LED main beams poor

[Spriteracer]

Hi all. I have just acquired a 2017 A6 allroad with standard LED headlights (not matrix). Although the dipped beams are fine the main beams seem very poor  and lacking in power and don't light up the road nearly as well as other cars I have. 2006 BMW z4 coupe with HID lights and 2008 Volvo XC70 with Halogen lights. both are much better.  Is this normal for Audi or do I have a fault ?  If this is how they all are then it is very disappointing and definitely not an improvement in technology. The auto dip is off but I didn't notice any difference when it was on. I have seen another post about the having wrong coding, but it seems a bit unlikely in this case as the car is one owner before me and completely unmolested as far as I can tell. Many thanks for any observations. 

 

   

[Spriteracer]

Sorry this should be in the C7 forum ! 

[cliffcoggin]

Mark. I have moved it to C7.

[Sid2020]

You may find that matrix headlamps on full beam provide a more controlled extension of view than previous cars which literally lit up the sky. 

[Spriteracer]

Thanks Matt.  Unfortunately I don't have the matrix option. My issue is that the standard LED main beams are lacking in power, and I can't see that they are mis-aligned as the dipped beams are fine and I get no flashing back from other road users. Also they don't seem to be lighting up things at any higher level than my other cars.  Are you saying they are just poor from the factory ?  I assume changing to the matrix option is not a realistic proposition in terms of cost and complexity.    

[Sid2020]

LED headlamps are usually very good, what I meant was that a  LED high beam is usually better focused then a halogen high beam, LED  will give a wider, longer spread of light with a increase in height but not to the height of a halogen high beam as it’s not of much use. If there as bad as you say then I would try to find a user close by to compare with. Maybe post a picture of dipped beam and main beam on here so we can see what your meaning 

[Spriteracer]

Thanks again.  I have the car booked in to my local Audi specialist (not Audi dealership) next week for service and chassis alignment etc., and have asked them to check the lights out while they have the car. Hopefully they will be able to tell me if it is to spec or not.  I'll update when I know.  Finding another one to compare with around here in Rural West Wales will be a challenge ! All I can say at the moment is that they are not as good as my Z4 with HIDs or XC70 with halogens both of which are 9 or 10 years older.  

 

 

[Stevey Y]

1 hour ago, Spriteracer said:

Thanks again.  I have the car booked in to my local Audi specialist (not Audi dealership) next week for service and chassis alignment etc., and have asked them to check the lights out while they have the car. Hopefully they will be able to tell me if it is to spec or not.  I'll update when I know.  Finding another one to compare with around here in Rural West Wales will be a challenge ! All I can say at the moment is that they are not as good as my Z4 with HIDs or XC70 with halogens both of which are 9 or 10 years older.  

 

 

Hi they changed from HID to LED because they are cheaper than HID and allegedly last longer, only problem is when they do fail rather than pop in another bulb 9/10 you have to buy a new unit, I have them on my Passat and the main beam is nowhere near as good as the A6 Bi-Xenon set up which running uprated D5S 6000 Kelvin was a real pleasure to drive at night.

Steve.

 

[Sid2020]

It’s not just an Audi problem, all manufacturers are in the same boat with failing LED units . LED  headlamps also do not require headlamp washers so a cost saving for manufacturers, after seeing many customer repair bills when I sourced my b9 I went for basic halogen lights and to there credit there amazing

[Spriteracer]

Thanks Steve. Useful if disappointing news.  My z4 has a similar bi-xenon set up and you can drive at daytime speeds at night - traffic permitting !  

[Spriteracer]

Matt too.  Mine has washers so they missed a trick there ! 

[Sid2020]

Mine are just blanks as all There bumpers come with the caps but extra parts are required for them to open 

[Spriteracer]

OK..... I didn't think to look if they actually worked. I will check in daylight. 

[Sid2020]

Ignition on, dipped Beam on, pull the screen wash lever. Should hear a load pump noise and water spraying everywhere, work once in every 7ish cycles during driving but if following the above procedure they would work 1st time everytime 

[Sid2020]

Your not missing anything if you don’t have them, Hid’s needed them in uk as a legal requirement but all they do is use your screen wash quicker. Headlamp washer pump is located higher in the bottle on most manufacturers so they run out of fluid before your windscreen pump for obvious safety reasons 

[cliffcoggin]

1 hour ago, Spriteracer said:

Thanks again.  I have the car booked in to my local Audi specialist (not Audi dealership) next week for service and chassis alignment etc., 

I am curious about checking the chassis alignment. Has it been crashed?

[Sid2020]

a chassis alignment  check will Require a bodyshop with a jig and measuring system, most commonly a car o liner here in the uk which is what we use, Wheel Alignment check can be done at almost all tyre centers. If wheel alignment check is good and all Panel gaps appear nice then chassis is probly fine 

 

[Sid2020]

Pay attention to Vehicles caster angle on a wheel Alignment report as almost impossible to Adjust and is a sure way of spotting if chassis is likely bent, toe in toe out is easy adjusted and cambers can be fudged but incorrect  caster is hard to hide 

[Spriteracer]

Hi. Thanks for the heads up on the washers. Re the alignment, not crashed as far as I know. Nothing recorded, or signs of.  However, when I bought the car from a small dealer 180 miles away from home, I viewed it in person, and agreed that a few things needed doing and agreed to buy on the understanding they were. Included was new MOT, new rear tyres, full service including gearbox, and a thorough valet. Car was delivered with a new mot, but none of the other things done. Rear tyres were highly illegal with the cords showing in the inner side and had obviously put the delivery driver at risk of prosecution or worse. The dealer eventually provided some new tyres which I had fitted. I then didn't believe they had done any of the other service so I took it to my local and they did the service. They and also found severely worn front lower arms which I had replaced. So much for the mot ! A very poor start to my ownership, but thankfully the car is actually ok generally, and my garage didn't find anything else. The chassis alignment is to check that the front and rear tracking, camber, caster etc. are ok after the suspension work and the very worn rear tyres.  My garage couldn't do it at the time as their mot bay was fully booked. I hope they don't find anything else !  We tend to call the wheel alignment chassis on another forum I inhabit so apologies for any confusion. 

