Just to check with others owners of W212 2009-2012. My xenon lights are very poor. This image is compare between my Merc W212 with xenon lights and Seat with regular H7 lights. Is this with every E class W212 or do I need some kind of repair? Xenon lights are brend new Osram.

 

Factory Bi-Xenon headlights or aftermarket H7 HID kit?

 

Factory bi-xenon

 

It is very hard to determine from the photos, but the W212 has more light directly in front of the car, more width, and a longer throw. This is pretty much what you would expect from HID compared to halogen. I don't think you have a problem.

 

And the bulbs are new [Osram]? Are the pictures of the W212 and SEAT? The first photo has a hood star and the foreground is better illuminated than the other photo. I'd almost suspect the high-beam was on in the first photo given how high up objects are illuminated.

 

It's pretty clear the W212 is putting out more usable light.

 

While OP doesn't seem to have an issue at all, I would add that mine has factory bixenon and looks absolutely dreadful. I've driven 3 other vehicles in the past month and each one was leaps n bounds better. Brighter and more useable light. Makes me think it's time to upgrade my lights. Thought about nightbreakers but didn't wanna upgrade lights and it be more of a projector problem. Not really a way to get rid of the HID burn in? Or maybe swap out the projector lens for something clear.

 

Wow, I'm shocked at these posts, my '13 xenons are original bulbs and they are awesome! my only issue is with the Auto mode which shuts them down too often, my E has better xenons than my '07 S and just as good as my '03 S, I'm confused by this post.
My son has the '15 with full LED, he thinks their better, I like my xenons better, I also have the H7 dual halogen setup in my '12, with the upgraded bulbs they are ok, but not as good as my son's LED or my Xenon car. I have never compared them with the half LED half Halogen car.

 

I owned a W204 with the full ILS HID, and I tested a half LED/half halogen 2016 W212. The full LED W212 is miles and miles ahead of either of them, though neither of those were bad. I've been completely spoiled by my current headlights to the point now even HID cars look like halogens.

 

Yes, I'm aware you like them better! My son will be here in late February, I will line them up next to each other and test them. Then we will drive both of them to see. he says their better too! I really love the HID's

I asked him to drive the Benz instead of his '19 Lexus RX350. we''ll see how that goes space-wise.

 

You tell your son about Vladimir?

 

You bet! I also told him about MB House in Toronto, halfway between us. he really likes the DRL's on his, mine are in the lower valance. His is black with the light grey interior which I wanted so badly, loved it in my last three Benz's. I bought my '13 as the '14's came out, not a light grey interior to be found! His is a P2 package as well, but no folding mirrors. my last five Benz's had them and I thought I'd miss them, but I don't. Maybe if I parked on the street, ever. I used to fold them in at car washes, that apparently was unnecessary because they don't get moved around without doing that, but I don't go to car washes except on trips.

I definitely told him how much you liked Vladimir's dongle and how many others here agreed, If MountainMan would have posted a more resounding review on his pre-facelift Xenon"s, I probably would have done it, after the last road trip and looking at all the new car choices and being disappointed, I likely will revisit this decision.

 

Well again, my lights are constantly outshined by most other projector HID cars on the road. It's annoying that my lights don't even compare to a 2020 nissan altima.....an altima, people. I'll be buying the nightbreakers to see if that gives me the output I'm looking for. Because yes on a road by myself at night? They are nice. I can see and everything. Not bad at all. But next to anyone else? My lights fade into the background.

 

Are you basing this off of what you're seeing from your car or have you driven a 2020 Altima? Headlight technology is constantly improving and with the IIHS now scoring them, it should be no surprise a 2012 HID-equipped W212 would have worse headlights than a 2020 LED-equipped Altima. Our Macan's bi-xenon HID system is inferior to my recent rental CX-5's LED setup... that wasn't surprising (or insulting) to me.

 

That was one of the vehicles I've driven recently. And yes even driving past one, it's easy to see. That's one of many. Older acuras, some lexus, ford's, chevy trucks, I mean the list goes on. My light output would be classified as avg to me. Not bad at all, just not really good/great. It's not insulting just more of, man, I NEED to have some kind of performance similar to this. Unless I'm on a pitch black road by myself, these lights ain't really viable on wet roads at night.

