No ambient lights

[Deleted member 126251]

Why on earth would anyone want unnecessary light inside a car at night ???

This is just plain crazy , apart from minimum necessary light to see instruments and switches : they should ‘only just’ be visible , there should be NOTHING inside the car to distract from the view outside : otherwise you run risk of not seeing that pedestrian or cyclist all dressed in black on an unlit country road as soon as you otherwise might .

So called ambient lighting is a stupid and dangerous idea - period .

Wow!

I think that it is a reasonable assumption that MB and other manufacturers have done their research and found that it is safe. There would be numerous safety standards that they'd need to meet.

Modern cars have excellent headlights and not the dull orange glow lamps of older cars .

 

[219]

Few cars still run tungsten lighting with a colour temperature of 5600K or less , most have at least Quartz Halogen much closer to daylight 6500K . Even then the bilux tungsten 45/35W headlamps in my Ponton gave very good illumination.

Yes newer cars with discharge lighting tend to be brighter , to the point of being a nuisance to other road users , but my experience of them is they tend to have a very abrupt cutoff between the illuminated area and non illuminated , and again unlit objects can be lost in the darkness .

However , it remains true that non essential lighting is potentially distracting and therefore undesirable.

Just because something has not yet been found to be harmful does not mean that it is not : at one time people smoked tobacco unaware of the dangers until scientific research showed otherwise .

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

Few cars still run tungsten lighting with a colour temperature of 5600K or less , most have at least Quartz Halogen much closer to daylight 6500K . Even then the bilux tungsten 45/35W headlamps in my Ponton gave very good illumination.

Yes newer cars with discharge lighting tend to be brighter , to the point of being a nuisance to other road users , but my experience of them is they tend to have a very abrupt cutoff between the illuminated area and non illuminated , and again unlit objects can be lost in the darkness .

However , it remains true that non essential lighting is potentially distracting and therefore undesirable.

Just because something has not yet been found to be harmful does not mean that it is not : at one time people smoked tobacco unaware of the dangers until scientific research showed otherwise .

The hidden nature of the risks associated with smoking - coupled with the amount of time taken for the cumulative impact - means that the risk was not obvious for many.

I think the risk you’re describing associated with ambient lighting is a road traffic accident, which is very different in that the manifestation of the risk is neither hidden nor cumulative.

If it was going to happen then it would have already happened in the many millions of miles covered by millions of cars over the course of 20 years or so.

 

[219]

The hidden nature of the risks associated with smoking - coupled with the amount of time taken for the cumulative impact - means that the risk was not obvious for many.

I think the risk you’re describing associated with ambient lighting is a road traffic accident, which is very different in that the manifestation of the risk is neither hidden nor cumulative.

If it was going to happen then it would have already happened in the many millions of miles covered by millions of cars over the course of 20 years or so.

How do you know it has not ?

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

How do you know it has not ?

Good point, I don’t know how small it is as an issue as I’m not aware of a reliable source of information, but by the same token I’m not aware of how big it is as an issue for the same reason. I do not it’s unlikely though as motor manufacturers are typically risk averse.

I dare say that someone somewhere will have cited it as a contributing factor to an accident, but if it was a common issue then the motor manufacturers would have changed or withdrawn it from the specification of their cars.

It might have been mentioned on the forum too if it was commonplace. I don’t recall anyone mentioning it in the past on MBClub but perhaps it’s come up in other Mercedes forums, or other marque forums.

 

[219]

Good point, I don’t know how small it is as an issue as I’m not aware of a reliable source of information, but by the same token I’m not aware of how big it is as an issue for the same reason. I do not it’s unlikely though as motor manufacturers are typically risk averse.

I dare say that someone somewhere will have cited it as a contributing factor to an accident, but if it was a common issue then the motor manufacturers would have changed or withdrawn it from the specification of their cars.

It might have been mentioned on the forum too if it was commonplace. I don’t recall anyone mentioning it in the past on MBClub but perhaps it’s come up in other Mercedes forums, or other marque forums.

