One important thing to note. In Europe they have the optional Intelligent Light System which allows the beam width to be changed based upon driving conditions. The U.S. DOT does not allow Intelligent Light Systems at this time, so none of the Bi-Xenon's here will have that feature. What they do have is the active-curve illumination which is when they turn based on steering angle.

 

Though it's annoying for the LED DRL to be switched off when the fog lights are on I believe this is understandable because the DRL is for you to be seen and if it's foggy nobody would see them so perhaps MB turn them off to save energy. Just guessing.

 

Probably not. LEDs main selling point is that they are relatively brighter and consume much less energy than tungsten filament or halogen filled bulbs. Fog lamps are set low because fog tends to settle a few centimetres from the ground. The beam therefore attempts to light the road under the fog and has a wide rather than a long beam partly because the fog itself would prevent you seeing far ahead. The fog droplets actually reflect light back at the driver from higher mounted lights, adding to the problems with visibility.

I would have thought a high intensity, low set light that does not project forward much would be perfect to allow a car to be seen in fog and the LED DRL provide this so I am at a loss as to why they turn off when the rear fogs are on. My sense is that the LED DRLs are visible from a greater distance than the regular headlights in normal conditions so I'm not sure why fog would change this. Surely, in limited visibility the more lights you have at your disposal, both to see and be seen, the better. On the odd occasion we have what we call in England "a real pea-souper" cars sometimes drive (illegally) with their hazard warning lights flashing for fear of not being seen, yet here we have a car with an even more visible alternative that the manufacturers choose to disable in those very conditions! There must be a reason since it is not an oversight but an active decision . . . I personally haven't worked it out yet.

EDIT: Just an additional note about the Intelligent lighting system mentioned earlier . . . the main additional function over and above active curve illumination is Motorway or Highway mode which extends the headlights' dipped beam by 50 metres or so at speeds above 120 kph (75 mph). This speed is commonplace (albeit slightly illegal) in the UK and fairly routine in Germany but it is not surprising that the feature is disabled where the national speed limit is much lower.

 

Anybody interested below link takes to the short video clip I took of the rental MB S350 I drove last week in Germany. It shows how driver side front light lowers the beam and widens to the left when rear fog light is turned ON.

This would be a very cool thing to have on an E with Bi-xenons too but someone wrote in this thread that this light function is disabled in U.S. because of the regulations????

Wonder how they regulate this in a car someone brings with him from Europe if it works like this on E models too there?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1j6j65y-oY


Arrie

 

Can someone check to see if there are one or two sides of lights come on when the rear fog lights are turned on. I've noticed only one side lights up (see picture).

Also, when my car is in a dark area and my light setting is set to '0', the lights still come on. Do others experience this as well?

 

Yes only the left lights up for a rear fog lamp. That's how MB's have had it for as long as I can remember.

 

Okay thanks. I also realized that since I have my car setup for daytime running lamp mode, the 'main' front headlights will automatically turn on in dark conditions even when the light switch it set to '0' per the operator manual.

 

I think they are supposed to be on all the time in this position.

 

Yes it does that. Starting earlier this year, MB has been replacing the headlamp switch across the lineup with one that only has an "Auto" or "On" position. There is no off "O" anymore. The new switch also uses buttons for fog lamps instead of pulling out the dial. This is something that is a running change, so it is possible for some model year 2010 E-Classes to have the old style switch and some with the new style.

 

Would the early W212's with the old style dial have the option to turn the lights completely off?

I hate that I can't have the ability to turn my HID's off when I want. It won't help the bulb life by having them fire up every time I pull into or out from my garage for just that split minute.

 

You do have the ability to keep them off with the old style dial, but you have to first disable "Daytime Running Lights" in the IC menu which will turn off the LEDs.

Don't worry too much about bulb life, I think you said in other threads your car is leased right? Bulbs are covered during warranty period.

 

Yeah it's Leased. I guess I'm just speaking in general, or if I decided to buy the car after the Lease or something (or buy a CPO E63 or something ).