2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 Driver assistance Problems

The contact owns a 2015 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated while driving approximately 35 mph, the transmission inadvertently downshifted into third gear and the vehicle stalled with an unknown warning light illuminated. The vehicle was towed to the local dealer to be diagnosed. The contact was informed that the rear wheel speed sensors were faulty and needed to be replaced. The vehicle was repaired, and the failure was remedied. The contact later received notification of NHTSA campaign number 21V042000 (Electronic Stability Control) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The local dealer was contacted, and it was confirmed that the part 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 contacted. Vin tool confirms parts not available. The failure mileage was 52,000.

NHTSA ID

11426973

Incident

Feb 1, 2021

Mileage

52,000 mi

I RECEIVED A RECALL NOTICE FOR THE THE REAR SPEED SENSORS ON THIS VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD BOTH FRONT SPEED SENSORS FAIL AND I BELIEVE THIS SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO AS WELL AS I BELIEVE THE ABS BRAKE SYSTEM WAS EFFECTED BY MY FRONT WHEEL SPEED SENSOR FAILURES. THE FIRST SENSOR FAILED 30 DAYS AFTER WARRANTY EXPIRED WHEN THE VEHICLE HAD LESS THAN 19,000 MILES. THE SECOND SENSOR FAILED ABOUT 3 MONTHS LATER.

NHTSA ID

11413331

Incident

Jul 20, 2019

Mileage

18,500 mi

WHEN DRIVING THE VEHICLE WILL ACCELERATE BY ITSELF. THE BRAKES WILL PULSATE WHEN YOU TRY TO STOP AT THE ACCELERATED LEVEL YOU MUST PUT THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL TO STOP. THEN 3 LIGHTS APPEAR ON DASH, ABS,TIRE AND TRACTION. WHEN THE LIGHTS APPEAR THE VEHICLE RUNS FINE BUT CRUISE CONTROL WILL NOT WORK. WHEN VEHICLE IS TURNED OFF FOR THE DAY THE NEXT DAY THE LIGHTS ARE GONE FROM DASH AND THE VEHICLES RUNS PROPER FOR A SHORT PERIOD OF TIME. THIS ISSUE IS BECOMING MORE FREQUENT.

NHTSA ID

11405400

Incident

Mar 6, 2021

Mileage

13,000 mi

WE WERE TRAVELING ON FLAT, OPEN INTERSTATE ROADWAY IN RAINY WEATHER AT NIGHT WITH CRUISE CONTROL SET WHEN THE VEHICLE UNEXPECTEDLY ACCELERATED QUICKLY. I NOTICED THE VEHICLE FELT LIKE IT DOWNSHIFTED AND FELT LIKE IT WAS ACCELERATING HARD. I LOOKED AT SPEEDOMETER AND SPEED HAD INCREASED BY MORE THAN 5 MPH OVER WHAT CRUISE WAS SET IN A MATTER OF 4 SECONDS OR SO. I THEN APPLIED PRESSURE TO BRAKE PEDAL AT WHICH POINT THE VEHICLE FELT LIKE BRAKE SYSTEM PULSED 4 TIMES, AND CRUISE CONTROL DID NOT APPEAR TO DISENGAGE. I THEN HIT BRAKES AGAIN, AND PUSHED THE CRUISE CONTROL LEVEL TOWARD DASH AND CRUISE DISENGAGED THIS TIME. DURING OR IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS EVENT, WARNING LIGHTS CAME ON IN DASH FOR ABS, ESP, VISIT WORKSHOP, AND OTHER WARNING LIGHTS THAT SAFETY FEATURES WERE DISABLED SUCH AS FORWARD COLLISION, BLIND SPOT INDICATORS IN MIRROR, ETC. THESE WARNING LIGHTS HAVE OCCASIONALLY WENT OFF FOR SHORT PERIODS OF TIME, BUT HAVE REMAINED ON FOR MOST OF TIME. SOMETIMES THEY WILL BE OFF WHEN STARTED, BUT COME ON AFTER TOUCHING BRAKE PEDAL. NO WARNING LIGHTS WERE ON PRIOR TO THIS EVENT.

