There are 18 owner-reported lighting complaints for the 2006 Audi S4in NHTSA's database. These are unverified consumer reports and may not reflect confirmed defects.
PASSENGER HEADLIGHT STARTS ON. AFTER A FEW MINUTES I GET A HEADLIGHT DIPPED ERROR AND THE PASSENGER HEADLIGHT TURNS OFF.
BOTH HEADLIGHTS SHUTOFF WHILE DRIVING AT NIGHT AND WOULD NOT COME BACK ON. BULBS ARE STILL IN GOOD CONDITION. ERROR CODE 'DIPPING HEADLIGHT' THIS IS A KNOWN SAFETY PROBLEM WITH AUDI AND IS EXTREMELY UNSAFE FOR THE DRIVER AND OTHER VEHICLES ON THE ROAD. *TR
RIGHT FRONT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS AND FAILS. VEHICLE MUST BE SHUT OFF AND RESTARTED IN ORDER TO GET HEADLIGHT WORKING AGAIN. *TR
FRONT HEADLIGHTS FLICKER THEN GO OUT. BULBS ARE NOT BURNED OUT THIS SEEMS TO BE A ELECTRICAL OR COMPUTER ISSUE. THROWS A CODE OF DIPPED FRONT HEAD LIGHT ALTERNATES BETWEEN LEFT AND RIGHT HEADLIGHT ON ANY GIVEN DAY. SEEMS LIKE THIS HAS BEEN A BIG ISSUE FOR AUDI BETWEEN 2006 AND 2008 HOWEVER NO RECALL HAS BEEN MADE. THIS IS A SAFETY ISSUE AND SHOULD BE WARRANTED DO TO THE FACT IT CANT BE FIXED BY CHANGING THE BULBS.
RIGHT HEADLIGHT FLICKERS AND GOES OUT REPEATEDLY. *TR
THE HEADLIGHTS FLICKER, THEN THE DASH SAYS THEY ARE DIPPING, THEN THEY GO OUT. IF YOU STOP THE CAR TURN IT OFF THEN BACK ON THE LIGHTS COME BACK ON, ONLY TO DO IT AGAIN. THERE SEEMS TO BE WIDE SPREAD REPORTS OF THIS HAPPENING WITH THESE AUDI'S AND THE HID LIGHTS. *TR
THIS ISSUE AFFECTS AUDI A4 AND S4 VEHICLES WITH HID HEADLIGHTS. ONE OR BOTH OF THE HEADLIGHTS REPEATEDLY FAILS WHILE DRIVING. THIS IS NOT AN ISSUE WITH THE HEADLIGHT BULB. IF THE OPERATOR TURNS OFF THE IGNITION AFTER ONE OR BOTH OF THE HEADLIGHTS FAILS, AND THEN IMMEDIATELY RESTARTS THE CAR, BOTH HEADLIGHTS WILL OPERATE PROPERLY. THE ISSUE OCCURS PRIMARILY WITHIN THE FIRST 5 TO 10 MINUTES AFTER STARTING THE CAR. ONCE THE CAR HAS BEEN "WARMED UP", OPERATING FOR MORE THAN 10 MINUTES, THE ISSUE DOES NOT REOCCUR. THE SPECIFIC SCENARIO: I WILL START MY CAR. BOTH OF THE HEADLIGHTS INITIALLY SEEM TO BE OPERATING PROPERLY. WITHIN A MINUTE, ONE OR BOTH OF THE HEADLIGHTS WILL BEGIN TO FLICKER, AND ONE OR BOTH OF THEM WILL FAIL, CAUSING A "HEADLIGHT DIPPED" WARNING ON MY DASHBOARD. THE ISSUE OFTEN OCCURS DURING BRAKING, ACCELERATION OR WHEN THE CAR GOES OVER A BUMP. THE ISSUE MAY OCCUR WITH EITHER THE LEFT OR THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT OR BOTH LIGHTS, RESULTING IN A SEVERELY UNSAFE CONDITION. RESTARTING THE CAR WILL CURE THE PROBLEM BUT IT OFTEN REOCCURS UNTIL THE CAR HAS BEEN DRIVEN FOR AT LEAST 10 MINUTES. THIS ISSUE OCCURS ALMOST EVERY TIME I DRIVE THE CAR WITH THE HEADLIGHTS ON, USUALLY EVERY DAY, OR AT LEAST SEVERAL TIMES PER WEEK. MOISTURE (RAIN/CAR