Headlight Switch Problems of Audi A4 - part 1

When driving at night right low beam will flicker and then go out. I get a warning icon referencing "right dipped headlight". If I turn the headlight switch from auto position to off position and then turn back to auto, the light will come back on. It will then stay on for a while and typically goes out again after some random time period causing me to repeat the process. I don't like doing this traveling at high speeds at night since I have to disable my headlights to get everything working again. I took it to the Audi dealer and they did their guided fault tests and found no faults. They "believe" the igniter is faulty which is a $625 part plus labor to replace. I didn't go ahead with their suggestion since they could not guarantee that it would fix the problem. I'm reporting this since I believe a number of Audi owners have had the same problem and Audi doesn't seem to have a bulletin out on this to local dealerships and plus I believe it is a safety issue. I plan to call Audi of America to see if they have any fix for this.

See all problems of the 2006 Audi A4 🔎.

August 2014, driving at night, highway speeds (65mph+) both left and right headlights flickered and went out, no illumination. Took several try's to reset by light control switch. Would reset, then flicker and both headlights out. Very dangerous situation, was close to home and able to get there ok. Vehicle is in at service for repair.

I have the dipped headlight problem in my 2009 Audi A4/b7 driver-side headlight. I have my lights set to always be on. Every now and then I'll see the light flicker or go out and get the dipped headlight warning. What I do is turn my lights fully off, leave them off for a few seconds, and then switch them back on. This seems to fix the problem. Until now the headlight completely goes out with only the (dipped headlight) warning on my dashboard. This is a recall worthy problem as I have searched the internet with no luck only more victims who have to drive with malfunctioning headlights.

See all problems of the 2008 Audi A4 🔎.

Left headlight/parking light dipped. Extremely unreliable signal. Flickered the bulb and shut off. If you switch off the light and restart, it is on for a minute and again the same.

Headlight turns off by itself. Warning message "dipped headlight" comes off on the dashboard. Turn the light switch off and on and headlight comes back on (normal). Car runs with no headlights in the dark on freeway at 65mph for about 2-3 seconds. This is a common (very known) problem with A4 models. Audi is refusing to acknowledge the design/part flaw thus not issuing a safety recall. . Read more...

See all problems of the 2005 Audi A4 🔎.

While driving at night, at highway speed, the driver side headlight dipped/lowered. The headlight went dark then turned off. At the same time the passenger side light started to flicker, and seemed like it was about to fail also. I immediately pulled to the side if the road, as I could not see the road. After some trouble shooting I turned off the headlight switch and turned is back on and the drivers headlight returned to normal. The passenger side still flickers and vibrates. This appears to be a major safety concern as my headlights went off at night.

Since I purchased my 2005 Audi A4 2. 0l at my local Audi/Porsche dealership, I have had reoccurring issues with my headlights. It started with shuddering and flickering while idled, and now the problem is so bad that my left light will actually shudder, flicker, and go completely out. I have to manually switch my lights off and back on (very dangerous at night) to get them back on, only to eventually shudder and go out yet again. I've taken it to the Audi dealer multiple times and they couldn't duplicate the issue and when I brought it to them with the headlight completely out, of course it was out of warranty so they want to charge me an arm and a leg (over $1000) to fix just one headlight even though this is a known issue that you can google "Audi A4 dipped headlight" and get thousands of forums full of complaints. The dealership wants to go through everything they can to nickel and dime with new bulbs that don't fix this huge safety problem. The real problem is the ballasts and igniter. I should not have to pay outrageous amounts of money for an issue that's an obvious issue across the board with this model of Audi. I'm now afraid to drive at night, especially in rural areas with little lighting because my headlights are so undependable. This is not ok, and Audi continually refuses to address this issue.

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 techs. 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.

