Hey all, I just, at the beginning of the month, purchased an 06 A4 with 74xxx on it. Anyways the car is great, I love it. However, as of recent I have been noticing a few things. One is the left headlight. Now both seem to rattle when the car is idling, not the big of a deal, but the left one, whenever I hit the brake pedal, it flickers, shuts off, turns back on, flickers some more. Every once in awhile both headlights will shut off and turn back while braking. Any idea on what that could be?

Second thing is the engine/coolant temp. When I bought and drove around, the gauge would stay solid in the middle. Yesterday I noticed that it got just below the third line and the fans were going nuts. Now, granted it was a little warm yesterday, and I was sitting and idling for a while, but even while driving the temp did not go down. I checked the oil for it possibly being low, its full, or a head gasket problem, it is not cloudy. I have a few other thoughts but want opinions.

Other than those 2 things, whether serious or not, the car is fantastic.

 

idk about the headlights, but if you're mechanically inclined, i would do a radiator flush and clean just to make sure isnt dirty or clogged. also, make sure you only use the recommended G12 coolant. i know its pricey but you dont wanna mix in low quality **** that'll compromise the system.

 

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, I'm not entirely sure what brand coolant they used. I bought the car from a Nissan dealership, so they probably put in what they had, just weird that it started happening out of nowhere, like every other car issue haha. I'm confused about the headlight as well because it is working fine now. Well I'll take it down to the dealership and tell them whats been going on.

 

Try changing your bulbs. As for the cooling fans, take a look into the coolant temp sensor.

 

Having the wrong coolant won't make it overheat, unless coolants have been mixed and it's turned to some gel like substance.


If the gauge is past 12:00 and the fans are on high, then two sensors think the coolant is too hot. I'm betting both sensors are not wrong. On a hot day you should be able to idle all day without over heating.


My first guess is thermostat. It's not expensive, and not a bad job. I'd do that first.

 

Luckily the car is under warranty still so this will cost me nothing. They said the thermostat was not working properly, and the radiator was not allowing the coolant to cycle through so it was just sitting there and getting hot, this is what they said.

Whether or not that's the problem is yet to be seen. Nothing will be fixed until next week as the parts have to come in.

They are going to replace the bulb for the headlight deal.

And, of course, I noticed after I made this thread was the steering was starting to whine whenever I would make a sharp turn. Turns out the power steering is going out also. So, yeah.