2006 Audi A3

FAULTY DESIGN IN AUDI A3 TAIL-LIGHTS CAUSE MELTING OF THE BRAKE LIGHT/TAIL-LIGHT HOUSING. MELTED COMPONENTS, DEFORM AND BREAK THE CONTINUITY OF THE CIRCUIT AND BRAKE LIGHTS FAIL. BULBS ARE GOOD, AND FUNCTIONAL, CIRCUIT IS AFFECTED (BULB HOLDERS MELT AND FAIL) CAUSING BRAKE LIGHT FAILURE. THIS HAPPENS UNDER ANY DRIVING CONDITION, INCLUDING DRIVING.

FRONT LIGHT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS AND THEN GOES OFF. CAN COME BACK ON BY MANUALLY TURNING OFF AND ON THE LIGHTS. GOES BACK OFF WITHIN 10 SECONDS. HAVE GONE FOR REPAIR MULTIPLE TIMES AND HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER AND WARNED BY POLICE. HELP US-IF YOU GOOGLE THIS PROBLEM THOUSANDS OF OWNERS HAVE THE SAME ISSUE AND HAVE DUMPED HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY INTO THE VEHICLE WITHOUT REPAIR. *TR

THE PROBLEM STARTED WITH AN INTERMITTENT RIGHT HEADLIGHT TILT MESSAGE. THE RIGHT BULB WAS REPLACED PER TSB 2013829/6 ON 4/15/09 BY THE DEALER UNDER WARRANTY. WE HAVE BEEN HAVING THIS PROBLEM ON THE LEFT SIDE FOR THE PAST YEAR OR MORE. THE LEFT HEADLIGHT NOW TURNS OFF INTERMITTENTLY AFTER THE DIP WARNING LIGHT COMES ON. WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE TURNED OFF AND ON AGAIN, THE LIGHT TURNS ON. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AS THE LEFT HEADLIGHT SHUTS OFF RANDOMLY. WE ARE OUT OF WARRANTY NOW AND FEEL BOTH HEADLIGHTS SHOULD HAVE BEEN REPAIRED UNDER THE ORIGINAL TSB WHILE THE CAR WAS UNDER WARRANTY. THE BULBS ARE XENON AND VERY EXPENSIVE. THIS PROBLEM APPEARS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM WITH AUDI'S BASED ON THE SERVICE ORDER AND INTERNET DISCUSSION GROUPS. *TR

HEADLIGHT INTERMITTENTLY FAILS TO COME ON. "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" OR "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" WARNING MESSAGE APPEARS ON DASHBOARD. AUDI REPLACED THE "RIGHT CONTROL IGNITER" ON 9/30/09, BUT PROBLEM CONTINUED. AUDI REPLACED THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT BULB ON 10/2/09, AND THE PROBLEM WAS MUCH REDUCED BUT NOT TOTALLY ELIMINATED. BOTH THESE REPAIRS WERE DONE UNDER WARRANTY WITH NO CHARGE. ON 5/16/11, AFTER CAR WAS OUT OF WARRANTY, I STATED THAT THE PROBLEM PERSISTED, BUT AUDI COULD NOT DUPLICATE THE PROBLEM, SO NO REPAIRS WERE DONE. THE PROBLEM CONTINUES TO GET WORSE, BUT THE REPAIRS THAT AUDI PERFORMED SO FAR HAVE NOT CORRECTED THE PROBLEM. *TR

2006 AUDI A3 2.0T. ABOUT A MINUTE AFTER TURNING THE HEADLIGHTS ON, THE LEFT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS AND THE GOES OUT. I HAVE BEEN UNABLE TO DETERMINE THE CAUSE SO I SEARCHED THE INTERNET AND FOUND THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WITH THE SAME ISSUE. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD BECAUSE THERE SEEMS TO BE KNOW WAY TO GET A PERMANENT FIX AND AUDI WILL NOT RECALL THE VEHICLE FOR A FIX. EVEN THE DEALERSHIPS HAVE SEVERAL TSB'S ABOUT THE ISSUE. *TR

LEFT DIPPED (LOW BEAM) HEADLIGHT INTERMITTENTLY GOES OUT. SPOKE WITH DEALERS AND OTHER MECHANICS. IT DOES NOT SEEM TO BE THE BULB. MAY BE THE BALLAST, BUT MAYBE NOT. DEALER HAS NO INDICATION OF PROBLEM. MANY INCIDENCES OF THE PROBLEM REPORTED ON INTERNET FORUMS. VERY EXPENSIVE REPAIR FOR A TRIAL FIX. BALALSTS ARE 400+ AND BULBS 300+. MANY PEOPLE HAVE SPENT THE MONEY AND HAD NO GOOD RESULTS. *TR

INTERMITTENT HEADLIGHT MALFUNCTION. OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR OF OWNERSHIP, THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT HAS MALFUNCTIONED (TURNED OFF), WITH NO CONSISTENT CAUSE APPARENT. JUST RECENTLY THE LEFT HEADLIGHT HAS STARTED TO MALFUNCTION AS WELL. WHILE DRIVING BOTH HEADLIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT! THIS CONDITION IS BOTH UNSAFE, AND ILLEGAL - AS MANY STATES WILL ISSUE A TRAFFIC VIOLATION FOR DRIVING WITH A NON-FUNCTIONING HEADLIGHT. THE RIGHT LIKE MALFUNCTIONS EVERY TIME I USE THE LIGHTS AND THE LEFT HAS MALFUNCTIONED 4 TIMES IN THE PAST MONTH, THE HEADLIGHT FLICKERS, THEN GOES OUT, BUT WILL COME BACK ON WHEN THE LIGHTS ARE TURNED OFF THEN ON AGAIN. BUT THE FLICKERING OCCURS WITH IN MINUTES OF SWITCHING THEM BACK ON. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM AND HAS CLAIMED THAT EVERYTHING IS FINE AND THEY CAN NOT REPRODUCE. THEY HAVE SUGGESTED I WAIT UNTIL BOTH GO OUT TO REPLACE THEM. NO PARTS HAVE BEEN REPAIRED OR REPLACED, HOWEVER THEY HAVE CLAIMED TO PERFORM A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS. ANNECDOTAL EVIDENCE (CONVERSATIONAL, AND VIA INTERNET OWNERS' FORUMS) SUGGESTS THAT THE PROBLEM IS WIDESPREAD AMONG A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF AUDI'S MODEL RANGE AND YEARS. *TR