gearFX

I have the multibeam "intelligent lights" on my current vehicle and am very happy with them. But I'm wondering if I would miss them if I opted for the standard headlamps on my next vehicle. I plan to visit a dealer to see if I can observe the difference firsthand, but does anybody regret not getting the upgraded lights or feel like the standard headlamps are inadequate? I understand that they both use LED technology, but is anybody unhappy with their standard headlamps? Here is how IIHS rated both styles, and they give the standard lamps mixed reviews, but I'm not sure how this translates to "real life" performance:


Multibeam performance (main lens inboard):










Standard performance (main lens outboard):

ua549

If you do a lot of night driving especially in rural areas without lighting, stick with the upgraded lights. That extra 80 feet of illumination gives you an extra second of visibility when driving at 55 mph (80 fps). Even in urban areas there are numerous pitch black roadways where the extra lighting will be beneficial.

forecastdude

I can’t answer how good or bad the std led’s are but my 2017 E300 Q3 equipped is a disappointment. Love that my dealer finally got cornering lights to work (Euro delivery Aug 2016) but understand the multi beams are crippled in the US except for auto high beam. Two dealers can not get
my headlights to even respond to steering wheel movement and say they operate per US specs. They are very bright and love that.

rraisley

In what way are they crippled? They steer into curves, provide side lighting, provide long distance at speed with high beams without blinding other drivers, have a great startup sequence that is fun to watch, and watching them come on high beams (they stay on low at lower speeds) looks like the car's going into light speed. Can't think of anything I'd need more.

Egonvdv

i went from intelligent on my w212 to standard on my w213.
what i missed most was the automatic switching from beam to normal, but nothing i could not live with…
as for vision, sure intelligent is a bit better, but it's not liek i don't see anything with standard ;-)

forecastdude

In the US the 84 individual LED’s don’t turn on and off as a vehicle approaches to avoid blinding the driver nor do I have active curve illumination. Yes auto high beam and the dance of light when turned on along with cornering lights work. Lights are very bright but our DOT won’t allow functionality like the EU has.

GermanysNextTop

that’s interesting, I didn’t know that. Not the using 84 Led technique would mean to loose its core functionality.
I am from the EU, and from what I can tell you from my experience, that once you get the multi beam you never want to miss it again. Besides the auto-brake function it’s the second best feature of the car.
And MB is currently delivering the best lights system.

rraisley

Maybe yours don't do this, but mine do. At speed, the lights stay on high beam, but dim only areas where traffic is located, very clearly illuminating areas far away, yet no one has ever flashed their lights indicating being blinded. And they definitely "turn" with the car, I've confirmed it. This is on my 2020 E450 Wagon. Others have confirmed this operation on earlier W213s and posted it here.

gearFX

I think you two may be talking past each other. The U.S. market vehicles supposedly have the "neutered" (dumbed-down) version of the fully-featured multibeam headlights that other markets (like EU) get. I don't understand the U.S. DOT laws, but while we can have automatic high beam assist, and side illumination when turning, DOT apparently doesn't allow the moving/dynamic "pin-hole" effect that will illuminate everything around other vehicles while using a dark (dimmed/unlit) space to prevent blinding oncoming drivers.





See this video for more about what the U.S. cars is "missing" (in particular the segment that begins at 01:28):


Now that I have hi-jacked my own thread, let's focus on the non-multibeam (standard LED) headlamps.

50thae

GearFX is correct. If you indeed have a fully functioning adaptive headlight in the U.S.A., then you are the lucky recipient of a non-DOT approved headlight system. The DOT has been considering these headlight systems for over two years now, but they still have not approved them. Dealerships will be inundated when they do.

sardarji

I have the same performance now as noted above after I had my COMAND system updated. Before my multi-beam lights didn't do much (auto high-beams only). I mentioned in another thread, that my headlights are now illuminating sides of darker roads, getting brighter while on highways (not the high-beams) and now turn with the steering wheel. It's real obvious now and they perform way different than previously for sure. On top of it all, they are very bright in normal driving conditions and have a new horizon/cut-off in a different position. Like getting a new set of technology!

rraisley

As sardarji says, I also have this operation. On interstates at higher speed, the high beams are on, illuminating far ahead at the road, and at the sides of the road. When a car approaches me facing me, I see very little difference if any, except the oncoming driver never flashes his lights, so they aren't that bright pointed at him. It's hard to tell that they're dimmed there, because I'm looking at his oncoming headlights, but it must be and feel that it is. If I then move the selector back to low beam, there is a huge change, with the long distance lighting being gone. I will say that with bright lights on, I don't see much if any dimming on road signs, so that feature may not be working. But I feel the others are, and I'm extremely happy to have paid the $800 for the upgraded lights. My old 2012 VW GTI had steering lights, and I feel this car steers around sharper angles than the GTI did.

sardarji

By the way, I wanted to mention here that I can see the bulbs turning on and off for the turning function and/or the side illumination on the dark roads. When I am on the street near home, there is a house right in front of a short straight street, before I turn. When I get on that street - the sides illuminate very well on both sides (not cornering lights) and when I make the left turn to come home, the headlights shine on the garage door of that house... I can actually see the lights turning off or dimming in sequence to illuminate the left turn area. Its actually really cool to see... Literally rectangular shaped pixels of light on the garage door.

Cao Black

Is this full-LED functionality the result of a COMAND software update? If so, what COMAND version do you have now?. Also, if this is a COMAND update, the original USA version of intelligent lighting shows an A (indicating auto-dimming mode) and either a green or blue icon of a head lamp on your dash to indicate whether your low or high beams were on. What does it show after updating?

rraisley

Mine wagon is a 2020 E450, picked on January 2, 2020. Not sure what version it has.

ua549

Software versions are shown on the Dealer menu.