This appears to be a common occurrence with all Audi A4's with hid xenon lighting. At approximately 50,000 miles many owners report flickering headlights and then within seconds either left or right or both headlights will stop functioning. This always seems to happen during the first 5 minutes after startup. The appropriate error will come on the Audi information system "left headlamp dipped" or right. I have learned that turning the headlamp switch to off and turning the lights on again resets the issue. This may occur up to 5 times or more before the lights work normally. This can be a very dangerous situation at night in poor visibility when both lights go out. My Audi dealer "Audi of rochester hills" in michigan charged me $80 to inspect the situation and said I would need to spend an additional $650 approx. To fix the problem. To this date I live with the problem and read too many internet blogs about Audi A4 owners that spent the $650 to find the problem not resolved. . Read more...

The left headlight of my 2006 Audi A4 quattro continues to have problems: randomly, the left headlight flickers and then turns itself off. I get an error message that states, "left dipped headlight. " if I turn the light switch off and then back on again, the left headlight illuminates again. Sometimes, it will stay on for as long as 2 hours. Other times, it goes through the above steps within minutes. My local Audi dealer claims that they don't know anything about this (despite multiple online forums where hundreds of people all over the world are complaining about the very same problem). This is very unsafe. The cost to troubleshoot this, according to my Audi dealer, will run into the hundreds of dollars, at minimum, but again, they claim they have no idea about this.

Problem started some 3-4 months ago, at the beginning my right bi-xenon headlight started just flickering, but now, after they flicker, they turn off. I receive a message on the dash stating "dipped right headlight. " after I turn off both headlights on the switch, they work again fine for some period but than again, they start flickering and shutting down again. My both bi-xenon bulbs look fine, and the light is very bright at night so I don't believe it is the bulbs. In addition, I have noticed that they go off more frequently in the winter months and after hitting a bump. The right light seems to be only affected.

Left headlight (bi-xenon type) flickers then fails on our 2005 Audi A4 quattro. The only way to bring the light back on is to turn off the headlight switch and turn it back on again - at night, this means several seconds with no headlights on - which means that you must pull over to a safe place along the road (which sometimes is not possible) to cycle the switch. The light will often shut off shut off several times a minute requiring multiple resets of the system. There is TSB from Audi describing this problem, but no action has been taken to resolve the issue.

I have a 2005 Audi A4 2. 0t quattro avant and a 2006 Audi A4 2. 0t quattro sedan. On both cars, the xenon directional low beam headlamps shut off without any warning with message "right dipped headlight. " lights come on again only after turning switch to off position, waiting ten seconds and turning them back on. Problem is intermittent but occurs every day. Audi dealers have replaced xenon bulbs, igniters and pigtail to lamps, advising that wires get very hot. Problem has not been fixed and constitutes great danger on dark roads. This has been recurrent on a regular basis for at least two years without a solution.

Passenger side head light started flickering and would go dim. Control panel in car gives warning the head lamp is dipped. As time went on head light would go out completely. Roughly several months later both head lights would flicker for a while and then both go out completely. When the head light switch is turned off and then on the lights will come on. Unfortunately this only last a few minutes and they both go out again. I drive on rural roads so there is no street lighting at night and little to no shoulders to pull off the road. Losing both head lights is very scary. Turn the head light switch off and on while driving at 45 mph every few minutes makes for a long drive home. Dealers claim they have no knowledge of the issue. I started off driving a 1963 covair which was supposed to be unsafe at any speed; it never had the headlights go out. Can the NHTSA help us all out and get the news out to Audi that there is an issue.

1) headlights are the main problem. The car has the type of lights that move when turning the wheel. Occasionally, the headlights will “flicker� whether or not you are turning the steering wheel but will remain on. This is a nuisance but may be related to the next, larger problem. The larger problem is, almost every night there will be a “headlight dip� warning signal on the instrument panel. When this happens rarely will the headlights stay on anymore. They used to do so, but now one or both of the headlights will frequently turn off. We used to be able to “override� this by moving the headlight switch on the dash from the auto to the manual mode and off mode. However, now we have to switch back and forth multiple times before the headlights turn back on and it takes a lot longer now than it used to. (the headlights are staying off for longer periods. ) also, even when you leave the headlight switch in the manual mode (rather than use the auto mode at all), the headlights will still dip and turn off.