WASH) DOES NOT SEEM TO MAKE THE ISSUE WORSE. AUDI OF AMERICA IS AWARE OF THE ISSUE AND HAS ISSUED SEVERAL TECHNICAL SERVICE BULLETINS ABOUT THE ISSUE, BUT WILL NOT PAY FOR REPAIRS UNLESS THE VEHICLE IS UNDER WARRANTY. AUDI HAS NOT IDENTIFIED A SPECIFIC REPAIR TECHNIQUE THAT WILL DEFINITELY FIX THE ISSUE. THE REPAIR ATTEMPTS INCLUDE REPLACING THE LIGHT BULBS, REPLACING THE HID BALLASTS AND/OR CONTROL MODULES, AND INSTALLING SHIMS AROUND THE LIGHT HOUSINGS TO QUELL THE VIBRATION THAT MAY BE A CAUSE OF THE ISSUE. IT IS A TRIAL-AND-ERROR REPAIR PROCESS AND IT IS VERY EXPENSIVE FOR A VEHICLE THAT IS OUT OF WARRANTY. *TR
DIPPED HEADLIGHT ISSUE. THE EVENT IS HAPPENS ALMOST EVERY NIGHT AND MULTIPLE TIMES. MY HEADLIGHTS OF MY 2006 AUDI S4 CONTINUE TO GO OUT AS I DRIVE OFTEN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. THIS IS A COMMON COMPLAINT WHICH AUDI HAS CHOSEN NOT TO FIX. THEIR MULTIPLE SERVICE BULLETINS NEVER FIXED THE ISSUE AND NOW THAT MY CAR IS OUT OF WARRANTY THEY CHOSE TO REPLACE CARS HEADLIGHTS WITH THIS ISSUE. I ONLY HAVE UNDER 50,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. THIS IS A SERIOUS CONCERN AND ONE THAT COULD LEAD TO A ACCIDENT AND DEATH. THIS IS MY 9TH AUDI AS WELL. *TR
MY HEADLIGHTS FLICKER ALMOST ALL THE TIME AND OCCASIONALLY GO OFF AS A RESULT. THIS PROBLEM HAS BEEN WIDESPREAD AS LITERALLY HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE IN THE AUDI ONLINE FORUMS ARE REPORTING THE SAME EXACT ISSUE. ONCE ONE OR BOTH HEADLIGHTS GO OUT, I GET AN ERROR MESSAGE STATING "LEFT HEADLIGHT DIPPED", "RIGHT HEADLIGHT DIPPED", OR BOTH. ONCE THE CAR IS TURNED OFF AND RESTARTED, LIGHT COMES BACK ON. THEY STILL FLICKER AND GO OUT AGAIN AT RANDOM INTERVALS AND RANDOM SIDES (LEFT AND RIGHT). THERE SHOULD BE A RECALL IN PLACE AS IT COSTS MANY HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS TO REPAIR, AND MANY TIMES, THE REPAIR DOESN'T FIX ANYTHING. IT IS SO WIDESPREAD, IT HAS REACHED EPIDEMIC PROPORTIONS AND IT HAS BECOME A REAL SAFETY HAZARD. THIS PROBLEM EFFECTS A WIDE RANGE OF AUDI MODELS AND YEARS AS REPORTED BY HUNDREDS OF OTHER PEOPLE EXPERIENCING THE SAME ISSUES OF VARIOUS YEARS AND MODELS. IT IS ALSO GROUNDS FOR A TRAFFIC VIOLATION IN MY STATE AS WELL AS MOST OTHERS. ADDITIONALLY, THE CAR NEEDS TO BE TURNED OFF, HEADLIGHTS TURNED OFF, THEN RESTARTED IN ORDER TO RESTART THE HEADLIGHT. THIS ACTION PRESENTS A MYRIAD OF SAFETY CONCERNS ITSELF AS THIS HAPPENS AT RANDOM TIMES DURING TRAFFIC. WITH THE REGULARITY OF THIS PROBLEM ACROSS MANY YEARS AND MODELS, AUDI SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND PERFORM THE REPAIRS AT THEIR EXPENSE AS THIS IS CLEARLY A DESIGN OR IMPLEMENTATION FLAW. *TR
