AZBenz55

Last month I picked up a 2010 E350 Launch edition with all options except night vision. My one gripe is that for whatever reason, MB has decided to opt for RED turn signals for the rear LED lights with amber up front. For the last 4 generations of E class that I have owned, they have been amber - front and back.

Any anecdotal comments on whey MB did this?
Is there is an easy and not too expensive resolution as I believe the european spec cars have amber.

Thanks

ipp

This is so strange, why bother making two versions, must be more expensive, especially when amber is safer and much better looking.

220S

Discussed just a month or so ago: https://mbworld.org/forums/e-class-w...akelights.html

lyjw88

I hate red turn signals.
Orange is much safer and looks better.

K-A

Yeah I like the ambers too. More classic Euro and much safer. I'm assuming all red must be cheaper for them, which is why they'd make such a sacrifice?

petee1997

KA, plastic is plastic The colour does not increase the cost. Now if you were comparing the cost of led lighting as opposed to light bulbs on the W211, that is cost factor. It's far more expensive to produce LED lighting. You may not appreciate most of the improvements on the W212 but it is a far superior car to the w211. That applies to materials and engineering. Picking holes in the W212 won't make the W211 any better. And the W213 will be superior to W212. It's called advancement.

chokaay

Actually, speaking from a manufacturing standpoint, an additional color CAN increase the total product cost if the factory needs to purchase another specified material, which will will break down the purchasing volumes a bit. How much of a cost difference (if any) depends on the ratio of colored material.

However, from what I've seen, both U.S. domestic and overseas W212 E-sedans have the rear blinker shields CLEAR (instead of red or amber) since it resides within the clear middle "stripe" that runs through the whole assembly. Therefore, I would imagine the manufacturing cost of the tail light assembly shields would be the same for both U.S. and overseas vehicles (no additional set-up costs, no difference in materials/colors needed, etc).

The cost difference would probably lie in the colored LEDs (red vs. amber). While one color may cost marginally more than the other to manufacture (I don't know since I'm not in the LED industry), I would think the REAL COST FACTOR would be the availablility of each color of LED at the time of purchase. If the world had a bigger supply of amber LED's than red LED's, then it would probably cost less to purchase amber LED's than red ones (given the same purchase quantity). And if the world had a bigger supply of red LED's than amber ones, the opposite probably would be true.

Perhaps when MB placed a bulk order of LED's, red LED's were cheaper than amber ones, which is why they used red LED's for the blinkers in the U.S. (and any other country that would take them). This may not be the only reason why MB did this, but if you're speaking about cost, this would be the only logical explaination (otherwise MB would be wiser to consolidate 2 part inventories into 1 and just use amber blinkers all over the world).



And as far as getting on KA's case about his opinion on blinker color... I don't think his previous post warrants your kind of response. What you said may be true, but there are nicer ways of saying it. In KA's recent posts, it seems to me that the W212 is starting to "grow" on him (which is why he probably is considering test driving one when choosing his next car).

And there's nothing wrong with preferring amber blinkers. I do, and that was one (of the many) reasons why I chose a W211 instead of a W212 when purchasing my vehicle in 2009.

K-A

Very well said, and thank you.

I was referring to what Chokaay is saying, i.e maybe it costs more to produce an amber LED. And like it or not, there are quite a few downgraded and cost cutted materials, etc. on the 212 from the 211. And of course I recognize that it's a better car and uses better/more advanced engineering than the 211 in far far more areas than it doesn't.

And regardless, as much as I adore my E, I'm looking to replace it with something else, not because the car isn't doing it for me, but because I guess (as much as I like to think that I can own a car forever), I just like to try out new cars at the moment. Had I bought that damn E55 before going the "smarter" E350 route, I probably would hold on to the car 'till the wheels fall off.

And yes, what can I say, I just really like the M-B Brand (historically), and based on my great relationship with my W211, I'd essentially like to stay with an M-B Sedan, so the 212 has kind of forced itself into growing on me . I still will always recognize its little faults here or there VS the 211, even if I were to end up in one.

Rowrbazzle

My understanding is that every aspect on the 212 is made of cheaper materials than the 211 from the rims to the windshield. I even heard it's cheaper to make rhomboid headlights than oval ones. Ovals are, like, crazy expensive.

K-A

Don't forget about the Designer they outsourced for the rear end (heard they ran out of money to pay their own). Heard he had the butt already all penned up for the next Gen Hyundai Sonata. M-B payed a small dime for the rights and voila, a cheaper-than-the-211's butt. They did put L.E.D's to pop smoke all over the "ooh" and "ahh" crowd though.

I kid, I kid.

islandco

I am looking into these Amber LEDs. The actual reason for the red signal light LEDs in the US is market protection. You cannot currently buy the Amber LED signal kit in the US. And if there is a 3rd party they have to get E rating approval for the UK/EU market. I have been through this several times with several cars. I am british but have lived in the US for half my life. BMW,Merc and other manufacturers make these cars, not necessarily to different specs but to differentiate between markets. E.G. a Honda Accord in the US $25K is actually the same car but without euro approvals (e numbers) as the european Honda accord. But the EU version is abou $10-15K more!!!
How do they get away with it? Different body styling, different lights, different shaped glass. They're not stupid- they know how to protect their market. Anyhoo, if you know of a third party company making these Amber LEds then please let me know - I own a computer company and could get the LED's replaced (it may even just be a voltage change to get the LED to glow a different color - or maybe a chip) but if someone already makes a plug and play replacement I would be interested

David

Tjdehya

Is it just me? Because the red rear turn signals doesn’t bother me one bit... Because I NEVER see them. The only red turn signals I hate to see on the road are the cars that use the same light for brake light and turn signal, IMO thats unsafe and it should be outlawed. Our car doesn’t and it doesn’t matter the color, it could be pink, green, purple, or even white. If it’s blinking on one side EVERYONE knows that you are turning. But I believe that if it’s the same as the brake light then that can lead to momentary confusion for the driver behind the car.

jjazzman

Hi all,

I'm shipping 2010 E350 oversea and was told it's an issue if I don't have amber turn signal on the back of tail lights. Where can I purchase the amber version? I need them in 2 weeks. Please HELP~~~~

WGB

Red turn signals are illegal in many countries - definitely illegal in Australia.

Even imported 60's US Muscle Cars have to be fitted with amber signals to pass roadworthy inspections.

Bill