If anywhere , the data will probably come from Sweden , where they are very good at collecting data to analyse crashes .

The issue of so many cars , particularly those of Far Eastern origin having dashes and instruments that light up like Christmas trees will not be unrelated ; also the recent preponderance of LCD displays , and particularly touchscreens in which virtual buttons have replaced ones which can be located by touch is likely to be a contributory factor in crashes , due to the diversion of attention from the road .

With roads getting ever busier , and now with more people taking to walking and cycling , it is time that cars got simpler to drive , with less ‘busy’ interiors , and required less diversion of attention than going the opposite way as so many are .

 

[219]

I dare say that someone somewhere will have cited it as a contributing factor to an accident, but if it was a common issue then the motor manufacturers would have changed or withdrawn it from the specification of their cars.

It does not always follow that manufacturers do what is right ; it is recorded that one reason the ‘big three’ manufacturers in America refused for so long to fit seat belts was that their marketing departments told them that to do so would imply that their cars were unsafe ! Of course the fifty cents per car it would have cost out of their profits never came into it !!!

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

I happened to be in the car as the sun is as setting so the ambient lighting was illuminating The inside of the car, so I couldn’t help but take a photo. Looks great I think

 

[SmartAmg]

I happened to be in the car as the sun is as setting so the ambient lighting was illuminating The inside of the car, so I couldn’t help but take a photo. Looks great I think

Totally agree, Mercedes ambient lighting is stunning, as the owner, you probably wouldn't notice it after a while, let alone distract you, but anyone else getting in would say, WOW!

 

[TomF]

Totally agree, Mercedes ambient lighting is stunning, as the owner, you probably wouldn't notice it after a while, let alone distract you, but anyone else getting in would say, WOW!

Well, I know it's extravagant but I've just agreed to have the Mercedes ambient lighting fitted to mine in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to my spaceship like new interior

 

[SmartAmg]

Well, I know it's extravagant but I've just agreed to have the Mercedes ambient lighting fitted to mine in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to my spaceship like new interior

Don't blame you having it fitted, Tom, it will look fantastic! Anyway it's only bl00dy money, can't take it with you, and all that.
Pics, please when fitted.

 

[Smart320]

Love mine! Did not know my SLK had them until I used the car one evening about a month after I had bought it, never had them in any previous cars. Do not find them distracting but just think it makes the interior look very inviting at night , mine are red , not looked to see if I can change the colour .

 

[219]

I happened to be in the car as the sun is as setting so the ambient lighting was illuminating The inside of the car, so I couldn’t help but take a photo. Looks great I think

It looks pretty, I admit .

But , to me , that is a huge and unnecessary distraction which , if on all the time would distract my attention from the road .

It would be fine for it to come on , like the interior lights when the doors are opened , to welcome people into the car , but it should go out after the doors are closed , or at least when the car is in motion .

That you were able to take that photo shows how bright these lights are ; I never have my instruments or switches anywhere near full brightness, in fact they are barely above minimum , and those lights are much brighter than the instruments, even at max illumination, can go .

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

It looks pretty, I admit .

But , to me , that is a huge and unnecessary distraction which , if on all the time would distract my attention from the road .

It would be fine for it to come on , like the interior lights when the doors are opened , to welcome people into the car , but it should go out after the doors are closed , or at least when the car is in motion .

That you were able to take that photo shows how bright these lights are ; I never have my instruments or switches anywhere near full brightness, in fact they are barely above minimum , and those lights are much brighter than the instruments, even at max illumination, can go .

I do the same, I have the dashboard control illumination set dimly, not quite the minumum, and that’s what has determined the brightness of the door controls you can see in the photo. The ambient lighting is set at the colour and brightness required to match the dimly illuminated controls.

It looks much brighter in the photo than in does in person, even the illuminated controls. The ambient lighting lines appear much thicker too - it must be something to do with taking a photo in the dark or using the camera on my iPhone.

