Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
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Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2005 Audi A4 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 101 reports on file name it.
Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.
The 25 most recent of 101, in the owner's own words
Headlights flickering. Must turn off the headlights and turn them back on for this issue to go away. All headlight components were replaced including the bulb and this issue still is there. The Audi dealerships seem to not know how to fix this issue. This issue is only on the left side/driver side. The dealer could not duplicate this issue on the right side/passenger side. All new parts were installed.
WHILE DRIVING, THE HEADLIGHT FLICKERS AND GOES OUT. IF HEADLIGHTS ARE TURNED OFF AND BACK ON, HEADLIGHT WORKS JUST FINE. WHEN I SEARCHED ON THE INTERNET MANY INDIVIDUALS WITH THIS CAR MAKE HAVE HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. REPLACING THE BULB DOES NOT FIX THE PROBLEM. SOME INDIVIDUALS HAVE SAID THAT AUDI DEALERSHIPS SAY THEY DON'T KNOW HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM
MY RIGHT HEADLIGHT HAS BEEN FLICKERING FOR ABOUT 3 MONTHS, AND A FEW TIMES IT HAS GONE OUT COMPLETELY. TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON FIXES IT FOR A COUPLE DAYS. I WAITED TO TAKE IT TO THE DEALER UNTIL IT NEEDED MAINTENANCE, AND ALSO SO THERE WOULD BE MORE DTC EVIDENCE FOR THEM TO TROUBLESHOOT WITH. THE LEFT HEADLIGHT STARTED DOING THE SAME THING SO I TOOK IT IN. AUDI CANNOT REPLICATE AND WILL NOT REPLACE THE HEADLIGHTS.
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 AUDI A4. WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 45 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED CONSTANTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT A HEATER WAS DRYING UP THE LIGHTS. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.
SO I WAS DRIVING FROM WORK LIKE AROUND 10:25 PM MONDAY NIGHT SEPTEMBER 14 2015 WHEN I NOTICE THAT THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT OF MY CAR STARTED FLICKERING AND ALL THE SUDDEN WENT OFF WHICH CAUSED ME TO NOT BEING ABLE TO SEE THAT WELL, AND THERE WERE PEDESTRIANS WALKING ON THE ROAD WHICH CAUSED ME TO DRIVE MORE SLOW THAN THE ALLOWED SPEED LIMIT GOOD THING IT WASN'T FAR FROM HOME WHERE IT HAPPEN...NEXT DAY THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON AND SAME THING HAPPENED AGAIN THE LIGHT STARTED FLICKERING AGAIN AND IT WENT OFF AT THIS POINT I'VE BEEN LOOKING AROUND TO ACTUALLY FIXED THIS ISSUE WITH NO LUCK ALSO I'VE SEEN A LOT PEOPLE COMPLAINTS ABOUT THE SAME ISSUE WHICH THEY CALLED THE DIPPED HEADLIGHT ISSUE.. T
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 70 MPH, THE HEADLIGHTS FAILED WITHOUT WARNING. THE FAILURE RECURRED CONSTANTLY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO A DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED, BUT THE FAILURE WAS NOT DETERMINED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 112,000.
HEADLIGHTS DIP AND CONTINUE TO FLICKER AND TURN OFF DURING MILD DRIVING. THIS BECOMES DANGEROUS WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT AND THE LIGHTS TURN OFF DUE TO THE FLICKER.
RIGHT SIDE HEADLIGHT WILL GO OUT RANDOMLY AND IS VERY UNSAFE. I HAVE REPLACED LIGHT BULB AND PROBLEM STILL EXISTS. I HAVE READ MANY PROBLEMS AND AUDI IS AWARE OF THIS BUT CHOOSES NOT TO DO ANYTHING. *TR
BI-XENON DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT GOES OFF RANDOMLY WHILE DRIVING AT ANY SPEEDS. HAVE TO POWER OFF AND ON THE HEADLIGHTS WHILE DRIVING TO GET THE LIGHT TO WORK AGAIN. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING FOR YEARS SINCE I BOUGHT THE CAR NEW. AUDI SERVICE WAS NEVER ABLE TO ADMIT TO THE PROBLEM OR FIX IT ON MULTIPLE VISITS FOR SERVICE ON THE CAR. HUGE SAFETY ISSUE... *TR
