M-Class (W166) Produced 2012-2015

ML350 2012 Halogen headlamp upgrade to Xenon HID headlamp

Old 12-10-2018, 05:53 AM
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ML350
ML350 2012 Halogen headlamp upgrade to Xenon HID headlamp

Please can anyone guid me on how to upgrade my ML350 2012 halogen headlamp to Xenon HID headlamp?
Old 12-10-2018, 09:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Enudi033
Please can anyone guid me on how to upgrade my ML350 2012 halogen headlamp to Xenon HID headlamp?
Here's the HID conversion kit we put together with forum member assistance that will work perfectly error free on your ML SAM

HID
Old 12-10-2018, 06:04 PM
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Originally Posted by AZN Optics
Here's the HID conversion kit we put together with forum member assistance that will work perfectly error free on your ML SAM

HID
yep, basically as AZN says, any route other than this will be super expensive.
Old 12-10-2018, 08:45 PM
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Originally Posted by drwolf
yep, basically as AZN says, any route other than this will be super expensive.
Going into my 2nd yesr with AZN conversion no issues what so ever
wish the rest of this Mercedes worked as well
Old 12-10-2018, 08:52 PM
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AZN -- know you're partial to your own products, but would you push yours over the MTEC one as well?
Old 12-10-2018, 09:13 PM
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Originally Posted by we47b1me
AZN -- know you're partial to your own products, but would you push yours over the MTEC one as well?
Contrary to popular belief, since we're simply distributors for HIDs (we manufacture LEDs), our margins are negligible and only carry to help community deal with manufacture and offer total lighting solution. We conducted extensive testing (50-70 brands) to provide what we believe is best product from performance, durability, engineering, and cost for our customers. Morimoto was what we decided to carry as the best blend. That said, if cost wasn't a factor, MTEC is the best. Retail for legit kits is around $3-400/kit. It's better than Morimoto, but not twice as good. Careful though with MTEC.... There are a crap loads of fakes out there so buy from a reputable seller.
Old 12-11-2018, 11:03 AM
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Originally Posted by AZN Optics
Contrary to popular belief, since we're simply distributors for HIDs (we manufacture LEDs), our margins are negligible and only carry to help community deal with manufacture and offer total lighting solution. We conducted extensive testing (50-70 brands) to provide what we believe is best product from performance, durability, engineering, and cost for our customers. Morimoto was what we decided to carry as the best blend. That said, if cost wasn't a factor, MTEC is the best. Retail for legit kits is around $3-400/kit. It's better than Morimoto, but not twice as good. Careful though with MTEC.... There are a crap loads of fakes out there so buy from a reputable seller.
I appreciate the candor -- very helpful and appreciative. I think I'm going to pick up your kit to install over the holidays. Need to be careful about the implications it has on my CPO warranty though. Time to read the fine print
Old 12-11-2018, 11:24 AM
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Originally Posted by we47b1me
I appreciate the candor -- very helpful and appreciative. I think I'm going to pick up your kit to install over the holidays. Need to be careful about the implications it has on my CPO warranty though. Time to read the fine print

So the good thing about an HID conversion is it's completely reversible. I've yet to hear of any warranty voided due to HID conversion which is a fairly common modification. However, if you're concerned, prior to taking her in for any warranty work, just remove the kit and put the stock halogen bulbs back in.
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Old 12-12-2018, 05:55 PM
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S430 ML350
2010 ML350

Am I safe to assume that this recommended Morimoto Kit is compatible with my 2010 ML350? I also noticed that the kit is rated at 35W. In my manual it states that the standard H7 Halogen Bulb is to be 55W, does this have any bearing on which Xenon kit I require?

Thank you in advance for all replies.
Old 12-12-2018, 06:21 PM
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Originally Posted by JackC220
Am I safe to assume that this recommended Morimoto Kit is compatible with my 2010 ML350? I also noticed that the kit is rated at 35W. In my manual it states that the standard H7 Halogen Bulb is to be 55W, does this have any bearing on which Xenon kit I require?

Thank you in advance for all replies.

Yes, it'll be fine. 35W kit will be fine for your application. It'll actually burn cooler so you won't run into heat related issues like melting housing with how intense HIDs can get.
Old 12-12-2018, 07:28 PM
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S430 ML350
Headlight Conversion

Thank you for the quick response.
While I have your attention......can you give me any advice on which upgrade, Xenon vs LED, gives the best results. The cost difference aside, I am looking for the best fitting upgrade that will offer a "whiter and brighter" headlamp. A hassle free install and long term reliability are important factors to me.
Old 12-12-2018, 08:29 PM
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Originally Posted by JackC220
Thank you for the quick response.
While I have your attention......can you give me any advice on which upgrade, Xenon vs LED, gives the best results. The cost difference aside, I am looking for the best fitting upgrade that will offer a "whiter and brighter" headlamp. A hassle free install and long term reliability are important factors to me.
HIDs for forward projecting lights (low, high, fog). LEDs for indication lighting (signals, city, markers) and short throw lighting (rear plate, interior).
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Old 12-12-2018, 10:07 PM
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S430 ML350
HID Conversion.

Thanks for the information.

Would the Morimoto XB55 Elite HID System be a better alternative for my 2010 ML350? I do a lot of night driving in rural areas so that means lots of animals darting out onto the road.
Can you also recommend which of your High Beam bulbs I should be using with the new low beam HID kit. Also which Fog Light kit I should order.