Left headlight will intermittently flicker for no apparent reason and then completely go out. Problem is random, however has been happening for months. The only way to reignite the headlight is by turning the headlight switch to the off position and back to the on position. Audi dealer has replaced headlight bulb (at a cost), however the problem has continued.

I have a 2006 Audi A4, and the dipped headlight (mostly on the left side, but occasionally on the right side) flickers, then goes off while the car is being driven. If the headlight switch is turned off and then back on the light will come back on. Sometimes it stays on for as long as I drive the car, and other times it will repeat the flicker, and then go off again after a few minutes. The car has been taken to an Audi dealer for repair, and they were unable to fix the problem. They changed the light bulbs, but it did not fix the problem. This has happened repeatedly since 2007. I asked the dealer about this again recently, and they have not offered a solution. The problem has occurred in warm weather, cold weather, dry, wet, snow, or rain. It appears to happen when I slow to a stop, make a turn, or even change lanes. It has even occurred when driving along a straight stretch of road without out stops.

Left headlight flickers and then goes out randomly on my 2006 Audi A4 while I am driving. This happens almost daily. The consequence is that you are driving without a headlight. To correct the problem, you have to turn the headlight switch off and then back on again. To do this, you have to stop the car so when you turn the headlights off to reset the left light, you won't be driving without headlight. Sometimes the light will go out again within a few minutes and sometimes it is ok.

2006 Audi A4 headlights intermittently shut off while driving. This very dangerous condition occurs daily and sometimes three or four times during a 45 minute commute. The headlight switch has to be moved to the off position then back to on and usually that restores them, otherwise car must be stopped and shut off then turned back on. This is a very serious safety problem.

Get dipped headlight signal and headlight turns off at random. Light will come back on if I turn the switch to off and then back on. This is a systemic problem as noted by many online Audi forums. It is not safe to have your headlights turn off at random.

Headlights flicker and turn off while driving. Message on dash reads 'dipped headlamp'. Headlights will turn back on if light switch is turned off and back on. This is extremely dangerous, and many times now, the lights have turned off on the freeway or on dark mountainous road section. The lights turned off approximately 100 times during a 2600 mi trip.

Within the first minute of turning headlights on, headlights begin to malfunction. Most apparent at night since there is a loss of vision when headlights malfunction. Malfunction occurs when vehicle is stopped or in motion. The headlights will flicker on and off. Flickering occurs almost every time headlights are turned on. On occasion, the driver's side low beam headlight will completely turn off after flickering for several minutes. Both failures appear to occur more frequently in cold temperatures. Simultaneously with the low beam light turning off on its own, a warning light illuminates on the dash board stating "left headlight dipped". Malfunctions cause driver to lose full vision of outside surroundings at night and while driving in poor road conditions. Malfunctions cause a severe safety hazard. Flickering also causes a distraction to on-coming vehicles and vehicles traveling ahead in the same lane. Nothing has been done to permanently correct the malfunctions. When the driver's side headlight involuntarily shuts off, the problem can be temporarily corrected by turning the headlight switch off and on again. I have not identified a solution to the flickering headlight problem. I have been researching the malfunctions to determine if anyone else has identified permanent solutions to the flickering and headlight failure problems. I have discovered that the problems are common amongst Audi A4 owners (2005 and 2006 models). Other owners have solved the problem by replacing the headlight igniter or ballasts.

Intermittent headlight failure (headlight dipped): regarding my 2006 Audi A4 quattro, the left and right headlights will often go out while driving. This is more frequent on the left headlight. The error displayed is "left headlight dipped" or "right headlight dipped". It has also occurred on both headlights at the same time. The problem is temporarily corrected by manually switching off the headlights, and then turning them back on. This is an obvious safety concern due to the reduction in visibility while driving at night. I was unable to convince my authorized Audi service center to correct the problem while the car was under manufacturer warranty because they could not duplicate it on site. Calls to Audi of America also did not result in any action being taken to correct the problem. This problem has been ongoing for several months now, starting in August 2009.

