Dealer quoted me $5,000 to replace ONE LED headlight

[Jlstyle82]

Hi all,

First time posting here.
I have a 2014 S7 with 70,000 miles and recently my passenger side headlight is having some problems. Low beam works fine but far right lens which I think is the high beam, is off and entire LED assembly seem to flicker ever so slightly.
Dealer called me today and said LED head light is over $3,000 for the part ONLY, and they have to do calibration and etc., which brings the total replacement cost to over $5,000!!!! At first, I didn't really care about the cost since I have a platinum pure protection which I have used numerous times over the years. However, he proceeded to tell me that LED headlights are EXCLUDED from the warranty
I'm also due for brake and rotor change which is another $3,000 so total bill is at $9,000 after tax. It might be wiser to just sell the car and use that money as a down payment .

My question:
1. Do LED headlights really have to be calibrated after the installation? I found used ones from ebay for around $500 and contemplated to replace it on my own only if it is plug-and-play

2. Did anyone experience LED headlight failure? How did you get this replaced?

Thank you so much for your help.

[A6sport]

I replaced my Xenon plus headlights with full LED, I don't remember there being any "calibration" needing to be done. There was some coding, but that was expected going from Xenon to LED.

If you found a full LED HL on eBay for 500, jump on it right away. Usually, 500 is for xenon.

[Jlstyle82]

There are few of them but most of them says one or more tabs are broken. Do you think it will cause any problems?

[jrsAudiA6]

Hi all,

First time posting here.
I have a 2014 S7 with 70,000 miles and recently my passenger side headlight is having some problems. Low beam works fine but far right lens which I think is the high beam, is off and entire LED assembly seem to flicker ever so slightly.
Dealer called me today and said LED head light is over $3,000 for the part ONLY, and they have to do calibration and etc., which brings the total replacement cost to over $5,000!!!! At first, I didn't really care about the cost since I have a platinum pure protection which I have used numerous times over the years. However, he proceeded to tell me that LED headlights are EXCLUDED from the warranty
I'm also due for brake and rotor change which is another $3,000 so total bill is at $9,000 after tax. It might be wiser to just sell the car and use that money as a down payment .

My question:
1. Do LED headlights really have to be calibrated after the installation? I found used ones from ebay for around $500 and contemplated to replace it on my own only if it is plug-and-play

2. Did anyone experience LED headlight failure? How did you get this replaced?

Thank you so much for your help.

A new LED headlight assy. costs at least $2600. I suppose your problem may be a control module issue. There are 2 control modules from what I can tell. one for the low beams the other for high beams. They both cost around $464. Headlights do need to be adjusted correctly but not sure what that entails.
I obtained this information from https://www.audiusaparts.com/v-2014-...amp-components.
I have not heard of LED headlights failing, at least not frequently. I have had my 2012 A6 for 9 years with no headlight failure. However I did have one of my radar sensors fail, which are also expensive to replace and do require a calibration when replaced.
As far as using a used one, I would think that should work but make sure the part numbers match exactly so there is no coding issue. I tried replacing my failed radar sensor with one I bought from ebay but the part number was not exact match, i.e. mine had no revision where as the one off ebay was a revision A. Dealer could not get rev A to work because of that difference.

Hope this helps

[A6sport]

There are few of them but most of them says one or more tabs are broken. Do you think it will cause any problems?

The light will not mount properly, I think you could get away with one broken tab. As jrsAudiA6 mentioned, have you looked at replacing just the module for the high beam?
There are three of them for each headlight they are on the bottom and much less expensive. I'd start there. I peeped eBay and the used cost has dropped but leaks, broken tabs, missing modules are commensurate with selling prices.

[Jlstyle82]

A new LED headlight assy. costs at least $2600. I suppose your problem may be a control module issue. There are 2 control modules from what I can tell. one for the low beams the other for high beams. They both cost around $464. Headlights do need to be adjusted correctly but not sure what that entails.
I obtained this information from https://www.audiusaparts.com/v-2014-...amp-components.
I have not heard of LED headlights failing, at least not frequently. I have had my 2012 A6 for 9 years with no headlight failure. However I did have one of my radar sensors fail, which are also expensive to replace and do require a calibration when replaced.
As far as using a used one, I would think that should work but make sure the part numbers match exactly so there is no coding issue. I tried replacing my failed radar sensor with one I bought from ebay but the part number was not exact match, i.e. mine had no revision where as the one off ebay was a revision A. Dealer could not get rev A to work because of that difference.