 

I don't have a lot of experience with Ford or Chevy trucks. I have a friend with a 2016 Flex with HID.. that HID is way worse than the Macan. My Lexus cars (IS and ES) have had amazing headlights, so that's no surprise. Same with Acura. If you think that's bad you can't compare to those, try a 2014-2019 Corolla. We owned a 2015 Corolla S and it had some of the best lights I've ever owned if you just account for low beam performance.

You can try to update the bulbs. I recommend either the nightbreakers or the CBBs if you're looking for a bit more white and less yellow. We have the CBBs in our Macan and we had them in our Soul Turbo as well. They're great, but it's not going to be like LED. Just color purity alone is always going to make any LED cars appear to have better lighting.

 

Some thing must be off here, my headlights are awesome, just to check you have the factory HID's with the auto high beams turning lamps and your two headlights go up and down for brights? they also turn a little when you go around corners? And the cornering light come on?
I'm just wondering because on my street when I put on the brights, I light up the stop sign 1/2 mile down the road, it's glowing at that range. maybe your height adjuster on the rear axle is set too low or is stuck or malfunctioning, I had this on my '03 and I lubed it up,

 

I just realized OP and @VW2MB are not the same people. How many miles does this car have? HID capsules dim over time.. with a lot of usage, you would have lost illumination over the years. @pierrejoliat has low mileage even though same year.

Try bulbs and adjustments. For maximum illumination, get nightbreakers. Get used to the idea that when another car is next to you on the road at night, particularly a car with LEDs (and their cooler temps) from your perspective it will look like they have better lights. From their perspective, it will look like you have better lights. Don't worry about this.

And you say you have HID burn in? That is common with these W212s and nothing you can do about it short of replacing the outer lens. Our Macan suffers this as well.

 

i don’t know what year and how your lights work but I own a 2010 E550 and I did own a 2011 E350 with the Bi-xenon lights. I must say that lights do not get better than these cars have.

The low beam when in adaptive (Automatic) mode are better than most cars with high beam. The lights adjust the distance to car in front and also adjust down for on-coming traffic.

I have bi-xenon lights on my 2013 S-class too but they do not come close as good as my E is.

Are you sure you have the light stalk pushed forwards at all times with the automatic feature enabled? If you don’t then your lights on low beam are set to the shortest distance at all times, which is the fog light setting.

 

Yeah I'll probably just update the bulbs or something. About all I can do short of a retrofit. It's just crazy that my old skool TSX projectors have way better output and cutoff. And when I say old...I mean like Pre-'06. I understand the LED/Laser lights are gonna just look better n brighter. But HIDs(unless many manufacturers don't use them anymore) on run of the mill cars, appear brighter...or...have a better sharper cutoff

Yes I have the auto lights and cornering lights. Again, on a street by myself that's dark? They are really good yes. But if I get out and hop in another vehicle with hids? Or even leds? (Not talking luxury cars either) the light output in combination with the cutoff and beam pattern make mine look weak. Yes my brights are incredible. And they do indeed light up signs as far as what seems like a mile. My year is 2012 with the auto cornering feature. Also wanted to confirm, that yes, my lights do indeed point the way they are supposed to. They aren't aimed low or anything. It's just the intensity of the beam itself that seems kinda faded.

When purchased(a year ago) car had 67k. It now has 78k. Yeah may go with the nightbreakers. It was between them and the phillips gen 2 XV2. Is there any reason or science behind why other cars headlights appear brighter while in your own car? I understand most car companies use different headlamp builds, but aren't all bulbs made my essentially only a handful of companies? Unless they produce their own ballasts but outsource the bulbs then I get it.

And yes, I have the lil angel shield looking burn in. I just don't understand this. I've owned multiple cars with HIDs and even aftermarket HIDs (55w) with projectors and reflectors...what about this model makes the burn in happen?

