Car manufacturers design their cars with as many features as possible to entice customers into having the latest and greatest in motoring. The technology that we are able to put into cars has advanced massively over the last decade, therefore we are seeing cars with far more features, which unfortunately means more potential problems.
One of these features that are causing issues in the Audi Q5, in particular, is the introduction of Daytime Running lights, or DRL's. DRL's are an additional safety device that was only originally available on higher-end vehicles, such as the Q5 range but has now seen an introduction on many vehicles as standard from budget hatchbacks to luxury cars in the interest of passenger and driver safety. DRLs are lights that are part of the existing headlight cluster of a vehicle and are illuminated whenever the car is powered on. DRL's are in place on cars to ensure that your car is more easily spotted by other drivers, hopefully preventing accidents.
Most DRL's installed on cars today function in the same way. They are usually already part of the existing headlight setup as the low beam bulbs which are constantly lit as long as the engine is on. Another feature that DRL's have that is present on the Audi Q5 is that when you activate your indicators the DRL's will "blink" in unison with the turn signal to aid other drivers.
How DRL's work is controlled by the headlight control module. If there is a defect within this component the DRL's may flicker or stop working completely. This issue could be caused by a few things, such as a blown fuse, relay or a lear ballast unit. However, a known fault with the Q5's DRL's is caused by a faulty Koito LED control unit, this is the component that tells the headlights what to do. It is an easily replaceable component which comes in an 8 pin and 11 pin model for the different connectors the various iterations of Q5. While it is prudent to change the aforementioned components the Koito LED control unit is the one that really needs to be replaced as this will cause unnecessary wear and tear to those components.
If you own new shape Audi Q5 B8 8R Facelift LCI model made after 2013 2014 2015 2016 it has completely different headlights.
It has Valeo 8R0941475B 8R0941475 8R0941475A for left side and Valeo 8R0941476B 8R0941476 8R0941476A for right side, additionally to power up and control these LED modules with heatsink each side has Delphi LTM-LL-TFL 4G0907697D 401140244 28357987 ballast.
4G0907697D power module is newer version, which has superseded 4G0907397D model.
Before identifying the issue it is important to test LED module and power module as well.
In german language this malfunction is called "Standlicht Tagfahrlicht DRL defekt Reparatur".
Diagnostic trouble codes DTC for faulty LED module:
- 02895 - Supply Voltage for LED Module for DRL and Parking Light; Left
- 012 - Electrical Fault in Circuit
- 02897 - Supply Voltage for LED Module for DRL and Parking Light; Right
- 012 - Electrical Fault in Circuit
- Supply Voltage for LED module for DRL and Parking light Left Right Electrical problem in Circuit
The most common warning messages for faulty LED diode module:
- Left right Side light / Daytime Running Light
- Left right Sidelight / Daytime Running Light
Compatible Audi cars:
- Q5 SQ5 8R Pre-Facelift SUV 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
- 2.0 TFSI, 3.2 FSI, 2.0 TDI, 3.0 TDI Quattro
Koito part numbers:
- 10056-17078, 1005617078
- 10045-17078, 1004517078
- 10055-17078, 1005517078
- 10055-17078C, 1005517078C
LEAR part numbers:
- 535037803
- 535037820
- 535037805
- 535037806
Audi part numbers:
- 8R0907472, 8R0 907 472
- 8R0 907 472 B, 8R0907472B, 8R0 907 472B
- 8R0 907 472 A, 8R0907472A
- 8R0 907 472 C, 8R0907472C
- 8R0998472, 8R0 998 472
