14 complaints reported

2002 Audi A4 Exterior Lighting

Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.

Reports
14
Crashes
0
Fires
0
Injuries
0

Complaint Timeline

Chronological view of owner reports

Oct 2012

IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE FIRST RAINFALL IN MY OWNERSHIP WITH THIS VEHICLE, BOTH HEADLIGHTS STOPPED WORKING. AUDI HAS NOT DONE ANYTHING TO FIX THIS PROBLEM. THIS IS NOT A CONVENIENCE ISSUE BUT A SAFETY ISSUE FOR DRIVING AT NIGHT. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Sep 2012
Sep 2012

AFTER DRIVING FOR A FEW MINUTES THE LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT MESSAGE DISPLAYS ON THE DASH AND THE LEFT (DRIVER SIDE) HEADLIGHT WILL FLICKER ON AND OFF A FEW TIMES AND THEN GO OUT COMPLETELY. TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND ON A FEW TIMES WILL GET IT TO COME ON AGAIN BUT ONLY FOR A SHORT TIME. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS THE LIGHTS ARE A REQUIRED SAFETY ITEM ON ALL VEHICLES AND IT IS A TICKETABLE ITEM. THIS NEEDS TO BE A SAFETY RECALL FROM AUDI AS NONE OF THE DEALERS SEEM TO KNOW HOW TO REPAIR THE ITEM WITHOUT HAVING YOU SPEND THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS TRYING TO SWAP OUT PARTS UNTIL YOU FIND SOMETHING THAT MIGHT STOP IT. MOST BLOGS HAVE SAID THAT THE DEALER CAN NEVER FIND A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM AFTER THEY HAVE SPENT $2-3K AND FINALLY GAVE UP AND ARE DRIVING THE CAR WITHOUT 1 OR MORE HEADLIGHTS. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Nov 2011
Nov 2011

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2002 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT WAS DRIVING 25 MPH WHEN THE FRONT DRIVER SIDE HEADLIGHT ILLUMINATED ON AND OFF BEFORE FAILING COMPLETELY. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT TAKEN TO THE DEALER. THE MANUFACTURER WAS CONTACTED BUT THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 100,000 AND THE CURRENT MILEAGE 143,000.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2011
Oct 2010

NO KNOWN EVENTS LEAD UP TO THE FAILURE. THE MESSAGE "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" APPEARS AND THE LEFT HEADLIGHT STOPS WORKING AT THE SAME TIME. THIS PROBLEM HAPPENS FREQUENTLY IN AUDI A4 OF MODEL YEAR 2002-06. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2010
Sep 2010

THE HEADLIGHTS FOR THE 2002-2005(6) AUDI A4 WILL FLICKER ON AND OFF AND OFTEN TURN OFF COMPLETELY WHILE DRIVING THIS IS NOT CAUSED BY ANN ACCIDENT OR IMPROPER CARE BUT RATHER FAULTY MANUFACTURING. IT IS VERY COMMON WITH THESE VEHICLES. WHEN THIS PROBLEM BEGINS IT WILL TYPICALLY OCCUR REGULARLY (EVERY USE OF THE VEHICLE). REPLACING THE BULBS DOES NOT CORRECT THIS PROBLEM AS IT IS INHERENT IN THE IGNITER WHICH AUDI CHARGES APPROXIMATELY $600. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2010
Sep 2010

2002 AUDI A4 WITH HID HEAD LAMPS TURN OFF INTERMITTENTLY WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE. GET AN ERROR CODE "FRONT RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" OR "LEFT FRONT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" WHILE LIGHTS GO OFF COMPLETELY. HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR YEARS SUCH THAT I HAD THE BULBS REPLACED BUT DID NOT FIX PROBLEM. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2010
Aug 2010

PASSENGER SIDE HEADLIGHT ON 2002 AUDI A4 QUATTRO KEEPS MALFUNCTIONING AFTER MULTIPLE DEALERSHIP MAINTENANCE. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2010
Aug 2010

MY 2002 AUDI A4 3.0 HAS A RECURRING ISSUE WHERE THE LEFT HEADLIGHT GOES OUT WHILE DRIVING. I WILL DRIVE FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEN GET A "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" NOTIFICATION. IF I TAP THE EXTERIOR OF THE LIGHT IT WILL TEMPORARILY RETURN TO POWER. BUT WITHIN A FEW MORE MINUTES THE LIGHT GOES BACK OUT. THERE WAS NO EVENT THAT BROUGHT ON THE FAILURE. IT JUST HAPPENED ONE NIGHT AND HAS CONTINUED SINCE THEN. NO ONE SEEMS TO KNOW HOW TO FIX THE ISSUE, ALTHOUGH ONE MECHANIC HAS SAID THEY COULD REPLACE THE WHOLE UNIT FOR CLOSE TO $1000. THAT'S SOMETHING I CAN'T AFFORD, BUT THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND TICKETABLE OFFENSE SO I'VE BEEN FORCED TO LIMIT MY NIGHT AND EARLY MORNING DRIVING. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Oct 2010
Jul 2010

