Owner-reported complaints naming the exterior lighting system, filed with NHTSA
Data refreshed
Reports naming headlights, tail lights, turn signals and other exterior lighting. Every record below is an owner-reported complaint about the 2006 Audi A4 submitted to NHTSA — not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. 159 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 159, in the owner's own words
LEFT HEAD LIGHT FLICKERS AND SHUTS ITSELF OFF AFTER VEHICLE IS DRIVEN AND THE LIGHTS HAVE BEEN ON FOR ABOUT 5 MINUTES. THE WARNING DISPLAY ON THE DASHBOARD GIVES A "LEFT HEADLIGHT LEVEL" ERROR CODE.
VEHICLE IS EQUIPPED WITH ADAPTIVE HEADLIGHTS. WHEN I TURN THE PASSENGER SIDE LOW BEAM GOES OUT.
THE HEADLIGHTS WILL FLICKER ON AND OFF, AND HAVE TO BE MANUALLY TURNED OFF AND TURNED BACK ON. REPAIRS AND REPLACEMENTS OF LIGHTS DID NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. COMPLETE REMOVAL OF THE XENON BALLAST AND SEALING THE BALLAST SEEMED TO CORRECT THE PROBLEM, AND SEEMS TO BE A DEFECT IN THE MANUFACTURE OF THE BALLAST THAT CAUSES MOISTURE TO INVADE, AND SHORT THE HEADLIGHTS OUT.
THE LEFT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS AND TURNS OFF. CHANGING THE BULB DID NOT FIX THE PROBLEM AND NEITHER DID CHANGING THE BALLAST. I FOUND THAT THERE WAS A SETTLED CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT HOWEVER THEY SAID THAT THE LAWSUIT EXTENDED THE WARRANTY FOR HEADLIGHTS TO 5 YEARS. THE LAWSUIT WAS SETTLED IN 2013 AND MY CAR IS A 2006 MODEL SO I AM NOT SURE HOW IT COULD EVER HELP ME.
2006 AUDI A4 QUATTRO, A VERY ANNOYING SITUATION IT ALSO AFFECTS SAFETY WHILE DRIVING IN DARK; I IGNORED IT FOR FEW MONTHS AS IT GOT WORST DECIDED TO TAKE IT IN. THEY SUGGESTED TO REPLACE BOTH IGNITERS (XENON BALLAST) AND BULBS. MY AUDI DEALER SAID THAT AUDI KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BUT DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO FIX IT -- CHANGING THE LIGHT BULB DOESN'T SOLVE THE PROBLEM. SINCE MY CAR WAS JUST OUT OF WARRANTY IT WOULD BE ABOUT $1600. THIS PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT. IT HAS BEEN OCCURRING A LOT RECENTLY WITH THE COLD WEATHER. I CAN'T TELL FOR SURE WHETHER IT IS TEMPERATURE RELATED. THIS IS A COMMON PROBLEM AND MOST IMPORTANTLY A MAJOR SAFETY
I GET A "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" MESSAGE AND MY RIGHT HEADLIGHT GOES OUT. I CAN CORRECT THE ISSUE BY TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON BUT THIS IS NOT SAFE AFTER DARK. THE CAR HAS BEEN DOING THIS WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY ESPECIALLY OVER THE PAST YEAR. IT OCCURS MORE WHEN IT'S RAINING AND MORE AFTER DARK-WHEN YOU MOST NEED THE HEADLIGHTS. IT WILL COST ME ABOUT $1600 TO GET THE HEADLIGHTS REPLACED BUT APPARENTLY THERE IS NO GUARANTEE THAT THIS WILL FIX THE ISSUE. I HAVE IN NO WAY DAMAGED THE HEADLIGHTS. WE ARE THE ORIGINAL OWNERS OF THIS CAR. THIS SITUATION HAS BEEN OCCURRING FOR SEVERAL YEARS.
THE LEFT HEADLIGHT DROPS AND GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY
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.
MY HEADLIGHTS FLICKER WHILE DRIVING MOSTLY THE LEFT BUT DOES INTERMITTENTLY GO FROM LEFT TO RIGHT. UNABLE TO DRIVE CAR AT NIGHT. I JUST BOUGHT THE CAR FROM DRIVE TIME AND THE ISSUE STARTED AS SOON AS I LEFT THE DEALERSHIP
HEADLIGHT FAILURE, RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT. INTERMITTENT PROBLEM SEEMS TO BE RELATED TO SLOW SPEED AND OR VIBRATION. MULTIPLE SERVICE VISITS AT AUDI DEALER, PROBLEM NOT RESOLVED.
I WAS DRIVING ON HIGHWAY AT NIGHT GOING AT 70 MPH AND SUDDENLY I RECEIVED LEFT DIP LIGHT WARNING AND AFTER 2 MINUTES RECEIVED RIGHT DIP LIGHT WARNING. I QUICKLY HAVE TO RESET THE LIGHT AFTER WHICH BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT LIGHTS CAME UP. AFTER SOME 20-30 MIN IT HAPPENED AGAIN.THERE ERE HIGH CHANCES OF FATAL CRASH AT 70 MPH ON A HIGHWAY AT NIGHT. I WAS LUCKY ENOUGH TO ESCAPE THIS. THIS ISSUE IS INTERMITTENT BUT EXTREMELY DANGEROUS FOR SAFETY OF PASSENGERS.
