Get Starting and driving -> Lights and vision Guide for Audi A4 4 Door Fifth Generation (2016-2025)

Lights and vision

traffic if the vehicle load changes. The headlight

range adjusts automatically.

Lights and vision

Exterior lighting

Turning the lights on or off

Audi adaptive light

Applies to: vehicles with Audi adaptive light

Audi adaptive light provides better visibility when

driving in the dark. The lights are adapted to the

road conditions based on speed, such as when

driving on expressways, rural roads, at intersec-

tions, and around curves. The adaptive lights only

function when the light switch is in the AUTO po-

sition and the all-weather lights are turned off.

WARNING

– Observe the safety precautions and note the

limitations of the assist systems, sensors,

and cameras ðpage 122 to ðpage 125.

– Automatic headlights are only intended to

assist the driver. The driver is still responsi-

ble for controlling the headlights and may

need to turn them on or off manually de-

pending on light and visibility conditions.

For example, fog cannot be detected by the

light sensors. So always turn on the low

beams  under these weather conditions

and when driving in the dark.

Fig. 44 Instrument panel: light switch with button

1 Light switch 

Turn the light switch 1 to the corresponding po-

sition when the ignition is turned on. The 

symbol and the selected position will turn on (ex-

cept position O).

O - The daytime running lights will automatically

turn on. In vehicles for some markets, you can

turn the automatic daytime running lights on and

off in the MMI.

AUTO - The headlights will automatically adapt to

the surrounding brightness.

Tips

– If the vehicle battery has been discharging

for a while, the parking light may turn off

automatically. Avoid using the parking

lights for several hours.

 – Parking lights

 – Low beam headlights

When the low beam headlights or parking lights

– When using lighting equipment, the driver

is responsible for adhering to any local ap-

plicable regulations while driving and when

parking the vehicle.





are turned on, the corresponding

or

indi-

cator light will turn on depending on vehicle

equipment.

2 All-weather lights 

– Only the front headlights are on when the

daytime running lights are turned on. In

vehicles in certain markets, the tail lights

will also turn on.

Requirement: the light switch must be in the AU-

TO or  position.

The headlights automatically adjust so that there

will be less glare, for example when the road sur-

face is wet.

– In cool or damp weather, the inside of the

headlights, turn signals, and tail lights can

fog over due to the temperature difference

between the inside and outside. They will

clear shortly after turning them on. This

does not affect the service life of the light-

ing.

Automatic headlight range control

Your vehicle is equipped with automatic head-

light range control. It reduces glare for oncoming

54

Lights and vision

Turn signal and high beam lever

headlight flasher when they will not create

glare for others.

High beam assistant

Applies to: vehicles with high beam assistant

The high beam assistant automatically turns the

high beams on or off depending on environmen-

tal factors.

A camera on the rearview mirror mount can de-

tect light sources from other road users. The high

beams turn on or off automatically depending on

the position of vehicles traveling ahead and on-

coming vehicles, the vehicle speed as well as oth-

er environmental factors and traffic conditions.

Fig. 45 Lever: turning the light functions on or off

The lever operates the turn signals, the high

beams and the headlight flasher.

Turn signals  

Activating the high beam assistant 

The turn signal will activate when you move the

lever into a turn signal position while the ignition

is on. The respective  or  indicator light will

flash. The turn signal blinks three times if you

tap the lever (convenience turn signal).

Requirement: the light switch must be in the AU-

TO position and the high beam assistant must be

turned on in the MMI ðpage 56.

►

To activate the high beam assistant, tap the

lever forward 3 ðpage 55, fig. 45. The  in-

dicator light will appear in the instrument clus-

ter display and the high beams will turn on or

off automatically. The  indicator light will

turn on if the high beams are turned on.

1 Right turn signal

2 Left turn signal

If an indicator light blinks twice as fast as usual,

a turn signal bulb has failed. Carefully drive to an

authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service

Facility immediately to have the malfunction cor-

rected.

Activating and deactivating the high beam

head lights manually

If the high beams did not turn on or off as expect-

ed, you may turn them on or off manually in-

stead:

The  symbol does not have any function as-

signed to it in vehicles in certain countries.

►

High beams  and headlight flasher

To activate the high beams manually, tap the

lever forward 3 ðpage 55, fig. 45. The  in-

dicator light will turn on.

►

Move the lever to the corresponding position:

3 High beams on (vehicles with High beam as-

sistant* ðpage 55)

►

To deactivate the high beams manually, pull

the lever back 4 ðpage 55, fig. 45. The high

beam assistant is deactivated.

4 High beams off or headlight flasher

Operating the headlight flasher

The  indicator light in the instrument cluster

will turn on.

►

To operate the headlight flashers, pull the lever

back 4 ðpage 55, fig. 45. If the high beam

headlights are not turned on, the high beam as-

sistant will remain activated.