NHTSA ID

11395932

Incident

Feb 6, 2021

Mileage

6,700 mi

BOTH REAR WHEEL SENSORS WENT OUT WITHIN 2 MONTHS OF EACH OTHER. ONE 6,000 MILES, THE OTHER 8,000 MILES. BOTH HIGHWAY DRIVING NO ROUGH ROAD

NHTSA ID

11387883

Incident

Feb 13, 2020

Mileage

6,000 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON THE FREEWAY WITH MY CRUISE CONTROL SET AT 65. THE VEHICLE ABRUPTLY STARTED ACCELERATING. FORTUNATELY I HAD LEFT MYSELF A GOOD DISTANCE FROM THE SEMI IN FRONT OF ME OR I WOULD HAVE RAMMED INTO THE BACK OF IT. THIS WAS QUITE UNNERVING AND AFTER BRAKING I RECEIVED THE FOLLOWING ERROR CODES: ABS, ESP, TRACTION CONTROL AND CRUISE CONTROL.

NHTSA ID

11376216

Incident

Nov 19, 2020

Mileage

22,800 mi

SEE UPLOADED DOCUMENT

NHTSA ID

11366869

Incident

Jul 8, 2019

Mileage

400 mi

I WAS DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE HWY AND THE ABS AND ESP WARNING MALFUNCTION OCCURED WITH A VISIT WORKSHOP MESSAGE. THE ENGINE RPM REVED UP AND THE VEHICLE SLOWED TO 40 MPH. I WAS ABLE TO GET TO A SAFE PLACE. CONSULTATION WITH A REPAIR FACILITY DETERMINED THE CAUSE TO BE THE WHEEL SPEED SENSORS ON THE REAR WHEELS. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THIS SAME THING PREVIOUSLY OCCURED WITH THE PREVIOUS OWNER WITH 4000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE THE SPEED SENSORS WERE REPLACED AT FACTORY AUTH DEALER AT THAT TIME. THIS INCIDENT I AM DESCRIBING OCCURED AT 12000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE. I WAS 700 MILES FROM HOME AND THE NEAREST FACTORY REPAIR FACILITY'S ONLY EMERGENCY OPENING WAS 3 DAYS IN THE FUTURE. THE INDEPENDENT REPAIR FACILITY THAT DIAGNOSED THE PROBLEM WAS NOT ABLE TO PERFORM THE NECESSARY REPAIRS. I DROVE HOME IN LIMP MODE. 4 SPEED SENSORS WERE PURCHASED AT A MERCEDES DEALER FOR A COST OF $900.00 AND REPLACED BY MYSELF. PRIOR TO REPLACING THE SENSORS THE SECOND TIME THE ABS AND ESP WARNING OCCURED BRIEFLY AND CLEARED ON THEIR OWN. MUCH RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THIS IS A VERY COMMON FAILURE OF THESE VEHICLES.

NHTSA ID

11366293

Incident

Oct 8, 2020

Mileage

12,000 mi

IN OCTOBER OF 2018 AT 28,860 ODOMETER MILES, THE PASSENGER REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSOR FAILED WHILE DRIVING FROM ATLANTA, GA TO WEST PALM BEACH, FL. CAUSING THE EPS, ABS, ANTI_COLLISION AND CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEM TO STOP FUNCTIONING WITH WARNING MESSAGES DISPLAYED ON THE DASH. I EXPERIENCED ERRATIC SPEEDS WHILE MANUALLY DRIVING HOME. ON OCTOBER 3, 2020, AT 39,214 ODOMETER MILES, THE SAME ISSUE HAPPENED AGAIN, ONLY THIS TIME IT WAS THE FRONT PASSENGER WHEEL SPEED SENSOR THAT FAILED WITH ALL THE SAME WARNING LIGHTS AND DISABLED EPS, ABS, ANTI-COLLISION AND CRUISE CONTROL SYSTEMS BEING SHUT DOWN. IN BOTH CASES THE FAILED SENSORS WERE REPLACED UNDER THE MERCEDES-BENZ EMISSION WARRANTY. I AM VERY CONCERNED THAT THESE FAILURES ARE COMMON WITH THIS MODEL VEHICLE AND I WILL CONTINUE TO EXPERIENCE FAILURES OF THESE SENSORS AFTER THE WARRANTY EXPIRES. I HAVE REPLACED TWO OF THEM SO FAR WITH LESS THAN 40,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE AND THERE ARE STILL TWO MORE ORIGINAL SENSORS YET TO FAIL.