HEADLIGHTS WILL FLICKER / TURN OFF INTERMITTENTLY WHEN BRAKING OR TRAVELING OVER SMALL BUMPS RESULTING IN A LOSS OF VISION AT NIGHT. THIS WILL SOMETIMES GIVE THE ERROR "DIPPED HEADLIGHT" AND CAUSE THE HEADLIGHT TO TURN OFF AND REMAIN OFF UNTIL IT IS RESET.
THE DRIVER SIDE HEAD LIGHT STOP WORKING
HEADLIGHTS SPONTANEOUSLY GO OUT WHILE DRIVING. SOMETIMES JUST THE LEFT, SOMETIMES JUST THE RIGHT, SOMETIMES BOTH. THE DASH READS "RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED" OR "LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPPED". TO CORRECT THE ERROR ONE MUST TURN HEADLIGHTS COMPLETELY OFF AND THEN ON AGAIN RESULTING IN A FEW SECONDS OF DARKNESS. OBVIOUSLY THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THERE IS NO APPARENT REPAIR FOR THIS PROBLEM AND FROM EXTENSIVE RESEARCH SEEMS TO BE A DESIGN ISSUE. *TR
RIGHT AFTER I PURCHASED THE CAR I STARTED HAVING PROBLEMS, ESPECIALLY WITH THE LIGHTS. MY RIGHT HEADLIGHT WOULD CONSISTENTLY TURN OFF, THEN SOME TIME LATER COME BACK ON. THIS WOULD HAPPEN PERIODICALLY, BUT THE WORST IS WHEN I AM DRIVING 60MPH+ AT NIGHT AND LOSE ALL MY LIGHTS. RUNNING LIGHTS, HEADLIGHTS, HIGH BEAMS, FOG LIGHTS, ALL OF IT. THIS HAPPENS CONSISTENTLY EVERY WEEK. ABOUT A MONTH AFTER PURCHASE MY RIGHT HEADLIGHT WENT OUT AND NEVER CAME BACK ON. I RECEIVED AN ERROR ON MY DASH THAT STATES "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT." I CHECKED IT OUT AND DECIDED TO CHANGE THE BULB. WELL, I DID AND THAT DIDN'T WORK. I LOOKED UP MORE INTO IT ONLINE AND IT'S QUITE AN EXPENSIVE FIX, AND IT'S NOT GUARANTEED TO EVEN WORK. MY HEADLIGHT IS OUT AND ABOUT EVERY WEEK SOMETIMES MULTIPLE TIMES A WEEK MY LIGHTS COMPLETELY GO OUT UNEXPECTEDLY. THIS IS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH LOTS OF PEOPLE I DISCOVERED ON GOOGLE. *TR
THE LEFT HEADLIGHT OF MY 2006 AUDI A4 QUATTRO HAS A HEAD LIGHT PROBLEM AS FOLLOWS: 1. THE LEFT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS 2. IT THEN TURNS ITSELF OFF 3. THE MESSAGE "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" APPEARS 4. THE MESSAGE IS CHANGED TO A SIGN INDICATING THAT THE LIGHTBULB HAS FAILED. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS EVERY TIME I NEED TO TURN ON MY HEAD LIGHTS, I TOOK TO DEALER, THEY ARE NOT SURE WHAT PART MIGHT BE BAD, SO THEY RECOMMEND TO REPLACE ALMOST ALL PARTS INVOLVE WITH THAT, AND ITS COSTLY. I CHECKED ON LINE TO FIND A SOLUTION, I FIGURED OUT IT'S NOT ONLY ME, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF AUDI DRIVERS HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM IN HERE AND EVEN IN EUROPE. *TR
BOTH HEADLIGHTS KEEP GOING OUT AT RANDOM TIMES. SOMETIMES IT SAYS RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT AND SOMETIMES LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT AND SOMETIMES BOTH. *TR
WHEN I DRIVE MY CAR WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON ONE RANDOMLY TURNS OFF AND THEN I GET A DISPLAY IN THE DASH THAT'S SAYS "LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPPED" THIS ALSO HAPPENS TO THE RIGHT SIDE. I HAVE TO TURN THE KNOB KN THE DASHBOARD ON THE OFF POSITION AND TURN THEM BACK ON THE ON POSITION AND THEY START WORKING AGAIN. THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND UNSAFE. PLEASE HELP. ALSO MY ENGINE IS BURNING OIL VERY FAST I JUST HAD AN OIL CHANGE AND DROVE THE CAR FOR 80 MILES AND THE DIP STICK ALREADY SHOWS HALF WAY FULL. I HAD THE HEAD GASKET AND VACUUM PUMP GASKET REPLACED BUT IT STILL HASN'T FIXED THE PROBLEM. *TR
