Replacing headlight bulb on 2002 A4 1.8T Quattro

David, wow...deja vu....didn't this question about an A3 just come up this morning? As a matter of fact....it did! [cut&paste follows] Rob, I believe that your first step should be to get an owner's manual for the car - it's useful for more than just warnings about drinking windshield washer fluid. You can pick a manual up at the dealer's, or on eBay, or through an obliging person on Audiworld or a local club. It would be advisable to replace both headlight bulbs at the same time, since you'll find that the other bulb will fail shortly after you install the new bulb (I'm told that it has something to do with resistance, age, etc., but I believe that it's jealousy) Cheers! Steve Sears

There were other responses about removing a cover & such.....try looking in the recent posts.

"David McCracken" wrote

If it's anything like my B5 (2001) where the space under the hood is quite limited, the 30 minutes doesn't sound all that excessive. Dealer rates - well, that's another story. To get good access to the bulb may require pulling the entire headlight out. I've done it several times, and while I successively get better at it, it's still not as easy or quick as replacing a bulb in your flashlight.

Cheers,

Pete

RTFM. You do have the owner's manual, don't you? Read it, and follow the very clear, detailed, and pictographic instructions that Audi provides in there.

You'll need the appropriate star bit to remove the headlight. 3 screws on top, and 2 on the bottom, you gotta fish down there to find them, just loosen the bottom ones so the light can slide freely, you dont have to remove them all-together. Then just pull it out strait forward to give yourself enough room to reach in and pull the existing H7 light out, and put a new one in. Headlights are $10 max at any auto store.. H7 55watt is what you want (provided you dont have xenon, then ignore everything i just said, its a different boat and a lot more expensive).

I dont know if the manual gives detailed directions, it probably does as someone else mentioned.. that's always a good bet too.

anyways, your total cost to DIY shoudl be < $20, or $30ish if you buy all the tools you need, then you have the tools to do it in the future and not have to rely on the dealer. =)

g'luck

"KLS" wrote

Does the B6 manual even provide that info? The B5 certainly doesn't. It doesn't even mention the type of bulb required. They just outwardly expect you to take it to the dealer to have it replaced.

Pete

I can't speak to the B6, but on pages 192-197 of my manual are the clear, detailed, and pictographic instructions I used to replace my bulbs in my 98.5 A4 with excellent results (yes, I just went outside at 10:25 pm EST in the 23F temperatures and snow falling to go to the garage and retrieve this manual). Page 192 also includes a very handy chart with types of bulbs required for all the lights involved. Do you actually possess this thick adhesive-bound manual, or are you referring to the quick-reference thin spiral bound handbook? If the latter (which I didn't retrieve from my car), I wouldn't be surprised to see this information missing.

"KLS" wrote

Yeah, I'm referring to the thick proper manual. My 2001 B5 manual certainly does not contain this information.

Pete

Thanks Guys for the info.

Of course the first place I checked was the owners manual and they provide no information other than telling you to bring it to the dealer as it has become more complicated.

After doing a search on google and the information provided here it looks like I need to slide the light assemble out to get good access to it and I think I know know where all the bolts are. I should have the proper torx bit. It has also been suggested to change both lights at the same time as I am sure the other one must be close to going as well.

One question I do have - is it necessary to unplug the battery before unplugging the headlights?

Thanks again guys for your help, looks like I Will have a fun project this weekend

Dave

KLS, perhaps you shouldn't assume that later manuals have as much information as yours. My 2004 A4 manual states -

Replacing Bulbs

For your safety, we recommend that you have your authorized Audi dealer replace any bulbs for you.

(P. 328)

(But you should still get a manual....)

That said, it can certainly be done - but it is a pain. I had to replace a directional bulb in the front passengers side, and to do that, I HAD to remove the headlight unit, as you can't access that bulb at all unless you do. It's a pita to get to that last screw.

Dan D '04 A4 1.8Tq MT-6 Central NJ USA

Same here. My 2000 B5 A4 tells you to refer to the dealer. Oh Yeah !!! It's easy to do on my 2.8 B5. Takes 2 minutes. Good job as they blow all the time !!!

Richard

How many people does it take to change a light bulb on an Audi?

;-)

/Robert

Robert, Ya really want to know? The answer (shamelessly stolen from a Microcar newsgroup posting) is:

One to change the light bulb and to post that the light bulb has been changed.

Fourteen to share similar experiences of changing light bulbs and how the light bulb could have been changed differently.

Seven to caution about the dangers of changing light bulbs.

Seven more to point out spelling/grammar errors in posts about changing light bulbs.

Five to flame the spell checkers.

Three to correct spelling/grammar flames.

Six to argue over whether it's "lightbulb" or "light bulb" ...

Another six to condemn those six as stupid.

Fifteen to claim experience in the lighting industry and give the correct spelling.

Nineteen to post that this group is not about light bulbs and to please take this discussion to a lightbulb (or light bulb) forum.

Eleven to defend the posting to the group saying that we all use light bulbs and therefore the posts are relevant to this group.

Thirty six to debate which method of changing light bulbs is superior, where to buy the best light bulbs, what brand of light bulbs work best for this technique and what brands are faulty.

Seven to post URLs where one can see examples of different light bulbs.

Four to post that the URLs were posted incorrectly and then post the corrected URL.

Three to post about links they found from the URLs that are relevant to this group which makes light bulbs relevant to this group.

Thirteen to link all posts to date, quote them in their entirety including all headers and signatures, and add "Me too"

Five to post to the group that they will no longer post because they cannot handle the light bulb controversy.

Four to say "didn't we go through this already a short time ago?"

Thirteen to say "do a Google search on light bulbs before posting questions about light bulbs."

Three to tell a funny story about their cat and a light bulb.

AND

One group lurker to respond to the original post 6 months from now with something unrelated they found at snopes.com and start it all over again!

Bentley for B6 for the Dipped beam bulbs says to remove the head light for the left side (remove screws on top and loosen screws in the back several turns) and to remove the air duct for the right. Then remove the covers (back side). I removed left cover once and there is barely enough room to get it off after some swearing. Then it says to unplug the connector and disengage the wire clip. Don't touch the bulb glass with your bare hands when installing the new ones.

--Art

You're joking aren't you? The detailed instructions in my manual say "Take it to a dealer"

That's nuts.. What's next, take it to the dealer to fill the gas tank?

-- Email reply: please remove one letter from each side of "@" Spammers are Scammers. Exterminate them.

Well I just changed both bulbs. It was easy - took about 45 minutes including hauling tools down to the garage and setting up. Dealer was going to charge 30 minutes for 1 bulb replacement on the drivers side. The drivers side was easy - losen the two bottom light bolts, take the top two out. Slide the light forward, pop open the hatch on the bulb assembly, unplug and replace the bulb. The passener side took a few more minutes because you need to remove the front part of the air intake. As for allignment, I made some marks on the wall and just made sure after I tightened everything down they were still good. All in all its pretty obvious how to do it when you start looking down into the engine bay.

I am trying those new sylvania silverstar bulbs. They are a much white beam and they do look brighter. (I was comparing with one of each in). Hopefully they last a while.

Thanks for everyones input.

Dave