RoadVitals

2003 Freightliner Sprinter 3500 Owner Complaints

Reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers, shown in full

Data refreshed

Complaints on fileComplaints are reports submitted to NHTSA by owners and drivers. NHTSA does not verify most reports before publishing them, and a complaint does not establish that a defect exists. Volume is influenced by how many of a vehicle were sold, how long it has been on the road, and how much attention an issue has received.
2
Latest Jun 15, 2023
Crash or fire reportedComplaints whose submitter recorded that a crash or a fire occurred. These are the reporter's own answers on the NHTSA form, not verified findings.
1
Filed in the last 12 monthsReports filed with NHTSA in the trailing 365 days. Recent volume reflects attention and vehicle age as much as anything else.
0
Reports on file since Oct 30, 2015

What this page shows

Our database holds 2 NHTSA owner-reported complaints for the 2003 Freightliner Sprinter 3500. Each one is a report filed by an owner or driver and published by NHTSA without most of them being verified. A complaint is not a confirmed defect, not a recall and not a manufacturer bulletin. Narratives are shown exactly as filed.

Complaints are reports submitted by owners and drivers to NHTSA. They are not verified and do not establish that a defect exists.

Complaints, most recent first

Showing 1–2 of 2

Engine
Filed Jun 15, 2023

The contact owns a 2003 Freightliner Sprinter 3500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 09V418000 (Engine and Engine Cooling) 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 dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

NHTSA ID
11527280
Incident
Jun 14, 2023
Electrical
Filed Oct 30, 2015
Fire reported

TL* THE CONTACT OWNS A 2003 FREIGHTLINER SPRINTER 3500. THE CONTACT STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 5 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT AN UNKNOWN FUSE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, HOWEVER, THE FAILURE RECURRED THE NEXT DAY. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE FUSE BUT THE FAILURE RECURRED. THE CONTACT ALSO STATED THAT WHILE DRIVING AT APPROXIMATELY 10 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED AND IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THE SAME FUSE HAD FAILED. THE CONTACT REPLACED THE FUSE, HOWEVER, THE VEHICLE WOULD NOT START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ELECTRONIC CONTROL MODULE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED, HOWEVER THE FAILURE RECURRED THE FOLLOWING DAY AND THE SAME FUSE NEEDED REPLACEMENT WHICH CAUSED THE VEHICLE NOT TO START. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE THE FAILURE WAS UNABLE TO BE DETERMINED BUT THE TECHNICIAN WAS ABLE TO START THE VEHICLE. THE FAILURE RECURRED AND THE VEHICLE WAS NOT ABLE TO BE STARTED. AS A RESULT, THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO AN INDEPENDENT MECHANIC WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THAT THE ECM WAS MELTED AND NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE FAILURE RECURRED AFTER THE REPAIR AND THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE VEHICLE WAS TOWED TO THE DEALER WHERE IT WAS DIAGNOSED THE CRANK SHAFT SENSOR AND THE CAM SHAFT SENSORS NEEDED TO BE REPLACED. THE VEHICLE WAS REPAIRED BUT WHILE DRIVING APPROXIMATELY 40 MPH, THE VEHICLE STALLED. THE MANUFACTURER WAS MADE AWARE OF THE FAILURE. THE APPROXIMATE FAILURE MILEAGE WAS 150,000.

NHTSA ID
10787327
Incident
Aug 1, 2011
Mileage
150,000 mi

Higher-selling and older vehicles accumulate more reports. Counts are not failure rates and are not directly comparable between vehicles that sold in very different numbers.

Data sources

Data on this page last refreshed .