I OWN A 2002 AUDI A4 1.8L TURBO. EVERY TIME I NEED TO USE MY HEADLIGHTS, I GET A "LEFT HEADLAMP DIPPED" MESSAGE AND THE LEFT HEADLIGHT DOES NOT TURN ON. THERE ARE NO EVENTS THAT LEAD UP TO THIS OTHER THAN STARTING THE CAR AND TURNING MY LIGHTS ON. IT HAS OCCURRED NOW FOR 1 YEAR. AT FIRST, TURNING THE LIGHTS OFF AND ON REPEATEDLY WOULD TEMPORARILY FIX THE PROBLEM AND TURN BOTH LIGHTS ON. BUT NOW, THE LEFT LIGHT WILL NEVER TURN ON AND THE ERROR MESSAGE STILL APPEARS. I HAVE SPOKEN WITH AND READ MANY AUDI OWNERS COMPLAINTS REGARDING THIS EXACT PROBLEM- ALL OF WHICH HAVE NOT SOLVED THE ISSUE, EVEN AFTER TAKING IT TO AUDI DEALERSHIPS FOR SERVICE. AUDI TECHNICIANS ARE UNABLE TO FIND THE ANSWER, AND AUDI SEEMS TO BE PERPLEXED. THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM WHEN DRIVING AT NIGHT! ESSENTIALLY, I CAN NOT DRIVE AT NIGHT ANYMORE FOR FEAR OF LOSING MY ONLY WORKING HEADLIGHT, AND FOR FEAR OF BEING TICKETED BY POLICE. AUDI NEEDS TO FIND A SOLUTION AND FIX THEIR HEADLAMPS. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jul 2009
Mar 2010

I HAVE AN 2002 AUDI A4 1.8T QUATTRO. WHEN I TURN THE LIGHTS ON, MY LEFT XENON HEADLIGHT BLINKS INTERMITTENTLY, THEN, VERY OFTEN, TURNS OFF THEN BACK ON. I THEN GET AN ERROR MESSAGE REGARDING MY "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT." IF I TURN THE LIGHTS OFF, THE ERROR MESSAGE GOES AWAY AND THEN THE CYCLE REPEATS ITSELF AGAIN (LIGHTS SHUT OFF, THEN ERROR MESSAGE). THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR SEVERAL MONTHS NOW. I HAVE COMPLAINED TO THE DEALERSHIP ABOUT IT, BUT NOTHING HAS BEEN DONE TO RESOLVE THIS PROBLEM.

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jan 2010
Jan 2010

2002 AUDI A4 3.0 QUATTRO SEDAN HAS HAD PULSATING/FLICKERING HEADLIGHTS FOR SEVERAL MONTHS IF NOT A YEAR OR TWO. CENTRAL ELECTRONIC MODULE WAS REPLACED HOWEVER THE PULSATING HEADLIGHTS CONTINUED. THEREAFTER, AUDI INDICATED "LEFT DIPPING HEADLIGHT" WHICH OCCURRED WHEN THE LEFT HEADLIGHT DIED. PREVIOUS ATTEMPTS HAVE FAILED TO SOLVE THIS PROBLEM. FURTHERMORE, THERE ARE NUMEROUS ARGUMENTS THAT SUPPORT THE NOTION THAT AUDI/ AUDI OF AMERICA HAS HAD A DEGREE OF KNOWLEDGE IN TERMS OF THIS ONGOING PROBLEM YET HAVE FAILED TO ADEQUATELY SOLVE IT. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2010
Oct 2009

HEAD LIGHTS FLICKER AND GO OUT. THE DASH COMPUTER INDICATES A DIPPED HEADLIGHT, THEN IT GOES OUT. REPLACING BULB DOES NOT FIX PROBLEM. *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: Jun 2008
Dec 2008

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! *TR

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI A4, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Incident: May 2008
May 2002

ALL XENON HEADLAMPS SHOULD BE BANNED. THEY BLIND ONCOMING DRIVERS !!!

Type: Vehicle, Vehicle: 2002 AUDI AUDI, Manufacturer: Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.

Trend Over Time

Complaints by year

Quick Summary

The 2002 Audi A4 has 14 Exterior Lighting complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.