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In Canada, you can only get the illuminated star to light up when you unlock the car. As soon as it starts rolling, the star turns off. In some countries (EU), it is illegal to have lighting like the illuminated star while the car is rolling. In Canada, I don't believe there is such law.
It is very easy to install an after market illuminated star to have it lit all the time while the vehicle is on. I ordered one for 100$ and I will be doing a DIY install. You can find the instructions across several forums. It may void your electrical warentee though so this is something to consider.
I already feel douchy driving a mercedes around. I guess it doesn't hurt throwing on a lit-up star if I already feel this way.
Furthermore, there are two versions of the illuminated star.
Gen 1 is brigher, comes with a control box, will only be illuminated when the vehicle is unlocked.
Gen 2 is far dimmer, does not come with any control box - just a wire to attach to the fuse box, and will always be lit up while the car is rolling. Unfortunately, there are no present ways to hooking this up to a button to turn on/off.
There are easy ways to DIY the bright Gen-1 Star to have it lit all the time and be the biggest douchbag on the road.
Thanks for your replies... Yeah, to be honest, I find this really ostentatious and tacky. I mean, it's sort of cool looking... but it's too show-offy for me.
I've identified a GLC here in LA which I'm interested in buying, but it comes with this option, which I don't want. I'm going back and forth with the dealer about whether it can be removed, and I'm sensing that it can't be -- or at least, they don't want to remove it for various reasons.
So is it possible to disable it by disconnecting it?
And would there be any unintended downsides of disconnecting it? That wouldn't cause other problems for the lights or electrical system, would it?
(The dealer I'm talking to says this option requires a different grill, so it's not as simple as just removing the light assembly...)
Last edited by LazyDriver; May 8, 2016 at 03:34 PM.
If you really like the vehicle seems that without doing anything else simply removing the power would suffice.
If you went this route there would be no reason the replace the grill as your not disturbing the assembly itself. All you want to do is turn off the led/s.
That said, remember the GLC is an electronic marvel. I'd want some assurance from an M-B tech that simply turning off the star illumination would have zero ramifications.
BTY this illuminated star is shown in the GLC Accessory Catalog as a dealer installed option. Seems to me if the dealer can install it he ought to be able to least turn off the light.
Last edited by larrypmyers; May 8, 2016 at 04:20 PM.
Thanks larrypmyers, yes, I have to say, in discussing this with the dealer, it's a little strange and I get the feeling I'm not getting the straight story, which bugs me...
It is listed as dealer installed. The salesman explained to me that those options are installed when the car comes off the ship in Long Beach. I didn't ask him about this in detail so I don't know whether it is an operation for all dealers in So Cal installing these options, or whether it's being done by MB, or what...
But anyway, what he said to me at first was "I can call and try to stop them from installing the option if it hasn't already been installed". Later he told me that there's no way to really know if the option is on the car or not until it actually arrives at the dealer... None of what he's said to me about this makes a lot of sense. I said well, I don't want it and I don't want to pay for it, and he said at worst he would disable it and wouldn't charge me for it. But I just find his whole explanation weird...
Thanks larrypmyers, yes, I have to say, in discussing this with the dealer, it's a little strange and I get the feeling I'm not getting the straight story, which bugs me...
It is listed as dealer installed. The salesman explained to me that those options are installed when the car comes off the ship in Long Beach. I didn't ask him about this in detail so I don't know whether it is an operation for all dealers in So Cal installing these options, or whether it's being done by MB, or what...
But anyway, what he said to me at first was "I can call and try to stop them from installing the option if it hasn't already been installed". Later he told me that there's no way to really know if the option is on the car or not until it actually arrives at the dealer... None of what he's said to me about this makes a lot of sense. I said well, I don't want it and I don't want to pay for it, and he said at worst he would disable it and wouldn't charge me for it. But I just find his whole explanation weird...
I would find it hard to believe that he does not know what is being installed as it is based on how ordered by the buyer or dealer. Not a guessing game or a game of chance.
Thats some silly bull**** your dealer is telling you about. This option is installed by the dealer. It is an easy install. Folks on this forum has been able to do it within 30 mins. I'd recommend just keeping it on! It looks really cool. I'm tempted to install one. We may worry that we'll look douchy driving this around but who cares?! Friends and family finds it really cool. And if you do ever get approached about it, just say it came that way! And afterall, its your friends' and familys' opinion that matters most.
Another argument to keep it on is that it will only light up when you unlock the car (if it was installed by the dealer). It would be a nice addition to your benz. When you drive around, it should turn off on its own.
I bought a bright Gen 1 on ebay for $100 USD. I'm sure there is going to be a way to intall it without doing any permanent mods to the car. It can always be taken off if neccessary.
It's basically a trim peice that comes with fibre optics LED and two wires to be connected to any 12V source. Should be very simple to just unplug the 12V sourceif you really want to disconnect it!
I think it looks more cool than douchy haha and I haven't heard anyone get bad comments about it.
Great information again from everyone, thanks so much!
Yes, it sounds really weird to me that the salesman can't tell me definitively that the light is on or off.
If it turns off when driving, then I don't care so much.
I met this salesman through a good friend who himself used to be a salesman at this dealership... my friend said he'd help me get the car at invoice, which sounded very good to me for a new model... but then I saw that this car is sometimes selling below invoice here in So Cal... also thanks to this forum...
I have been trying to pin the salesman down on the price, but he just keeps saying "it will be invoice, there might be some advertising and other fees". I'm feeling weird he can't be specific about the price but is asking me for personal info to hold the car etc etc.
He showed me the model in the computer with the illuminated star listed, then showed it to me later with the star removed... but was still saying it might be on the car... All making me believe I'm not getting the real story.
Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I'd prefer clarity.
The star is simple to remove, if similar to other MB models. It is as simple to remove as twisting the star until it loosens, then removing the electrical connection. If you really don't like it you can probably find someone on this site that would be happy to exchange their non-lighting star for your lighting star. I believe all the lighting stars are now Gen 2 which stay lit while driving. I could be wrong but I don't believe MB manufacturers the Gen 1 anymore.
Remember that if you order the star it is lit by white LED's which compliment the LED lights if you have them. If you have the yellowish halogens it may look less appealing.
I have tried to follow this thread on a new GLC - thru a lot of discussion rgearding Gen 1 from earlier models which was un necessary - and a bit more misinfo thrown in.
I do not expect your dealer will be able to change/stop the install on the inbound GLC.
You can committ to your dealer "now" with a signed sales agreement which clearly notes the price and the comment "Illuminated Star to be deactivated befpre delivery".
Let the dealer handle this for you - rather than "crowd sourcing" the solution....
If you don't want to buy a new car now - or still have doubts about buying the GLC - no need to make a mountain out of a ant-hill on the Star issue - just don't buy the GLC and walk away.
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