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Last time i was in Europe i noticed how much better the amber turn signals look on the facelifted w212s than the ugly US spec brake/turn signal combo.
I wanted to see if anyone has successfully performed a US to EU swap of the rear tail-lights? I have a W212 Coupe facelift and wanted to perform the swap (with purchased EU equipment).
Agreed, they look world better. Retrofitting isn't plug n play, sadly, or I would have done it in a heartbeat. It would need extra wiring and coding. Here's a decent thread on it:
Actually, I saw the "facelift" style 2010-13 lights available in the US (red turn signal) and in amber (from China). Had the amber been available from the US, I would have gone for that. MAYBE those are actually Depo's that are not DOT approved, for the Asian market. The DEPO name and DOT are important to me, though.
Forget DEPO... if someone can show me how to / or can locally do the swap I will purchase OEM outside taillight segment straight from Europe.
It's not possible within financial reason. It's not just the parts, it's coding and wiring. The other person who attempted it ended up having other issues when he changed the coding.
It's not possible within financial reason. It's not just the parts, it's coding and wiring. The other person who attempted it ended up having other issues when he changed the coding.
i’ve now completed this change on my car and for the W212 it’s really easy, there are a few other guys on the forum who did this before me and also helped but the procedure is generally:
- order new (to you) taillights from europe (see ebay), part numbers are particular depending on model (ie coupe vs sedan vs wagon)
- wiring involves a pretty straightforward wire add from the left and right tail light to the rear SAM. This is 18AWG automotive wire and new terminals ($5 each x 4 at the dealership, or cheaper on ebay but only if you have patience). This is to do it the factory way and involves a $20 crimp tool plus wire strippers and some fine motor skills. Alternatives include cutting out a complete new harness to the rear SAM and manually extracting the two wires with pins and using it that way, and then splicing.
- need a C4 clone and vediamo and/or possible to do it with openport and vediamo (depending on patience level, $30 plus your time and did I say your time plus lots of youtube to $500 for the C4 plus another $500 for someone to help you on this forum acquire vediamo)
- very simple taillight removal with a need for simple plastic trim removal kit ($10 on amazon) and a deep metric Socket set (1/4”), youtube how to remove
- actual connections and locations are clearly marked on the rear SAM wiring diagram
- I’ll post up something here from my car later, I have pictures
Here's my 2010 model sporting aftermarket facelift tails from eBay with amber turn signals. Quality and fitment are excellent, plug and play.
you’re lucky you had a prefacelift where they still had the wire, so it is plug and play plus you upgraded… for 2014 and up you have to do the wire and coding to tell the car that you have the wire..
Bought them from a vendor named revotec but I just checked and he's no longer carrying the Eagle Eyes product which is the brand I purchased. Be careful if going the eBay route there's different versions of these lights being sold that say Unbranded, I have no knowledge of their quality. There's another vendor called sabersport selling the Eagle Eyes version.
Looks like Eagle Eyes only sell taillights for the sedan. It looks like the Valeo 044064 and 044063 are the matching ones for my car. Pre-facelift, wagon, not-US/Mexico region.
To make double sure, I'm to understand that mine wouldn't need programming for those to work?
I find it amusing until today ...for US cars to use RED light for turn signal and not Amber.
It is "a slower" overall response to drivers this RED turn signal thingy. Appointing the same color light for 2 different critical duties and needing extra 1 second at least to differentiate their duties...........is something so very dumb.
1-2 seconds delay is a disaster at 60MPH which is 26 meters per 1 second or 5 car lengths....BOOM !!
ASK :
The new cars will turn on its hazard lights ( amber, EU spec ) when in emergency mode hard braking, if a US version still using the red ones, do they also blink-blink the red like European amber ones ?
I find it amusing until today ...for US cars to use RED light for turn signal and not Amber.
It is "a slower" overall response to drivers this RED turn signal thingy. Appointing the same color light for 2 different critical duties and needing extra 1 second at least to differentiate their duties...........is something so very dumb.
1-2 seconds delay is a disaster at 60MPH which is 26 meters per 1 second or 5 car lengths....BOOM !!
ASK :
The new cars will turn on its hazard lights ( amber, EU spec ) when in emergency mode hard braking, if a US version still using the red ones, do they also blink-blink the red like European amber ones ?
thanks
Yep, it's that simple! US cars blink their rear lights regardless of color.
Warning lights look like "flashing rear lights" when in fact they are "flashing turn signals".
This whole philosophy about making things better and last longer is not the best business model. Organized chaos generates greater opportunities for repeat buys or trade-ins, right?
