NMYoung83

The brake/tail lights on my 08 Audi Q7 is not working. The car is out of warranty and I took it to the dealer and they told me the trailer hitch was an after market hitch and was causing the problem and that if I'm not using it remove it. I removed it and the lights are still not working. I took it to another Audi repair shop and was told that the bulb sockets needed to be replaced, they also told me there was a short circuit to ground and the sockets were not getting any power. I'm confused and don't know if I should trust the shop or not. They would not provide me with a cost to fix the short circuit problem. Could something else be wrong and whats the possible costs to fix the short circuit.

B490MTL

STFA, probably the latch sensor is defective or the wire is cut. Remove the under floor tray and inspect the wires.

Edd W

Does it switch to using the ones in the rear bumper when the tailgate is open?

There is a change-over system which is triggered as the tailgate opens so if they are working when the tailgate is closed it sounds like the switch on the latch has failed or is unplugged.

Do the rear load area lights work?

NMYoung83

The ones in the rear bumper are working, they come on as soon as the lights are turned and when the tailgate is open. Its just the ones in the middle on the lift gate that aren't working.

NMYoung83

Any idea on how I check and see if the switch is unplugged? Does this require me to look at wires and its a simple plug or would you recommend I take it to the stealer and let them see it?

B490MTL

Remove the cargo tray and look at the wires, if you don't see anything you'll have to scan the car with a vag com.

ltooz_a6_a8_q7

Did you disable the Trailer option in the MMI?

Edd W

I think there may be a switch which has a wire hanging down towards the spare wheel well.

Have a look with a light to see if you can see it - I can recall seeing it when I fitted my towbar and it looked like it could easily be snagged if putting something around the spare wheel.

I suspect it uses this switch to detect the tailgate opening and then switches the lighting over to the rear bumper ones.

Does the interior load area light come on at all?

WP4WP4

Same problem with 2013 Q7 no brake lights. Was a bad tailgate sensor. Problem fixed by the dealer under warranty.

Henry

jhyatt

I am having this same problem, except only one side. 2008 Q7
When I closed the hatch only one side switched up to the tailgate. I went in and jiggled the wires at the latch sensor and now it's OK. This is all after a mechanic installed trailer lights but botched it, in my opinion.
Thanks for this resource!