EQA250 Auto lighting - how to disable auto high beam

There's also an indicator on the dash to show you when auto high beam is enabled:


Auto high beam enabled, stalk closest to the dash (position 1 in my list above)



Low beam selected, stalk closest to the driver (position 2 in my list above).

The green icon turns blue when the high beam is actually on.

kp1743 said:

I have an EQS and when the lights are set to auto with high beam option they automatically dim when an oncoming car is detected. Not sure if your model does the same.

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Yes, my EQA250 is the same; however, I am unsure whether the EQS has the same momentary switch (steering column lighting stalk) function as my EQA, or whether it's similar to dBC's EQC (see posts #5 and 6 above).

One might quite reasonably ask why I would want to disable what is arguably a useful piece of technology (my original post in this thread). Most of my driving is in built-up urban areas, where I don't consider high beam is necessary, or appropriate. Indeed, in my earlier years driving - I got my driving licence at 16 and I'm now 75 - I understood that it was illegal to use high beam in urban areas in my home state, South Australia. Presumably it either never was, or is no longer illegal, otherwise I assume auto high/low beam would be disallowed under the Australian (motor vehicle) Design Rules (ADRs).

Why don't I like auto high/low beam? Whilst the Mercedes system does seem to dip the headlamps (from high to low) quite quickly when the car identifies another vehicle, I think in normal circumstances in urban areas it's unnecessary and impolite to impose high beam - even momentarily - on other road users. As far as momentary use of high beam is concerned, I concede that headlamp flashing has its place in emergency situations, for example. In normal urban driving, however, I don't perceive a need for high beam. I have received headlamp flashes from other drivers who have turned into a street and found my headlamps on high beam, if only for a moment, prior to automatically dipping. In such circumstances, I've had no need for high beam and I think the other driver's response is warranted. I have also experienced situations where my auto high beam has unnecessarily illuminated other cars in various situations such as: passing through an intersection, reversing out of a driveway and persons sitting in a parked car, being subjected to (uncomfortable) bright lighting. As a responsible road user, I prefer not to subject others to this discomfort, let alone, risk to safety.

I haven't driven my EQA very many times in the country, but I remember the first such occasion. It was a reasonably long journey and I was flashed several times by other drivers who obviously felt inconvenienced by the threshold of my car's dipping system, which exposed them to high beam for a period which they obviously found uncomfortable. I recall saying to myself "I don't disagree with you and I wish I could find out how to control these lights manually". I have since discovered that by moving the lighting switch to the 'headlamp on' position, activation of the headlamp stalk switches the headlamps between low and high beam. I much prefer that arrangement for night time country driving. I can then set my own threshold of high beam exposure to other road users and if that's more conservative than the Mercedes threshold, I'm happy to slow down a little whilst driving for slightly longer on low beam.

I agree that the auto-dipping function has the potential to increase safety and comfort compared with the (often encountered) situation where drivers don't seem to realise (or don't care) that their headlamps are on high beam, but in my opinion it's not universally successful.

As a generalisation, I find that modern headlamps are becoming increasingly more powerful, so technology designed to avert their misuse has merit.

Ahh Good Old South Australia where all good things are born including me... the place I learnt to drive for 26 years.. Is the Devils Elbow still there when you are coming into Adelaide ??? The old high beam flash not as common here in Netherlands where I live now but I do recall when driving back down under when I had an X3 which was around the same size as the EQA I got flashed all the time because the lights sat higher they were hitting people right in the eye-line. Now even though the light technology was different BiXenon v LED the EQA LED's even on low beam are bright. I haven't noticed my High Beam coming on here in Amsterdam when driving around the city but I have only had the car a few weeks and haven't really done a lot of night driving and wont now as we are rolling closer to summer the daylight is crazy long here so I wont get a real chance to see how much I will miss my old A200 Sedan's MultiBeam LED's until winter when its dark around 16:30 and you dont see the sun again until 09:00 I dont understand why Mercedes didn't put the Multibeam Option on the EQA as its available on the GLA I think its a real oppurtunity missed. It was very intelligent lighting and I think you would find in S.A a big reduction on being flashed as the MultiBeam LED cuts the light out around the oncoming car , pedestrian even street signs that have higher reflection. You really do get to see it at work during fogy days and looks impressive. Alas I will have to make do with what the EQA has but I do understand your point about being a responsible road user I wish more people acted that way today but sadly we are a rare breed

Good to hear from you, Pacman-BNE-NL.

Pacman-BNE-NL said:

Ahh Good Old South Australia where all good things are born including me... the place I learnt to drive for 26 years.. Is the Devils Elbow still there when you are coming into Adelaide ???

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Yes, the Devil's Elbow is still there, and the winding section of road running up past the old Eagle-on-the-Hill hotel can still be used (at low speed, apart from closed-road motor sporting events), but since the late 1990s the section of road from just below the Devil's Elbow to Measday's Hill (just below Crafers) has been replaced by a 6-lane freeway. The freeway is much straighter than the bypassed section of road and much steeper - and includes a short tunnel. The new road is much quicker - but less interesting - for light vehicles, but the steep gradient has caught out several heavy vehicles and there have been some nasty accidents at the edge of the city due to brake failure (i.e. the drivers of those heavy vehicles haven't selected a sufficiently low gear for the descent).

Pacman-BNE-NL said:

The old high beam flash not as common here in Netherlands where I live now but I do recall when driving back down under when I had an X3 which was around the same size as the EQA I got flashed all the time because the lights sat higher they were hitting people right in the eye-line.

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I wouldn't say headlamp flashing is common here, but you do see it from time to time. Sometimes, during daylight, drivers flash to warn oncoming motorists that they're approaching a speed camera. Given that the stated aim of speed cameras is to encourage drivers to keep their speed in check, perhaps in this context the headlamp flash can be classed as a community service, although I don't think the police would agree.

Pacman-BNE-NL said:

I haven't noticed my High Beam coming on here in Amsterdam when driving around the city but I have only had the car a few weeks and haven't really done a lot of night driving and wont now as we are rolling closer to summer the daylight is crazy long here so I wont get a real chance to see how much I will miss my old A200 Sedan's MultiBeam LED's until winter when its dark around 16:30 and you dont see the sun again until 09:00

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If you leave the lighting switched to Auto and you haven't noticed your EQA300 switch to high beam when driven at night in poorly lit areas - or areas without other traffic - maybe it's currently configured so that it's not switching to high beam in such circumstances. That's how my EQA250 is currently configured. I presume, of course, that the the Netherlands motor vehicle regulations permit automatic low/high headlamp beam activation.

Pacman-BNE-NL said:

I dont understand why Mercedes didn't put the Multibeam Option on the EQA as its available on the GLA I think its a real oppurtunity missed. It was very intelligent lighting and I think you would find in S.A a big reduction on being flashed as the MultiBeam LED cuts the light out around the oncoming car , pedestrian even street signs that have higher reflection. You really do get to see it at work during fogy days and looks impressive. Alas I will have to make do with what the EQA has but I do understand your point about being a responsible road user I wish more people acted that way today but sadly we are a rare breed

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I agree, there's some smart technology about and no doubt it will only improve with time.

My comments relate to what my EQA250 currently offers. In my opinion it's good - even helpful at times - but I don't believe it's a substitute for responsible driver intervention.