MPTLPTR

Is there a way to disable the auto-headlights? The countless additional on/off cycles caused by going in/out of my garage does not sit well with the engineer in me. The W211 actually had an OFF position on the headlight switch, but not so with the current generation?

2006_C350

Thats what they want, stuff to break faster to milk us for more $$$

BenzV12

Turn it over all the way to P and leave it there , it worked well as OP told me

K-A

This was one of the things that bugged me the most. I hated that you can't turn the headlights completely off. Why? WTH is their reasoning? I too hated how it would always come on and off in quick spurts in my garage, so the best I could do was take the time/effort to have to click it into "P" so just the parking lights come on and wait about a minute after I get out of the garage to click it back into "Auto" (you can't do it too quick or else the headlights will come on anyway, doing even more harm) which was very annoying. Often I'd forget to turn the parking lights back off so I'd realize later into my drive that I'm driving around with just the parking lights/taillights on.

MPTLPTR

Thanks all. I guess I'll just do the parking light thing if I remember. I've noticed this "feature" not just on MBs. Hopefully it doesn't proliferate any more.

2006_C350

This was one reason I didn't get the HID/Xenon or whatever they are called and went with the regular halogens as I don't drive that much at night anyways and the halogens are cheap...

CEB

Sure - except that the HID bulbs are covered under the 4/50 warranty and the halogens are not.

2006_C350

Brake lights are covered under the 4 year 50K mile warranty, I just got some replaced on my 2010 C300.

I don't see why halogen headlights wouldn't be covered under the bumper to bumper 4 year 50K mile warranty.

Any experts please chime in...

CEB

Interesting. The last warranty booklet I looked at from MB (mid -2000's) clearly excluded bulbs but included HID's. Interesting that they changed that.

Thanks for the correction.

El Cid

My 2010 has the "old" switch with an "O" for off position as well as auto, on, p, etc. However, if you enable the DRL's in the lighting menu, the headlights automatically come on when it senses darkness even if in "O." Does this when I turn it on or pull into the garage, but I just live with it.
If in "A" for auto, the entry lighting system comes on whenever I push the button to open the car and it is in garage. That bugs me more than the headlights coming on so I leave it in "O". If I drive at night, I switch to "A" so the entry system will work.

petee1997

The things people complain about boggles the mind. What possible difference can it make if the lights go on in a dark garage. Will this wear them out any faster than the auto dimming. Maybe it's the cost of maybe replacing a bulb two weeks sooner than normal.

It's like the complaints about the cost of A and B and C service. Who cares! If all this is too much, you are in the wrong car.

K-A

Clearly you'll buy and enjoy anything as long as it has a Star and 4 wheels on it.

Some people actually have an interaction with their cars and like them to work a certain way. There should be no reason to force people to never be able to fully turn off their headlights. I don't know why one would defend a company to take choices away from you.

2006_C350

+1

K-A <--- always well said!

K-A

Arrie

Well,

I think this behavior of the car company, i.e. make the cars have some sort of light ON at all times, is for safety. They don't think it is necessary for anybody to drive a car in dark or daytime without no lights on at least in front and they don't think driving in a garage is a problem either.

The first car maker that I know with this thinking was actually SAAB, like they were with a lot of other safety features in cars (like ABS I think). I personally owned a 1972 SAAB 96 which had a simple rocker switch for lights. If you left it in OFF position the front lights were ON with half voltage whenever the key was in ON position.

I don't know when exactly they started lights like this but ever since then in Europe every SAAB car had some sort of light in front at all times if it was running. It probably was different for U.S. Market.

For the Bi-Xenon lights switching between Hi and Lo beams, that the other poster commented for, the bulb itself does not change. Bi-Xenon lights work with a shutter that controls the beam distance. The light itself stays the same at all times when it is ON. This is what I have learned. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Taking choice away from us I understand as at the moment there is no law saying there must be light in front of the car while driving at daylight on U.S. roads but believe me the law like this is coming. Canada has mandatory DRL law already. It is just a matter of time. And I must say I am for a law like this as the DRLs really make a difference how the car is seen by others in some lighting conditions. And those modern LED-lights don't even eat up that much power either...

I personally will not buy a car ever again without automatic DRLs. Bought a Chrysler minivan a few months ago thinking it has them but the dealer would not enable them. The same van built in Canada, like where mine was built also, has them as it is required there. It is just a simple SW switch to change and they would not do it. Bought a set of Philips DRLs for about $100 and installed. Works perfectly. But as they treated me this was my last Chrysler vehicle ever that I buy. I can buy cars with DRLs already in the car. What BS they played on me especially after I bought a Pacifica from the very same dealer 6 years earlier and they did do the SW switch on that car to enable the DRLs.

Reason for DRLs is not to see but to be seen. It is not good news to hear that your family got rolled over by an 18-wheeler just because the driver could not see the car coming against the sun and not have lights in the front...

Food for thought...

K-A

DRL's are a whole different story. I'm just talking about the headlights. Making it so you cannot turn off the headlights at will felt like you didn't have control over your own car to me.

Arrie

K-A,

I was talking in general about why a car maker would disable the option to turn lights completely OFF.

It is also a safety feature to have the lights come ON when entering in the garage. Coming from bright outside makes your eyes "blind" for a moment when driving in a dark place. Those lights are needed for that.

Coming out from the garage is a different story but is it really that bad if the lights come on. Bi-Xenons come on with low output "softly" so I don't think any harm is done from repeated ON / OFF cycle of the lights anyway.

cleankutazn

They did this because its pretty hard to do a drive-by with lights on

El Cid

IMO, it's a safety feature because there are still tousands (millions?) of people who don't turn their lights on when it gets dark.
As noted above, it does help when driving from sunlight into a dark garage. Same reason why there are signs to turn on headlights when entering tunnels on highways. That and lights in tunnel may go out.
I insisted on optional DRL's on last two vehicles - and they are enabled at all times.
Actually, all vehicles should come with always on DRL's and automatic head and tail lights which come on in darkness or rain.

2006_C350

Don't get the xenons/HID's if you are that concerned with the price. Halogens are $8 per bulb.

W210

In Canada with DRLs, there is no way one can turn off all lights when idling. Quite annoying attracting attention.

Rk0091

Is there any programming that can be done via the star module to disable this feature in Canadian spec cars? I have a 2014 E550 Canadian spec, which has been exported out of Canada, and this feature of not having control of my lights is very frustrating.