WARNING



High beams can cause glare for other persons,

which increases the risk of an accident. For

this reason, only use the high beams or the

55

Lights and vision

tion. The daytime running lights turn on auto-

matically each time the vehicle is unlocked, re-

gardless of how bright it is outside the vehicle.

WARNING

– Observe the safety precautions and note the

limitations of the assist systems, sensors,

and cameras ðpage 122 to ðpage 125.

– The high beam assistant is only intended to

assist the driver. The driver is always respon-

sible for controlling the high beam head-

lights and adjusting them based on the

lighting and visibility conditions.

Daytime running lights

USA models: The daytime running lights can be

turned on or off.

Canada models: This function cannot be turned

off. They activate automatically each time the ig-

nition is turned on.

– High beams can cause glare for other per-

sons, which increases the risk of an accident.

For this reason, only use the high beams or

the headlight flasher when they will not cre-

ate glare for others.

Emergency flashers

Tips

Adhere to any local applicable regulations

when using the lighting equipment, for exam-

ple in regard to reducing glare for other road

users. The driver is always responsible for ad-

hering to the regulations applicable in the

country where the vehicle is being operated.

Fig. 46 Center console: emergency flashers

The emergency flashers help to make other road

users aware of your vehicle in dangerous situa-

tions.

Adjusting the exterior lighting

The following settings depend on the vehicle

equipment.

►

Press the  button 1 to turn the emergency

►

Applies to: MMI: Select on the home screen:

flashers on or off.

VEHICLE > Light & Visibility > Exterior light-

ing.

When the emergency flashers are turned on, the

 and  indicator lights will flash at the same

time.

Automatic headlights

You can adjust the following settings in the Auto-

matic headlights menu:

You can indicate a lane change or a turn when the

emergency flashers are on by using the turn sig-

nal lever. The emergency flashers will stop tem-

porarily.

Activation time - You can adjust if the headlights

turn on Early, Medium, or Late based on the sen-

sitivity of the light sensor.

The emergency flashers also work when the igni-

tion is turned off.

High beam assistant - You can turn the high

beam assistant on or off.

Tips

Entry/exit lighting

You should turn the emergency flashers on if:

– You are the last vehicle in a traffic jam so

that all other vehicles approaching from be-

hind can see your vehicle

The Entry/exit lighting illuminates the area

around the vehicle when the vehicle is unlocked

or when the driver’s door is opened while the ig-

nition is off. The entry/exit lighting works when it

is dark and the light switch is in the AUTO posi-

– Your vehicle has broken down or you are

having an emergency



56

Lights and vision

– Your vehicle is being towed or if you are

towing another vehicle

or authorized Audi Service Facility to have the

malfunction corrected.

Interior lighting

Messages

Front interior lighting

The following messages may appear, depending

on the vehicle equipment:

If the  indicator light turns on, a bulb has

failed. The displayed message indicates the cause

and possible solutions. If one of the messages re-

mains on, drive immediately to an authorized

Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility to

have the malfunction corrected.

 Audi adaptive light: malfunction! See own-

er's manual

Fig. 47 Headliner: front interior lighting

Adaptive light is not working. The headlights still

function. Drive immediately to an authorized

Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility to

have the malfunction corrected.

Interior lighting buttons

 – Interior lighting on/off

 – Door contact switch on/off. The interior light-

ing is controlled automatically.

 Headlight range control: malfunction! See

owner's manual

Touch-sensitive reading lights

There is a malfunction in the headlight range

control system, which may cause glare for other

road users. Drive to an authorized Audi dealer or

authorized Audi Service Facility immediately to

have the malfunction corrected.

►

To turn a reading light on or off, touch the sur-

face 1 briefly.

►

To activate the manual dimming function,

touch the surface 1 when the light is turned

off and keep touching it until the desired

brightness is reached.

 High beam assistant: malfunction! See own-

er's manual

You can still turn the high beams on or off man-

ually. Drive immediately to an authorized Audi

dealer or authorized Audi Service Facility to have

the malfunction corrected.

Rear interior lighting

 High beam assistant: currently unavailable.

Camera view limited due to environmental con-

ditions

This message appears if the camera's visual field

is blocked. The system will turn itself off. Try

turning the systems on later.

Fig. 48 Headliner: rear reading lights



Automatic headlights: malfunction! See

owner's manual

Reading lights

The light/rain sensor is malfunctioning. In the

AUTO light switch position, the low beams re-

main turned on at all times for safety reasons.

Drive immediately to an authorized Audi dealer

►

To turn the reading lamp on or off, press the 

button 1 .



57

Lights and vision

►

To activate the manual dimming function*,

– Audi virtual cockpit

touch the surface while the light is off 

and keep touching it until the desired bright-

ness is reached.