Hope this helps

Thank you for your reply. So dealer could have possibly claimed it as a LED headlight failure when it could be a simple control module issue. Of course this would be impossible for me to figure out unless I have right tools and skills to figure this out. I think I need to butter up my SA to get the details.

[daytona rs7]

headlight is expensive. as mentioned, about $3000 MSRP.
labor requires removing the bumper and programming the new modules.
depending on your option, (ACC or night vision), the manual says to recalibrate these systems after bumper removal. this is a several hundred dollar cost.
9 out of 10 times it isn't actually necessary, but the dealer will not skip on a step due to liability.

[VT24]

maybe file a claim with insurance?

[daytona rs7]

regarding your brake cost, that seems steep.

OEM rotors can be found for $225 each.
aftermarket pads can be under $100 all around.
so a few hours of your time and $1200, your brakes can be serviced.

at $3000, the dealer is charging MSRP for parts ($1400) + $1600 labor, which is about 8hrs. seems crazy.

[Jlstyle82]

maybe file a claim with insurance?

Do you mind telling me how this works? I didn't even know you can do a insurance claim for this type of repair.

[Jlstyle82]

regarding your brake cost, that seems steep.

OEM rotors can be found for $225 each.
aftermarket pads can be under $100 all around.
so a few hours of your time and $1200, your brakes can be serviced.

at $3000, the dealer is charging MSRP for parts ($1400) + $1600 labor, which is about 8hrs. seems crazy.

Really? I went to couple indy shop and they both said OEMs were expensive and it was better to just do it at the dealer since you get a loaner. One indy shop told me that there isn't aftermarket parts for S7. Perhaps I need to search elsewhere!

[Jlstyle82]

headlight is expensive. as mentioned, about $3000 MSRP.
labor requires removing the bumper and programming the new modules.
depending on your option, (ACC or night vision), the manual says to recalibrate these systems after bumper removal. this is a several hundred dollar cost.
9 out of 10 times it isn't actually necessary, but the dealer will not skip on a step due to liability.

Yes, I have ACC and night vision and SA did mention everything has to be recalibrated which cost upward $1,000. Sucks.

[Jlstyle82]

regarding your brake cost, that seems steep.

OEM rotors can be found for $225 each.
aftermarket pads can be under $100 all around.
so a few hours of your time and $1200, your brakes can be serviced.

at $3000, the dealer is charging MSRP for parts ($1400) + $1600 labor, which is about 8hrs. seems crazy.

UPDATE:

Thank you for your info. Just spoke to SA and he will price match the pricing from Audiusaparts.com which is similar to your pricing!!!
Just saved good chunk of money! Thank you!

[daytona rs7]

Really? I went to couple indy shop and they both said OEMs were expensive and it was better to just do it at the dealer since you get a loaner. One indy shop told me that there isn't aftermarket parts for S7. Perhaps I need to search elsewhere!

apologies, i looked up the wrong brake rotors... OEM is VERY expensive.
but you can still do much better than $3k.

brake pad options. $100-250 per set.
https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-C7_S7...rch/brake_pad/

rear rotor - zimmerman $170/pair
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-zimmerma...4h0615601p4kt/

front rotor - zimmerman $600 pair
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-zimmerma...4h0615301alkt/

[sepheroth86]

apologies, i looked up the wrong brake rotors... OEM is VERY expensive.
but you can still do much better than $3k.

brake pad options. $100-250 per set.
https://www.ecstuning.com/Audi-C7_S7...rch/brake_pad/

rear rotor - zimmerman $170/pair
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-zimmerma...4h0615601p4kt/

front rotor - zimmerman $600 pair
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-zimmerma...4h0615301alkt/

I would go with FCP Euro. Even if they are a little more money, FCP offers a lifetime warranty on pretty much everything they sell. Including oil change stuff!

[Jlstyle82]

Thank you all for your help!