Tahoesilvers4

I posted once before but didn't get a single response which I found odd given I have been told what I have going on is a common issue.

Car, 2006 A6 4.2 with 88,000. Family owned since new.

Headlight issues. Long story short I am replacing both sides with new headlight assemblies. The cables/housing are super thin and have simply deteriorated and causing issues with the lights not working correctly, sometimes not at all. Have others had issues like this?

Over the past year I've spent almost 8k in this car. Oil leak and suspension work. Car drives AWESOME. (when the headlights are working). Curious if it's time to get what I can for this car and move on or if I can expect another 50k out of this vehicle?

raj99

​​​@Tahoesilvers4 firstly, you've got the EXACT same car as mine! But we know these cars are 15 years old and well this is definitely the time that there might be better options out there. I still love driving my C6 and the growl of the 4.2 is intoxicating. But it's a hard path trying to keep up with all the niggling issues that seem to prop up. FWIW, I just resolved an ongoing power steering fluid issue and well I've got a cat issue in Bank 2 that I've got to deal with next. I'm not sure I'll even be able to fix it and if it's even worthwhile, but due to the pandemic the car hardly gets used. You probably won't get much for the vehicle, I know that even though mine has been extremely well cared for and has been garaged from day 1. With it's age and miles (~220K) it probably worth less than $4K. Which hardly seems worth it.

Tahoesilvers4

Did you have headlight issues?

raj99

The only headlight issues I've had was dull lights and pitting in the glass. I fixed them with new HID bulbs and polishing the glass on the headlights. My car is parked in the garage all the time, whether at home or at work, so never gets much weather related issues. Also, being in the northwest the climate doesn't really get too hot or too cold.

das60

The headlight issues you are experiencing are well know and there are some really courageous guys who go in and re-wire the things. I have similar issues and on the left side my current solution is to drive around without the rear housing cover on. This keeps the wires from shorting and for me, that is all I want.

I once read the core issues with the wiring was a shift in German environmental standards for the insulation. 2005 was the first year of the new product and with time it turned out to have some less than desirable properties. Mine turns to dust with a good strong look. Not unlike the plastic vacuum lines in front of the intake manifold.