Well I will definitely say I was completely unaware of this function. The only time I remotely see something like this happen, is when I have the automatic feature on, and my brights come one...once a car pops up practically 3/4 of a mile down the road facing me? The lights automatically adjust down until they pass and then the brights come back on. But my understanding was that the brights simply turn off and back on automatically rather than the low beams adjusting also while brights are not illuminated. Fog light setting? Confused about this as well. I thought that's what the LED parking lights below the bumper are for. Plus when I press the fog button anyways, it turns on the rear fog light inside the taillight...

 

Interesting, they did make the original and two revisions to the Xenon headlight, so the '10's had the first rendition and my '13 has the last, earlier part numbers are superseded by the '13 headlight fixture, rumor has it this was to prevent burn in on the lens by more ventilation of the heat, through a pressure valve that also must contain a desiccant that wears out based on use and climate, some have complained about moisture in the lens.

I think that since you have the burn in, your lights were on way more than mine in the last 8 years, mine still look new, as LB mentioned, they do go dim over time just like halogens. I haven't noticed it, but likely would if I were to replace one bulb only. I have similar mileage on my '13 but literally drive I'd bet 85% daytime, my '12 just turned 30k.

somewhere I saw video of a guy pulling the bulbs and using a stick with a cleaning pad on it to wipe away the burn in and I believe thats how Benz recommends doing it as well. My guess with methanol, but you want to find out from Benz or the video what they use. also apparently doesn't last forever either.
Love to hear if the new bulbs make a difference! I hear people like the CBB's but the Nightbreakers are rated well too.

 

Oh yeah that could be the deal then. Twice the amount of miles and being from Oklahoma I imagine inclement weather could also cause the lights to be on. So yeah, who knows. I wonder if replacing the bulbs will change the burn in or if it's more of a front lens issue. But I'll definitely keep you updated for when I replace the bulbs. I'll even do a comparison. Sorry for thread jacking lol

 

I didn't even realize they made "performance" versions of factory HID bulbs (D series)... at first I thought you guys where referring to halogen bulbs like Silverstar, I learned something today

As far as the "V" etching on the inside of the lens, the MB procedure is to clean it with Teroson PU 8550 (which has been claimed to be a iso-p mix) and a magnetic set of microfiber pads. I was actually going to poll the forum if there was interest in splitting an MB kit, which I good for two "sets" as it contains 5x inside pads, 2x outside pads and a grabber. However at ~$350 for the kit, plus $30 for the cleaner locally, each "kit" would be 175 plus shipping + $30 locally for cleaner (shipping flammable cleaner is a liability). So that's a bit steep, I think for a lot of members.

I've ordered a few neodymium magnets (for a few projects) and plan to use small suede microfiber cloths (used for ceramic coatings) to wrap the magnets as a DIY alternative. I haven't tried yet so well see.

 

Well, kind of "performance" the CBB is 7000k so bluer than stock, it is still 35 watts so hopefully won't overheat the fixture. Wow, I didn't know the kit was so much, I would imagine you could use a rod or stick with some velcro glued on and IPA then, for considerably less, the alcohol will just eat the surface of the lens until the V etching comes off. So isopropyl or methanol-based solvents are similar molecularly. Of course I would use the IPA as that's what comes in the kit. I wonder if the kit comes with a oil-based preservative to relubricate the plastic so it takes longer to re-etch?

FYI, usually any flammable liquid can be shipped ORMD, to a consumer or store, like perfume and hairspray, etc. it's only shipping the other way that it becomes a hazardous material and requires a placard. FWIW.

 

For me, 7000k is way too blue and I'm not a fan of the color temp of many LED lights I see on vehicles (too harsh). I did see the Osram Night Breaker which is 4200k (typical OE), which supposed 200% more light... only $180/pair.

I know we refer to it as etching, but I'm not sure that's known... as literature says is off-gassing of plastic, which just happens to "collect" in a V pattern. The lenses are PC and I don't think isopropyl alcohol is strong enough to affect the surface. The kit does not come with the cleaner (separate) and nor any protective coating. So I imagine, unless the gassing stops, that it becomes more a "maintenance" item every few years.