"intermittent headlight malfunction. Over the course of a year of ownership, the headlights have malfunctioned (turned off), with no consistent cause apparent. The specific error message that appears in the driver information screen is "left (or 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 approx. 40 times, the headlight flickers, then goes out, but will come back on when the car is restarted or clear if the headlight is turned off then back on. It will then be fine for days or weeks at a time. It has been consistently getting more frequent and worse. At times, both headlights will turn off by themselves while driving causing a very dangerous situation and quick action to avoid injury or death. Then randomly turn back on. Multiple dealerships have 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, or ballast. 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."

- Sandpoint, ID, USA

Audi A4 2006 repeated "dipped headlamp". brought to Audi many times for repair where the computer was reflashed without success. Finally had to replace igniter and bulb for $1800 even though car was still under warranty. Now happening again on the other side (other headlamp). This is a common issue with many Audi owner and should have a Audi recall about this.

- Old Tappan, NJ, USA

The left headlight of my 2006 Audi A4 quattro has this annoying -- and dangerous -- problem: 1. the left headlight flickers 2. it then turns itself off 3. the message "left dipped headlight" appears 4. the message is changed to a sign indicating that the lightbulb has failed. If I turn the light off (note: We're talking about driving at night here) and turn it back on again, the light will become normal again, for about a few minutes and then the cycle repeats itself. This problem is intermittent. It has been occurring a lot recently with the cold weather. I can't tell for sure whether it is temperature related. My Audi dealer said that Audi knows about this problem but doesn't know how to fix it -- changing the light bulb doesn't solve the problem.

- Venice, CA, USA

2006 Audi A4 headlights intermittently shut off while driving. This very dangerous condition occurs daily and sometimes three or four times during a 45 minute commute. The headlight switch has to be moved to the off position then back to on and usually that restores them, otherwise car must be stopped and shut off then turned back on. This is a very serious safety problem.

- Bridgewater, MA, USA