Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Complaints (2019)

116 consumer complaints on file.

#11584859April 23, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
Exhaust smells started coming through the air vents while driving, after the catalytic converter was changed. I discovered through my own inspection, that exhaust was leaking at the connection point between the catalytic converter and the turbocharger. The fumes were entering the airflow for the passenger cabin through the cabin air intake drain valve because it is in the engine compartment. I realized that this is pouring carbon monoxide into the cabin ventilation system.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11581121April 4, 2024
ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL (ESC), SERVICE BRAKES
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that while driving at various speeds with the stability crosswinds feature engaged in windy weather, the brakes independently activated without driver input, and the vehicle swerved and was uncontrollable. There were no warning lights illuminated. The contact called the local dealer, but the vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The manufacturer was not contacted. The failure mileage was approximately 80,000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11574286February 27, 2024
POWER TRAIN
My EIS module rendered my vehicle inoperable and left me stranded in the winter and left me stranded 54 miles away from the closest repair shop. Only because this is a know issue (see below) AND I had cell phone service enough to research this problem AND I had an air compressor to blow the wet/corroded connector out AND I was lucky enough it worked was I not left in a potentially life threatening situation. The weather was below freezing and this situation could have ended up requiring rescue, or worse. The 2019+ Mercedes Sprinter EIS (Electronic Ignition System) module is bolted under the driver side dash board to the base of the A pillar where it meets with the firewall. The electrical connector of the module is pointing straight up - this is an issue because any liquids that might spill on the dash (dash cupholder) or any humidity from windshield interior condensation will drip right down the wiring and into the EIS module causing it to short out. _ If the EIS module shorts out, the vehicle will be inoperable until a new unit is fitted. _ The EIS module retails at $1800+ from Mercedes _ Had Mercedes installed the EIS module with the connector facing DOWNWARD - this moisture related issue would not exist. _ There is no drip loop provisions in the wiring. _ Mercedes is aware of the issue as they have created a plastic bag with part number A 638 546 00 35 and they are charging $20 for it. As of right now, Mercedes refuses to fix this issue preventatively. They will only repair it AFTER the EIS module has shorted out. They are refusing to treat this as a warranty claim even though it is clearly a manufacturer defect.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572949February 20, 2024
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
After vehicle was placed in park it rolled by it self and damaged garage door to a property. Also I have a recording of vehicle rolling after placed in park. Vehicle has been at dealer for last 4 weeks and they can not duplicate problem according to them. no warning lamps
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11572799February 19, 2024
ENGINE
At high elevations, at some times soon after a cold start the throttle becomes completely unresponsive. This is not a low power issue due to altitude--even putting the throttle pedal to the floor, the RPMs remain at idle and do not move at all. After I power down and restart, it worked briefly and then again became unresponsive. Once the engine is warm, the problem has not appeared. This put me in an unsafe situation on two occasions: 1) Pulling out of a parking lot onto a 2 lane snow covered highway, the throttle became completely unresponsive while I was sitting across both lanes of traffic, leaving me exposed to a collision. I had to shut off and restart the engine to get moving. Elevation 10,700 feet. 2) In a parking lot, moving to get out of the way of a snowplow. I had to restart the vehicle 5 times before I was able to get out of the snowplow's way. Elevation 9,700.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11566221January 18, 2024
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, SERVICE BRAKES, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
Function goes off intermittently sometimes for a week at a time Also signals brake problems on dash
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11561668December 23, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, ENGINE, UNKNOWN OR OTHER
At approximately 104 miles into a recent trip in our RV, while traveling at highway speed under cruise control, we noticed a strange odor. Almost at the same moment we immediately lost engine and braking power. The check engine light came on. We then noticed smoke coming from the engine compartment and noxious fumes had begun to enter the cabin area. After pulling to the side of the highway by use of the emergency brake, we were able to exit the vehicle. Flames could be seen coming from the engine bay and quickly engulfed the RV giving my wife, myself, and our dog only enough time to exit and get a safe distance away. The RV burned to basically nothing but the frame left.
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11558131December 2, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
The locking mechanism on the sliding door of our 2019 15-passenger Mercedes Sprinter seems to be defective at best, and at worst, may be a safety hazard. The hand-locking part has been broken twice during our less than three-year stint with this vehicle. Twice we’ve had the lock looked at when we’ve had the van serviced or in for repairs. Once it was put back together by our local Mercedes dealership. The second time, we were informed that we would need to pay over $300+ to repair the lock, even though the van is still under the three-year bumper-to-bumper warranty and has approximately 12,000 miles on it. We were also told to not use the locking mechanism to lock/unlock the door from the inside, as it’s not really designed for such usage. And since it had been broken by such usage, repairs would not be covered under the warranty. Anyone looking at the locking mechanism would find it reasonable to think that the locking mechanism should be able to be used to unlock the door from the inside. Furthermore, the fact that the door cannot be easily unlocked from the inside provides a significant safety concern should passengers need to quickly exit the van for any reason. Finally, the ease of breaking the locking mechanism, without any unreasonable force used, is an insult to the Mercedes brand and certainly not up to par with the quality of the vehicle we thought we were purchasing. And we found it additionally disappointing for the dealership to then inform us that Mercedes would not honor these repairs under our bumper-to-bumper warranty period and to attempt to charge us for this diagnosis. Please investigate.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11536565August 4, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, SEAT BELTS:FRONT:RETRACTOR