NHTSA ID

11364340

Incident

Oct 3, 2020

Mileage

39,000 mi

THIS IS A WINNEBAGO VIEW 24G ON SPRINTER 3500 CHASSIS. WHILE HIGHWAY DRIVING, SUDDEN ABS AND ESP WARNING LIGHT WITH MESSAGE TO GO TO WORKSHOP. CRUISE CONTROL STOPS WORKING. LOSS OF POWER AND SHIFTING ABILITY IS INTERMITTENT. WAS ABLE TO DRIVE (WITHOUT CRUISE CONTROL AND WITH WARNING LIGHTS ON) FOR 100+ MILES TO SHOP. WHEN LOSS OF POWER OCCURED, I WOULD PULL OFF THE ROAD AND TURN OFF ENGINE, AND THIS WOULD TYPICALLY RESOLVE THE PROBLEM FOR AWHILE SPRINTER AUTHORIZED SERVICE CENTER REPLACED BOTH REAR WHEEL RPM SENSORS 7/3/20 ($581.09). SAME CONDITION RE-APPEARED DURING SIMILAR DRIVING CONDITION. SAME SPRINTER DEALER REPLACED RIGHT FRONT WHEEL SPEED SENSOR TO RESOLVE THE PROBLEM ON 8/18/20 ($507.48).

NHTSA ID

11363787

Incident

Jul 3, 2020

Mileage

47,500 mi

VEHICLE HAS A HIGH FAILURE RATE FOR TIRE ROTATION SPEED SENSORS. THIS CONDITION IMMEDIATELY DISABLES THE ANTILOCK BRAKES, STABILITY CONTROL, TRACTION CONTROL AND CRUISE CONTROL. VEHICLE MILEAGE WAS 31000 MILES AT LOSS OF THIRD SENSOR. VEHICLE WAS IN MOTION AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS AT THE TIME OF ALL FAILURES.

NHTSA ID

11361679

Incident

Aug 26, 2020

Mileage

31,000 mi

WHILE GOING UPHILL AT ABOUT 50 MPH ON A HIGHWAY THE VEHICLE DID A HARD DOWNSHIFT AND THREE ENGINE LIGHTS CAME ON,ESP,ABS&ASR . I STOPPED AND CHECK TIRES AND AIR PRESSURE ALL OK. AT TIMES THE ENGINE WOULD BUCK, THEN SPEED UP. TURNED OFF ENGINE THEN STARTED IT AGAIN. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE ABOUT 50 MILES TO MERCEDES DEALER WHO DIAGNOSED AS THE REAR AXEL SPEED SENSORS FAILURE. MEDFORD MERCEDES-BENZ REPLACED BOTH REAR REAL AXEL SPEED SENSORS (VEHICLE MILEAGE 27907) COST $909.00. VEHICLE WARRANTY ON SPEED SENSOR IS 5 YR OR 100,000 MILES.