NO INCIDENTS OR CRASHES, YET. MY 2005.5 AUDI S4 WITH 35,800 MILES, HAS A CHRONIC PROBLEM WHERE THE HEADLIGHTS, LEFT OR RIGHT, FLICKER AND THEN TURN OFF INVOLUNTARILY. SOMETIMES ONLY ONE SIDE DOES THIS, MORE RECENTLY, BOTH HAVE BEEN TURNING OFF. WHEN THE LIGHT GOES OUT, A NOTICE APPEARS IN THE CENTER INFORMATION AREA OF "DIPPED HEADLIGHT," EITHER RIGHT OR LEFT RESPECTIVELY. THE ONLY WAY TO RESTART THE LIGHT/S IS TO TURN THE LIGHT SWITCH OFF AND BACK ON MANUALLY. THIS ONLY TEMPORARILY RESETS THE HEADLIGHTS, AND THE SAME EVENTS START AGAIN SHORTLY THEREAFTER. *TR
RIGHT HEADLIGHT SPORADICALLY SHUTS OFF (I.E. DIPS) WHILE DRIVING. YOU HAVE TO TURN BOTH LIGHTS OFF AND ON WHEN YOU ARE DRIVING TO MAKE IT FUNCTION AGAIN. IT IS ALWAYS THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT AND SOMETIMES WILL FUNCTION PROPERLY FOR A MONTH AND THEN MALFUNCTION SEVERAL TIMES IN ONE NIGHT. THIS IS A SAFETY HAZARD ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU NEED TO REACTIVATE THE LIGHT WHILE IN TRAFFIC AT HIGH SPEEDS OR WHEN THE DRIVING CONDITIONS ARE POOR. THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING SINCE I PURCHASED THE CAR IN THE SUMMER OF 2010.
JUST PURCHASED A FORMERLY CERTIFIED 2006 AUDI S4 W/ 46K MILES AND FACTORY XENON LIGHTS. WHEN I TURN MY HEADLIGHTS ON, THE RIGHT XENON LIGHT GOES OUT INTERMITTENTLY, AND I GET A "RIGHT DIPPED HEADLIGHT" MESSAGE ON THE INFORMATION DISPLAY. THE RIGHT HEADLIGHT STAYS OFF UNTIL I TURN THE CAR OFF. USUALLY WHEN I RESTART THE CAR, THE HEADLIGHT IS FINE. THE PROBLEM IS DANGEROUS BECAUSE THE LIGHT TURNS OFF WITHOUT WARNING, SO FAR IT HAS ONLY HAPPENED ON ONE SIDE, BUT I AM CONCERNED IT WILL AFFECT BOTH LIGHTS. DEALER STATES THEY HAVE ENCOUNTERED THE PROBLEM BEFORE, AND THAT REPLACING THE BALLAST WILL ADDRESS IT. *LN
WHEN DRIVING MY 2006 AUDI S4 AT NIGHT, ONE OR BOTH OF THE RIGHT OR LEFT FRONT DIPPED HEADLIGHTS WILL FLICKER, AND THEN TEMPORARILY FAIL. THE CAR HAS CONTINUED INTERMITTENT PROBLEMS WITH THIS ISSUE, AND IN SEARCHING THE WEB, I FOUND A SITE THAT INDICATES AT LEAST 124 OTHER SIMILAR ISSUES: HTTP://WWW.AUDIZINE.COM/FORUM/SHOWTHREAD.PHP?332613-CLASS-ACTION-LAWSUIT-DIPPED-HEADLIGHT-FLICKER-PROBLEM/PAGE2. *TR
THE XENON LIGHTS FLICKRER AND THEN STOP, VERY DANGEROUS AT NIGHT HAPPENED TO ME ON FEW OCCASIONS, DEALER NOT SURE WHAT IS THE CAUSE *CN
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
I OWN A 2006 AUDI S4 WITH BI=XENON HID LIGHTS. NUMEROUS AMOUNTS OF TIMES THE INDICATION COMES UP THAT I HAVE A DIPPED HEADLIGHT. THIS IN TURN IS BECAUSE THE HEADLIGHT IS OFF AND I'M DRIVING AT NIGHT. THIS SAFETY VIOLATION WILL END UP COSTING ME EVERY TIME I GO TO THE DEALERSHIP TO GET NEW PARTS INSTALLED AND LABOR AND THE HIGH PROBABILITY OF A TICKET FOR HAVING A HEAD LIGHT OUT FROM THE POLICE OR OTHER AGENCIES IN THE AREA. *TR