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that the passenger seat failed to move forward or backward electrically. The vehicle was taken to the dealer who stated that the wiring had wrapped around the seat track and fractured. The contact was informed that the failure was common. The vehicle had not been repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 14,000. The consumer requested that their vehicle be added to NHTSA recall 21V-410 and any other applicable recalls.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11530169July 3, 2023
VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS
Cruse control will sometimes disengage and display these error messages: "Active Distance Assist Inoperative" "Active Brake Assist Functions Limited See Operator's Manual" Cruse control kicks out and the power cuts off abruptly. After some variable time the cruise control function will work again. This is an intermittent problem that occurs without warning. When cruise control set to 65-70 mph, the deceleration is very pronounced, as if brakes are applied. This can be very starling to the driver, passengers, and any vehicles tailing behind. I reported this to a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter dealer, and they stated a released software update addressed this problem. However, after the dealer servicing, it still happens several times a day when traveling in our RV.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11525594June 6, 2023
ELECTRICAL SYSTEM, VISIBILITY
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact purchased the vehicle with open recall NHTSA Campaign Number: 23V100000 (Visibility, Electrical System) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was not made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. VIN tool confirms parts not available.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11524395May 30, 2023
UNKNOWN OR OTHER
A fire started in the engine compartment our our vehicle while driving home. I was unable to put out the fire and the entire van burned
Crash:
No
Fire:
Yes
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11512185March 16, 2023
SERVICE BRAKES, HYDRAULIC:FOUNDATION COMPONENTS:DISC:CALIPER
The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that while the vehicle was at the dealer for routine maintenance, the dealer determined that the rear driver's side brake caliper was corroded and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure and a case was opened. The failure mileage was approximately 47,000. The VIN was unavailable.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11511544March 13, 2023
AIR BAGS:SRS MALFUNCTION WARNING LAMP/LIGHT, STRUCTURE
The contact is a fleet manager for a business which owns multiple 2019 Mercedes Benz Sprinter Vans. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle the SRS warning light would remain illuminated due to the metal driver side seat frame tearing under the seat and also the driver side seat material becoming worn and open were the airbag is located. In addition the front driver side door would not secure when closed due to a faulty door hinge. The vehicle was take to the local dealer who diagnosed that occupant sensor and driver side door hinge was faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was not yet repaired. The contact indicated that all nineteen vehicles in the fleet had been serviced for the same failures. The manufacturer was notified of the failures. The failure mileage was 68,154.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11511473March 12, 2023
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL
The adaptive distance assist system shuts down if no vehicle is sensed for approximately 1.5 hours. The system typically will not re-engage until the vehicle is restarted with an object in front of the vehicle enabling the system to self confirm that the sensors are functioning properly. This is a defect as the system should never turn off due to lack of vehicle detection. A typical drive across west Texas or SW New Mexico makes this happen all the time.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11507330February 14, 2023
POWER TRAIN
When switching gears from park into drive or reverse. There is a large knock coming from the Differential area. The knock was getting louder, and the vehicle did not drive as smooth kept getting worse with time. I took it to differential specialist. He diagnosed the problem as loose axle shafts and replace left and right side costing me close to $3000.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11501149January 10, 2023
ENGINE
In normal driving, the EGR valve becomes clogged with black soot, and the valve becomes jammed. The first symptom is a hesitation at approximately 1800 RPM, resulting in unpredictable forward motion. Within several hundred miles, this second symptom occurs, the engine will not operate above 2500 rpm, and vehicle acceleration and power is greatly reduced. Maximum speed is approximately 50 mph. No warning lights are illuminated. No warning messages appear. Cleaning the EGR valve fixes both symptoms. Has happened twice in 50,000 miles.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11498808December 25, 2022
STEERING
Hello and happy holidays! NHTSA RECALL 21V241000 or DVUSA NV3LETULPX This recall is marked completed by a dealer MB of Nanuet (99 NY-304, Nanuet, NY 10954 ) or MB of Paramus (755 NJ-17, Paramus, NJ 07652) Today I discovered my power steering liquid reservoir is dry empty, I couldn’t believe myself and poke chopstick inside to see it dry. I looked down at the hoses and one of them was off the position where it must sit. I reached by hand I find this hose oiled on the bottom and completely loose (I can pull it out by hand, while it secured by clamp). What surprised me even more, I found second “fix solution” clamp mounted by someone not qualified to work as MB Technician.
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11496277December 6, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: WARNINGS, FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The "Distronic" Front radar sensor that controls Forward Collision Warning , Emergency Braking and Adaptive cruise control failed twice during a 900 mile road trip. Once the sensor literally fell out of it's bracket leaving the system non working and putting my family at risk. Second time it failed during a snow storm with limited visibility in Wyoming. There are numerous reports in Mercedes forums that this sensor fails frequently jeopardizing the safety of occupants. There were not warnings prior to the failure and Mercedes
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0
#11494521November 22, 2022
FORWARD COLLISION AVOIDANCE: AUTOMATIC EMERGENCY BRAKING
The automatic emergency braking feature is regularly activated while driving on the highway when driving under bridges and large overhead road signs. Sometimes, the van only beeps at me, indicating that an obstruction was detected but not doing anything in response. More alarmingly, however, the van has slammed on the brakes while going full speed on the highway several times, sending my tools flying forward and almost creating an accident with the car behind me. The dealership has tried to fix it 3 times and it’s still doing it. They first told me to keep the windshield clean, then they told me to keep my bumper radars clean. They replaced the camera on my last visit but the problem still exists. It seems evident to me that this is a defective system altogether and i don’t think the dealership will be capable of fixing it. I’m afraid to drive my van and I’m not sure what to do about it
Crash:
No
Fire:
No
Injuries:
0
Deaths:
0

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