Cheravian

Took delivery of my GLK250 yesterday and have already discovered an issue that I need some help resolving. Is there a way to completely turn off the headlight system? In the AUTO position during the day they come on every time I pull into my garage, only to turn off a few seconds later when I exit the vehicle. Likewise each time I start the vehicle they come on only to turn off when I back out of the garage. Seems like unnecessary wear and tear on the Xenon lighting system. I’ve already tried 2-100 watt bulbs in the opener unit hoping that would trick the sensor but it did not. Any ideas on a solution?

rshew

I have the exact same problem. I have yet to find a way to headlights from turning on in the garage.

Cwdawson

no way that I'm aware of "Short of pulling the fuse" ours does the exact same thing but i'm not going to lose sleep over it. Most bulbs are rated at between 2000-2500 hours which exceeds that of halogen bulbs for automotive use and I don't remember a time I've replaced one of those in a car....

cindyclk

2010 w/89K...in an out of garage multiple times each day...never had problem w/worn out lights...keeps me from hitting anything in garage...never forget to turn off lights.
I wish my other cars had the feature!
btw..2010 has the manual light on/off feature and I have/never will use it.

bop11

The lights on the non Xenon's turn off when you turn off the engine even in the non- auto mode. Just get into the habit of using non-Auto and if you forget some night to turn them off, the GLK will turn them off for you. Don't know if this applies to the Xenon.

LesF

The extra on off cycles really are not an issue. I've always left the switch in the auto position no matter which car I've driven. In fact my wife a few times left her lights on when using the manual mode and of course forgot to turn them off in her retired 05 C230 Kompressor, resulting in a dead battery. Now, with her newer C300 and my GLK it's not a problem.

Cheravian

Thanks everyone. But it’s not the bulbs I’m worried about, I’m sure they will last a long time. As you probably know the xenon bulbs actually move to adjust the lighting for cornering, oncoming traffic and high beam. Every time the lights turn on they go through a series of start-up motions. It looks really cool, but my concern is those drive motors and mechanisms wearing out. With my luck it will happen just after the warranty expires and I’ll be shelling out thousands of dollars for replacement headlight assemblies and installation!

koalatm

It's the ballasts that would go first, but I'm willing to bet they'll be fine for 10-15 years minimum.

My brothers 2008.5 Mazdaspeed 3 has auto xenon lamps and going in and out of the garage every day for 6 years, 110,000 km has not been an issue at all.

As an aside, it wouldn't be thousands of dollars. The ballasts are something like $150 each.

shotgun_banjo

Don't worry about it. Worry about someone giving your car a door ding than that.

Kevin R

I've never figured out a way to turn the headlights off either. The 2010's have 4 different positions for the headlights and they all do the same thing LOL.

It's really annoying when you pull into a campsite late at night with the million candlepower Xenons blasting through everyone's tent and no way turn them off

hondafan

The headlights don't do the calibration every time the lights go on and off, rather only when they come on when the car was off before. You're not doing more wear than they were designed for. Some people are stopping and starting the car a few times at night and that's doing more than you are.

The servos inside are high durability. Every time you hit the brakes and gas those things are tilting down and up. Legally they have to in the US for bi-xenons. The ballasts and bulbs are more sensitive, but only if they're being turned off during the startup cycle (a few seconds).

Cheravian

UPDATE: Three trips to Lowes and $200+ later I have added enough lighting in my garage to trick the over-engineered lighting system! Hey Mercedes….bring back the OFF setting for the headlights.