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Is that a reply to Mk2 question, or Mk3?
Was under the impression that the original email from Citroen UK related to lastest model that doesn't require deflectors, but the Mk2 does?
Or was the dealer trying to sell you some...? :whistle:
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13-09-2012, 01:15 PM
(This post was last modified: 13-09-2012, 01:16 PM by Opensauce.)
Its fair to say the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I have done loads of night driving on single carriageway roads in France & have never been flashed up by oncoming drivers either in my current Mk3 or in my previous Mk2. The requirement is that you do not dazzle not that you have to have deflectors & I would say this is the real test of whether deflectors are required on any UK car used on the continent.
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Mines a 2009 mk3, I gave up using deflectors or tape yrs ago on my previous Mk2 Berl. originally I stuck black tape on what looked like the right place. Older cars with glass lenses were clearly marked as to where deflectors went & lights did dip sharply to left. '03 on Berl. had the clear plastic lenses. The black tape rendered the headlamps almost useless so I tried deflectors which didn't really make much difference at all. I observed that the lenses become very hot around deflectors & eventually hairline cracks appeared in lenses. The glue residue was only removed with cellulose thinners which really should not be used on plastic.
So I stopped using them & did not appear to dazzle anybody. I only emailed Citroen about it to settle an argument & received letter stating that they were not required. I knew that anyway. I have never heard of anybody getting nicked by French cops for having nothing stuck to their headlamps but when did you last get stopped by a French cop? You rarely even see them & they never seem interested in stopping Brits when you do.
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Beam deflectors make a modest amount of difference to our MkIII but we mainly have them on so any flic can see at a glance that you're trying to comply.
Loads of random stops down by the Spanish border between Perpignan and Andorra but nothing heavy.
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I've just returned yesterday from France and did about 4-5 hours of night driving with no deflectors on the advise of this forum.
I didn't encounter any problems nor did I get flashed, looking at other uk cars whilst out there, only one i noticed had beam deflectors and that was an 80s registered Mercedes.
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I looked at my beam pattern last night.
On dip the there is obviously a horizontal mask down from main beam on both sides and a further 'half-tint' shadow over the offside,protecting oncoming traffic but on the nearside ,pointing towards the the lamps illuminate the hedgerows to a hight of around 5 ft.
So it would seem Johnny Foreigner would definately get an eyeful (or an Eiffel ha ha)from a MK3
I think its just a case of luck on the day- perhaps the gendarme aren't as bored/pedantic as our lot.
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Chances are that if you stick a bit of insulating tape somewhere handy on your lights you'll probably get away with it. I debated the issue when we took our MK2 abroad in July, but in the end coughing up about £7 wasn't a lot to pay for peace of mind. Bought mine on the ferry expecting to be ripped off, but the price was OK. You can buy more cheaply on Ebay but there are posts on other forums that warn of old stock with failing adhesive being shifted that way, so beware ultra-cheap bargains.
Breathed a sigh of relief that they actually had them on the ferry, so much so that I almost bought the ones intended for French/German drivers visiting UK until the beautiful girl behind the counter pointed it out to me. She could have sold me anything! Probably thought "Silly ol' bugger doesn't know what he wants....."
'56 Multispace 1.6HDi - Iron Grey
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We have been driving over here for several months now with no deflectors although safe to say that the dip to the left is noticeable on these dark French roads. I have the headlamps pointed down as low as they will go and have not been flashed but will have to change them at some point. I have seen a pair on Ebay from West Germany for £200 plus postage which seems ok. Fitting will be fun I am sure!! Whoever wrote that letter deserves a smack in the mouth as they misled a lot of people. A friend of ours has a Mercedes and he just flicks a switch and they change over. You would have thought everyone would do that. It seems much simpler than making two types of headlamp.
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