Headlight switch- I just can't recall-
 

So this is a ridiculous question as I've had my E350 for years. Driving home late last night I see how all the controls are all nicely back-lit. Then I notice that the headlight rotary switch and the indicator ring around it was not back lit and for the life of me I can't recall if that's the way it's always been. So, my lame question is- is the headlamp switch and ring supposed the be backlit? The rear fog lamp switch to the immediate left of the headlamp switch is backlit.

Thank you!

I find this a slight irritant… Without backlighting, does that mean that Mercedes Benz thinks we should rely only on the automatic lighting?

I suppose I know better, but it seems like Mercedes is giving short shrift to drivers in this area, ignoring those who prefer to manually operate their headlights. This from a company that not many years ago hesitated to place cup holders in their cars, because a “driver’s car” didn’t need them.

Not to mention that many of us older farts are habitualized to operating the lights manually. No backlighting just makes this more fiddly at night for anyone unfamiliar with the switchgear.

The switch looks almost identical to my older, backlit MB, and appears to have the clear parts in the appropriate places for backlighting. Is it possible that MB simply forgot to place a wire in the loom to power the lights, and assumes that owners will not notice?

Has anyone removed this switch to see if there is an empty connector slot in need of a power plug?

Thank you- with regard to your second point, the jury is still out!

This old fart just keeps the headlights on automatic- the moral of the story no two old farts fart alike

It's not really a question of to AUTO or not to AUTO. As a question of interior design, the unlit headlight switch gear looks out of place with all the other bits of switchgear which are illuminated. Even the rear tailight Fog lamp switch to the left is backlit.

As for functionality, Almost no one (in the US) uses that rear foglamp, so it's backlighting is wasted for most. In contrast, a much higher percentage of people would appreciate a backlit headlight switch so they can use it if they choose without fumbling in the dark.

I'm an MB fan, but I won't offer the ambient lighting bar as an excuse for a missed interior design element.

Yeah, it should be illuminated.

I leave it in auto with the turn stalk push forward for auto high beams. Then if I need to flash the high beams, I turn the headlamp selector to on and then back to auto.