DS3 HID bulbs go for about 90 bucks on ebay (check ebay UK)
easy swap on drivers side.
pasenger side the headlight has to be removed.
doubt the control unit (which i assume they are referring to the ballast)

 

Hey, thanks for the advice.
Annoyingly it's the passenger side that has the problem. What's weird is that the light does come on for about 15-20 seconds when the car is turned on, then it goes off. I'd have thought if it was a damaged bulb it wouldn't come on at all.

 

switch bulbs from left side to right side, and see if it still happens on the same side.
then obv it is the ballast.
if i remember correctly, audi was going to cover bulbs under warranty (but i remembered i changed mine out for 6000K aftermarket bulbs and were only willing to do warranty on the OEM bulbs)

 

Just remember there are stupidly high voltages in the Xenon bulb system, so make sure everything is off before you start poking around in there!

 

£50 for a pair of DS3 bulbs off Ebay (new):-

D3S HID XENON REPLACEMENT BULBS - SUPERIOR QUALITY - | eBay


Audi are telling you a load of rubbish. there is no way in the world 1 bulb would cost £280

Easy swap on drivers side if you have a LHD vehicle, easy swap on passengers side for RHD vehicle where air filter is on drivers side!

The light is very easy to remove though. If you get stuck come back.

JB

 

Had the same problem months ago.
See this
http://www.a5oc.com/forums/a5-general-q/14207-problem-headlight.html

 

Thanks guys.....the power of the A5OC forum!!

I've booked in with Audi tomorrow morning to look at the fault logs and check if it definitely is the control unit, bulbs, or both.....from there I should be able to work out if I can sort it myself a lot cheaper.

Really appreciate all the advice...it looks likely to save me a fortune.

 

Discodazr, how did your Xenon story end? Was it the bulb or the control unit? I am going through exactly the same issue right now..

 

It was the bulb and Portsmouth Audi wouldn't play ball. They wanted to replace it as a pair and I was annoyed that it should last a lifetime and hasn't.

I was in the process of buying the new uplift A5 from Southampton Audi so then spoke to them and they decided to carry out the repair at no cost to myself, using their discretion as I was buying a new car from them.