In a past vehicle (BMW) with Active Curve Illumination, the headlamps moved left to right as you took curves but also if you turned or even when standing still and moving the steering wheel back and forth to some degree. I haven't been able to determine if my E350 (w/LED Lighting) actually moves the beams when taking curves. It does not seem to change the beam direction when going at low speeds and turning the wheel nor when in my driveway and turning the wheel when looking at the beam pattern on my garage door. Can someone "illuminate" this and explain how the MB implementation is supposed to work?

 

I assume your car has the same full LED active/intelligent light package that comes with the Canadian version. If so, then you should be able to see the light beam swing as you turn the wheel, either @ low speeds (or stationary in your garage) or @ higher speeds on the road.

These LED lights are impressive, brighter than the previous bi-zenons that I had in my E350BT.

 

I have the LED lighting package which also has automatic high beams, which appears to work really well (with one exception: someone early in the morning or in the evening at a cross street, waiting for me to pass and looking at me might very well be looking into my high beams, when there are no oncoming cars opposite to my direction to trigger lowering of the high beams). In any case, I do not see any movement of the beams when I am sitting stationary and moving the wheel. I'm taking it in for service in a couple of days to investigate a chirp/squeak and I'll ask about it then.

 

Update: Well, after I pulled into the garage I could see the active illumination moving as the front of the side wall became partly lit. I think the problem was I was expecting to see more of an immediate reaction and was probably turning the steering wheel back and forth too quickly for the system to react. It takes ~1-2 sec, or so, to react to wheel movement. In my previous vehicle, it seemed a bit more reactive and pronounced, although those were Xenons and not LEDs, for whatever difference that makes. Anyway, I guess it's working... sorry for the false alarm.

 

You explained in the original post that your head lights do not track the road thru curves. I think in this post you talk about the cornering lights showing on the side wall.


If the new models have the lights working like the good old bi-xenons that I have (other than the new ones are LEDs) you should clearly see the head lights turn with the steering wheel while you drive. This is very easy to see in my car.


Cornering lights work below 20 mph speed and lit up on the side where your blinker is on or where you turn the steering to. With reverse gear the cornering light comes ON at the opposite side, i.e. the cornering light illuminates the side where the front of the car moves to.

 

Sorry if I was confusing. In my original post I mentioned that I was not sure if the lights were moving when taking curves while driving, probably because I was focusing more on driving rather than concentrating on where the lights were shining. Even in a car without active curve illumination, the lights will move as you take a curve, although obviously to a lesser degree. If I had a passenger with me, perhaps they would have noticed it better

True. Although when I turned the wheel the movement of the lights was not so immediate and seemed to lag by about 1-2 sec, or so.

Thanks for the info!

 

The cornering lights pretty much come on immediately when you turn the wheel under 20 mph. There should be no lag. They come on regardless of whether your turn signal is on or not as well. In my experience the active curve is not as noticeable when driving, but on start up you should be able to see the lamps dip and then quickly rotate to the outside before swinging back upward. If they do this you know they are working properly.

 

So it's not the same front LEDs that light the road ahead that also rotate when you turn the wheel, but separate LEDs that light up on the outside when turning? I'll watch the startup sequence tomorrow when I pull it out of the garage (probably easier to see with the wall reflections).

 

I don't know about the LED system but my Bi-Xenon system has one light bulb for the head lights and separate small bulbs for the cornering lights.


Head light is the same for high and low beam. The distance for the lighting is controlled by a shutter. This light physically turns with the steering wheel left and right and it is very easy to see it doing that while driving.


The cornering light bulb is mounted in the inside of the main light assembly and has its own reflector that points the light out to the side. This bulb comes on from the steering input or from the blinker at below 20 mph speed. My cornering light bulbs come ON and go OFF slow meaning they fade kind of like the radio sound. No sudden ON or OFF.

 

The cornering light in my car comes on as soon as you turn the wheel in either direction, but it does stay on for a short distance after the turn and then does fade out as you said.

 

The cornering light also comes on without turning the steering just by simply putting the turn signal on under 20mph. Mine illuminates the lane next to mine at a red light just waiting to turn.

 

I forgot to check the cornering light when signaling. I'm sure it does but I'll take not of it next time.
Update: I saw that too.

 

Yup, saw that little lighting dance this morning. Thanks!

 

Did you guys notice what the lights do when in reverse? That's pretty cool.

 

Arrie posted above:
"With reverse gear the cornering light comes ON at the opposite side, i.e. the cornering light illuminates the side where the front of the car moves to."
I'll have to check that out too.

 

Both my cars have LED lighting. However, the CLS has the optional LED with 36 LED lights on each side. These powerful lights turn when they see a curve ahead before the driver starts turning the steering wheel. The US model offers only 24 LEDs per side. MB was not able to get approval for the ROW lights from DOT. They probably applied too late.

This lighting package is formidable.

 

Yeah, unfortunately we know we got the low end LED package but it's still decent