2019 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 2500 Complaints

The contact owns a 2019 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated when the vehicle started, the instrument panel failed to display properly, with the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact was concerned that the vehicle was hazardous to drive and could be severely injured if the instrument panel failed to display warning features as needed. The dealer was not contacted. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was notified of the failure. The failure mileage was 91,000.

Tire size: 245/75 R16 LT 120/116Q Tire: Kumho Crugen HT51 I was driving on [XXX] and had only been driving about 30 minutes. I heard a sound and could see rubber from rear passenger side tire separating from the tire. I assumed I had a flat tire and immediately pulled over to the right shoulder of highway. When I stepped out I was surprised to see a lot of damage due to the tire tread separating and thrashing around on rear passenger side of vehicle. A small section of the rear corner bumper that included a small door panel to get to propane tank was completely gone. There was a jagged hole in another section of bumper as well. A small section of the body panel had been torn off and was laying by tire. Also, tire tread had damaged side of RV with black rubber markings and scratches. There are some small dents too. The tire was NOT flat, but the tread was almost entirely gone leaving the tire without any rubber tread. This is a 2020 Mercedes Benz Airstream Interstate 19. So this is an RV Camper Van. Had this been the front tire, I believe it would’ve resulted in an accident or injury. Vehicle & tires were inspected by Mercedes Dealership just last June 2023. I’m very concerned that the remaining tires will have the tire tread separate as well. These are the factory tires that were on my vehicle when purchased new. I purchased this vehicle with only 17,500 miles. Vehicle only has 27,473 miles on it now and has only been driven on streets or highways. Tires do NOT show any signs of cracking or dry rotting. I drive vehicle often for weekend trips. So it hasn’t set for any lengthy amount of time to cause damage to tires. I believe these tires are defective and that’s why the tread separated with tires only having about 27,500 miles on them. I believe these tires are rated for 70,000 miles. I’m hoping for an investigation into these tires as I strongly believe they are defective. INFORMATION REDACTED PURSUANT TO THE FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT (FOIA), 5 U.S.C. 552(B)(6)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.