2006 Audi A4

ABOUT 2MINS AFTER I TURN ON THE HEADLIGHTS, MY LEFT HEADLIGHT STARTS TO FLICKER AND SOON TURNS OFF. THIS IS FOLLOWED BY A DASHBOARD INDICATOR LIGHT WHICH SAYS "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT". I HAVE TO TURN OFF MY HEADLIGHTS FOR AT LEAST 20SEC BEFORE MY LEFT HEADLIGHT RELIABLY COMES BACK ON. PROBLEM IS ESP PRONOUNCED WHEN THE AMBIENT TEMP IS BELOW 40. *TR

IN EARLY SEPTEMBER 2010 THE AIR BAG WARNING LIGHT CAME ON IN MY 2006 AUDI A4 CABRIO AND WOULD NOT TURN OFF. I TOOK THE CAR TO BE SERVICED AND WAS TOLD THE AIR BAG NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT. IT IS NOW OUT OF WARRANTY. THIS PART HAS NEVER BEEN USED. IF I'D BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT THE AIR BAG WOULD NOT HAVE DEPLOYED. ALTHOUGH A TSB HAS NOT BEEN ISSUED FOR THIS PROBLEM, I HAVE READ SIMILAR COMPLAINTS OF THIS HAPPENING TO THE SAME CAR AFTER THE SAME # OF YEARS. SUGGEST THAT THE NHTSA TAKE A LOOK INTO THIS ISSUE. HAD I BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT AND NEEDED THE AIRBAG TO WORK, IT WOULD NOT HAVE. SINCE THE CAR HAS NEVER BEEN IN AN ACCIDENT, THIS INDICATES THE PART WAS FAULTY ALL ALONG. A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED AND AUDI USA SHOULD REPLACE THIS PART FREE OF CHARGE FOR ALL VEHICLE OWNERS TO AVOID THE INEVITABLE LAWSUIT IF THE PART FAILS WHEN SOMEONE DOES HAVE AN ACCIDENT. *TR

ON MY 2006 AUDI A4 2.0T QUATTRO SEDAN, THE XENON DIRECTIONAL LOW BEAM HEADLAMPS INTERMITTENTLY SHUT OFF SUDDENLY AND WITHOUT WARNING, GIVING A MESSAGE OF "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLAMP." THE LIGHTS COME ON AGAIN ONLY AFTER TURNING THE SWITCH TO "OFF" POSITION, WAITING TEN SECONDS, THEN SWITCHING THEM BACK ON. THE PROBLEM IS INTERMITTENT BUT OCCURS EVERY DAY. AUDI DEALERS HAVE REPLACED XENON BULBS, IGNITERS AND PIGTAILS TO LAMPS, ADVISING THAT WIRES BECOME VERY HOT. PROBLEM HAS NOT BEEN FIXED AND CONSTITUTES GREAT DANGER ON DARK ROADS. THIS HAS BEEN RECURRENT ON A REGULAR BASIS FOR AT LEAST TWO YEARS WITHOUT A SOLUTION. *TR

2006 AUDI A4 QUATTRO 3.2L...THE HEADLIGHTS FLICKER AND THEN GO OFF AND EITHER "LEFT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" OR "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" ERROR MESSAGES OCCUR. MUST TURN OFF THE LIGHTS (OBVIOUSLY VERY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT) AND TURN THEM BACK ON AGAIN FOR THE XENON HEADLIGHTS TO WORK PROPERLY. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN RECURRING FOR OVER A YEAR NOW. MY UNDERSTANDING IS THIS IS A PREVALENT PROBLEM WITH THESE HEADLIGHTS AND A RECALL SHOULD BE ISSUED TO FIX THE PROBLEM. *TR

INTERMITTENT HEADLIGHT MALFUNCTION. OVER THE COURSE OF A YEAR AND A HALF OF OWNERSHIP, THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT HAS MALFUNCTIONED (TURNED OFF), WITH NO CONSISTENT CAUSE APPARENT. THE SPECIFIC ERROR MESSAGE THAT APPEARS IN THE DRIVER INFORMATION SCREEN IS "RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED". THIS CONDITION IS BOTH UNSAFE, AND ILLEGAL - AS MANY STATES WILL ISSUE A TRAFFIC VIOLATION FOR DRIVING WITH A NON-FUNCTIONING HEADLIGHT. IT HAS HAPPENED ABOUT 7-8 TIMES, THE HEADLIGHT FLICKERS, THEN GOES OUT, BUT WILL COME BACK ON WHEN THE CAR IS RESTARTED, THEN BE FINE FOR WEEKS OR MONTHS AT A TIME. THE DEALERSHIP HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE PROBLEM ON AT LEAST 3 VISITS, AND HAS CLAIMED THAT EVERYTHING IS FINE AND THEY CAN NOT REPRODUCE. THEY HAVE SUGGESTED/GUESSED THAT IT IS THE XENON LIGHT BULB ITSELF, HOWEVER IT HAS CHECKED OUT FINE EACH TIME, AND AS MENTIONED, HAS FUNCTIONED FLAWLESSLY AFTER EACH OCCURRENCE WITH MERELY A RESTART OF THE VEHICLE. NO PARTS HAVE BEEN REPAIRED OR REPLACED, HOWEVER THEY HAVE CLAIMED TO PERFORM A VISUAL INSPECTION OF THE ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS ON AT LEAST ONE VISIT. ANECDOTAL 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

PASSING ON FREEWAY HILL. PRESSED ACCELERATOR TO SHIFT AUTO TRANSMISSION INTO LOWER PASSING GEAR. RESULT WAS AS IF I'D SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. WITH ACCELERATOR PLANTED FIRMLY TO THE FIREWALL THE RPMS WOULD NOT GO ABOVE 4K. TRIED EVERY POSSIBLE COMBO (OVER THE COURSE OF A 50 MILE FREEWAY TRIP) WITH AUTO TRANS SELECTOR AND THE CAR WOULD NOT ACCELERATE EXCEPT IN THE "DRIVE" MODE. NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE LIT. CLEARLY, WHEN THE "DRIVE" MODE AUTOMATICALLY SELECTED A LOWER GEAR, IT WAS AS IF I'D SHIFTED INTO NEUTRAL. AFTER THE CAR SAT FOR A BIT, THERE WAS NOT PROBLEM. THIS IS NOT CAR TO BE TRUSTED. ANOTHER CUTE TRICK: NOW AND THEN IT LOCKS ALL THE DOORS AFTER I'VE EXITED THE CAR AND LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING, WHICH SHOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE ON THIS VEHICLE. I WILL NEVER AGAIN TRUST THIS CAR TO SAFELY PASS ANOTHER. DEALER INDICATES I COULD BRING THE CAR IN, BUT THAT'S 200 MILES EACH WAY...NO CERTAINTY OF DIAGNOSIS. *TR