MULTIBEAM LED is more specific than “LED headlights”. Its distinguishing idea is to control individual LEDs so that different parts of the light pattern can be illuminated or dimmed separately. Instead of only choosing between a complete high beam and a complete low beam, the system can leave more of the road illuminated while reducing light in areas occupied by detected vehicles.[1]
The name also spans different hardware generations. The 2014 facelift CLS and the 2017 facelift S-Class belong in the story, but they should not be described as having identical headlamps.[1][3]
The facelift CLS: 24 is not the whole lamp
For the facelift C218 CLS, Mercedes-Benz’s June 2014 technical announcement describes 24 individually controlled LEDs in each precision high-beam module. That is a count for the matrix module, not every LED used for every function in the headlamp.[1]
A camera behind the windscreen supplies information about traffic ahead. Four control units calculate the light distribution 100 times per second, controlling the individual LEDs so selected areas can be lit or masked. This gives the system a way to shape a partial high beam, rather than merely switching the whole high beam off whenever another car appears.[1]
There is still moving hardware in this CLS system. Each headlamp also has a separate four-LED low-beam module that can swivel outwards by up to 12 degrees. The camera-based active light function can turn the light towards a bend before the driver turns the steering wheel. A separate navigation-based roundabout function activates the cornering lights on both sides before arrival.[1][2]
Those are model-specific details, not a universal MULTIBEAM specification. In particular, the pre-facelift CLS already had available all-LED lighting with Intelligent Light System functions. The manufacturer’s own history separates that 2010-era system from the 2014 MULTIBEAM introduction.[1]
The technology did not stop at 24
Lighting supplier HELLA’s announcement for the new 2016 E-Class describes a later MULTIBEAM generation with 84 individually controllable LEDs per headlamp, arranged in three rows. It controls both low- and high-beam patterns, including dynamic bend lighting, without mechanical actuators for that function. That is a meaningful change from the swivelling low-beam module described for the 2014 CLS—not simply a new badge on the same lamp.[5]
This later E-Class example is not evidence that earlier E-Class generations had MULTIBEAM. Nor should its 84-LED count be substituted for the CLS’s documented 24-LED high-beam module.
Facelift S-Class: keep the version and market attached
Mercedes-Benz’s July 2017 S-Class announcement describes optional MULTIBEAM LED with ULTRA RANGE high beam. Adaptive High-Beam Assist Plus can switch off selected LEDs to create a U-shaped masked area around detected oncoming or preceding vehicles while keeping other areas under high beam. The manufacturer describes ULTRA RANGE as maintaining illuminance above 1 lux at more than 650 metres; this is a stated light-performance criterion, not a guarantee that every obstacle will be visible at that distance.[3]
A concrete long-wheelbase application is the facelift V222 in the UK July 2019 production S-Class brochure. It lists long-wheelbase models such as S 350 d L and S 500 L, and includes MULTIBEAM LED with ULTRA RANGE Highbeam in the AMG Line specification. Here AMG Line is an equipment line, not the same thing as a Mercedes-AMG S 63.[4, pp. 8, 12]
The 2017 announcement’s optional status and the later UK brochure’s included equipment are not contradictory: the documents concern different dates and specifications. Neither establishes the equipment of every V222 worldwide, and the S-Class’s ULTRA RANGE description should not be copied into a C218 specification.
Check equipment, not just the lighting name
The 2015 US CLS brochure offers a useful example: ACTIVE MULTIBEAM LED appears in optional packages for regular CLS models but is listed as standard on the AMG. Its US wording is not a universal description of which adaptive functions were enabled in every market.[2, pp. 24–25, 28]
For an individual car, establish its market, production period and equipment record. “LED”, “Intelligent Light System” and “MULTIBEAM LED” are not interchangeable labels; neither a CLS nor an S-Class badge identifies the particular hardware or its full set of functions.
Sources
- Mercedes-Benz Poland, MULTIBEAM LED – nowa jakość oświetlenia, 24 June 2014: CLS debut, 24-LED modules, camera/control units and separate swivelling low-beam module.
- Mercedes-Benz USA, 2015 CLS-Class brochure, PDF pp. 24–25, 28. Manufacturer-authored US brochure preserved by an independent archive.
- Mercedes-Benz Poland, Nowy Mercedes-Benz Klasy S: Motoryzacyjny wzorzec komfortu i efektywności, 24 July 2017, section “Wizja dalekiego zasięgu”: optional MULTIBEAM, selective masking and ULTRA RANGE criterion.
- Mercedes-Benz UK, S-Class Saloon, effective July 2019 production, pp. 8, 12, 32. Manufacturer-authored UK brochure hosted by a leasing retailer; AMG-model production applicability starts September 2019.
- HELLA, Mercedes Multibeam LED headlamps – in a class of their own, 22 June 2016: supplier’s primary release on the new 2016 E-Class system, distributed by PR Newswire.