AUGUST 2014, DRIVING AT NIGHT, HIGHWAY SPEEDS (65MPH+) BOTH LEFT AND RIGHT HEADLIGHTS FLICKERED AND WENT OUT, NO ILLUMINATION. TOOK SEVERAL TRIES 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. *TR
HEADLIGHT WENT OUT CAUSED LIGHT TO COME ON. *TR
I WAS DRIVING AND HAD THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT GO OUT. THE FAULT INDICATOR STATED THAT THE RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT HAD A FAULT, THEN THAT THE BULB WAS BAD. I KEPT DRIVING, AS I THOUGHT THAT I COULD SEE WELL ENOUGH WITH THE LEFT LIGHT. AFTER A WHILE, THE LIGHT CAME BACK ON. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, THE SAME THING HAPPENED WITH THE LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT. AGAIN, I KEPT DRIVING, AS I THOUGHT THAT I COULD SEE WELL ENOUGH WITH THE RIGHT LIGHT. SHORTLY AFTER THAT, I ENTERED THE INTERSTATE, AND INCREASED MY SPEED TO ABOUT 65 MPH, AND DROVE IN THE MIDDLE LANE AS I ANTICIPATED GOING TO THE LEFT SIDE WHEN THE ROAD SPLIT IN ABOUT THREE MILES AND THEN EXITING SHORTLY AFTERWARD. THEN BOTH LIGHTS WENT OUT. I HAD TO SIGNAL TO GO TO THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE ROAD, THROUGH TWO LANES OF FAIRLY HEAVY TRAFFIC, AND STOPPED. LUCKILY, ANOTHER DRIVER WHO HAD NOTICED THAT I WAS HAVING PROBLEMS OFFERED TO DRIVE SLOWLY IN FRONT OF ME TO ALLOW ME TO CONTINUE UNTIL I COULD GET OFF THE HIGHWAY. I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO DRIVE SLOWLY ON OFF-HIGHWAY STREETS TO GET HOME, BUT BOTH LIGHTS CAME BACK ON. SINCE THAT TIME, I HAVE HAD THREE OTHER SIMILAR INCIDENTS. I AM AFRAID TO DRIVE THE CAR ON THE HIGHWAY AT NIGHT. *TR
THE LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPS OCCASIONALLY, WITHOUT WARNING, RANDOMLY. THEN YOU HAVE TO TURN OFF THE LIGHTS TO HOPEFULLY CORRECT/RESET THE HEADLIGHT. IT'S CLEARLY A SAFETY HAZARD. *TR
I WAS DRIVING ON I-45 S TO HOUSTON AND AT 9 PM, I TRIED TURNING MY FRONT FOG LIGHT ON AS IT WAS GETTING FOGGY OCCASIONALLY. I WAS AT 75 MPH SPEED ON RIGHT LANE, ALL OF A SUDDEN ALL LIGHTS WENT OUT, I IMMEDIATELY PULLED OVER TO THE MEDIAN AND AFTER PLAYING AROUND SOME KIND OF LIGHT CAME BACK, DROVE TO NEAREST EXIT TO GAS STATION ABOUT A MILE FURTHER AND CHECKED ALL LIGHTS, IT WAS WORKING FINE NOW. I HAVE READ SIMILAR KIND OF COMPLAINT HERE AND NOT SURE IF IT IS GETTING ATTENTION. DOES DEATH HAS TO OCCUR BEFORE NHSTA AND AUDI LISTEN TO THIS PROBLEM. 75 MPH IN INTERSTATE AT NIGHT WITHOUT LIGHTS ON, CAN YOU IMAGINE MY SITUATION. IT CAN EASILY CAUSE DEATH AND DAMAGE. FIX THIS PROBLEM BECAUSE IT IS NOT BULB ISSUE, IT IS MANUFACTURER DEFECT. *TR
2006 AUDI A4 DIPPED HEADLIGHT / FLICKER / PROBLEM. LEFT HEADLIGHT WILL FLICKER AND GO OUT, HAPPENS AT RANDOM, AT SPEEDS FROM 0 TO 70 MPH. AUDI DEALER SAID THE GAS LEVEL IN THE HEADLAMP IS LOW, RECOMMENDED NOT TO REPAIR AT THIS TIME, TO ADDRESS, TURN LIGHTS OFF AND BACK ON WHEN IT OCCURS. HAVE HAD TO DO THIS MULTIPLE TIMES WITHIN A 10 MINUTE PERIOD TO KEEP THE HEADLAMP ON. *TR
THE CAR WAS PARKED OVERNIGHT. ONCE THE TEMPERATURE REACH APPROXIMATELY 40 DEGREES, THE BRAKE LIGHTS ACTIVATED, BUT DEACTIVATED WHEN THE CAR WAS STARTED AND I PRESSED THE BRAKE PEDAL. OVER THE COURSE OF A FEW MONTHS, THIS MALFUNCTION COMPLETELY DRAINED MY BATTERY. *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.
Categories with enough reports to have a page of their own
Data on this page last refreshed .