Technical Service Bulletin
94 Optical concerns with tail lights
94 24 82 2074347/1 June 28, 2024.
Model(s)

Year

VIN Range

Vehicle-Specific Equipment

All Audi Vehicles

2005 - 2025

All

Not Applicable

Condition
This service information shows various examples of damage to the taillights where the cause is not covered under
warranty.
Concern 1. Light damaged or cracked due to influence of aggressive substances (Figures 1, and 2).
Customer statement:
Taillights in side panel, rear lid and/or bumper have visual damage and/or cracks (severe in some cases).
Workshop findings:
No external application of force can be detected. No contact between light and vehicle body.

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intellectual property rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies, and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
Figure 1. Examples of damage caused by aggressive substances.

Figure 2. Additional examples of aggressive substances.
Concern 2. Light damaged or cracked due to external application of force (Figure 3).
Customer statement:
• Cracks in taillight lens, often in center of the lens.
• Lens broken.
• Cracks on outside of lens
• Leak/water in taillight.
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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other
intellectual property rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies, and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
Workshop findings:
• The complaint can be verified.
• In some cases, no other damage can be detected on the vehicle.
• Water/water droplets can be detected in the taillight cluster. A leak can be detected between the lens and the
headlight housing.

Figure 3. Examples of damage caused by an external application of force.
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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other
intellectual property rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies, and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
Technical Background
Concern 1: Light damaged or cracked due to influence of aggressive substances.
Aggressive substances may damage the taillights, in some cases substantially. They penetrate the plastic of the
lens and lead to cracks. This depends on the substance’s components and concentration, the exposure time, the
interior temperature of the lights and the outside temperature (including exposure to sunlight).
Examples of substances causing the issue may be:
• Washer fluid with an increased proportion of anti-freeze additive (vehicles with rear window wiper).
• Undiluted washer fluid or anti-freeze additive (vehicles with rear window wiper).
• Window de-icer.
• Aggressive or too highly concentrated cleaning agents in car washes.
• Aggressive general care products (polish) and cleaning agents.
• Please note that the taillights are not suited for polishing as this attacks the outer layer of the lenses and such
substances can then penetrate the plastic more easily.
Concern 2: Light damaged or cracked due to external application of force0
• An external application of force such as an impact to the lens or a rear collision may result in cracks on the
taillight lens or cause the welded joints for the lens and headlight housing to break.
• Such damage to the lens or the welded joints can lead to water getting into the light.

Production Solution
Not applicable.

Service
Concern 1: Light cracked due to influence of aggressive substances.
If there are cracks which are identical, or similar to those in the above photos, the cause is likely to be the
influence of aggressive substances.
Further indications that aggressive cleaning agents have been used are:
• Cracks in multiple taillights on individual vehicles
• Residual polish on the taillights and vehicle body.
• The black light housing has white discoloration near the crack on the lens (chemical reaction to aggressive
substances).
• This may have been caused by the washer fluid mixture being too strong. Please explain to the customer that
the proportion of anti-freeze additive in the windscreen washer system must be adapted to the operating
conditions. An excessive proportion of anti-freeze additive in the washer fluid may damage the taillights in the
event of contact. Ideally, an Audi Genuine washer fluid should be used. When the outside temperatures are
sufficiently warm, a washer fluid without anti-freeze additive should ideally be used in the specified dosage.
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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other
intellectual property rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies, and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
• Aggressive cleaning agents e.g., with a high proportion of alcohol, should also not be used. This would make it
easier for cracks to form on the taillights, especially if the cleaning agents have time to take effect at high
outside temperatures or under exposure to sunlight.
• Please explain the possible causes specified above to the customer.

General information about the use of cleaning/care products can be found in the Owner's Manual.

Concern 2: Light damaged or cracked due to external application of force.
If there are cracks which are identical, or similar to those in the photos above, these are likely to have been
caused by external application of force.
The following checks should be performed on the vehicle in order to confirm whether external application of force
caused the damage:
• Check vehicle body for damage.
• Check vehicle body/bumper cover in area of taillight cut-out for general damage and/or paintwork damage.
• Check vehicle underbody, especially bottom of bumper cover, for general damage and/or paintwork damage (if
the vehicle underbody makes contact with the ground, the bumper cover may press against the light and result
in cracks in the light’s lens).
• If welded joint between lens and housing is broken, check taillight lens for paintwork damage.

Cracks which are due to tension in the component e.g., component deformation or installation under
tension, generally start at the outer edge of the lens and work their way inwards. Cracks in the center of
the lens normally indicate that no tension is involved.

Warranty
This TSB is informational only and not applicable to any Audi Warranty.
Required Parts and Tools Claims for part replacements outlined within this TSB will not be reimbursed.
For claims unrelated to this TSB, photo documentation is required for review.
• Please take photos of the customer concern and upload them into DOC-IT with the repair order.
• Photos should be documented as outlined in TSB 2061922 94: How to properly document optical concerns for
headlights and taillights.

Additional Information
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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other
intellectual property rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies, and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.

Technical Service Bulletin
All part and service references provided in this TSB (2074347) are subject to change and/or removal. Always
check with your Parts Department and/or ETKA for the latest information and parts bulletins. Please check the
Repair Manual for fasteners, bolts, nuts, and screws that require replacement during the repair.
©2024 Audi of America, Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained in this document is based on the
latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other intellectual property
rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies, and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes
at any time without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites without the prior expressed written permission of the
publisher.

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All rights reserved. Information contained in this document is based on the latest information available at the time of printing and is subject to the copyright and other
intellectual property rights of Audi of America, Inc., its affiliated companies, and its licensors. All rights are reserved to make changes at any time without notice. No part of this
document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, nor may
these materials be modified or reposted to other sites, without the prior expressed written permission of the publisher.