Facelift Audi S3 8V Lights Fault

[Marsden]

Hello All,

Just thought I’d post on here to see if anyone else has ever experienced the fault I’m having with my Audi S3 2016, 8V.

I keep getting an intermittent fault with the headlights that say:

“Vehicle lights: fault. Please contact workshop”
“Left dipped headlight defective. See owner’s manual”
“Right dipped headlight defective. See owner’s manual”

All of these warnings come through at the same time and only ever when I’ve turned the ignition on but intermittently, I could go days with it happening and then all of sudden it’ll start again. I’ve never had the fault(s) come through whilst already driving.

The vehicle is still under warranty and I’ve taken it to Manchester Audi. I get the impression that that don’t really know the reason for this happening, but have made sure all wires are connected properly and have supposedly replaced the bulbs and control switch, however the problem persists.

Audi are starting to give me the cold shoulder and I’m wondering how I should be proceed...

Any help/advice is welcome. I’ll post a video of what is displayed on my dash when this happens.

Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ysu7yf45b9ffsy4/Video 26-08-2019, 13 52 28.mov?dl=0

Thanks guys.

 

[AlS3BE]

Car still under warranty let them fix it. Take note of the occurrences and take photos of the errors.
Being a 2016 plate there’s cant be much warranty left so it’s good you reported it as even when it’s out of warranty they will still have to fix it as it was a known problem before warranty expired.
Assuming it’s a facelift s3 then as I understand it the led bulbs are not replaceable and needs a new headlight. Theses are meant to be sealed units and should outlive the car(in theory).
Really could be a combination of things like ballasts, bulbs, control modules, switches etc with possibly water getting somewhere it shouldn’t so let Audi keep shoving parts on till it’s sorted.
Sorry not much help. Think we all been in your shoes where dealer can’t figure stuff out.

 

[Adam14]

Don't let the dealer fob you off! If the cars under warranty they need to be fixing it, if they're not willing to do anything extra then I'd be contacting Audi UK outlining the issue and poor service you've been getting.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[Mark_86]

Are you turning the car off whilst you've got the main beam on? Mine does this if I've got home and not turned them off, it throws up an error. Turn the car back on, and it disappears. Lights work fine, never had an issue with them.

 

[Marsden]

Are you turning the car off whilst you've got the main beam on? Mine does this if I've got home and not turned them off, it throws up an error. Turn the car back on, and it disappears. Lights work fine, never had an issue with them.

Nope, it’s just seemingly random when it happens... however it does only seem to do it when starting the car up as apposed to coming on when driving about.

Which makes me think it’s something to do with the cars startup procedure or something??? Not a clue

 

[Marsden]

*UPDATE*

Just for anyone that might see this thread with similar issues... Here is an update and what has happened so far.

After taking my car in approximately 10 times, they finally found the route cause of the issue.

Water had been leaking from the water reservoir that had developed a crack/leak, this has then leaked through a pin connector nearby and corroded the wire over time. This has only gotten worse and worse with more and more wires becoming affected.

This is the main cause of the defect, as signals were not travelling through the wires correctly.

Thank goodness for warranty as they quoted £12k to resolve the issue. (Manufactures warranty had run out, but this was still covered by extended warranty).

An entire engine wiring harness was needed, with the possibly for an internal one too depending on how much wiring had been effected. 6-8 weeks to be made and then shipped from Germany to the UK.

They've had my car for 3 months now, and still likely for another month (at the time of writing this) so just a heads up if you find yourself going down a similar path.. it's a ****** long process!

 

[dantdi]

Wow, that extended warranty sure was worth it!!
The water reservoir that leaked, was it coolant, screen wash or Rain water drain?

 

[Marsden]

Wow, that extended warranty sure was worth it!!
The water reservoir that leaked, was it coolant, screen wash or Rain water drain?

Yeah, it was actually the extended that came with the car from approved used... but yeah, well worth it. I'll be paying for it once it expires that's for sure.

I'm not entirely sure to tell you the truth, I'll find out and get back to you.