 

[SarahAnn200]

I happened to be in the car as the sun is as setting so the ambient lighting was illuminating The inside of the car, so I couldn’t help but take a photo. Looks great I think

It looks great. I haven't driven mine in the dark yet to get the full effect

 

[Bobby Dazzler]

It looks great. I haven't driven mine in the dark yet to get the full effect

Strange you say that, a combination of lockdown and summer evening means that I’ve only seen mine in the dark once for months and months!

 

[Deleted member 126251]

It looks pretty, I admit .

But , to me , that is a huge and unnecessary distraction which , if on all the time would distract my attention from the road .

It would be fine for it to come on , like the interior lights when the doors are opened , to welcome people into the car , but it should go out after the doors are closed , or at least when the car is in motion .

That you were able to take that photo shows how bright these lights are ; I never have my instruments or switches anywhere near full brightness, in fact they are barely above minimum , and those lights are much brighter than the instruments, even at max illumination, can go .

It is not a distraction in any way at all. The glow from the ambient lighting (also multiple brightness settings) still leaves the instruments easily visible. This is my 3rd car with ambient and as I previously mentioned, I fiddled with the options when the car was new and have not changed them since. I don't understand why you would think they are a distraction. My wife's 2015 B class has a form of ambient lighting (no colour or brightness choices) in the doors , footwells and on the centre console and you don't even notice it until you look

I had a SAAB where the instruments were selectively blacked out (IIRC only parts on the speedo (up to 70mph) remained illuminated at certain speeds) with everything else on the dash in darkness. I didn't find that helpful for night driving. The illumination from "modern headlights" is so good that there is not a "night vision" issue. Certainly with my car, it is like driving in daylight and I have never been flashed by oncoming traffic.

Might be worth a trip at night in a modern car (with ambient lighting) so that you can have better informed opinions. You might be converted.

 

[markjay]

I recently purchased a 2017 c class estate amg line but it doesn’t have ambient lighting, and It not an option on the command menu. Do all mercedes of this age/ spec have it?

To the OP's question... it was an option fitted to some trim levels, my understanding that it was included with the Premium and Premium Plus.

 

[TomF]

Don't blame you having it fitted, Tom, it will look fantastic! Anyway it's only bl00dy money, can't take it with you, and all that.
Pics, please when fitted.

That was the decider, had a couple of good friends die far too early....
Tahiti next

 

[219]

It is not a distraction in any way at all. The glow from the ambient lighting (also multiple brightness settings) still leaves the instruments easily visible. This is my 3rd car with ambient and as I previously mentioned, I fiddled with the options when the car was new and have not changed them since. I don't understand why you would think they are a distraction. My wife's 2015 B class has a form of ambient lighting (no colour or brightness choices) in the doors , footwells and on the centre console and you don't even notice it until you look

I had a SAAB where the instruments were selectively blacked out (IIRC only parts on the speedo (up to 70mph) remained illuminated at certain speeds) with everything else on the dash in darkness. I didn't find that helpful for night driving. The illumination from "modern headlights" is so good that there is not a "night vision" issue. Certainly with my car, it is like driving in daylight and I have never been flashed by oncoming traffic.

Might be worth a trip at night in a modern car (with ambient lighting) so that you can have better informed opinions. You might be converted.

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I find ANY lighting inside the car to be a distraction from outside and , as an advanced driver , I am not looking just within the range of the headlamps , I want to see that cow or sheep in the road before my headlamps illuminate it . I hate cars with excessive interior illumination.

Also , I have both driven and sat in plenty of newer cars and I don’t think the lighting any better than H7 or H4 lighting in earlier cars ; in some ways it is worse because the brighter illumination of the foreground throws more distant objects into comparative darkness , and the more abrupt beam cutoff isn’t helpful either . Indeed , going even further back , to pre halogen days , the tungsten lights in Pontons , Fintails and Pagodas were incredible considering what they were . It isn’t all about pouring more lumens out .

Quality of light is more important than quantity .