Corner Adaptive Lights

[Flash]

I saw a W209 at lunch time today and a W211 later on that both had bi xenons lights activated during bright sun light…

Because the cars had the Corner Adaptive lighting option a single fog light was on in the direction that the car was turning. IMO opinion this looks very daft and I don’t see what real purprose this option serves and just looks odd as if the other fog lamp is not working…

PS. If I do buy another new Merc model then I will specify for this option to be de-activated VIA STAR as it serves no purpose and looks daft and plain wrong!

 

[Swiss Toni]

I saw a W209 at lunch time today and a W211 later on that both had bi xenons lights activated during bright sun light…

Because the cars had the Corner Adaptive lighting option a single fog light was on in the direction that the car was turning. IMO opinion this looks very daft and I don’t see what real purprose this option serves and just looks odd as if the other fog lamp is not working…

PS. If I do buy another new Merc model then I will specify for this option to be de-activated VIA STAR as it serves no purpose and looks daft and plain wrong!

But all that says is you are intrested in how you look to others?!

If the system works (if) then it is worth having!

 

[Flash]

But all that says is you are intrested in how you look to others?!

If the system works (if) then it is worth having!

Driving with fog lights on in clear conditions day/night IMO does not increase visibility for the driver as the fog lamps are integrated very low into the bumper with bi xenons. When my bi xenons are switched on they are so bright that the fog lamps do not make any difference to my visibility if they are switched on/off. I only tried using the fogs lamps on for a short while to see for myself a couple of times for comparison.

Someone on this Forum had the cornering light function for the fog lamps de-activated on their W203 as it caused a couple of near miss accidents. If anything this option is usless and is just an excuse by MB to charge extra money for this option.

 

[Flash]

If you opt for the corner adaptive lights then it is useful for the headlamps but the individual fog lamp lighting up (which can be independently de-activated) is pointless.

 

[Dieselman]

It's meant to give a wider beam so you can see in the direction you are going to travel in, not just straight ahead as headlamps do.

 

[Flash]

It's meant to give a wider beam so you can see in the direction you are going to travel in, not just straight ahead as headlamps do.

But the thing is the bi xenon light is so bright the fog lamp IMO will not serve its purpose and also the headlamp is supposed swivel/corner in the direction of the turn and has a far more wider beam range which would cancel out the beam range of the fog lamp. However, on standard halogen lights perhaps the fog lamp may possibly serve its purpose but certainly not on vehicles with bi xenon headlamps.

 

[marcos]

I totally agree with what your saying Flash.
My ML has active cornering Bi-Xenons and the foglights come on in the direction you are turning. Now the Bi-Xenons swivelling about is great but you can only see the light from the foglight if you look very closely, or untill somebody tells you that only one foglight works on your new Mercedes and starts laughing at you
I'm going to ask them to turn the stupid thing off.
I have actually started to put the front fogs on permanantly whilst it is dark to save any more piss taking by people.

 

[saorbust]

Driving with fog lights on in clear conditions day/night IMO does not increase visibility for the driver as the fog lamps are integrated very low into the bumper with bi xenons.

Don't disagree. However the purpose of having them on is to make you more visible to OTHERS, not for your benefit. In this respect - they work perfectly - you noticed them.

 

[glojo]

When this option was first publicised on the Mercedes-Benz site I stated it looked stupid, we have the older active headlight system along with bi-'whats-its' These headlights are the best thing since ...........!!!!! anything The headlights are so illuminating I simply cannot see the need for any of the active gizzmo's.

I also queried the legality of the lights.

Regards,
John the illuminater

 

[Brian WH]

I have this option on my CLS, but when used the extra illumination is minimal. Bit like putting a torch on when you are using xenons.

I can see the idea in the option, but it has limited use when you also have street lights, as you have a job to see any difference at all unless you look very closely. Maybe in pitch black you might find a use, but I have not found that condition so far.

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

We saw an ML63 AMG in Solihull yesterday, and as the owner manouvered out of their parking space, it was intriguing to see the lights coming on and off.

Shame it wasn't a touch quicker as I could feel my disco shoes twitching!!