It has happened since I first got the car implying that this is a manufacturer defect. Constantly while driving at night as soon as I turn on one of my headlights I get a "right dipped headlight" error and my headlight flickers and goes out. The bulb fires and ignites just fine, but immediately after seems to flicker and go out, always get the error as soon as they turn on. The dealers won't fix this problem as they say it's most often replicate. The times they've attempted to fix other vehicles by switching the ballast and the bulb almost never works implying that it could be a software or design issue. This is a major concern for people that own this car. A simple online survey poll of 83 owners of this vehicle, 68% of them have had this issue. Out of 83 voters, 49% of them still have this issue after trying to fix it. That tells you how widespread this problem is. It's a headlight, it's a very critical component for driving safely at night and is illegal to drive with only a single headlight in most states. This headlight issue needs to be a recall for Audi to fix this issue.

While driving with headlights on auto a warning light for left dipped headlights came on. I turned the light switch off and back on again and the warning went away. This happened every once in a while for quite some time and turning lights off and back on made the warning go away. Now the problem has progressed to the point that I lose both left or right headlight almost every time I drive the car. The failure has been one light or the other never both at the same time so far. This nessecitates turning off the lights for about five seconds and then turning them on again to get both lights working again, very dangerous and dissconcerting at night especially at highway speeds. The lights fail in this manner one to three times per trip before staying on the remainder of the trip. So far I have not had any success with dealership fixing the problem. I know that Audi does have knowledge of the problem because they have extended the warranty on the headlights to 4 years / 50000 miiles. Unfortunately I was out of warranty on time by the time I received notice of the warranty extension. Bottom line, the dealership can't seem figure out if the problem is the lights, or the module, or the igniters. The car is not safe to drive at night, very frustrating.

Hi, I am an owner of an Audi A4 2003. I am not too sure if its the "right place" to complaint about my car's safety. My car's headlights are going out the whole time while I am driving and I have to reset them by turning the switch off and then back on in order to keep them working for couple minutes. After some minutes the same procedure. I went to an Audi dealer and they wont "reproduce" the error. They say that once we connect it to our database and we read no error there is nothing we can do. I looked into it (online) for couple weeks now and I read the same stories over and over again from people that they own cars from years 2000- 2006 . They said they contact Audi and Audi ignores them. That's why I am coming to you. It is so dangerous the lights to go out while we re driving and yet nobody can help us to solve the problem. Thank you in advance.

See all problems of the 2003 Audi A4 🔎.

The hid headlights had been flickering for almost a year in my 2006 Audi A4 quattro 2. 0. Originally (almost a year ago, approx 35k miles) I brought it to the dealership to have the problem investigated, and they told me they could find nothing wrong. The headlights would flicker and then extinguish, leaving me driving in the dark, or with only one headlight. The display in my car would indicate left or right headlight 'dipped'. If I shut the light switch to the off position, then to the on position, the headlight would re-ignite. I recently had my car serviced again, and they indicated the left front headlight bulb would need to be replaced. After replacing it (at a cost of $515), after driving it for about a week, I noticed the condition was still present. I brought it to the dealer, and they indicated the other bulb would need to be replaced. The dealer in this instance covered the cost of the bulb and labor. I fear that the problem has not been repaired by simply replacing the bulbs, and I will be again driving the car with a faulty headlight, which could lead to an accident in the wrong conditions.

Problem: left front headlight flickers frequently, and often shuts off while vehicle is in motion. It has been evaluated by several Audi dealers, and at least 2 attempts to fix it have failed. The light bulb is not broken, since it turns back on after switching lights off. The problem is more frequent during cold weather. When it happens, a warning light comes on indicating a "dipped headlight. ".

Left headlight flickers and then goes out randomly on my 2006 Audi A4 while I am driving. This happens almost daily. The consequence is that you are driving without a headlight. To correct the problem, you have to turn the headlight switch off and then back on again. To do this, you have to stop the car so when you turn the headlights off to reset the left light, you won't be driving without headlight. Sometimes the light will go out again within a few minutes and sometimes it is ok.

