maxdog

Has anyone ever notice that one rear tail light on MBs seem to be brighter than the other? I noticed that on my car when my significant other drove away, saw several other newer MBs on the road with the same situation. Specifically the left rear light, seems to be noticeably brighter than the right one. What gives????

Or am I just out of it???

onpaws

I think your SO may have turned on the rear fog lights on by accident.

SAguirre

This brings up a few questions . . . You must be talking about he parking lights right? If you are talking about these then I have a stupid theory: have you (or your significant other) turned on the front fog lights? When you turned on the front fog lights, did you pull the switch out once or two times?

If you pulled it out two clicks and two lights around the lights switch are on . . . THEN YOU ARE ONE OF THOSE WHO IS DRIVING WITH THE REAR FOG LIGHT ON!!! TURN IT OFF AND STOP BLINDING THE PEOPLE BEHIND YOU!

Sorry to write like this, but I am constantly bothered by people in German cars who drive with their rear fog light on and blind me. I simply turn on my Bi-Xenons behind them. I recommend you read the manual and the law in your state that explains how to use it. This has been discussed by me and others on other threads, but you will have to search under "rear fog light" I hope you can find the explanation of when to use it.

But just in case, when you pull the light switch pull it (once) for the front fogs ONLY. The rear is only for times when visibility is bellow 50 meters. If the visibility is so low that you can not drive faster than 50 KM/hr (approx 35 mph), then you need to use it. If you can drive faster than 35 mph, then you are asking to be pulled over by cops and you are bothering the hell out of the people driving behind you!

Hope this sheds some light on your light question,

Steve A

maxdog

Ok guys, I will play around with the light switch and see what happens.

Thanks

luxury1

I agree that I dislike this also but blinding might be a little harsh...

SAguirre

I guess you can see that this hits a nerve with me. Yes, blinding is not quite the right word, but it sure is bothersome (to say the least).

Maxdog, tell me what you find out and I am sorry to have written such a strong response. I just run into this problem almost every time I drive up to Vail. It is frustrating to me to see how many people are clueless about their cars. But by now I should just accept this and move on.

Steve A.

BklynBenz

i agree as well but typing in all caps blinds me!

etenn

What did Bklyn say?? I can't see because I was blinded by the CAPS from Steve.

SAguirre

I don't know!! I must have blinded myself!

Steve

BklynBenz

i just noticed your sig. haha thats funny, i went there when i was like 17 years old. its beautiful there

Brian_I.

True story, I was at the dealership last Friday taking my car in for the initial service when this lady pulls up in her new C240. She gets checked in by the "valet" guy and then her SA comes out to ask her what is wrong. She tells him her tail lights are messed up. She goes on to explain that everytime she shuts her lights off the right parking light stays on.

Of course she was turning the dial ALL the way over the the left instead of stopping in the middle. When the SA explained to her what was happening she didn't believe him at first and he eventually just firmly reminded her that it was a German car and they build them differently over there.

It just amazed me how people will take the time to drive all the way over to the service center of the dealership but won't bother to pull out the manual and read it.

F1Fan

I swear they should have a test or something to see if people are smart enough to know what all the buttons do etc.

maxdog

Exactly, give me the damn test, at least that will force me to read and study the thick *** instruction booklet like law school books. )

maxdog

For the amount that we spend on MBs, MB should include a DVD based instruction manual instead of booklets. MB booklets aren't exactly the most exciting to read, I guess that goes with the car with full of technologies. It would be cool if the DVD based was PC friendly.

Fastbuck

I got one in the UK. Works straight off the CD0 in the COMAND head unit.

DWP

My (deceased) '97 BMW 528i came with a VHS cassette that explained all the major features of the car, as well as an audio cassette to play while sitting in the car that also explained the interior features and controls, by reference to the relevant owner's manual pages. The car was a lot simpler than a W211, too. I hadn't thought about it lately, but it sure would be nice if our cars came with a similar DVD and audio CD.

SAguirre

I just was in a seminar in Social Linguistics. One incredible trend in the US is that we are becoming an " aliterate " Society. This is a person who can read but is disinclined to derive information from literary sources.

Examples of this are all the products that bring videos instead of written manuals. Garage door openers that have message centers. New refrigerators that have video/voice massaging capabilities . . .

This thread just went to this level! I admit that I find the MB manuals a bit dry and not a HOT read. I have also missed some little points, but we cannot expect to see everything on a screen. Do we?

If we got the manual on a DVD/CD ROM, then there will still be tons of people who will STILL not know how to use things as simple as their light switch.

Steve A.

BklynBenz

exactly. if these people cant seem to operate their lights correctly what makes you guys think these same people will learn how to properly use them via DVD/CD Rom?

maxdog

You guys need to lighten up. No pun intended. My opinion is that MB instructions are one of the worse out there. If I need to read it, I will. But then again, that is what this forum is for right?

deuce zer0

Fastbuck

So did Monica Lewinsky and it did her no harm!!!

sack5000

Who has time to read a 600 page manual?

AsianML

That's the first thing I do when I get home. Otherwise I'm stuck with incorrect settings, times, etc.

mestizlove

ok,, back to his question,, so it's a rear fog light. is one suppose to be brighter than the other?? ....when we first got our benz, i was playing with that switch and my neighbor was asking me why its like that. ... i said "RunDMC .....cause that's the way it is!"

Germancar1

There is only one rear fog light, on the driver side of the vehicle, yet is it supposed to be brighter than all the rest, hence it being called a "fog" light.

M