WHEN DRIVING DOWN THE CITY STREET OR HIGHWAY, I WOULD GET THE "DIPPED LIGHT" WARNING ON MY DISPLAY, THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD FLICKER AND THEN SHUT OFF. I HAVE HAD THIS CHECKED AT THE SERVICE DEPT AND NO FAULTS WERE FOUND ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION INITIALLY. THEN, THE HEADLIGHT BULB WAS REPLACED AT ONE POINT AS ADVISED BY THE SERVICE DEPT OF THE DEALERSHIP. HOWEVER, IT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I NOTICED THAT IT OCCURS MORE FREQUENTLY IN COLD WEATHER. THE ONLY WAY TO TEMPORARILY RESOLVE IT DURING DRIVING IS TO PULL OVER, TURN LIGHTS OFF AND TURN BACK ON. SOMETIMES THEY WOULD DIP AGAIN AFTER DRIVING FOR A SHORT DISTANCE AND I WOULD HAVE TO PULL OVER AGAIN. I COMPLAINED TO AOA CUSTOMER SERVICE IN EARLY 2013. I WAS TOLD THAT UNFORTUNATELY THE VEHICLE WAS OUT OF WARRANTY AND THAT I WOULD RECEIVE A "COURTESY PARTIAL REIMBURSEMENT" OF THE COST OF HEADLIGHT BULB REPLACEMENT. T I HAVE NOT YET SEEN THE CHECK TO DATE. THE PROBLEM BEGAN WITHIN THE FIRST FEW YEARS AFTER PURCHASE OF THE NEW VEHICLE AND CONTINUE/REPEATS EVERY WINTER FOR THE LAST 7-8 YEARS. I FOUND MANY OWNERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM IN MANY ONLINE FORUMS INCLUDING THIS NHTSA DATABASE BUT IT IS DISAPPOINTING THAT NO RECALLS HAVE BEEN MADE THUS FAR. THIS IS A HUGE SAFETY ISSUE SINCE THE HEADLIGHT WOULD SUDDENLY GO OFF WHILE DRIVING. *TR
I WAS DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY AND HAVE CONTINUOUSLY GOTTEN THE "DIPPED LIGHT" WARNING ON MY DISPLAY. MY LIGHTS PROCCEDED TO FLICKER AND THEN SHUT OFF. I WAS DRIVING RIGHT NEXT TO A CAR AND HAD TO PULL OVER BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T COME ON. IT TOOK 15 MINUTES BEFORE THE HEADLIGHTS RETURNED TO NORMAL. I WAS EXTREMELY SCARED WHEN MY HEADLIGHTS TURNED OFF. THIS IS A BIG SAFETY ISSUE AND HAS OCCURRED 3 TIMES SINCE THEN. I HAVE REPLACED THE BULBS AND THAT DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. I KNOW THERE IS A TSB FOR THIS PROBLEM, BUT I THINK THERE IS A NEED FOR A RECALL AS I ALMOST GOT INTO AN ACCIDENT ON THE HIGHWAY. *JS
FRONT HEAD LIGHTS FLICKER, THEN GO OUT, RESULTING IN A "DIPPED HEADLIGHT" MESSAGE. ONCE, THEY BOTH WENT TO OUT ONCE. TO FIX THE PROBLEM, I HAVE TO PULL OVER, TURN THE ENGINE AND LIGHTS OFF AND RESTART. SOMETIMES THEY "DIP" AGAIN AND SOMETIMES THEY STAY ON. I TRY NOT TO DRIVE THE CAR AT NIGHT. *TR
LEFT AND RIGHT HEADLIGHTS DIPPED AUTOMATICALLY, WILL ALSO GO OFF; HEADLIGHT WILL ALSO FLICKER BEFORE DIPPING; HAVE GONE TO HAVE FIXED BUT DEALER UNABLE TO DETERMINE PROBLEM; THEY INDICATE THEY NEED TO GET THEM TP REPLICATE THE ERROR BUT COULD NOT DUPLICATE; THIS IS A SERIOUS SAFETY PROBLEM THAT THE DEALER APPEARS NOT WILLING TO FIX; APPEARS TO BE A PROBLEM WITH AUDI'S OVERALL; *TR
I PURCHASED THIS 2005 AUDI A4 IN AUGUST OF 2007 AND WITHIN THE FIRST FEW MONTHS OF HAVING THE VEHICLE I WAS ALREADY HAVING PROBLEMS WITH IT HAVING TO TAKE IT IN AND GET REPAIRED/SERVICED. NOT ONLY WAS I DISSATISFIED THAT I BOUGHT A HORRIBLE CAR, BECAUSE IT WAS HAVING RECURRING PROBLEMS, BUT I FIND OUT AFTER PURCHASING THE VEHICLE THE DEALERSHIP SOLD ME A QUATTRO, BUT MY AUDI IS NOT A QUATTRO, SO I WAS MISLEAD INTO BUYING A FAULTY VEHICLE.. MY PAPERWORK DOCUMENTATION SAYS 2005 AUDI A4 QUATTRO 1.8T SO I HAD TO PAY TO GET TOWED OUT OF THE SNOW BECAUSE THE AUDI IS ONLY 2 WHEEL DRIVE.. I WILL NEVER EVER PURCHASE A VW/AUDI VEHICLE AGAIN AND I ALWAYS TELL PEOPLE DON'T GET A VW/AUDI BECAUSE THEY ARE HORRIBLE UNRELIABLE CARS. I HAVE PUT SO MUCH MONEY INTO THIS JUNK AUDI THAT JUST CONSTANTLY HAS PROBLEMS, I COULD HAVE BOUGHT A NEW CAR AGAIN BY NOW . I'M VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH VW/AUDI. I HAVE WASTED SO MUCH MONEY ON DIAGNOSTIC REPAIR CHECKS, BECAUSE THE [XXX] CHECK ENGINE LIGHT REPEATEDLY KEEPS COMING ON THE DASHBOARD. I CAN'T GET MY CAR SMOG APPROVED WITHOUT THE CHECK ENGINE LIGHT BEING OFF, SO I AM RELENTLESSLY DUMPING MONEY I SIMPLY DON'T HAVE INTO THIS POS AUDI. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6). *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT THE HEAD LIGHTS FAILED. THE CONTACT WAS ABLE TO ENGAGE THE LIGHTS FOR RE-ILLUMINATION HOWEVER, THE FAILURE WAS RECURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER FOR INSPECTION. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 55,000.
