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS OFF THEN BACK ON WILL BRING THEM BACK ON MOMENTARILY UNTIL A VIBRATION KNOCKS THEM OUT AGAIN. IT'S USUALLY ONE SIDE OR THE OTHER BUT SOMETIMES BOTH LIGHTS GO OUT AT THE SAME TIME. NO FAULT CODES ARE STORED WHEN THIS HAPPENS. *TR

THE LEFT HEADLIGHT OF MY 2006 AUDI A4 QUATTRO REGULARLY FLICKERS, THEN TURNS ITSELF OFF, THEN INDICATES A "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" ALONG WITH AN INDICATOR THAT THE LIGHT BULB HAS FAILED. THIS HAS HAPPENED ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS, INTERMITTENTLY. IF I TURN THE LIGHT OFF (NOTE: WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DRIVING AT NIGHT HERE) AND TURN IT BACK ON AGAIN, THE LIGHT WILL BECOME NORMAL AGAIN, FOR ABOUT A FEW MINUTES AND THEN THE CYCLE REPEATS ITSELF. I HAVE TAKEN IT INTO THE AUDI DEALERSHIP, AND THEY HAVE SAID THAT AUDI KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BUT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT -- CHANGING THE LIGHT BULB DOESN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM. *TR

MY HEADLIGHTS SEEMS TO BE TURNING ON AND THEN OFF. SOMETIMES IT WILL SAY " LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT " AND THE HEADLIGHT FAILURE PICTURE WILL GO UP. SOMETIMES ITS " RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT ". SOMETIMES BOTH HEADLIGHTS GO OUT. THE AUDI TECH'S. CAN'T SEEM TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE AND IT'S STARTING TO COST ME MONEY. I FEEL THAT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS I DON'T HAVE THE VISIBILITY I SHOULD AT NIGHT PLUS I AM DISTRACTED AS I HAVE TO TURN THE HEADLIGHT SWITCH ON AND OFF UNTIL IT WORKS. *TR

I STARTED THE CAR AND BOTH HEADLIGHTS WERE FLICKERING. I PROCEEDED TO DRIVE DOWN THE STREET AND THEY CONTINUED TO FLICKER FOR APPROXIMATELY 1 MILE CAUSING DECREASED VISIBILITY. *TR

THIS COMPLAINT IS REGARDING AUDI VEHICLE MODEL A4 FROM YEAR 2006-2008. THE ISSUE IS CONCERNING THE HID XENON HEAD LIGHT THAT I HAVE ON THE VEHICLE AND THIS HEAD LIGHT IS THE ORIGINAL EQUIPMENT THAT AUDI PUTS IN THE VEHICLE, WHICH IT FLICKERS AT TURN OFF IT SELF WHEN DRIVING AND SOMETIMES EVEN WHEN VEHICLE IS NOT IN MOTION. I THINK IT IS VERY DANGEROUS WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OFF AT NIGHT ON THE HIGHWAY AND IT HAPPENS VERY OFTEN, LIKE 5 TIMES A NIGHT. WHEN THE LIGHT IS OFF, THE VEHICLE GIVES A WARNING SO TURNING IT OFF AND ON WILL TEMPORARILY PUT THE LIGHT ON. I FIGURED ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND HAVE BEEN TO THE DEALER'S SERVICE CENTER FOR THREE TIMES AND MENTION THE ISSUE TO THEM AND THEY JUST STATE THAT THERE IS NO PROBLEM WITH HEADLIGHT. *TR