The xenon headlights of my 2006 Audi A4 quattro has this annoying -- and dangerous -- problem: 1. The left or right headlights flicker (the left one was recently fixed) 2. After flickering the headlight will shut off 3. The message "left dipped headlight" or "right dipped headlight" appears 4. The message is changed to a sign indicating that the lightbulb has failed. If I turn the light control switch to 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. The problem occurs more in colder temperatures. The dealership has replaced one of these very expensive bulbs, but will not replace the one that is currently causing problems. The car is still under warranty. This issue is a known issue as many people discuss the problem over the internet. In fact, Audi of north America is aware of the problem as well because there has been some sort of redesign of the bulb and a TSB has been issued for cars that are less than 1 year old and has less than 12000 miles on it. I would think they would want to recall these cars on their own because it is not safe to have to turn your lights off and on while driving in the dark.

One day I received a message in my info center about "left dipped headlight" and an icon flashing with an "x" a the stick-figured bulb, went out to the front of the car and noticed my left bi-xenon was out, but my right one was not. Turned the lights/car on and off, once turned back on, still nothing, switched the right bulb into the left side socket, turn the car on, still no light coming from the "left dipped headlight", I immediately went to google this problem when I arrived home later that day, and I found a lot of post all over the internet about this problem with Audi car lights going on and them bringing it to the dealer and the dealer telling them they do not know what is wrong, so I went for myself and they told me that they received this problem before but do not know how to treat it, but for $500 they can order a new headlight and for $200 a new bi-xenon lightbulb and $200 labor we can replace the whole headlight unit. They wanted me to pay $900 for light to come out of my car, even though I paid $40,000 for a car to already do that. Besides the point, they do not know what is wrong with it, I would say a couple hundred people have this problem from all the posts I've seen and also all the people that have not posted anything. Its very dangerous due to the fact after my left one had gone out, my right one had also gone out later that day but came back on after a few tries. But that's a total blackout I had on the highway, I mean it should be a recall if Audi knows about it and doesn't know what to do about it. Please help!.

See all problems of the 2002 Audi A4 🔎.

Car headlights periodically flicker and turn off under normal conditions. Driver side flickers on acceleration and passenger side will flicker and turn off completely during acceleration or braking. Have to switch the headlights completely off and back on for them to light up again. I have the bi-xenon hid adaptive headlights factory installed on my car. I just received a class action lawsuit letter describing reimbursements for class members who have either repaired or had an authorized Audi dealership document the issue within the 5 year/50,000 mile warranty from date of original purchase or lease. I bought my car at 51,xxx miles and am out of warranty with no access to the previous owners records. This is a safety issue that should be identified and a full recall campaign should be initialized with Audi of America (aoa). From what I have gathered on the internet, there are 100's if not 1000's of A4's having this problem but aoa refuses to take responsibility for it and claim the headlights are operating normally. Normally is not turning off while driving on their own. I have dealt with this issue for 5 years that I have owned my car and never asked the dealership for a repair due to it being out of warranty and is expensive ($1000+). It's time for aoa to own up to this issue and repair it free of charge for it's customers since it's a safety issue.

The xenon headlights of my 2006 Audi A4 quattro has this annoying -- and dangerous -- problem: 1. The left or right headlights flicker (the left one was recently fixed) 2. After flickering the headlight will shut off 3. The message "left dipped headlight" or "right dipped headlight" appears 4. The message is changed to a sign indicating that the lightbulb has failed. If I turn the light control switch to off (note: we're talking about driving at night here) and turn it back on again, the light will become normal again. The problem occurs more in colder temperatures. This issue is a known issue as many people discuss the problem over the internet.

Hid headlights go out while driving the car. Operator must shut off headlight switch and turn back on for headlight to go back on. This happened to the left headlight at 50,000 and the right at 90,000 after dealer put in a waterpump. Dealer denied responsibility, not covered under warranty price form repair >$700. 00.

Headlight switch failed while driving on paved highway at approximately 60 mph at 11:30 pm. Failure caused all headlights to stop functioning, thereby leaving the driver and passenger in total darkness at cruising speed. Extreme potential for fatal accident. This is the 4th time this switch has failed.

See all problems of the 1997 Audi A4 🔎.