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So from what I can find searching, there is no off position for exterior lights in a MB. Looks like if I use one of the far left single sided parking light positions it will turn off the exterior lights while the ignition is on, but then if I turn the car off, the lights on one side stay on indefinitely? Is that accurate? Or do they stay on for some predetermined time period and then go off?
Well, the lights turn off when you turn off the car (except if you have it in one of the standing light or parking light positions), but yes there is no off position while the car is on. A smart move by MB, IMO, as I see too many cars at night with their lights off around here. Just tooling around with the DLRs on, not realizing that their taillights are off. If I may ask why would you want to turn them off? I pretty much leave mine in Auto and never touch it.
Well, for instance at our lake house the neighbor’s toddler bedroom is very well lit by my headlights coming in or out of garage, so as a courtesy in all our other cars I turn off the lights when I pull in to park, and then they are off when I leave. There are other examples, but that should satisfy your curiosity. I learned to drive when one had to be responsible for turning lights on and off, staying in one’s lane without assistance, doing head checks for lane changes, etc., skills I’ve not lost thus I don’t need the car to be a nanny and decide when I do, and don’t, need my lights on, be reminded that I’m deviating from my lane many times in a short span dodging tree debris, or most other “smart” features. One person’s smart is another's autonomous intrusion.
Fair enough. I hear you. Unfortunately most of the nannies come from the reality that every knucklehead can get a drivers license with very little training, so cars and the rules of the road are designed for the lowest common denominator. Don't get me started .
I despise that you can’t turn headlights off. Any time you’re parked with the car running you should be able to turn the lights off. Trying to figure out if a car is about to pull out of a spot or just waiting to pick up a kid from dance/soccer practice, whatever is annoying, and can be dangerous when you’re trying to pull out of a spot with pedestrian traffic that you can’t see because of other cars’ lights. Getting blinded by the lights of the opposite car, etc. Out of courtesy I will always turn mine to just parking lights on my 2 Mercedes, and off in any other car.
Pay attention next time you are in a place where people are parked with the car running for a period of time, and see if you agree that it would be far better if they turned off their lights. Maybe I’m a weirdo, but I think it’s helpful to other drivers and much safer to shut your lights off when you’re not actually driving. (But yes, it’s very important to have them ON when you are. So I see your point there, but that to me isn’t a reason for manufacturers to not allow them to be turned off).
Speaking of me being a weirdo, I always drive with my headlights on. Too many times I’ve been on the opposite end of sun glare during the day when 99% of people don’t have their lights on, and you appreciate the ones who do when you can see them coming much more easily. So I try to be helpful to other drivers in the same way that I wish they’d be helpful to me in those situations.
Maybe I’m overthinking it, but it does me no harm to have my lights on, and I think it can definitely do some good. so I’ll keep doing it unless/until someone convinces me that it’s a bad idea.
Originally Posted by superswiss
Well, the lights turn off when you turn off the car (except if you have it in one of the standing light or parking light positions), but yes there is no off position while the car is on. A smart move by MB, IMO, as I see too many cars at night with their lights off around here. Just tooling around with the DLRs on, not realizing that their taillights are off. If I may ask why would you want to turn them off? I pretty much leave mine in Auto and never touch it.
Last edited by PColasanto; Aug 17, 2022 at 12:29 AM.
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Slideshow: A one-of-one U.S.-spec Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren Roadster became even rarer after a factory-backed transformation at McLaren's headquarters.
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