I recently bought the 99 E430 with xenon lights. From the outside, I noticed that the driver side headlight has a slightly less "bluish" glow then the right side after it's been on for a while. However, when I'm driving, I don't see any difference. The lights are very bright. Is this normal?

Jack,
It is quite normal for the Xenon's to appear much brighter than the usual Halogens. When you observe the color difference are you looking at it from straight ahead or off to one side. Try looking at it from one side, then the opposite side, then straight ahead. Perhaps being slighly off axis will give one headlamp a different appearance than the other. Other basics like making sure both headlamp lenses are both clean. The Xenon's have something of a "self-aiming" feature. If it is skewed it might look lop sided. (just like if halogens are mis-aimed) Since it looks normal while driving I would guess everything is fine, it just appears different based on perspective. Just a guess?

Lee

I have noticed this coloring difference on several vehicles. Swapping headlight assemblies side to side does move the less blue light to the other side. A new unit doesnt change the condition. The left side does have a less blue light but only after the lights have been on for more than 5 minutes.

Not that I have xenon lights, but my 98 300E, and yours to I am assuming has that very offset pattern of light it throws, (look in the manual) almost like a straight line has been drawn on a 20 degree angle, maybe this is adding to the effect?!$%

Hey, just a thought.......
Go Leafs!

I brought the car back to the dealer to have the technicians check out the xenon headlamps. They did an electrical system test and also did a voltage drop test on the headlamp units. They even replaced the driver side unit but the condition persist. The technician agree that the driver side unit does indeed have a less intense glow than the passenger side unit. His only guess was that it is intended to provide less glare to oncoming traffic. When I pull my car up 25 feet from a white wall, one can definitely see from the wall that the driver side is less bright than the passenger side. Does anyone with an E-class with xenon lights has the same problem or is it just me?