I still haven't pulled the trigger on this since it looks like it'll be around $600, but I'm coming back around to it again. For anyone else interested in doing this on a 10/11 but doesn't want to upgrade to the facelift style, Valeo sells the taillight assembly with amber signals under part numbers 044063 and 044064 (also found under 44063 and 44064). ULO also sells the same taillights under part numbers 1059003 and 1059004. Interestingly enough, they both also sell the same taillight with regular halogen bulbs for the turn signal instead of LED under part numbers 44061 and 44062 (Valeo) and 1059001 and 1059002 (ULO). I suppose that'd let you make your turn signals purple if you so desired
Both Valeo and ULO can be found on eBay and various European parts sites, some of which say they deliver internationally. The Valeos can be found on RockAuto for around 500 for the pair before tax/shipping.
I'm a proud member of the club now! I ended up getting Valeo on RockAuto and they were plug-n-play except for having to cut a small tab off the electrical connector. No one else understands why I'd spend the money to do this, but it makes me irrationally satisfied. Thanks for all the info, folks!
I find it amusing until today ...for US cars to use RED light for turn signal and not Amber.
It is "a slower" overall response to drivers this RED turn signal thingy. Appointing the same color light for 2 different critical duties and needing extra 1 second at least to differentiate their duties...........is something so very dumb.
1-2 seconds delay is a disaster at 60MPH which is 26 meters per 1 second or 5 car lengths....BOOM !!
ASK :
The new cars will turn on its hazard lights ( amber, EU spec ) when in emergency mode hard braking, if a US version still using the red ones, do they also blink-blink the red like European amber ones ?
thanks
to turn on the emergency brake flashing you have to change a coding trigger in the rear SAM, possibly front SAM, and to possibly the central gateway.. i did it to mine, can only verify that the brake lights flash and that’s it. Note you can also change the trigger speed from 60km/hr to as low as 30km/hr to arm the feature before emergency braking. You absolutely need vediamo (or maybe DTS Monaco ?) to do this.
there’s yet another feature to adapt lighting brightness on the car to the ambient conditions - this seems to be purely for signal and brake lights.. this is on my facelift 2014 and I got the coding from another member on the forum. No idea of the result however.
you’re lucky you had a prefacelift where they still had the wire, so it is plug and play plus you upgraded… for 2014 and up you have to do the wire and coding to tell the car that you have the wire..
I will look at the thread posted above, but I have a facelifted 2014 E-Class and I'm very interested in doing this, I am happy to take it to my mechanic to handle it because I doubt I could do it on my own. Would like to bring the parts though, I don't see any on eBay at the moment and I don't want to order anything from China. Can this be ordered via Mercedes-Benz German website?
I will look at the thread posted above, but I have a facelifted 2014 E-Class and I'm very interested in doing this, I am happy to take it to my mechanic to handle it because I doubt I could do it on my own. Would like to bring the parts though, I don't see any on eBay at the moment and I don't want to order anything from China. Can this be ordered via Mercedes-Benz German website?
Check out my Build Thread, it gives a break down of how it was done, there was also a video from someone in Albania that outlines this retrofit.
Recently purchased a 2014 facelift E350 sedan.
Really wanting to get the EU amber signals without having to do coding. Wondering if anybody else has tried purchasing aftermarket plug and play taillights?
Recently purchased a 2014 facelift E350 sedan.
Really wanting to get the EU amber signals without having to do coding. Wondering if anybody else has tried purchasing aftermarket plug and play taillights?
Just because the listing is on Aliexpress US doesn’t mean it’s for a US W212.
I went the Genuine route and spent $1000 Cad to replace the two outer, and the shade of red is slightly different from the inner ones technically.
The taillight lamp assembly is made by odelo, but you could get depo units. The wiring and coding isn’t that difficult to be honest.
Further, part way through 2014 they changed the taillamp housing design to cast a slightly different tinge
Did you get them from Mercedes official site, or elsewhere? Can you share a link, and also pictures that show the difference in the red inner vs. outer after the swap? I'm at a point where I'm going to hang onto my 2014 w212 for a much longer time rather than consider trading it in, now that I have the garage space and I'll have a child old enough to drive in a few years, and always wanted to do this mod.
I find it amusing until today ...for US cars to use RED light for turn signal and not Amber.
It is "a slower" overall response to drivers this RED turn signal thingy. Appointing the same color light for 2 different critical duties and needing extra 1 second at least to differentiate their duties...........is something so very dumb.
1-2 seconds delay is a disaster at 60MPH which is 26 meters per 1 second or 5 car lengths....BOOM !!
ASK :
The new cars will turn on its hazard lights ( amber, EU spec ) when in emergency mode hard braking, if a US version still using the red ones, do they also blink-blink the red like European amber ones ?
thanks
Not sure about Mercedes on your last question, but certain BMWs etc. - they blink *red* on hard braking (or some of them also blink the third brake light under *any* braking which I find a bit annoying and unnecessary).
Not sure about Mercedes on your last question, but certain BMWs etc. - they blink *red* on hard braking (or some of them also blink the third brake light under *any* braking which I find a bit annoying and unnecessary).
Yes that is a very European car feature, it does seem to be disabled on MBs in the USA for lots of models though plus it is an option in Europe not standard I think.
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