Thanks again for helping me.
Old 12-13-2018, 11:15 AM
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Originally Posted by JackC220
Thanks for the information.

Would the Morimoto XB55 Elite HID System be a better alternative for my 2010 ML350? I do a lot of night driving in rural areas so that means lots of animals darting out onto the road.
Can you also recommend which of your High Beam bulbs I should be using with the new low beam HID kit. Also which Fog Light kit I should order.

Thanks again for helping me.
You can use XB55. We carry all Morimoto products. It will be slightly brighter than the XB35, but it will have a shorter lifespan. Your call. For your high beams, they can also use H7 HID conversion kit. As for your fog lights, you'll either have H7 or H11 depending on your package type. You should consult your owner's manual as that will list the correct replacement bulb for your specific vehicle. For fogs, I'd heavily recommend 35W though as that housing is really small enclosed so you run a much higher chance of melting something with 50W+ HIDs.
Old 12-17-2018, 01:27 PM
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Has anyone here who has done a LED conversion had a hard time installing the bulbs?

I have a flux beam kit in my 2015 ML350. The LED's are clearly much, much brighter than the stock halogens. However, installing them was a nightmare. Even with the H7 adaptor kit, getting them to screw into the housing was such a chore. It was even more difficult for the high beams. Also, the throw on the high beams goes into the trees! It aims very, very high. The increased brightness more than offsets it, but so much light is wasted because it literally aims up at a sharp angle. I'm thinking that pointing the actual LEDs on the bulb to the side of the reflector (rather than pointing up and down) might help, but because it was so offing difficult to install them in the first place, I don't want to do it. Has anyone here had an "easy" retrofit explanation?
Old 01-27-2019, 11:32 PM
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In what ways are the MTEC systems better compared to Morimoto? @AZN Optics
Old 01-27-2019, 11:45 PM
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The capsule, parts, and engineering Maruta uses.
Old 01-27-2019, 11:50 PM
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Originally Posted by AZN Optics
The capsule, parts, and engineering Maruta uses.
What does this translate to in real world performance? If finances weren't an issue, would it be worth it to pick them up if I was planning on replacing my morimotos? (they're about 3 years old now, got pretty good wear on them). @AZN Optics

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Old 01-28-2019, 12:01 AM
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Honestly, real world, negligible... that's why we decided on Morimoto as the price point was more reasonable.
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Old 01-22-2020, 01:44 PM
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FX35 C350
2015 W166?

Sorry about hijacking for my 2015 ML350 with halogens, but i imagine these applies to my ML as well?
Whats the difference between these two:

http://www.aznoptics.com/index.php?m...roducts_id=132
http://www.aznoptics.com/index.php?m...roducts_id=119

Are there any videos showing the installation process?
Old 01-22-2020, 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by thevj
Sorry about hijacking for my 2015 ML350 with halogens, but i imagine these applies to my ML as well?
Whats the difference between these two:

http://www.aznoptics.com/index.php?m...roducts_id=132
http://www.aznoptics.com/index.php?m...roducts_id=119

Are there any videos showing the installation process?
So the Hybrid Hylux/Morimoto kit was a kit we recommend highest, although the difference really is minor between the two. We just prefer the Hylux ballast because it also includes an extra ground wire to help safeguard the kit from power surges. For those who prefer to stay with a pure full Morimoto kit, no problem with that as well. The Morimoto kit in particular that you linked though is the XB55 versus the XB35 kit which would have been a more apt comparison with the also 35W Hybrid kit. When discussing the difference between a 50W kit vs a 35W kit.... 50W kit will be about 20% brighter, but burn much hotter and have a 20% less total life compared to a 35W kit. So comes down to what you value more, longevity and reliability or full torch mode. I will say that the 35W kit is plenty bright and most customers are more than happy with that level as the brightness difference is more math than actual, but the longevity and heat is something that's real.
Old 01-22-2020, 07:18 PM
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Got it. I’ll get the XB35. Thank you for your help.
The other weakness of this SUV is the reverse light. The bulb is so weak, it’s like staring at a black screen when backing up at night in the reverse camera. Are there any after market solutions for that?
Old 01-22-2020, 07:34 PM
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Originally Posted by thevj
Got it. I’ll get the XB35. Thank you for your help.
The other weakness of this SUV is the reverse light. The bulb is so weak, it’s like staring at a black screen when backing up at night in the reverse camera. Are there any after market solutions for that?

Unfortunately not a clean solution for the reverse. 2008+ MLs changed their rear SAM from the rest of the MB lineup and requires a higher power draw to not trigger bulb out warnings. The draw was so high that any built in canbus LED that high enough resistance to not trigger errors would generate way too much heat to be safely operated. So if you don't care about error codes, then yes, there are LEDs plug in LEDs that you can use. However, if you want an LED solution without the codes, you'll have to splice in external load resistors on the wires to separate the heat element from the delicate LED component.
Old 01-26-2020, 11:12 PM
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2012 Mercedes ml350
I recently installed a cheap kit from

Ebay hid kit with the canbus decoder and have no problems no warning and look amazing. I still use the halogen headlamp



Last edited by temoc rosas; 01-26-2020 at 11:15 PM.
Old 02-19-2020, 04:05 PM
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Looks good! Hows the cutoff against a wall what kit did you buy from ebay? Also, do you have any pics/directions from the install? Im also in IL and looking to upgrade the dim yellow factory lights

Originally Posted by temoc rosas
Ebay hid kit with the canbus decoder and have no problems no warning and look amazing. I still use the halogen headlamp


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