Will do! Thank you so much

konigstiger-Are you happy with your results?
Is the results with the footwell lighting as subtle as the lighting in
the inside door handles?

No, the lighting is actually comparable to the overhead ambient lighting rather than the dimmer door handle lighting. Nice effect and readily noticeable to all occupants while driving at night when set at the highest level. Free retrofit took about 30 minutes with absolutely no adverse effects.

konigstiger-My car is in the shop. I copied you post that had the part numbers and also had my 2003 E320 brochure with me that indicated in four spots in that brochure (that I could find) that the footwells were suppose to have the ambient lighting WHILE DRIVING. My SA called me at the end of the day to advise my car was ready. I asked what they did with the footwell lighting, he said they did nothing...."they looked at other 2003''s and they did not have the footwell lighting as well". Very frustrating...I again explained to him that the language in the brochure indicates that it's suppose to be there. He said that they will call MB today and investigate. What I am going to do is call MB myself after this post and relay all this info along with what you had accomplished. I would like to talk with you on the phone and will PM you.

Can anyone with an '05 confirm that they also don't have ambient footwell lighting? I'm wondering if this was one of the items decontented or not.

TIA

Well, I talked to the Product Advice Tech Support Group at MBUSA re: this issue.

As I expected, not entirely what I wanted to hear. He did acknowledge that the 2003 brochure does say....he read it to me after I pointed out to him where he could find that language, that the car (is) equipped with this. He then opened a case for the regional manger to look at. Same title as your guy but in my area. Of course I did leave a message and will talk to "your" guy as well. The Tech Support guy did say that there is a DISSCLAMMER in the owners manual that states that not all item listed as standard may be included on the car...he stated that the same is true for the broshure......I'm ready to fight.

There is a thread that took a poll with people with and without the ambient footwell lighting. I for one have it. See my build date below.

I don’t like this word “fight”. This is an ugly word. I would rather you state that you will have no choice but to pursue other avenues to bring about a satisfactory conclusion tp your inquiry.

The brochure is given to potential customers, to induce them to buy/lease the car. The manual (shrinkwrapped, as I recall) comes with the purchased/leased car, not before. Even if the 2003 manual does contain a disclaimer like the man said, somewhere in its hundreds of pages of fine print, it's only to explain why the manual describes something that's not on the car. An after-the-fact disclaimer of that sort can't cure a misrepresentation in a document - the brochure - specifically intended to induce a purchase/lease. It's like the shrink-wrap "licenses" that come with software - by opening the package you supposedly agree to all the terms of a "license" that you can't read until you open the package.

By all means, fight. Or pursue other avenues to bring about a satisfactory conclusion to your inquiry.

It should not even be that difficult! Bottom line is MBUSA makes it as difficult as possible to resolve issues that are clearly their fault. Instead of being accountable for their misrepresentation, they find every which way they can to blame it on the customer. They will also use the excuse, "You should not have taken delivery if everything was not exactly how you expected it to be."

That is a shame! MB will certainly lose future customers from the way they treat their current customers.

Correction:

I guess with the charcoal interior and black floormats it pretty much absorbs all the light but when I put my hand under there it shows the amber lights like the other ambient lights in the car. It definitely is different from the regular white footwell lights when you open the door.

Ambiant Lighting in all footwells now ON after a week at the dealor.

Q. Those that have had this feature "turned on" on their 2003's, are you able to control the intensity? If so, what control are you using.

Is there something to do with the Classic, Elegance, Avantgarde Lines in UK/Asian MBs? I don't think the Classic line has ambient lighting...

Yes, the instructions are listed in your manual. The intensity is easily adjusted through your dash / lighting settings. How did you make out with the one touch failure?

So the same Multi-Function Display settings that control the brightness of the front overhead ambient lights also control the brightness of the footwell ambient lights? Too cool. I'll definitely have to beat on the dealer to swap in the new part needed to activate my footwell ambient lights. I still have the SBC recall pending so I'll ask when I go in for the recall.

Ok, thanks konigstiger, I will read the instrustions when I get back home. I assumed if they were adjustable it would be through the same method as the ambiant lighting as for the foward and rear overhead ambient lighting (ie: through the LIGHTING option on the MFD/stearing wheel adjustment) but that only adjusted the overhead light (fwd/rear) as mentioned above. The reostat that is located on the left side of the instrumnet panel to control the instrument lighting intensity/reset the tripometer also controls the ambiant lighting in the inside door release levers but not the footwell lighting....so I'm 2 for zero at this point....if the footwell lighting is in fact adjustable I will have to get back into the book to find it.

The one touch open/close was reprogramed and operates (once again) as specified.

DWP-as I mentioned above, I have had CONSTANT level on the footwell lighting so far. The MFD settings that control the brightness of the front and rear overhead abient lights DO NOT control the footwell (ambient) lighting on my car, nor does the reostat that controls the instrument lighting/door lever lighting.

You must scroll thru the steering wheel buttons to get to the lighting area in the speedo & set the intensity there.

Hmm. On my car the MFD/steering wheel buttons adjust the ambient lighting level only for the front overhead lights. The rear overhead ambient lights are adjusted directly by buttons on the light pod - which rear-seat passengers can reach. Maybe that's another difference between early-prodution '03s and all later-production W211s, like the presence or absence of footwell ambient lights.

I think that I stand corrected on that one DWP.....I will confirrm and get back to you this weekend.

Just checked it and you are indeed correct. Guess MB feels as though the intensity of both the footwell & door handle lighting is not as readily noticeable (or distracting) to the driver as is the overhead lighting and as such it is not adjustable.

konigstieger-The ambient lighting in the door handle IS controllable through the lighting intenstity reostat knob on the intrument cluster...the one that is used to also reset the tripometer.

That does not set the intensity of anything except the FRONT overhead halo ambient lighting. (in my car)

You are correct....only the FRONT one is controllable through LIGHTING

Thanks, I did notice this upon further inspection. Actually it would have made more sense to incorporate the ambient door, footwell, and front overhead lighting along with the instrument cluster into the trip reset – IMO, easier. But it is what it is.

BTW I submitted your audio concern; hopefully we’ll get to the bottom of this.