 

[Flash]

Driving with fog lights on in clear conditions day/night IMO does not increase visibility for the driver as the fog lamps are integrated very low into the bumper with bi xenons.

Don't disagree. However the purpose of having them on is to make you more visible to OTHERS, not for your benefit. In this respect - they work perfectly - you noticed them.

When the fog lamp was lit neither car had the indicator on and I had NO idea that the car was intending on turning in the direction that fog lamo was lit. It just made me think how stupid it looked and as Maroc pointed out above one of the fog lamps was not working.

PS. Its been discussed bore in another thread but IMO may be attracting unwanted attention from Police that may possibly lead to something else if pulled over for a routine check and open a new can of worms!

 

[Flash]

We saw an ML63 AMG in Solihull yesterday, and as the owner manouvered out of their parking space, it was intriguing to see the lights coming on and off.

Not good when Police are around...

 

[niva441]

One of my work collegues told me I had a fog light not working. It confused me as I never use the front ones as they are useless. It was only later I realised that it was the cornering light system.

Now I'm trying to observe its effect I find it makes mimimal difference. I was expecting a proper swivelling beam system with cornering lights. I understand now why it was thrown in for free with the xenons.

 

[saorbust]

Driving with fog lights on in clear conditions day/night IMO does not increase visibility for the driver as the fog lamps are integrated very low into the bumper with bi xenons.


When the fog lamp was lit neither car had the indicator on and I had NO idea that the car was intending on turning in the direction that fog lamo was lit. It just made me think how stupid it looked and as Maroc pointed out above one of the fog lamps was not working.

PS. Its been discussed bore in another thread but IMO may be attracting unwanted attention from Police that may possibly lead to something else if pulled over for a routine check and open a new can of worms!

Hi Flash - i must have been having a numpty moment. I read your post as 'Bi-Xenon's on' not Fogs. Headlamps I see no issue with during the day. Fogs, agree - they are pointless. I believe that some manufacturers have adapted the auto lights on mode so that they can't be turned on.

Fogs are over used at the moment, and sometimes blinding (rearward facing ones in particular).

J.

 

[DieselE]

I saw a W209 at lunch time today and a W211 later on that both had bi xenons lights activated during bright sun light…

Maybe slightly off topic but it may be that the cars you saw had the lights on auto. I noticed recently that the winter sunlight is only rarely bright enough to turn the lights off.

BTW I do know that turning the switch by the steering column will switch the lights off but as I keep thinking about activating the "always on" option I don't bother.

 

[R2D2]

It was me that had them turned off.

http://www.mbclub.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=31132&highlight=active+cornering+lights

I haven't missed them at all and at least people have stopped telling me my foglights are broken!

 

[Flash]

Maybe slightly off topic but it may be that the cars you saw had the lights on auto. I noticed recently that the winter sunlight is only rarely bright enough to turn the lights off.

This was bright sun light. IMO there were swicthed on for the "pose" factor...

 

[glojo]

This was bright sun light. IMO there were swicthed on for the "pose" factor...

Hi Flash,
In all fairness there is an option to have the headlights switch on automatically when the engine starts. Our car has just come back from the dealer and they had set our lights to this setting.

I believe in some countries it is mandatory to drive with dipped headlights. I remember when motorcyclists first used to switch their headlight on during daylight hours, other road users used to 'flash' (sorry about that) their lights at them. How things change.

Incidentally I have altered the setting back to how it was.

Regards,
John

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Ooh, info on the latest version - intelligent lighting system - in the facelifted E-Class seems impressive:

Intelligent Light System
A world first in the field of headlamp technology, the Intelligent Light System is a new option that enhances the quality and range of road illumination even during straight-line driving on low beam. Dependent on speed and direction, one of five illumination modes (country road, motorway, enhanced fog, Active Light function and cornering lights) is automatically selected. An electronically controlled rotating cylinder then varies the amount of light thrown onto the road ahead by the Bi-Xenon headlamps. The result is wider illumination of the road, especially in country road mode and significantly enhanced range in motorway mode - without dazzling oncoming traffic.