LEFT DIPPED AND RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT ON DASH WARNING. LIGHTS WILL FLICKER THEN JUST SHUT COMPLETELY OFF. *TR
THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT WILL DIP AND THEN TURN OFF WHILE DRIVING. YOU CAN TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON AND IT WILL TEMPORARILY SOLVE THE PROBLEM BUT WILL TURN OFF AGAIN RANDOMLY. THIS PROBLEM HAS HAPPENED SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR CPO IN LATE 2008 BUT HAS CONTINUED TO GET WORSE TO THE POINT WHERE NOW IT GENERALLY HAPPENS ONCE EVERY FEW MINUTES WHILE THE LIGHTS ARE ON FORCING ME TO CONTINUALLY TURN THE LIGHTS OFF AND ON THE WHILE DRIVING WHICH IS VERY DANGEROUS, NOT TO MENTION EXTREMELY ANNOYING TO NOT ONLY MYSELF BUT OTHER DRIVERS AS WELL. *JS
SINCE I PURCHASED MY 2005 AUDI A4 2.0L AT MY LOCAL AUDI/PORSCHE DEALERSHIP, I HAVE HAD RECURRING 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. *JS
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING 70 MPH, BOTH OF THE HEADLIGHTS STARTED FLICKERING ON AND OFF AS THE LEFT DIP LIGHT WARNING LIGHT ILLUMINATED. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER WHERE THEY STATED THAT THE CONTACT WOULD HAVE TO BRING THE VEHICLE IN WHEN THE FAILURE WAS ACTUALLY OCCURRING. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 80,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS 105,000. THE VIN WAS NOT AVAILABLE.
THE HEADLIGHTS(HID) FLICKER AND SOMETIMES GO OFF FOR A FEW SECONDS. I HAVE NOT HAD A TOTAL FAILURE YET; ALTHOUGH, I HAVE BEEN FRIGHTENED. THE FLICKERING HAPPENS ON A WEEKLY BASIS. THE TOTAL LIGHTS OUT HAS HAPPENED 3 TIMES. *TR
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. *TR
REPEATED HEADLAMP FAILURE. *TR
RIGHT HEADLIGHT FLICKERED AND WENT OUT. INSTRUMENTS INDICATED RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED. CYCLED POWER ON LIGHTS AND LIGHTS RETURNED FOR 30 SEC AND THEN CONTINUED PROBLEM. *TR
LEFT FRONT HEADLIGHT WILL TURN OFF SUDDENLY OR CONTINUOUS FLICKER WITHOUT WARNING. I OFTEN RECEIVE A "LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPPED" WARNING ON MY DASHBOARD. THE PROBLEM IS ESPECIALLY BAD WHEN THE HEADLIGHTS ARE SET TO "AUTO." AUDI IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE, BUT DOES NOT YET HAVE A RELIABLE FIX FOR THIS ISSUE, AND THEY HAVE NOT VOLUNTARILY ISSUED A RECALL. MY LEFT HEADLIGHT WILL GO OUT IN BOTH DRY AND WET WEATHER. I'M PRETTY SURE IT IS A WIRING/DESIGN DEFECT. IT IS VERY DANGEROUS AND DISTRACTING WHEN MY LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPS WITHOUT WARNING. MY AUDI OWNERS ARE EXPERIENCING THIS ISSUE. PLEASE PUSH AUDI TO ISSUE A RECALL. *TR
THE RIGHT MAIN HEADLIGHT FLICKERED MULTIPLE TIMES WHILE DRIVING AND THEN SHUT OFF. A MESSAGE APPEARED "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT". THE HEADLIGHTS WERE TURNED OFF AND ON AGAIN AND THE PROBLEM PERSISTED. THE PROBLEM HAS CONTINUED TO OCCUR FOR THE PAST YEAR ALMOST EVERY TIME THE HEADLIGHTS TURN ON. *TR
Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.
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