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Car Forum / Mercedes-Benz Cars / June 2005LED Brake Lights
I sent this to a dealer in the UK the other week but in true Mercedes customer service style of maintaining their supposed high class image by always declining to respond to complaints, thereby perpetuating the myth that they never occur, they didn't answer. Anyone else got any experience of these things? Sat behind a new silver Mercedes E class, registration no. YU03 LZJ, at some traffic lights the other day, I noticed the gimmicky boot lid mounted LED brake light had only a few of the LEDs working. These LED type lights have become trendy in recent years, but you hardly ever see any working properly; they all seem to suffer technical faults within weeks of leaving the factory. Seeing as the number plate of this particular care proudly advertised 'Mercedes of Sheffield', I thought you'd be the best people to tell me if all Mercedes cars suffer this fault or if its just bad servicing on your part? why would they care at all if you haven't purchased a car from them.. >I sent this to a dealer in the UK the other week but in true Mercedes >customer service style of maintaining their supposed high class image by [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > tell me if all Mercedes cars suffer this fault or if its just bad > servicing on your part? > why would they care at all if you haven't purchased a car from them? Because I or anyone else might I am at a loss to understand why you contacted a Mercedes dealer, as it is not your car. What would have made sense is to alert the driver of said car, but you may not have had the time. The fault would (should) be picked up at the next service. DAS For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- [...] > Because I or anyone else might > I am at a loss to understand why you contacted a Mercedes dealer, as it > is not your car. What would have made sense is to alert the driver of > said car, but you may not have had the time. > > The fault would (should) be picked up at the next service. Agreed, but a good dealership, could have looked up the owner and contacted then and made them aware of the fault. Brake lights are a deadly serious business. Marty One or two LEDs failed is not a big deal. It's not a safety issue by any stretch of the imagination. Let's look at these things in perspective. The driver following that car should be aware not only of the LEDs being ON or OFF but also of his surroundings and drive responsibly. Next thing we'll hear is that the car ahead of his was dirty and distracted the driver thereby causing an accident. >> I am at a loss to understand why you contacted a Mercedes dealer, as >> it is not your car. What would have made sense is to alert the driver [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > Marty > One or two LEDs failed is not a big deal. It's not a safety issue by > any stretch of the imagination. LED's don't really "fail" if the assembly is failing then it's likely it's the driver circuitry is screwy. You're probably right though. It's not like having NO brake lights... > Let's look at these things in perspective. The driver following that > car should be aware not only of the LEDs being ON or OFF but also of > his surroundings and drive responsibly. Next thing we'll hear is that > the car ahead of his was dirty and distracted the driver thereby > causing an accident. Heh, that seems a bit excessive, but I see your point. Yes, but these lights are not essential as they are the third lot in the boot (trunk) lid. You also don't know if the present owner bought from the dealer. I find the idea very worthy but totally impractical. DAS For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- [...] > Agreed, but a good dealership, could have looked up the owner and > contacted then and made them aware of the fault. Brake lights are a > deadly serious business. > > Marty > Yes, but these lights are not essential as they are the third lot in the > boot (trunk) lid. Careful. I once said something similar about headlight wipers in the Saab group and was attacked by several people about my irresponsible safety attitude. ;) X. ('88 200, no wipers, no third brake light) The self-righteousness of Saab drivers is only exceeded by those behind the wheel of a Volvo... :-) Merc drivers are nothing like that...?!? DAS For direct contact replace nospam with schmetterling --- >> Yes, but these lights are not essential as they are the third lot in the >> boot (trunk) lid. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > X. ('88 200, no wipers, no third brake light) > The self-righteousness of Saab drivers is only exceeded by those behind the > wheel of a Volvo... :-) > > Merc drivers are nothing like that...?!? Well, I hope so, but then I got into a virtual fight with some visitors of a Dutch MB forum for mentioning the fact that I was considering putting an aftermarket AC system in my '88 w124. You wouldn't believe the flak I got for not using an 'original MB' set. The fact that the original costs 4 to 5000 EURO where the generic brand costs 'only' 2000 was no excuse for such an immoral and stupid act. Oh well, that's probably typical Dutch... :( X. >I am at a loss to understand why you contacted a Mercedes dealer, as it is >not your car. Because as a prospective customer I would like to know how seriously a typical dealer takes their responsibility of maintaining the car. Clearly they were sloppy and too rude to reply. Isn't that common sense? I mean, any manufacturer of any product must surely take some pride in its products if it expects to win further custom? These LED brake light systems are super reliable. They are solid state and will not burn out. It certainly is possible you saw a car with a defect in this regard, but this isn't a trend or general issue with these systems. > These LED brake light systems are super reliable. Are you kidding? Open your eyes! They are supposed to be VERY reliable, may outlast any other part of the car (of course, not under impact :-) Most trafic lights in Washington DC area have been upgraded to this LED technology. The reason, based what I read in the news, is mainly due to its reliability. They figure out it costs much more to send crews to replace lightbulb. LED also uses much less energy. If I remember right, the estimated life of these traffic light is something like 15-20 years. >>These LED brake light systems are super reliable. > > Are you kidding? Open your eyes! > The reason, based what I read in the news, is mainly due to > its reliability. The original reason for them was they light up faster than conventional bulbs and the miniscule extra time the driver behind had may mean a slightly better accident outcome. Jag S-Type and some BM's have LED only i believe, so hope they are relaible. >> The reason, based what I read in the news, is mainly due to >> its reliability. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Jag S-Type and some BM's have LED only i believe, so hope they are relaible. I would swear some of the new Cadidillacs I've been behind are also pure LED on the rear end. I have to concur with the reliability of these devices. I have seen some bad LED tail-lights, but in general, this is almost always more of a connection issue than an LED issue. I'd like to find a good source for 1157/1156 socketed replacements for the bulbs in the back of my 300's - specifically to protect the cruise control - although this may be a myth (see: http://mbca.cartama.net/archive/index.php/t-5761.html) according to some sources, apparently, limiting the current on the brake lights is an excellent idea on the W123s (and probably the 126's, also) as the full brake light current runs through the cruise - and if generic bulbs are used, rather than the proper replacements, cruise control fry may result. But again, according to a poster in the above link, this is pure, distilled nonsense, and it doesn't matter to the cruise control what bulbs you use. OK, I want to get LED tail-lamps because they're cool.. Cheers, Conrad > They are supposed to be VERY reliable, may outlast any other part of the > car Exactly, which is why its all the more mysterious that they so often fail, and often only a few of the leds in an array. Poor soldering perhaps? >> These LED brake light systems are super reliable. > > Are you kidding? Open your eyes! Same to you buddy.
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