2021 Tiffin Wayfarer

The vehicle is a recreation vehicle with a door in the added cabin on a Mercedes chassis. There are automatic extended steps mounted under the door opening. They have failed several times during travel. Sometimes they extend while driving striking curbs and the like. Sometimes they fail to extend and lead to falls while opening the door to exit the vehicle. Tiffin knows of the problem, but it seems to be a design flaw that they cannot fix, and they continue to build units with the same-step problems. The problem seems to be poorly fitting doors that cut through control wires buried in the door jamb. To see similar documented events, visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/182126562363457 and search on "steps." Please help.

NHTSA ID

11538253

Incident

Aug 3, 2022

While driving down the road, the power door steps will spontaneously extend. This extends close to the ground and out to the side, and could catch on a curb, pothole, another vehicle, etc. This could cause an accident many different ways. It has been to the dealer for service multiple times, details below. The issue persists. I have learned from Facebook groups that this issue is quite widespread and they seem to have not yet determined a reliable fix. I c Service history that I have – Vogt RV in Fort Worth - 7/15/2021 WO A565812– issue first reported. says sensor was replaced and door hinges were adjusted 8/31/21 – WO A566136 - issue persists – says sensor was replaced and door hinges were replaced 12/6/21 – WO A566697 – issue persists – says sensor was replaced again. Note that the unit was at the dealer from 12/6/21 through 7/29/22. 2/24/23 – Again serviced at Vogt. I don’t have the WO number but believe Rich was the technician assigned. I don’t know what was done. We picked up the unit on 2/27 and the steps worked for a couple days and then started giving the issue again. 3/2/23 – issue persists ontacted the manufacturer yesterday and they were not helpful.

NHTSA ID

11510936

Incident

Mar 5, 2023

Vehicle flashed a warning that Active Distance Assistance was not functional, and within a few minutes started to veer left, as if there was a flat tire (which there was not), so I was trying to keep it centered in my lane when the steering wheel suddenly turned counterclockwise in my hands and swerved the vehicle to the hard left into an oncoming lane. I had to hit the brakes hard and yank the steering wheel back to the right to bring the vehicle back into my lane, just barely avoiding on coming cars, who had slowed when they saw me coming at them. This was an extremely narrow miss, if the oncoming vehicles had been next to me, the RV would have collided just like that. I have suffered severe mental duress from this event, and do not know whether the vehicle is safe anymore. My friend was following me and witnessed the incident. When I arrived and my house and backed up in to my driveway, the rear backup camera was acting up and blipping the image in and out rapidly, like it was shorting out. I had recently had the vehicle in to the local dealer for work on the same malfunctioning control system, which failed on us in our April 2022 trip to Utah. Supposedly they had fixed it all.

NHTSA ID

11469045

Incident

Jun 11, 2022

The Tiffin Wayfarer is built on a MB Sprinter 3500 chassis. Tiffin adds rear wheelwell liners made of plastic. These liners are held onto the chassis by 4 screws all on the outside of the liner. There is no inside support of the liner or reinforcement of the screws. My right side liner detached while traveling on I-81 in PA at 65 mph. It went under the wheels which caused the vehicle to bounce and it acted like a blow-out. I pulled over and could see no significant damage and there were no warning lights so we kept traveling. Luckily there were no vehicles behind us as they would have had plastic shooting at them. I removed the left side liner when I got home and found that it was being held on by a single screw as the other 3 points had failed. I have enclosed a PDF showing the left side liner damage. The mounting is totally insufficient. Other owners have stated that they also have had the liners come off and one owner said his rubbed to the point where it melted. I have attempted to contact Tiffin Wayfarer without success. No insurance or police were involved.

NHTSA ID

11468003

Incident

May 12, 2022

Cruise control disengagement . Abrupt ceasing interferes with anti collision and speed control causing slowing speeds without warning, could be a risk to those following as well disrupting the flow of traffic. The vehicle has been inspected by 3 MB service technicians. 1 .MB of Selma, TX-09/2021 2. MB of Boerne, TX-09/2021 3. MB of Birmingham, AL @ Casa Grande, AZ-Tiffin Rally-10/2021 All 3 dealers confirmed problem. The RV manufacturers reps as well as MB reps have inspected the issue It was taken today 01/04/2022 to MB of Boerne as the issue persists and is not currently fixed The message "Distance Assist Inoperative" appears when the system becomes inoperative

NHTSA ID

11446229

Incident

Aug 13, 2021

All driver assist functions randomly shut down and start working again. It may work correctly all day and then the next day it might work for 30 minutes or an hour or not at all. It has been to Mercedes for this problem, I don't think they know how to fix it. Based on the number of people I read having the same problem. It might be related to computer hardware being hard to get, makes it hard to drive much distance when the system is designed to keep you from accidentally running into something and then it just shuts down.

NHTSA ID

11441635

Incident

Oct 21, 2021

Tiffin received the following from Mercedes-Benz. Tiffin, in turn sent Mercedes-Benz's notification along with a notification from us to the customers M/B told us were involved: Mercedes-Benz, the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz vans, has determined that on certain Model Year 2019-2021 Sprinter vehicles, the software of the Select Catalyst Reduction control unit does not correspond to the current series production configuration. An authorized Mercedes-Benz Sprinter dealer will update the SCR control unit software on your vehicle in connection with the Service Campaign free of charge. Merceded

From Mercedes-Benz: Mercedes=Benz is extending the coverage of the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) valve on vehicle from the vehicle's basic warranty of 5 years/100,000 miles to 15 years/150,000 miles (whichever occurs first) and applies to the vehicle regardless of ownership. Extension is being given because M/B has determined that dimensional variations during engine valve seating may cause the EGR valve to be switched off, and the vehicle may experience a loss of power and enter a limp home mode. The MIL will illuminate and remain illuminated until the vehicle is serviced. When this occurs, the driver may perceive a jerky driving experience while operating the vehicle.

Stopped using the lights we had been using due to expense. Replaced with these, but these new lights have to be wired in instead of just clicking in. These are the instructions to wire in.

On certain Sprinter vehicles, the fuse layout of the interior heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor might not meet the requirements for prolonged operation at the highest blower setting. The interior blower motor circuit may be inadequate, which can allow the wiring harness to overload. Consequently, a risk of fire during operation and a risk of injury cannot be ruled out.

On certain Sprinter vehicles, the fuse layout of the interior heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) blower motor might not meet the requirements for prolonged operation at the highest blower setting. The interior blower motor circuit may be inadequate, which can allow the wiring harness to overheat. Consequently, a risk of fire during operation and a risk of injury cannot be ruled out.

Mercedes-Benz AG, the manufacturer of Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, has determined that a defect, which relates to motor vehicle safety, exists in certain Model Year 2019-2022 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vehicles. a component of the vehicle's park lock system might fatigue, which can cause the parking pawl not to engage and result in a vehicle rollaway. This may increase the risk of a crash. an authorized Mercedes-Benz Sprinter dealer will update the software of various controls units on the affected vehicles, free of charge. This repair will take approximately 1 hour. For any questions regarding this safety recall, please contact Mercedes-Benz USA’s Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-367-6372 or visit their website at https://www.mbvans.com/en/recall-information.