jonnyrt

Hi everyone, going to be a first time MB owner and am very excited. I was so impressed with the 2012 GLK 350 4M during the test drive and Mercedes quality, my GLK is on order from Germany, takes 3-4 months to get to Canada!

Question: Are there any issues changing the LED license plate lights on the GLK? I did this with my 2009 VW GTI and it required a little effort to ensure no error warnings, socket melting etc? Thanks everyone!

venchka

Do you mean changing the tungsten bulbs for LED lights?

jonnyrt

Not sure if the stock license plate bulbs are tungsten, but you can purchase 'all-in-one' LED license plate light kits for the GLK on eBay,

venchka

If the plate bulb/bulbs aren't LED from the factory then they are antique tunsgten bulbs. As are most all of the smaller general illumination lights on all cars built since forever. Tungsten. Hot, fast & cheap. What's not to like?

venchka

Inquire here.........

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/x204...ed-lights.html

jonnyrt

Thanks for the info!

yualfred

I replaced them with LED, always the left license place bulb has error message I need to press 'ok' to reset it even time it turns dark. I think there are 'message free' bulbs you can buy, but they consume more juice to mimic a tungsten bulb which defect part of the benefit to have LED.

bobhammer

did that with a body shop, costs me only 50 bucks, no error msg whatsoever, very satisfied with the result, backup camera looks even clearer in the dark

rmfnla

Assuming you mean it defeats part of the benefit, power consumption is not a big issue with tungsten filiment bulbs.

Filiments burn hotter and are much more fragile than LEDs, so longer life is really the primary benefit.

erlomd

old forum, but maybe its time for a revamp...
anyway, I was looking around the ol' eBay site for led buckets for the rear license plate...but all I see now is replacement bulbs...has anyone tried the LED bulbs? if so, has anyone received an error message? or does anyone recommend a particular brand or seller?

MBKLUE

Superbright LED's

erlomd

I'm thinking maybe this one:

mynameiseco

I purchased some LED lights from Amazon.com that promised no error for about 16 bucks, took it to a body shop (because I wanted it done right, if your savvy though it's a simple procedure) they charged me 50 to install and now the rear of my 2012 glk looks beautiful. I definitely recommend doing it.

erlomd

well I ended up with both bulbs just barely fitting correctly into the housing.
It fit fine in the slot, but the plastic cover lens did not close easily...the bulb is just a hair too long...

Long story short, it fit but its smashed in there tightly...

even though it was advertised as "error free" it still gives me an error message (which has gone away for now)...It may come back however...

but...it looks great!!! and for $5 for the pair with free shipping, I cant complain!

rmfnla

Which ones did you end up buying?

Where on the car did you use them?

erlomd

I bought them on eBay from this person:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/2x-White-T10-Wedge-10x-3528-SMD-LED-Side-Marker-License-Plate-Light-Bulbs-Pair-/351291995334?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2047675.l2557&nma=true&si=ao4xcfjzUfu1ijBNizFeh2cscSc%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc
I keep forgetting to take pictures of them at night...hopefully ill remember tonight.
they are the license plate lights...

Ive noticed that if i turn on the lights during the day and keep driving at night, the error message does not turn on.
However, If its already dark outside and turn on the lights then I get an error message...go figure.
small setback but whatever, they work and look good...

I would probably suggest trying with the other seller that was mentioned in the previous comments. I don't think the seller that I bought the lights from listed them as "error free"

mynameiseco

@Erlomd so I saw that you mentioned that it had given you an error message prior and that it barely fit. If you have problems in the future here's the link to where I got mine: it's got the casing so it's just plug and play.

http://firstautoled.com/GLK350-X204-09-12-Mercedes-Benz-LED-License-Plate-Lamp.html

erlomd

Thanks! those look so nice too! ill definitely get a pair! thanks for that recommendation!
BTW, do you know if the light bulbs for the license plate are interchangeable anywhere else on the car? like maybe the dome lights inside?

anyway...heres some pics of how the lights look...

mynameiseco

The lights look sexy on the white too! You know as far as inter-changing the bulbs I haven't done that yet! I assume as long as the volts match there wouldn't be problem! That's actually my next project. I'll keep you updated.

erlomd

Thanks...

BTW...Does anyone know if they have HID head light build replacements (error free) or something similar for the front Low beam headlight bulb?
My drivers side bulb just went out and just thought it might look nice.