Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Complaints (2018)

25 consumer complaints on file.

#11755370August 6, 2026
ENGINE, FUEL/PROPULSION SYSTEM
SAFETY DEFECT REPORT & RECALL NON-COMPLIANCE: 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500 (VIN: [XXX]) This complaint involves an uncorrected emissions system defect that causes a sudden, dangerous engine shutdown and low-speed countdown limp mode on live roadways, combined with manufacturer recall non-compliance by Mercedes-Benz USA and its authorized franchise dealer, Euro Motorcars Bethesda. The vehicle was brought to an authorized dealership under a mandatory manufacturer recall (Recall Campaign 2025070001 / ECU software update) at 108,575 miles, well within the legally mandated 10-Year / 120,000-Mile Extended Emissions Modification Warranty. Prior to the recall service, the vehicle suffered an abrupt EGR loop breakdown and threw active safety shutdown code P19DE00 (EGR Shut Off / Exhaust Gas Recirculation Limp Mode), placing the vehicle in a hazardous low-speed countdown state. Instead of opening a mandatory Star Support warranty override file to replace the failing physical EGR hardware while the asset was legally under-mileage, the dealership cleared the fault codes to quickly process and bill for the software recall update, pushing the commercial vehicle back onto public roadways with active component restrictions. Because the manufacturer's franchise network failed to properly execute the recall and process the manual hardware extension while under-mileage, the automated database now blocks the required fix based on current elapsed mileage (129,093 miles). The vehicle is locked in an un-driveable limp mode condition in my driveway, completely destroying its utility. Mercedes-Benz USA Corporate Executive Care has actively refused to override the tracking error, violating the terms of the federal modification campaign and leaving an unsafe, defective vehicle in service. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11719801February 23, 2026
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, STEERING:STEERING WHEEL /HANDLE BAR:HAND HEATER/COOLER
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was parked, the contact became aware of an electrical burning odor. Upon touching the steering wheel, the steering wheel was extremely hot. After the vehicle was driven, the steering wheel gradually cooled down. The owner expressed concerns that the air bag might inadvertently deploy due to the heat. There were no warning lights illuminated. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 40,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11642281February 12, 2025
FUEL SYSTEM, DIESEL
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that while starting the vehicle, the contact noticed that the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) tank had failed and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and referred the contact to the NHSTA Hotline for assistance. The approximate failure mileage was 15,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11621205October 22, 2024
ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that the vehicle hesitated while depressing the accelerator pedal. The contact stated that while driving 70 MPH, the vehicle lost motive power. The contact pulled over to the shoulder of the highway. The check engine warning light was illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the local dealer, who was unable to determine the cause of the failure. The vehicle was not repaired. The vehicle was taken to another local dealer, Mercedes Benz of Billings (3045 King Ave W, Billings, MT 59102); but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 50,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11598099July 2, 2024
STEERING
The line for the automatic steering fluid blew. This was "repaired" Mercedes Benz during a recall but the repaired clamp did not hold. We lost the ability to steer the van easily which is dangerous to other vehicles. The problem was confirmed by the repair shop that we took it to. We did not have a warning light prior to the incident. It was instant, we lost all of the power steering fluid and instantly lost power steering.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11575524March 5, 2024
ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that while driving at 65 MPH and attempting to accelerate, he heard an abnormal sound emanating from the engine compartment. After which, the vehicle lost significant motive power and was unable to accelerate above 45 MPH. No warning lights were illuminated. The vehicle was taken to the dealer, who diagnosed failures with the EGR valve and EGR cooler. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure, a case was opened, and the contact was referred to the NHTSA hotline for assistance. The VIN was not available. The failure mileage was 90,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11508752February 23, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
We have a 2019 motorhome on a 2018 Mercedes Sprinter chassis. We are concerned about the wheel speed sensor failing. Three out of 4 sensors have already failed and been replaced on ours and Mercedes will not replace the 4th sensor until it fails. When this sensor fails it affects the ABS brakes and the braking distance is increased which can cause an accident. The cruise control is also affected and could increase speed on its own. The ESP can also be affected and can increase the risk of skidding and accidents. We have spoken to many other motorhome owners with the same chassis and they have also had problems with the sensors. Mercedes is aware of this problem and we feel they should replace all the sensors before they fail and cause a serious accident and injury or death. We would like to travel to remote areas of our country but haven't done so because there is no place to get the sensor replaced if it fails. We have spoken to Mercedes Benz of Sarasota FL and Mercedes Corporate and they are unwilling to do anything to replace the 4th sensor.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11503321January 24, 2023