1

Instrument illumination

Interior lighting

Applies to: vehicles with interior lighting

The ambient lighting turns on when the ignition

is turned on. The O light switch position deacti-

vates the interior lighting.

The following settings depend on the vehicle

equipment.

Fig. 49 Light switch: instrument illumination

►

Applies to MMI: Select on the home screen: VE-

HICLE > Light & Visibility > Interior lighting.

 – You can adjust the background brightness of

the instruments and display illumination.

You can choose from various color profiles, such

►

as Maritime.

Press the knob 1 to release it.

►

Turn the knob toward "-" or "+" to reduce or in-

Additional settings and profiles:

crease the brightness.

– Brightness: you can adjust the brightness for

all of the interior lighting.

►

Press the knob again to return it to its original

position.

– Individual: you can adjust the brightness and

color of the interior lighting separately for the

line and surface lighting.

Tips

Depending on vehicle equipment, the instru-

ment illumination (needles and gauges) may

turn on when the lights are off and the igni-

tion is turned on. The illumination for the

gauges reduces automatically and eventually

turns off as brightness outside increases. This

function reminds the driver to turn the low

beams on at the appropriate time.

– Audi drive select: the line and surface lighting

color changes depending on the selected drive

select mode.

Tips

Depending on vehicle equipment, when the

drive select* function is turned on, the color

of the contour and surface lighting may brief-

ly change to red or blue when the interior

temperature is manually increased or de-

creased.

Vision

Adjusting exterior mirrors

Display brightness

You can set the instrument and display illumina-

tion. The settings depend on the vehicle equip-

ment.

►

Applies to MMI: select on the home screen:

SETTINGS > Display & Brightness.

– Cockpit dimming

– Head-up display

– MMI

Fig. 50 Driver's door: knob for the exterior mirrors



58

Lights and vision

►

Turn the knob in the driver's door to the desired

position:

moved by outside forces (such as an impact

when maneuvering), you must use the pow-

er folding function to fold the mirror all the

way out. The mirrors will make a loud noise

when they latch into place. The mirror hous-

ing must not be moved back into place by

hand because this could impair the function

of the mirror mechanism.

0 – Deactivates all adjustment functions.

 /  – Selects the left or right exterior mirror.

To adjust the mirror glass in a mirror, press the

knob in the desired direction.

 – Heats the mirror glass depending on the

– Applies to: vehicles without power folding

exterior mirrors: If the mirror housing was

moved by outside forces (such as an impact

when maneuvering), you must move it back

into place by hand.

outside temperature.

 – Folds the exterior mirrors in*. To fold the

mirrors out, turn the knob to one of the other po-

sitions. In the MMI, you can select if the mirrors

fold in automatically when you lock the vehicle

ðpage 36.

– If you wash the vehicle in an automatic car

wash, you must fold the exterior mirrors in

to reduce the risk of damage to the mirrors.

Never fold power folding exterior mirrors*

by hand. Only fold them in and out using

the power controls.

Front passenger's exterior mirror tilt

function*

Requirement: the knob must be in the position

for the front passenger’s exterior mirror.

Tips

The mirror surfaces tilt slightly when reverse

gear is selected to provide a better view, for ex-

ample of the edge of the curb.

If the power adjusting function malfunctions,

the glass in both mirrors can be adjusted by

pressing on the edge of it by hand.

You can adjust the mirror surface by turning the

knob in the desired direction.

Dimming the mirrors

The mirror moves from the reversing position

back to the original position:

Manual dimming rearview mirror

►

Pull the lever on the bottom of the mirror back.

– When you turn off the ignition

– When you drive forward at speeds faster than 9

mph (15 km/h).

Automatic dimming rearview mirror

Applies to: vehicles with automatic dimming mirrors

– When the knob is no longer in the position for

the front passenger exterior mirror

►

The interior and exterior mirrors dim automati-

cally when light shines on them, for example

from headlights on a vehicle behind you.

WARNING

Curved mirror surfaces (for example convex)

enlarge the field of vision. However, they

make objects in the mirror appear smaller and

farther away. When using these mirrors to es-

timate your distance to vehicles behind you

when changing lanes, you could estimate in-

correctly, which increases the risk of an acci-

dent.

WARNING

Applies to: vehicles with automatic dimming mirrors

– Electrolyte fluid can leak out from broken

mirror glass. This liquid can irritate the skin,

eyes and respiratory system. If there is con-

tact with the fluid, flush immediately with

plenty of water. Seek medical attention if

necessary.

– Repeated or long-term exposure to electro-

lyte fluid can lead to irritation of the air-

ways, especially in people with asthma or

other respiratory conditions. Take deep

Note

– Applies to: vehicles with power folding exte-

rior mirrors: If the mirror housing was



59

Starting and driving -> Lights and vision for Your Audi A4 4 Door Fifth Generation (2016-2025)

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