THE 2006 AUDI S4 HAS A KNOWN HEADLIGHT ISSUE WHICH CAUSES THE HEADLIGHTS TO FAIL. THE BULBS ARE NOT BAD AND AUDI IS UNABLE TO IDENTIFY THE SOURCE OF THE ISSUE. AUDI DEALERS TELL CONSUMERS THAT THEY CAN CHANGE THE HEADLIGHT ASSEMBLY AT $2500 PER LIGHT AND IT MAY SOLVE THE ISSUE, BUT THEY ARE NOT CERTAIN IT WILL. AUDI HAS BEEN NAMED IN A LAWSUIT ABOUT THE HEADLIGHTS AND HAS AGREED TO REPAIR SOME IF THEY ARE WITHIN WARRANTY CONSTRAINTS BUT CARS THAT ARE NOT WITHIN THE WARRANTY CONSTRAINTS ARE REQUIRED TO BE REPAIRED AT THE COST OF THE OWNER. THE HEADLIGHTS HAVE NOT WORKED SINCE THE CAR WAS ORIGINALLY RELEASED BUT AUDI HAS ONLY AGREED TO EXTEND THE WARRANTY FOR 5 YEARS OR 50,000 MILES FROM THE ORIGINAL CAR PURCHASE, HOWEVER THE SETTLEMENT WAS ISSUED IN 10/2013, A 2006 CAR WOULD BE OVER THE 5 YEARS IN 2011. IF THE AUDI OWNER CAN PROVE THEY HAD THE ISSUE PRIOR TO THE EXPIRATION OF THE WARRANTY IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE REPAIRED AT NO COST, HOWEVER WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO GET MY FIXED, WITH PROOF ALL I GOT WAS A RUNAROUND FROM THE DEALER. I CALLED AUDI USA AND AFTER THREE WEEKS OF "RESEARCHING" THE ISSUE THEY CAME BACK AND SAID THE WARRANTY WAS EXPIRED SO THEY OFFERED NO COVERAGE DESPITE PROOF THAT THE ISSUE PREDATES WARRANTY EXPIRATION. THE HEADLIGHTS GIVE OFF A "DIPPED HEADLIGHT" WARNING AND THEN THE HEADLIGHT EITHER SEVERELY DIMS OR TURNS OFF ENTIRELY. IF YOU COMPLETELY TURN THE HEADLIGHTS OFF AND TURN THEM BACK ON AGAIN THEN SOMETIMES THE ERROR WILL RESOLVE. IT HAPPENS INTERMITTENTLY TYPICALLY WHEN THE CAR HITS A BUMP. THIS IS VERY UNSAFE BUT RATHER THAN DO THE RIGHT THING AND ISSUE A COMPLETE RECALL AUDI HAS OPTED TO GIVE OWNERS THE RUN AROUND WHICH EVENTUALLY ENDS UP WITH THEM PAYING FOR EXPENSIVE HEADLIGHT REPAIRS WHICH DO NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM. MAKE AUDI ISSUE A RECALL ON THESE HEADLIGHTS. *TR
MY 2006 AUDI S4'S LOW BEAM HEADLIGHTS FLICKER WHILE DRIVING ON VERY COLD DAYS. OCCASIONALLY, MY LEFT OR RIGHT HEADLIGHT WILL TURN OFF COMPLETELY. I HAVEN'T HAD BOTH GO OUT AT THE SAME TIME, BUT I AM WORRIED THAT THIS WILL OCCUR EVENTUALLY. THE FLICKERING IS VERY DANGEROUS AS IT HAPPENS AT LOW SPEED WHILE I AM DRIVING THROUGH MY NEIGHBORHOOD. I AM WORRIED THAT I WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE CHILDREN CROSSING THE STREET GOING TO SCHOOL. I HAVE HAD THE CAR SERVICED BY THE AUDI DEALER FOR THIS ISSUE AND IT IS STILL OCCURRING. *TR
Complaints are unverified consumer reports submitted to NHTSA. A high complaint count may reflect vehicle popularity, not defect severity. Data sourced from NHTSA public records.
Data synced from NHTSA on Apr 25, 2026