 

      

[Sid2020]

Totally understand what your saying and yes well worth getting it checked for safety and to put your mind an ease. Keep us updated on the outcome 

[Spriteracer]

Just a quick update following the service. Alignment was out a bit but not seriously. Now corrected. New front disks cured some vibration on heavy braking. Was worried it was another bush or two. All ok otherwise.

Re the headlight issue - they couldn't check as it wasn't dark ! Annoying, but they said they can have another go if car in overnight. They did say that if there is an issue with the LED light units, replacement is the only option which would be very annoying and seriously expensive. It seems unlikely that they would deteriorate in under 90k miles.  I remember seeing on a forum (possibly here) that one of the software packages will show a % power to the lights indicating a possible coding issue. I know it wasn't VCDS which I have and not tried yet so will see if that will show the same. Any ideas what other package to look at? 

As a final thought - has anyone changed the standard LED units for the matrix type ? If they have,  so what else is involved - wiring, coding etc. i.e. is it actually a viable option. 

Thanks again. 

[cliffcoggin]

On 1/16/2025 at 6:06 PM, Spriteracer said:

 We tend to call the wheel alignment chassis on another forum I inhabit so apologies for any confusion. 

Thanks for the explanation. In my book chassis alignment refers to the shape of the car's basic structure, whereas wheel alignment refers to the suspension bits that bolt onto the chassis, hence my puzzlement.

[Sid2020]

8 hours ago, Spriteracer said:

Just a quick update following the service. Alignment was out a bit but not seriously. Now corrected. New front disks cured some vibration on heavy braking. Was worried it was another bush or two. All ok otherwise.

Re the headlight issue - they couldn't check as it wasn't dark ! Annoying, but they said they can have another go if car in overnight. They did say that if there is an issue with the LED light units, replacement is the only option which would be very annoying and seriously expensive. It seems unlikely that they would deteriorate in under 90k miles.  I remember seeing on a forum (possibly here) that one of the software packages will show a % power to the lights indicating a possible coding issue. I know it wasn't VCDS which I have and not tried yet so will see if that will show the same. Any ideas what other package to look at? 

As a final thought - has anyone changed the standard LED units for the matrix type ? If they have,  so what else is involved - wiring, coding etc. i.e. is it actually a viable option. 

Thanks again. 

I’ve seen coding that can change drl brightness but never came across dipped or main beam alterations. The a6 c7 led headlamp uses 35w for low beam and 18w for high. This at first seemed back to front but it must add an extra 18w of leds to the 35w of the dipped beams which stay on. This in theory would give an amazing amount of light compared to a H4 bulb which only have a 5w difference between high and low beams. Sorry I can’t provide any actual help 

[spartacus 68]

9 hours ago, Spriteracer said:

 As a final thought - has anyone changed the standard LED units for the matrix type ? If they have,  so what else is involved - wiring, coding etc. i.e. is it actually a viable option.

Anything can be retrofitted, it depends how deep your pockets are. My understanding is that it uses the same wiring, however genuine matrix headlight units could be at least £2k each. You can get second hand, but then you’re dealing with breaker yards, and condition is everything, and they are around £900 each. They are linked to the light self levelling depending on load, which should already be in place with the existing LED headlights. Sensors are usually on front passenger and rear passenger side suspension.  https://www.lllparts.co.uk/

Add in, there’s an integral camera as part of the rear view mirror, plus coding. I think this is more than VCDS can handle, and likely you’d need access to ODIS dealer level software and datasets for the lights. Probably more a specialist job for an experienced retrofitter.

That’s a very expensive upgrade. I read something similar for someone who didn’t like the standard sound in their B9 A4, and wanted Bang and Olufson system. Parts list was huge, plus they ended up practically dismantling the car to fit it. Granted this upgrade would be easier, but the cost will likely be prohibitive.

My old B8 A4 Allroad had bi-xenon headlights. Fantastic lights, and better than my B9 Allroad with LED headlights in certain situations.

Audi started cutting back on extras such as headlamp washers, and even door open warning lamps, again, both can be retrofitted.

I don’t know enough about LED, but maybe with you can get upgraded LED bulbs? That would be worth investigating.

Edited January 24 by spartacus 68

[Spriteracer]

Hi Matt,  The coding issue I came across was where the LED main beams had been erroneously coded as HID and were receiving only 25% of the power they should have had. This guy had the coding corrected and the LED lights were much better than they had been.  I'll see if I can find the post again when I get a moment.   

Hi Richard, Thanks for all that and you have confirmed my thoughts that it is not really a viable solution. I had seen the costs of the units - new and 2nd hand.  I can live with the lights as they are if I have to but it is disappointing. I do a lot of night driving and I'd hoped the new car (to me) which is great in almost every other respect would be at least as good as the old one (XC70) at night.  Also just to confirm a point is a previous post - I do actually have the working headlight washers. 

As far as I know the light units are all one piece and the garage didn't think bulbs could be changed independently. However I will investigate further.