Daimler Vans USA, LLC is recalling certain 2019-2020 Mercedes Benz Sprinter vehicles equipped

Mar 10, 2021 — Recall Campaign #21V153000

Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Mercedes Benz Sprinter vehicles equipped with an optional electric sliding door. The auxiliary lock on the sliding door may be the incorrect type for an electric sliding door. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 226, "Ejection Mitigation."

The recall was influenced by the manufacturer with about 56 units affected.

See recall notice

NHTSA Safety Recall Notice

21V153000

Manufacturer:	Daimler Vans USA, LLC
Recall date:	March 10, 2021
NHTSA Campaign #:	21V153000
Units affected:	56

Description:: Daimler Vans USA, LLC (DVUSA) is recalling certain 2019-2020 Mercedes Benz Sprinter vehicles equipped with an optional electric sliding door. The auxiliary lock on the sliding door may be the incorrect type for an electric sliding door. As such, these vehicles fail to comply with the requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) number 226, "Ejection Mitigation."
Consequeces:: In the event of a crash, the sliding door could dislocate more than intended, and increase the risk of injury to vehicle occupants.
Corrective action:: DVUSA will notify owners, and dealers will convert the sliding door from electric to manual function, free of charge. Owner notification letters were mailed January 20, 2023. Owners may contact DVUSA customer service at 1-877-762-8267. DVUSA's number for this recall is VS3SCHIEBT.
Notes:: Owners may also contact the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Vehicle Safety Hotline at 1-888-327-4236 (TTY 1-800-424-9153), or go to www.safercar.gov.

Affects the following:

2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 1500 Complaints
on 08-03=23, I as driving MB sprinter van on highway Route 84 east toward Connecticut, when I was near Southington exit smoke was coming out of AC vent, I took exit to route 10 and stopped van right after exit on the road, and opened hood, there was active fire near lower left side engine, with help of drivers who stopped behind me, I extinguished fire with fire extinguisher and called MB road service system, police arrived first and towing vehicle from MB arrived and towed van to MB dealer called New Country Mercedes Benz, where van was inspected by technician on 08-15-23. I was told problem was overloaded alternator and serpentine belt failure. Cost to repair is around 9500 I told them I have solar Panel on roof and connected to my portable power bank battery and engine battery was never connected or used for my to power use for camping accessories. Driver for towing told MB had this problem and some vehicles were recalled, mine was not recalled.;
2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 2500 Complaints
What component or system failed or malfunctioned, and is it available for inspection upon request? The Adaptive Cruise Control turns off and then won't reset while driving. When the Adaptive Cruise Control turns off and then won't reset while driving. How was your safety or the safety of others put at risk? This causes the vehicle to immediately loose power. When traveling at highway speeds and vehicles are getting ready to pass us, then the cruise stops, we have been nearly rear ended multiple times on our last trip. Has the problem been reproduced or confirmed by a dealer or independent service center? This has been inspected but the service center couldn’t reproduce because it happens after several hours of driving. We had this problem several times while traveling from Denver Colorado to Pittsburg Kansas. If we stopped for fuel or food, and turned the vehicle off it would be fine on restart. If we were driving when it turned off we would have to follow another vehicle at a constant distance for more than 5 minutes to get the system to reset. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn't. This is also a safety issue because we were having to follow fairly close to a vehicle in front of us to get the system to reset. We also tried turning the system off every hour or so, use the “cancel” button while driving, but it didn’t seem to make a difference. The system continued to randomly turn itself off. Has the vehicle or component been inspected by the manufacturer, police, insurance representatives or others? We took the Sprinter in to a Mercedes-Benz dealer service center and they checked everything and said it was fine. Then we took it back a second time and asked if there was some sort of calibration or computer software update needed. They inspected the vehicle again and informed us everything was up to date. I do not feel that this issue was being taken seriously as it is very nerve racking when it happens and then trying to not get in an accident when traveling;
2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 3500 Complaints
This vehicle with 19711 mileage was parked in the driveway. The engine started normally, but a red error message stated, "Service Required Do Not Shift Gears Visit Dealer". I contacted the local dealership and Mercedes Roadside Assistance was not able to reset the software. The driveshaft was disconnected and two tow trucks were needed to pull the vehicle out of the driveway and then tow to the dealership. The technician found "internal electrical fault in ISM causing shifter not to come out of park". The electronic shifting unit was replaced and the vehicle is functioning normally. The switching unit did not have any external damage and there was no evidence of corrosion on the electrical terminal. This vehicle has had all of the recommended service at the dealership. It was previously serviced on Nov. 5, 2025 for recall 2025070011(update controll unit software). There were no transmission error codes. In approximately February 2026, the vehicle had not been started and the battery was dead. I jumped the vehicle to start it and then used a battery charger. No one was injured. Luckily this occured in my driveway. Mercedes assistance was appreciated. However, there was absolutely no indication of a problem prior to this. There is no mechanism to shift into neutral to move the vehicle unless the drive shaft is disconnected. If this were to occur on a busy street, it is possible that many people could have been injured. I am reporting this "near miss" in case there are other similar problems that have been reported. I believe that the unit will be inspected by Mercedes as well.;
2020 MERCEDES-BENZ SPRINTER 4500 Complaints
The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes Benz Sprinter 4500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V695000 (Structure, Equipment) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect. VIN tool was unable to retrieve recall information.;