NHTSA ID

11342464

Incident

May 28, 2020

Mileage

27,907 mi

I WAS DRIVING AT 65 MILES AN HOUR ON INTERSTATE AND THE VEHICLE DECELERATED AND THEN ACCELERATED AND CONTINUED TO ACCELERATE. THE CRUISE CONTROL WAS NOT ON AT THE TIME. I TRIED TO BRAKE BUT THE VEHICLE CONTINUED TO TRY TO ACCELERATE AS I DEPRESSED THE BRAKE PETAL. THE ONLY WAY TO STOP THIS WAS TO PHYSICALLY PUT THE VEHICLE IN NEUTRAL. AFTER SITTING FOR A PERIOD OF TIME MULTIPLE ALARMS WERE DISPLAYED. I WAS ABLE TO DRIVE AGAIN ONCE THE VEHICLE WAS IN ALARM MODE AND THE ANTI LOCK BRAKING SYSTEM HAD DISABLED ITSELF. I AM AN EXPERIENCE DRIVER. I AM AFRAID THAT ANOTHER PERSON MAY HAVE PANICKED AND THE RESULT MAY HAVE BEEN MUCH DIFFERENT. THE ATTACHED IMAGES SHOWS THE ALARMS THAT WERE PRESENT AFTER THE INCIDENT, ABS ALARM, ESP ALARM, AND ANTI TRACTION LIGHT THE PROBLEM WAS ULTIMATELY FOUND TO BE A FAULTY WHEEL SPEED SENSOR ON THE DRIVER SIDE REAR TIRE. VERY DANGEROUS, I HAVE ALSO FOUND OTHER TESTIMONIALS ONLINE SINCE THIS INCIDENT

NHTSA ID

11341151

Incident

Jun 22, 2020

Mileage

24,500 mi

I'M EXPERIENCING WHEEL SPEED SENSOR MALFUNCTION AND FAILURE AT INTERSTATE HIGHWAY SPEED. IT'S HAPPENED APPROX 10 TIMES. ONCE WHEN ENCOUNTERING A DIP IN THE ROAD. ONCE IN HEAVY CROSS WINDS. AND LASTLY WHEN PASSING AN 18 WHEELER. UPON MALFUNCTION, MY CAMPER LOOSES POWER DUE TO CRUISE CONTROL DROPPING OUT. THIS PUT ME IN UNSAFE CONDITION PASSING 18 WHEELER. FIRST FAILURE WAS ON I-8 IN REMOTE COUNTRY. I MADE IT TO SAFE AREA BUT WAS VERY STRESSED. FAULT CLEARED AFTER RESTARTING MY ENGINE. NEXT EVENT WAS IN COLORADO IN AUGUST 2019. IN HEAVY CROSSWIND ON INTERSTATE SYSTEM CODED 'WHEEL SPIN, LOSS OF TRACTION.' MULTIPLE TIMES I STOPPED, KILLED ENGINE, BUT CODES DIDN'T CLEAR. UPON LEAVING CAMP IT CODED ADDITIONAL ABS FAILURE. THIS RESULTED IN BREAKDOWN. VEHICLE BECAME ERRATIC JERKING AND LURCHING. I CALLED MERCEDES AND WAS TOWED 250 MILES TO DEALER IN LITTLETON CO. RIGHT REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSOR REPLACED. LASTLY THIS HAPPEN AGAIN TWO DAYS AGO ON I-20 IN LOUISIANA. WHILE PASSING AN 18 WHEELER MY SPRINTER CODED 'WHEEL SPIN, VEHICLE SKID'.' IMMEDIATE LOSS OF CRUISE CONTROL CAUSED LOSS OF SPEED. THE LARGE TRUCK SPED BY ME IN THE INSIDE LANE BUFFETING ME BADLY! I MAINTAINED CONTROL BUT THIS WAS UNSAFE FOR MYSELF AND THE TRUCK DRIVER! UPON GETTING OFF INTERSTATE I GOT ABS CODE WITH VEHICLE STUCK IN LOW GEAR (COMPUTER GENERATED RESPONSE).MERCEDES HAS ONCE AGAIN TOWED MY SPRINTER TO DEALER FOR REPAIR. ALL SAID THESE SENSORS ARE NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE. THEIR FAILURES AT HIGHWAY SPEED PUT OPERATORS AT RISK. THIS RUINS CONSUMERS PLANS.IT PUTS US UNSAFELY ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD WAITING ON TOW TRUCKS.

