2005 Audi A4 Exterior Lighting
Owner-reported problems and safety issues filed with NHTSA. Review common failures, severity levels, and complaint trends over time.
Complaint Timeline
Chronological view of owner reports
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
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
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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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. SEE MORE DETAILS HERE: HTTP://WWW.AUDIZINE.COM/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP/332613-CLASS-ACTION-LAWSUIT-DIPPED-HEADLIGHT-FLICKER-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 HEADLIGHTS ON MY AUDI A4 FLICKER AND THEN I GET AN ERROR MESSAGE SAYING THAT THE "HEADLIGHT DIPPED" AND THEN IT TURNS OFF. I THEN HAVE TO TURN OFF THE HEADLIGHTS AND TURN THEM BACK ON TO GET THE LIGHT TO RETURN. I HAVE TRIED REPLACING MANY COMPONENTS OF THE HEADLIGHT SYSTEM AND NOTHING HAS REMEDIED THE ISSUE. THE DEALER DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO FIX THE PROBLEM EITHER. *TR
RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED WARNING. RIGHT HEADLIGHT WILL FLICKER AND THEN SHUT OFF. I SUSPECT A FAULTY IGNITER BALLAST. MANY OTHERS HAVE HAD THE SAME ISSUE WITH THE 2005.5-2008 XENON HEADLIGHTS. CREATES A DANGEROUS SITUATION. *TR
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2005 AUDI A4. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT THE HEADLIGHTS WOULD DIM MAKING IT DIFFICULT TO SEE THE ROAD AT NIGHT. THE CONTACT LOOKED AT THE LIGHTS AND NOTICED THAT THEY WERE FOGGY. THE VEHICLE WAS TAKEN TO THE DEALER AND THEY ADVISED THAT HE WOULD HAVE TO REPLACE THE ENTIRE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT CONTACTED. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 70,000. THE CURRENT MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 90,000. THE VIN WAS UNAVAILABLE.
5 MINUTES AFTER DRIVING THE VEHICLE TO WORK AS I DO EVERYDAY, THE ERROR MESSAGE ON THE DASH READ "LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPPED", LOSING ONE SIDE OF THE LIGHTING TO THE VEHICLE. IT CONTINUED TO DO THIS EACH DAY AFTERWARD WHENEVER DRIVING IN THE EARLY MORNING OR EVENING WHEN LIGHTS WOULD BE REQUIRED. A FEW MONTHS AFTER, THE RIGHT SIDE HAD DIPPED AS WELL. I LOOKED UP SOME POSSIBLE SCENARIOS OF WHAT WAS CAUSING THIS ISSUE AND FOUND A FEW THINGS BUT HAVE NOT PINPOINTED THE ISSUE; WILL HAVE TO TRY THE DEALERSHIP SOON. 1) CHANGE OUT THE BULBS (BI-XENON) 2) CHANGE OUT THE BALLASTS 3) SOME OTHER ISSUE THIS IS A SAFETY CONCERN OF MINE AND MANY OTHERS AS ONE DAY BOTH LIGHTS WILL GO DARK WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND WILL SURELY INDUCE SOME TYPE OF ACCIDENT. I HOPE THAT THE DOT WILL STRONGLY CONSIDER FORCING AUDI TO RESOLVE THIS ISSUE AS THIS IS A PREVENTABLE SITUATION. THANK YOU, *TR
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. *TR
PROBLEM: THE LEFT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS, I RECEIVE A WARNING MESSAGE THAT "LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPPED, THEN THE LEFT HEADLIGHT WILL GO OUT. TO "RESET" THIS, I CAN TURN MY LIGHTS OFF, THEN TURN THEM ON AGAIN, BUT I CAN ONLY DO THIS WHEN STOPPED, AS IT'S UNSAFE TO DO THIS WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT. ONCE I TURN THEM ON AGAIN, THEY'LL BE OK AGAIN FOR A WHILE, BUT THE PROCESS WILL REPEAT ITSELF AGAIN. *TR
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Quick Summary
The 2005 Audi A4 has 84 Exterior Lighting complaints on file. Review the timeline above for detailed owner experiences.