S211 'Intelligent Light System' adaptive headlights

[PSRG]

Last year I bought a 2012 E250 CDi with starship mileage. The car is mechanically sound, and looks respectable from a bodywork / interior perspective as well. Despite having more than £200k miles there are no clonks or rattles though, while it is very comfortable, I expect new suspension would sharpen things up a bit. But as a comfy thing to do 3 hour motorway journeys in it is remarkably good given its low (sub £5k back then) cost.

There are two electrical things that do not work though. The first is 'stop / start', which I can live without - although the amber 'ECO' display in the dash is irritating. The second is the auto-high beam / adaptive headlights. The lights themselves are fine, and work when in 'manual' mode, but the non functioning adaptive mode is an irritation on long winter journeys, which are often in the dark. First world problem I know, but any ideas what the issue could be? The error message says refer to the handbook The handbook says refer to the dealer, but paying > £150 an hour for someone to look at a 12 year old cars electrics/software seems like a sure fire way to spend a lot of money quickly with no discernible return...!.

Thanks

[LordLoveLength]

As far as I know it uses the camera above the rear view mirror for the ‘auto’ function- is it clean / free from damage or moisture?

I don’t know if there’s an adaptation setting for the camera, but second hand ones are £30 or so so maybe worth trying.

[PSRG]

LordLoveLength said:

As far as I know it uses the camera above the rear view mirror for the ‘auto’ function- is it clean / free from damage or moisture?

I don’t know if there’s an adaptation setting for the camera, but second hand ones are £30 or so so maybe worth trying.

Ah thanks for that - maybe it is worth getting the codes read to see what it says then…. I was considering a new windscreen anyway, as I think it’s still the original which, after 200k, is peppered with tiny marks and scratches. Maybe that has something to do with it if the camera is looking through a scuffed bit of screen.

[TarquinMX5]

You mention an error message, so assuming your car does have the adaptive lights, (SEs didn't IIRC), is it set for the correct 'side of road'?; for the UK a RHD car should be set to 'left side traffic'. If set for right side traffic, the adaptive lights won't work and you'd receive a message to that effect.

Settings are in one of the sub menus. In my experience the auto high beam is sometimes a bit slow to react, so I never use it.

[MustangGT]

IIRC the camera for adaptive or auto high beam needs re-calibrating if the windscreen is changed, There are a number of sensors that need this. My wife just had a new screen in her A35 (auto high beam) and it took about 30 minutes for all the recalibration to be done.

My C class has the adaptive (multibeam) lights, not had any problems yet. The main beam appears to be the same both sides, the sensors work out which set of LEDs to dim, they work equally well if on a straight road, a road curving left or a road curving right. The dip does appear to use a portion of the matrix to increase the LH side height a bit, but it is still flat.

Reaction time is fantastic, only complaint is on a long straight road they may not dip as soon as a vehicle appears in the other direction, it needs to be bright enough to affect the sensor.

[PSRG]

TarquinMX5 said:

You mention an error message, so assuming your car does have the adaptive lights, (SEs didn't IIRC), is it set for the correct 'side of road'?; for the UK a RHD car should be set to 'left side traffic'. If set for right side traffic, the adaptive lights won't work and you'd receive a message to that effect.

Settings are in one of the sub menus. In my experience the auto high beam is sometimes a bit slow to react, so I never use it.

Thanks for that - yes, its a 'Sport' trim model so has adaptive lights. It is set for the correct side of the road, though that's a good shout as I recall when taking the one I had from new over to France they wouldn't work when set to right side traffic.

I suspect it's one of those thing's that's not worth fixing - but I was considering having the screen replaced as its covered with fine marks - not surprising after 205k miles I guess! So perhaps when they do that they'll plug something in and see what it says

[DKL]

PSRG said:

Last year I bought a 2012 E250 CDi with starship mileage. The car is mechanically sound, and looks respectable from a bodywork / interior perspective as well. Despite having more than £200k miles there are no clonks or rattles though, while it is very comfortable, I expect new suspension would sharpen things up a bit. But as a comfy thing to do 3 hour motorway journeys in it is remarkably good given its low (sub £5k back then) cost.

There are two electrical things that do not work though. The first is 'stop / start', which I can live without - although the amber 'ECO' display in the dash is irritating. The second is the auto-high beam / adaptive headlights. The lights themselves are fine, and work when in 'manual' mode, but the non functioning adaptive mode is an irritation on long winter journeys, which are often in the dark. First world problem I know, but any ideas what the issue could be? The error message says refer to the handbook The handbook says refer to the dealer, but paying > £150 an hour for someone to look at a 12 year old cars electrics/software seems like a sure fire way to spend a lot of money quickly with no discernible return...!.

Thanks

Can't help with the lights but re the stop/start how old is your battery? I didn't have S/S working for about 6 months and wasn't sure why. Everything else seemed fine. IN the end the battery showed other signs of being old so I changed it and hey presto S/S restarted and is fine. They are very sensitive to voltage to make the S/S work.
Otherwise just switch the eco button off each journey and the amber eco goes away, or use sport mode if you have one.

[Scrump]

DKL said:

Can't help with the lights but re the stop/start how old is your battery? I didn't have S/S working for about 6 months and wasn't sure why. Everything else seemed fine. IN the end the battery showed other signs of being old so I changed it and hey presto S/S restarted and is fine. They are very sensitive to voltage to make the S/S work.
Otherwise just switch the eco button off each journey and the amber eco goes away, or use sport mode if you have one.

Not sure if the 211 is the same as a 212, but the eco stop start wouldn’t go green in my 212 (no big worries) but then the brake hold function also stopped. Both fixed by fitting a new auxiliary battery. It is like a small motorbike battery and on my car is located under the boot floor. It is separate from the main battery under the bonnet.

[DKL]

2012 is a 212 not a 211 surely? Facelift was about 2006/7?