Audi A4 Headlight Repair (B7, B8)
Audi A4 headlight repair keeps the original B7 or B8 unit on the car and deals only with the part that has failed: the lens, the seal, the xenon electronics or the running light. A new headlight for either generation means paying for every component inside it, including the ones still doing their job.
B7 and B8 lenses that have lost their clarity
Every B7 and B8 lens has now spent more than ten years in sun, salt and stone chips. The outer surface goes hazy, crazes into fine lines or cracks where a stone hit it.
The answer is a new lens bonded to your own housing with fresh sealant, not a polish. Polishing only takes a thin layer off a surface that is already breaking down, so the haze comes back.
For how a lens swap is carried out, see Headlight Lens Repair and Replacement.
One xenon beam out or flickering
When a xenon A4 loses its dipped beam on one side and a fresh bulb makes no difference, the ballast or the igniter is the usual suspect. Both are replaced with new parts; they are not opened up and rebuilt.
The rest of the unit stays as it is. Because the dipped beam relies on the car's own electronics, its final check happens once the headlight is back on the car.
Running lights on the B8
Many B8 headlights carry an LED running light along the top edge. When that strip fades, turns yellow or goes dark, the strip or its board is renewed inside your unit; the LED Headlight Repair page explains the parts involved.
Some versions use a bulb instead. If your photo shows a bulb, you will be told it is a simple swap for you or your garage.
- Generations covered
- B7 and B8, saloon and Avant
- Headlight types
- Halogen, xenon, xenon with LED running light
- Common faults
- Crazed or cracked lens, xenon beam out, running light faded
A4 headlight questions
Is a B8 headlight with a new lens still watertight?
Yes. The new lens is bonded with fresh sealant around its whole edge and left to cure before the unit leaves the bench.
One of the mounting tabs has snapped. Can that be fixed too?
It can, in one of two ways: a tab repair kit, or a new rear housing with your own internals moved across. You choose which.
Is a halogen A4 headlight worth repairing?
Rarely, because a new halogen unit costs little. If you want to keep the original anyway, send a photo and ask.
Back to Audi Headlight Repair. The repair time for a B7 or B8 unit is confirmed in your quote.
Send your A4 headlight details
A photo of the unit, one with the lights on and the year of registration will do.
Send the details, get a price back
Say which car it is and what the headlight is doing, add a couple of photos, and your quote arrives by email. Nothing has to come off the car until you have agreed to it.