BudC

With the reset knob turned completely clockwise, the brightness of the instruments seem lower than it was on our 2008 W211. I'm disappointed in it but I can't find any other way to increase it.

It's fine at night.

Anyone else have this opinion?

golfster

Hi Bud,

I may be wrong, but I believe there are settings in the I/C as well.

BudC

I haven't found any and I've been through an interactive copy of the manual.

I did increase the interior brightness from the default Level 3 to Level 5 but it doesn't seem to affect the instrument cluster. Our 2008 E350 was very bright even in daylight. The funny thing is that it seemed OK when I first cranked the brightness up with the reset knob but now it's not as bright as I'd like.

I even tried switching the lights from Automatic to Low Beams to see if that mattered and it didn't.

I live in Arizona and always wear sunglasses but they are Orvis which aren't very dark.

Plang1

Hi, If you can get into the IC, is there a setting for the sensitivity of the "Auto lights on" I find I start the car in a garage and obviously the lights come on, However it has to be a very bright day B4 they switch off. I want them to switch off sooner, on cloudy days.
PL

BudC

There isn't in the U.S. if you set the light switch to A. You could try turning on daytime running lights and turning off Adaptive High Beam Assist if you have these features. I don't know if it would make a difference.

hyperion667

I rarely even drive at night, LOL.......

Arrie

Strange, just last week I drove in cloudy conditions. My lights came on when it started raining enough to keep wipers wiping long enough. Lights went off after rain stopped and it was very cloudy. Nothing you would call bright day. But, perhaps rain controll for lights works different than darkness. I have noticed though that driving in a tunnel turns light on and after tunnel they turn back off.

You might have a problem with the light sensor, which could just be dirty. I don't know where it is located though. If it is at the rain sensor make sure your windshield is clean where the sensor is.

RJC

Maybe you can cover the sensor and see if that allows the brighter night time cluster lighting?

Apparently the 12's may be getting different cluster lighting so mb may have noticed this issue and corrected it; this has not yet been fully verified.

BudC

i'm not sure where the sensor is at but i'll give it try when i find it.

kyblue

The 2011 MB E550 sedan is my first MB. I bought it used with 14,500 miles on it. I didn't notice on the test drive so much but later, I noticed the instrument cluster gets a lot of glare and shadow that makes the instruments hard to see in daytime. In contrast the Lexus loaner RX350 had great deep set instruments with no glare and were well illuminated in daytime.

So I'm following your post with interest...I was hoping there would be a code the MB tech could set to have the instruments light up in daytime?

I did turn on the parking lights in the daytime and that turns on the instrument cluster but it could still be much better. I also left these lights on once by mistake....hello jump start.

I am surprised that with the supposed quality and detail of MB that such an obvious detail has not been addressed. Instruments visibility not a problem with Chrysler 300, Audi or Lexus.

BlackBensy

How do you get there and how do you set the ambient lighting in the car?

BM2BZ

if you are talking about set the brightness of the ambient lighting and if you have a 2013, go to page 239 of your owners manual, not comand manual, and page 250 if you have a 2014.

ghstudio

KyBlue....yes, the dash is very difficult to read in low light conditions during the day....for example as dusk approaches. I've asked mercedes HQ about that and they say the car is working as designed. There is, in fact, no reason not to have the instrument lights on all the time...it's just a poor design, IMHO....and it's very annoying. I often use the rear parking light switch to turn on the dash lights. Short of turning the lights off of the automatic setting, it's the only way around the "issue" as far as I know.

hyperion667

that's right my man, a bit more nose in the manual will answer all the questions

Arrie

Strange, I have been driving these cars for 2 1/2 years now and I NEVER had a problem to read any of the clusters. And my driving conditions include every possible lighting condition from full bright to full dark and every possible light angle too.

mbuster25

Whereas Lexus can be set so bright, as to be uncomfortable, the MB cannot. I too was initially concerned, but with time and mileage I've deemed it satisfactory.

kyblue

ghstudio....So I see I'm not the only one who would like a little more light. I did send M-B an email and just got a call today with no solution...the lady started telling me how to adjust the brightness knob...I asked her if she was actually reading the email!? She still said there was no solution and again I asked that she pass it on to a tech type to see if there was a computer coding solution...I won't hold my breath. I am working on a couple of low tech type solutions but have not finished working them out yet. BUT...I do have one possibility that maybe someone on here who is more technical might be able to answer....and that is this...The day time running lights are on, is it possible to "jumper" at the fuse box the Instrument Cluster lights to the daytime lights? Sounds like a possibility.

ghstudio

Yes...if my car wasn't leased, I'd try to find a way to wire the dash lights to the running lights (or similar). There is no reason not to have the instrument panel lights on all the time, but Mercedes won't make the modification. It would be, IMHO, a safety improvement to all e's.