POWER TRAIN, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
it grovernor at 7o mph which you can not pass. you can not go up some hills at the speed limit it will not idle it turn off all the time, to keep the van idling you have to put it in drive and put on the e brake and hope it does not move the back doors are always lock and when you unlock the back doors, the van turn off , in the cold months your passengers freeze. This may not sound like must to you but come and drive this van this could be a bad safety issue. this van is wrongfully and poorly engineer.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496820December 9, 2022
SEAT BELTS, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The driver's side seat belt is slow to retract or doesn't retract at all. Started back in May 2022, one month after the warranty expired with less than 20k miles on it. Originally, Mercedes Benz of El Cajon said they would fix, then declined. We called MBUSA and opened a ticket 2-33281290644 and they said set up the same repair with another local dealer and give them this ticket number. We did and after several delays by the second dealer, Mercedes Benz of San Diego, we were told MBUSA denied the warranty claim and that they could only fix it if we paid $749.49 which includes $298.80 for Labor, $418.27 for parts and $32.42 for taxes. This seems out of line and we are now more than 6 months away from the original complaint. No one doubts the problem of a bad seat belt, they just don't want to cover the repair. The mechanism to adjust the seat belt up and down is also broken, but I'm told that is not difficult to fix as they replace the belt.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11466047May 25, 2022
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM:12V/24V/48V BATTERY
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that while driving at low speeds, there was an abnormal sulfur odor coming from the engine. There was no warning light illuminated. As the odor persisted, the contact’s eyes started burning and the contact also started having a headache. The contact inspected the vehicle and discovered that acid had leaked from the battery due to internal pressure inside the battery. The contact then called that dealer where he was instructed to take the vehicle in to be serviced under the vehicle warranty. The contact was able to drive the vehicle to the dealer and the mechanic confirmed the cause of the failure but informed him that his vehicle was out of warranty, despite previously being informed that the vehicle was covered under warranty. The manufacturer was notified of the failure but offered no assistance. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was approximately 7,400.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440922November 18, 2021
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL:AUTOMATIC (ASC)
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the ABS, check engine, and cruise control warning lights illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact indicated that the vehicle was recently serviced under NHTSA Campaign Number: 21V042000 (Electronic Stability Control) however, the failure occurred. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 18,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11440080November 10, 2021
WHEELS
This vehicle was sold to us new with the manufacturer's window sticker stating it was equipped with a Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) as a Standard Accessory - Safety/Cargo Protection. The provided owner's manual describes the TPMS system and the low tire pressure warning lamp indicator on the dash. It was not until our first flat tire after 2.5 years and 24000 miles, that we learned our vehicle does NOT have TPMS OR a low tire pressure warning lamp. Another motorist flagged us down as it was the inside dually tire that deflated and delaminated. Luckily we learned of the deflated inner tire before the outer tire also had issues because of the extra load placed on it. We have since learned that vehicles with a GVWR over 10,000 pounds and dual-wheel rear axles are not required to have TPMS. The owner's manual does not state this and does not exclude our model as having this safety equipment. As far as we know, this exclusion is not standard public knowledge. Many heavy duty trucks with dual wheels do have such a system, so why should we question our window sticker? Our issue and safety concern is that we were lead to believe our van did have a TPMS by both our window sticker and our owners manual. Many of these vehicles are being converted to RVs (like ours but has seat belts for 6 passengers) and may be being driven unsafely due to this miscommunication. Owners/drivers of van conversions and RVs need to be fully aware of the lack of this safety feature. The dealership we bought the van from has been unhelpful and has said they have forwarded our complaint to Mercedes USA but we have yet to hear anything from them.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11439669November 8, 2021
ENGINE, ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, POWER TRAIN
Seems that the DEF system is out. 16 remaining to start the engine. Called dealership, got told the the extended warranty doesn’t cover my vehicle. There’s a recall and the DEF system, but for some reason it doesn’t cover my vehicle. It’s only 125K mi, already replaced the EGR and now I have to deal with a DEF system
