Ambient Lighting issue/question
 

(no, I did not take any pics of this yet)

Driving my car last night, I noticed that on my driver door, the ambient lighting doesn't look as "solid" or defined as it is on the passenger door... the farther forward it gets, it looks like it's slightly faded... not consistent... Similar to how they described the reason for not having it on the dash, I guess? The passenger door looks solid all the way up. I don't know if it's the angle I'm looking at it, because I'm sitting, or what... but it still looked like it when I had the door open and I was standing outside of the car. My girl in the passenger seat agreed with me when I pointed it out and asked her how it looked.

Anyway, just wondering if anyone else has noticed this on theirs? And if it is an issue, is it something that's easily fixed/replaced by the dealer? I don't want to have to leave my car all day (or multiple days) to get it fixed... I'd prefer to have it done while I wait, if indeed anything actually does need to be fixed.

By the way, it is the blue lighting, just in case anyone is wondering.

Thanks

They are painted on the inside with one thin strip open to let the light through. It is possible on side is more "open" than the other.

Mine does the same. First off, you're at a different angle of view when looking straight down at the driver's side ABL. Take a min and hop in the passenger seat. I think the difference the ABL is just your point of view from the the Driver's seat. And it's designed to fade as it gets closer to the dash... No worries.

I noticed this too but then when I looked from the pass side and was sitting down it was just the angle I was at. Being up close on it makes it appear like that and I noticed it too when the door was open and I was standing up looking at it. You need some distance and need to be eye level with it and appears correct then.

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'll check it out tonight from the passenger side.

yup I thought the same until i swapped seats , its a point of view thing

Ok, it looks like Indopwr is right, and the panel may be incorrectly finished. It still looked the same from the passenger side. Here are pics of both, I just took them with my cell phone... kind of low quality, but you can still see the difference.

Could I just take this to the dealer and have them order a new panel?

Yeah, you're right, it does look a little off compared to the passenger side... Take it in and have them order you a new one.

From what I've seen on other threads, the door panels are molded from clear plastic and then painted from the backside. There was likely a thin strip of an area masked off prior to painting that might have 'leaked' a little paint through, causing your door ABL to get dimmer in those areas.

Before taking it to the dealer, if it were MY car, I would look at the possibility of taking the panel off and using some solvent to wipe away any paint that might be in the area that should be clear. I think the dealer would do the same thing, but doing it yourself wouldn't require you turning over your beloved to the service department. My 2 cents...

I already took it to a dealer, and they were actually clueless about the ambient lighting. He didn't even believe me, he said it is probably just reflections from the dash lights :facepalm:

Anyway, I showed him the pics, he looked it up, finally believed me, and ended up ordering a new door panel. He said he doesn't know how long it'll take to come in... couple days, couple weeks, who knows... I said I don't care, as long as I don't have to pay for it. He also said it shouldn't take long to install, and I'd be able to wait for it while they do it.

Mine looks the same on both sides no matter which seat I'm in, solid full and clear. Guess I'm just lucky?? :iono:

Anyone know how to increase the brightness of the ABL lights? I have the IOM btw. The light is hard to see at night.

Next to your headlight switch there's a wheel that kind of slides/rolls up and down to change the lighting level in the car. Try pressing that up a whole bunch of times and see if it makes them any brighter...

Tried that it doesn't work.