Bfgslkman

As a European owner I have been viewing this thread with interest. In my case I bought a UK RHD car and took it to Germany. You can switch via the menus to make the beam flat (so it doesn't blind oncoming drivers as you are now on the opposite side of the road) but ..... Pretty early on I realised that if you have the multibeams there is no shutter, the beam pattern is generated by the computer switching on/off the 84 LEDs. So I went to MB in Germany and they said they could reprogramme the car to think it was LHD. In the end I went to an aftermarket guy in UK and he did it. The car now thinks it's LHD and has the right beam pattern for Germany. So clearly if you have the multibeams on a US car that are dumbed down to meet US regs a change in coding is all you require, but I suspect MB USA won't touch it so you have to go aftermarket?

bellavance

And a guy named Vladimir charges $500 US to do it ... which is just too expensive for me, especially when converted to CDN Dollars.
Has anyone found a cheaper solution?

wagonsrock

How much do you think MB Canada would charge to do this? Of course they don't do this; their advice will be to buy a new car with this option, when its available

decorily

[QUOTE=Bfgslkman;8093858]
You can switch via the menus to make the beam flat (so it doesn't blind oncoming drivers as you ...
/QUOTE]

Also have a RHD European car.

Doesn’t changing the RHD/ LHD option in the menu change the function to make it fully compatible with the selected option?

bellavance

I said it was too expensive for me when converted to CDN Dollars ... not for you ...

I’m also taking into account that my E-Class is now three years old.

So it’s not worth $500 US for me.

wagonsrock

I understand. My E400 is 2 years old, but I plan on keeping for at least 6+ years, so cost in US$ per year is pretty minimal for enhanced function.

bellavance

Too expensive at $500 US for a small SD Card in a plug, in my view. I'll pass.

wagonsrock

You are paying for software and programming skills not the size of the device. There's more data on these micro SD cards than on a floppy disc, tape drive etc. The cost of storage media has plummeted in my lifetime, while the cost of data itself has not.

Tim_P

I mean, thanks for your opinion, I guess? Thanks for taking the time to let us know?

Mike__S

Making hay while the sun shines is a possible explanation. Note that Mercedes charges much more in EU for Multibeam than in US/Canada, surely a perceived value ploy. We are getting the same hardware with crippled firmware for less money.

Another view would be this remote installer has address the VIN to splice the code and in a couple cases have been very responsive to any user problems. Splicing wholesale pieces of firmware code needed to make this work is different than say, turning on CarPlay/Android. In this later case is around a $100 fee. No firmware is modified. Two bits are changed from 0 to 1 to allow these features and works in all cases.

In some chassis series, Multibeam firmware is over two hundred separate blocks of code that has to be stripped and replaced and there are small, but critical variations between chassis series that must be observed. I think MB engineering is moving to unify their coding so that options are physically installed and flags simply set in identical firmware loads, just like using the same door handles and rearview mirrors everywhere, but this is a project still underway. For that matter such unification projects are in hand in every manufacturer's engineering development programs. Alas, a separate topic.

decorily

The multibeams with full European functioning are probably overrated to some extent and there is a certain 'gimmick' factor involved!

Tim_P

Before you conclude it’s an overrated gimmick, Tell us - have you seen them in action or read any research on the safety benefits of this technology?

i love my multibeams, they are a remarkable improvement. But don’t just listen to me...

https://newsroom.aaa.com/2019/04/res...w-beam-safety/

https://www.usatoday.com/story/money...da/1475320001/

https://www.aaa.com/AAA/common/AAR/files/ResearchReportEuroSpecvsUSHeadlamps.pdf

50thae

I must agree with Tim_P. I have driven quite a bit at night since reprogramming to full Euro and the difference is amazing. Everything is much better lit, but other vehicles are not blinded in any way. I have not had a high beam flash from another vehicle. Living in a rural area, seeing further down the road as well as to each side is one hell of a benefit in deer country. It was worth every penny to me.

I can see where it would not be of much benefit to those living in well lit cities. In the country, it is worth getting.

decorily

[QUOTE=Tim_P;8101778]Before you conclude it’s an overrated gimmick, Tell us - have you seen them in action or read any research on the safety benefits of this technology?QUOTE


I haven't at all concluded anything. .....it's just my opinion that they may be a little overrated in actual use as opposed to theoretically!

I live and do a lot of driving in a country area...Ireland

I have been driving a GLC with Inelligent LEDs since 2016 and for the last 4 months have been driving a GLC 300d with multibeams so have considerable experience of the system.

ua549

IMO the original comparison was between EU Intelligent LED's and EU Multibeam lights, not between the US LED headlights and EU Multibeam lights.

Literally, any EU lighting system is better than a US lighting system.

TonyC0101

Greeting guys,

Finally able to activate the multibeam on my 2017 W213 through remote coding with SDC4 and DTS software. Cost me around $100 USD to have someone remote code it. Asking for $450 or even $550, I will say it is overpriced.

Several points want to share here:

Full functionality like EU/CN model

DRL wont turn blue upon unlock due to hardware difference

I also upgraded the standard cluster to full digital cluster so I already have SDC4 and DTS handy, if you want to do remote coding you also need those two which cost around $700 USB, but I mean you can always sell them after or keep it for your own use.

Just want to share these with you guys, stay safe, peace

bellavance

This is great news !!
I'd be really happy to pay $100 to have someone activate Multibeam on my 2018 W213.
How did you find someone to do it for you?

TonyC0101

There are tons of Autoshop in China can do this. Takes like 30 mins to do it remotely. But keep in mind you need SDC4 diagnostic and DTS software

bellavance

I don’t even know what SDC4 diagnostic and DTS software are.
If I find someone near Montreal, QC Canada to do it for me, I’ll go for it.

rustybear3

My question is this: Supposedly, the system prevents the glare of oncoming lights at you as you drive in the opposite direction. Is this activated on this system?

wagonsrock

Physically impossible. If an oncoming car has high beams on, there is no physical mechanism by which multi beam can reduce glare. The only thing it can do is prevent reflected light from signs being sent back to your car, by dimming the leds illuminating that segment.

TugboatBill

Maybe it could refocus all LEDs on the oncoming vehicle and vaporize it?

ua549

Eng.A

Sorry if I am replying to old post, I bought it from vladimir for my 2017E300.
I followed his steps, after the download of the next steps the entire screen restart and after that I removed the device.

I don't remember if there was a message to remove the device or none. I took a long ride in dark highway,I don't see the dark box in the car front of me but also I don't see it glaring on the car. I am not sure if the device is fully installed or what.

Can I reinstall it again or return back the the old one then plug the device again?

Thanks,

Tim_P

You may not notice it working until you drive on a very dark road. You need to have your headlights set to auto-highbeams and make sure the high beams are on when you're looking for the box around the car in front of you. (Sometimes my car would switch back to low beams without me knowing). Also, if your high beams are on and cars coming at you aren't flashing you, you know it's probably working.

It's okay to remove the OBD2 plug after the screen resets, so that should be fine.

I would email Vladimir and ask him what you should do next. You can reset back to factory standard and try again, but he may need to give you a reset file first. Vlad is very responsive and should email you back quickly. He will also ask you for the log file that is generated after the upgrade so he can check whether it worked or not.