NHTSA ID

11325693

Incident

May 24, 2020

Mileage

25,450 mi

WHILE DRIVING OUR 2015 MERCEDES SPRINTER 3500 ON I-5 SOUTH FROM OAKLAND, CA TO JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK ON THURSDAY, MARCH 19 SUDDENLY OUR SPEED CONTROL QUIT FUNCTIONING AND THE ABS, ESP AND TRACTION CONTROL LIGHTS ON OUR INSTRUMENT PANEL LIGHTED UP. WE IMMEDIATELY CALLED A MERCEDES BENZ SERVICE DEPARTMENT IN BAKERSFIELD, CA AND WERE TOLD THAT AS LONG AS THE VAN SEEMED TO BE DRIVING , BRAKING AND HANDLING NORMALLY WE DID NOT NEED TO BRING IT IN FOR SERVICE BUT COULD CONTINUE DRIVING. THE VAN DID SEEM TO BE RUNNING NORMALLY SO WE DROVE ON WITHOUT SPEED CONTROL. ABOUT 400 MILES LATER AS WE WERE DRIVING INTO JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK THE BRAKES STARTED TO MAKE A LOUD CLICKING NOISE WHEN THE PEDAL WAS DEPRESSED COMPLETELY AND THE TRANSMISSION WOULD NO LONGER SHIFT OUT OF 2ND GEAR MAKING IT IMPOSSIBLE TO DRIVE OVER 30 MPH. WE HAD TO HAVE THE VAN TOWED 46 MILES BACK TO PALM SPRINGS, CA AND AWAIT THE MERCEDES BENZ SERVICE DEPARTMENT THERE OPENING ON MONDAY, MARCH 23. AT THE SERVICE DEPARTMENT THEY DIAGNOSED THE REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSORS HAD FAILED WITH ONLY 48,271 MILES ON THE ODOMETER. THE FOLLOWING DAY THEY REPLACED THE REAR WHEEL SPEED SENSORS AND THE VAN WAS RUNNING NORMALLY AGAIN. I HAVE RESEARCHED THE PROBLEM WITH THE WHEEL SPEED SENSORS ON MERCEDES BENZ SPRINTER VANS. IT SEEMS TO BE A COMMON PROBLEM AT LEAST FROM THE YEAR 2013-2016. IT IS UNACCEPTABLE THAT A VAN THAT MERCEDES PROMOTES FOR ITS UTILITY HAS THIS KIND OF FAILURE COMMONLY. IT IS A SIGNIFICANT SAFETY ISSUE. WE WERE DRIVING ON DRY PAVEMENT SO NOTICED NO PROBLEM WITH PERFORMANCE UNTIL THE BRAKES BEGAN TO MALFUNCTION AND THE VAN WOULD NOT SHIFT ABOVE 2ND GEAR. IF WE HAD BEEN ON WET OR SLICK ROADS THE LACK OF ANTI-LOCK BRAKES, TRACTION CONTROL AND ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL WOULD HAVE MADE THE VAN DANGEROUS TO DRIVE. MERCEDES BENZ NEEDS TO DO SOMETHING TO REMEDY THIS COMMON FAILURE.

NHTSA ID

11320295

Incident

Mar 19, 2020

Mileage

48,271 mi

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THE RPM SPEED SENSORS HAVE NEEDED TO BE REPLACED ON MY 2016, 3500 MERCEDES SPRINTER

NHTSA ID

11310621

Incident

Feb 18, 2020

Mileage

23,000 mi

ABS,ESP AND TRACTION CONTROL OUT. WHEEL SPEED SENSORS CAUSE FAULT THAT TRIGGERS ALL THREE SYSTEMS TO FAIL. I HAVE REPLACED REAR WHEEL SENSORS THREE TIMES. WHEN FAILING THE TRANSMISSION IS ERRATIC AND WANTS TO SURGE AHEAD. I MUST STAND ON THE BRAKE TO NOT HIT THE CARS IN FRONT. MY VEHICLE HAS 22,000 MILES AND ISSUE STARTED ON OUR FIRST ROAD TRIP. IT USUALLY HAPPENS WHEN GOING ABOUT 5 MPH IN TRAFFIC. OUR VEHICLE IS A WINNEBEGO NAVION WITH A MB SPRINTER BASE. THIS PROBLEM IS STRICTLY A MERCEDES PROBLEM. *DT*JB

NHTSA ID

11194330

Incident

Apr 4, 2019

Mileage

2,000 mi