Would I be correct in believing that the daytime running lights should be enabled? I was just playing around with the exterior lighting / surround lighting features in order to enable the logo projector and noticed that my DRLs were not enabled. If there is any other useful information you can pass along regarding all lighting options/features it would be helpful. Thanks

 

I can't remember exactly where but the option to turn or or off the DRL is in the MBUX, probably under vehicle settings.

 

Correct.
Here’s the reference:

 

In the UK they are on ALL the time, cannot be turned off.

 

Same in Canada for 35 years. It’s safety feature. There was opposition in the US and the law was never passed. Manufacturers have now finally done it on their own. I was not aware it could be turned off in thé US. Strange that people were opposed to a safety feature.

 

Agree. The difference in visibility is very stark no matter what the light conditions, but specially at dusk/dawn or in inclement weather. Baffles the mind that folks would turn this off.

 

What baffles my mind is manufacturers who add DRLs, but not the extra $3 in parts to make fully-automatic headlamps. I wonder how many rear-end accidents are caused by the "safety feature" being turned on after dusk and drivers being too dumb to actually turn the switch to on. Wouldn't fully-automagic be so much better?

 

People here still prefer to make their own choices instead of the nanny state dictating everything to us.

 

Ha! If that were true, we'd have the real lighting that the rest of the world enjoys, and not have to pay for hacks to the system to see well at night.

 

Of course they would. That's probably why they are standard on Mercedes autos, such as yours.

 

You are correct sir.

 

I've found that at twilight, the DRL feature can be dangerous. The operator can see the road enough to drive, however, the rear marker lights are not illuminated. So you have a vehicle going down the road in the dark with no rear lights.

 

Are you talking about Subarus? They have that strange algorithm, where the headlights come on at dusk but the driver must turn a switch to activate taillights. Could never figure out why they did that, since most of those drivers assume that the taillights are on when the headlights are on.

On all of our other cars, the headlights and all running lights come on at twilight.

 

This is one of the most infuriating features of modern cars (along with the GM reverse lights being activated by locking the car). So many times I'm behind a car with their DRL's on at night and nothing else, and its always a darker hard to see car, especially in the rain. Another feature that automakers should add is automatic headlights when windshield wipers are activated. Subaru has this and its a really smart feature.

 

I believe manufacturers are doing this as my 2017 Platinum Explorer turned the lights on when the wipers were activated. Agree it is a smart feature to have.

 

In the UK land rovers have the DRL'S and Rear lights on all the time.

 

 

this post apparently redacted by admins

 

Here in California, it's the law to turn on the headlights if you are using the wipers during rain. All manufacturers should make this a standard feature.

 

Yeah I lived in Cali for a number of years. Law or not, people still didn't do what they should or were required to do.

 

That may make sense in some conditions, but certainly not always. In Colorado it often rains when it's sunny and visibility is just fine.
All these unnecessary requirements of auto manufacturers, cumulatively drive the prices up to what we're seeing today.
For instance, once all the local governments get three stripes on every road, we will see the requirement for mandatory Lane keeping. Swell!

 

I know this is an old thread, but I currently have a massive lighting malfunction with a 2022 GLS. While waiting on parts my lights are behaving in a way that its absolutely distracting other drivers. Because of reasons like this, you should absolutely have the ability to fully deactivate all exterior lights for the safety of other drivers and ultimately yourself. Thankfully my model allows me to turn off the DRL's so I can still use the vehicle during the day but it's un-drivable at night at this point. If I couldn't turn off the DRL's I wouldn't drive it during the day either.

 

What exactly is the issue?

 

The light took a rock to the cover which punched about a quarter sized hole in it. The light itself is undamaged. I assume that condensation that gathered before I noticed it and could attempt any sort of patch has now caused multiple faults within the entire external lighting system in addition to draining the 12v battery to almost total depletion while the car is off, causing it to need to be started every 6-8 hours so I don't have to replace the effing battery too.

The behavior of the lights can only be described as all over the place. They flash,, they pulse, they bounce like a lowrider off the pavement and then up to the moon. Neither turn signal works now in the front. Just a lot. It's a mess and I cannot believe there is literally no way to completely turn them off short of disconnecting it completely and letting the wires dangle.

 

You should be able to get substitute transportation from your insurance company, I would think.