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11434749September 28, 2021
STEERING, ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC)
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact received a recall notification for NHTSA Campaign Numbers: 20V663000 (Steering) and 21V042000 (Electronic Stability Control) however, the dealer informed the contact that the part for the recall repair was not yet available. The contact contacted Mercedes-Benz of Westminster (10391 Westminster Blvd, Westminster, CO 80020) confirmed the first dealer’s information. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was notified of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11430623August 26, 2021
STRUCTURE
The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that the air conditioning was draining into the interior cabin allowing moisture to the carpet, wall panels, and head liner. The RV was taken to the dealer where it was diagnosed and determined that the air conditioning seal was fractured and needed to be replaced. The RV was repaired 4 additional times however, the failure recurred. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and referred the contact to the RV dealer. The contact was afraid of black mold appearing inside the cabin. The failure mileage was approximately 23,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11420930June 14, 2021
STRUCTURE:BODY, EXTERIOR LIGHTING
On or about April 27, 2021 the driver's side rear taillight assembly randomly fell off between Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona on Interstate 10. The assembly is large, containing the taillight, brake light, turn signal light and back-up light. It could have (and may have) hit another vehicle or at least caused it/them to engage in a dangerous turning maneuver to avoid hitting the large assembly while on the freeway. In addition, the RV was then rendered unsafe and in violation of the laws of virtually every state, as well as federal regulations, due to lacking the required lighting assembly. This has also happened to another RV unit from the same manufacturer (Regency). The driver's side taillight assembly fell off this RV during windy conditions on Interstate 40 while traveling through Arkansas on April 2, 2021. There are photos of the missing assembly for both RV's. My RV was inspected by a collision repair facility in California and their determination was two fold: 1) the RV body was molded in way that would not permit the taillight assembly to properly fit in the cavity. The tolerance was off by up to 1/4 of an inch. 2) the taillight is a stock mercedes sprinter taillight assembly which has three hard point connections (top middle, and bottom. However, the body of the RV only has two points to connect the taillight assembly (top and bottom) thereby leaving the middle area open to intrusion by wind and other elements. As a result it was very difficult to find a facility to repair/replace the assembly ( they "did not want to touch it"). It has now been replaced by a collision facility which used a silicone sealant and HD velcro in the HOPE that the assembly will not fall off again in predictable weather conditions. There was no warning or other indication that the taillight assembly was going to fall off. Finally, Regency claims to manufacture just 200 to 250 of these units annually. This incident therefore involves 1% of their annual production.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11400063March 9, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
WHILE DRIVING VEHICLE STARTED TO ACCELERATE WITHOUT FOOT ON GAS PEDAL AFTER THE ABS ,ESP AND CHECK ENGINE WARNING LIGHTS APPEARED ON DASH. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS SITUATION. I RESPONDED TO MERCEDES DEALER AND VEHICLE WAS DIAGNOSED WITH A FAULTY REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSOR. SERVICE ADVISOR STATED THAT 'SENSORS GO OUT ALL THE TIME ON THESE VEHICLES'.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11390039January 26, 2021
SERVICE BRAKES, POWER TRAIN, VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
WHEN TURNING A CORNER,ENGINE RACED TO 45 MPH WITHOUT MY FOOT ON THE THROTTLE.ALMOST LOST CONTROL.HAD TO PUT VEHICLE,MEREDES SPRINTER 3500,INTO NEUTRAL TO STOP IT.HAD PREVIOUSLY HAD THE DEALER REPAIR SPEED SENSORS THREE OTHER TIMES.WARNING LIGHTS COME ON AND I LOOSE CRUISE CONTROL.DANGEROUS CONDITION.MB SHOULD RE ENGINEER THE PART AND INSTALL IN AFFECTED VEHICLES.DEALER CONTINUES TO INSTALL DEFECTIVE PARTS.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11387713January 12, 2021
POWER TRAIN
TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2018 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 2500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT VARIOUS SPEEDS, THE VEHICLE INTERMITTENTLY SHIFT INTO LIMP MODE INDEPENDENTLY WITHOUT WARNING. THE CONTACT PULLED OVER AND RESTART THE VEHICLE IN FOR THE VEHICLE TO RESUME NORMAL OPERATION. THE CONTACT HAD TAKEN THE VEHICLE TO RALLYE MOTORS (1600 NORTHERN BLVD, ROSLYN, NY 11576) WHERE THE MECHANIC WAS UNABLE TO DUPLICATE OR DIAGNOSE THE FAILURE. THE MANUFACTURER WAS NOT NOTIFIED OF THE FAILURE. THE VEHICLE WAS NOT REPAIRED. THE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS APPROXIMATELY 3,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11383866December 17, 2020
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
FOLLOW UP TO COMPLAINT NUMBER 11374151. CAUSE DETERMINED: LEFT REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSOR DEFECTIVE AND REPLACED
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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