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Comments
Symptoms:
All three light on the dash come on at random at the same time. LBS, ABS Traction control
Once in park, it stays locked in park, until I shut the motor off, then the lights will come off and then the park position is relased
Power is down, especially in acceleration :sick: . Fuel consuption is up :mad: 21 down to about 15
To make matters worse the symptoms are Intermitten. Hopefully somone has had this happen to them before and can tell me the cure
I have a 2500 high roof and used studded Nokian's last winter.
I drove through some serious snow and mountains here in Vermont and only got stuck once. The truck was empty at the time and I pulled out my chains and was on my way.
You are right in that the Sprinter does not favor crosswinds.
i am a sprinter owner since march 2005
50,000 miles on it
mostly happy until late nov 2005
some sort of engine failure - had to be towed and have been stuck in north carolina for 3 days
my 3/4 ton ford has had 0 down days since march of 2000
my sprinter has had about ten down days ( although 7 were scheduled for a convenient time) since march of 2003
the dealer was great about door adjustments, recalls on transmission, the valve stem recall.
they charged me for a 40,000 mile transmission service (even though a different service manager told me the service wasn't needed till 70,000 mile)
i was surprised the brakes needed replacement at 40,000 lots of brake dust on the front wheels, perhaps due to a teen delivery driving for 2 months
what is the best discussion forum you have found
i want to get a manual complete with service bulletins is there one available online?
How does the Sprinter perform in snow, assuming there is no heavy cargo in the back?
Any comments are appreciated!
Armin
I wish I had a dealer here in OKC that would be good at fixing door problems... sliding door rattles over most all bumps/jiggles in the road and hops up and down on the worst bumps. I had to fix my own rear door banging/rattles, may have to re-do again after just 2 months. basically have to move the silver stop-blocks up on the two rear doors and tighten them down, Locktite maybe?
Have not got any information on "recalls", but service bulletin on transmission seems very active as a problem on this forum. I had the leaking trans.
Central Locking problems fairly common, it seems (at best) a quirky affair. We commonly have the doors unlock themselves when we push the lock stem or handle in (to lock). Often this requires pushing the lock stem down a second or third time until the system decides to settle on "locked" as the desired option. The central locking button on the dash always does a lock or un-lock when pushed, but just not sure which it will do first (lock? or unlock?) time pushed.
Our central locking timer was replaced when the passenger side front door would not lock without first unlocking all the doors.
Its good to have more people active on the forum,
KenB :shades:
Tim
I have a 2002 3500 158 Sprinter. I was wondering if there is anywhere besides the dealer to get parts from? I am sick of paying dealer prices for repairs! Our alernator went bad, and i don't want to spend 800 bucks! Thanks, gabe
As Tom says, you can turn it on to get up to temp (somewher near 180 F), then turn it off if you don't need extra heat from the air vents. And Dodge DOES need to have Sprinter classes to educate their owners/drivers. This would be a very cheap way to improve satisfaction. :shades:
KenB
On our 2004, MWB, 2500 HC, 5K miles: we get 20.0 MPG (in town, highway, mixed) doesn't seem to matter where/who is driving (me/wife).
Since I am 2+ MPH low on my speedometer (at all speeds checked), it may be off. At 83 on the speedomater (pedal to the metal), I run 79.9 MPH per the handy-dandy GPS which is very accurate here in the center of the country. Wiil not/cannot go over this speed, also run slow, as low as 30 MPH, where I run 27.5 to 27.8 MPH per GPS
KenB :confuse:
I saw an alternators last week, but you need to make sure you get the same Amps (or larger) as you had. I think it was a 115 amp model.
I have been hoping that the parts stores would get up to speed by the time I hit the end of by waranty...
Thanx.
There product works great in the extreme cold that we experience up here. Today it was -30 degrees F. Sprinter has had no problems so far in the cold. Auxillary heater is perfect for up here.
Run the Aux. heater ten (10) minutes every month (even in hot weather) to keep it cleaned up, etc. (per manual)
If you are in really cold weather (like 0 F), you may really need a block heater to plug in to household current. I am guessing you don't have a garage tall enough for a Sprinter, so at least park out of the wind if you can when you use a block heater. If you do park indoors, then I can't really imagine much of a need for a block heater unless it is a seriously un-heated space.
Yes, fuel type could be a problem as Summer Diesel will gel a bit in REALLY COLD weather. A BUSY truck stop is your best bet for fresh fuel right for the season you are in. Your Sprinter will even take the huge nozzle that the big rigs use.
KenB :shades:
KenB :shades:
change filter and trans fluid ONCE at 80,000 miles and then forget it? well, that is the official line. the unit is basically sealed (the dip-tube is covered, and sealed with a plastic lock that will show tampering if opened.
other posts would indicate that that heavy use would indicate changing at 60,000 miles. If you have transmission stuttering or shifts are no longer smooth, then you probably need to change fluid and filter (first time) and fluid only thereafter.
Mercedes fluid for the Sprinter is synthetic, you may find the whole kit on e-bay sometimes.
KenB :shades:
KenB :confuse:
is it above or below list? If list price or below, you are OK with that price on Sprinters. Some markets are above list, but not much, or stuck on list.
If you get it close to invoice you are really getting a deal... No options at all? what are you going to do with it? :confuse:
I would at least recommend the upgrade seats, they are worth it for sure. Since the steering wheel doesn't adjust, it is really important for the seat to adjust. If you are looking to convert the van, then I guess you might do the seats from another source, but the upgrade ones are very good.
KenB
(2004,MWB(140"),2500 HC(3/4T, low roof)Wagon (passenger))
Conversion to Mercedes badges/grille... for fun!!! :shades:
we'll doing our own conversion. the MSRP is $36.270.00 Invoice is about $33.146.00.
Thanx again.
Here in Oklahoma we have more 4WD vehicles in town than many states have in the crountyside and that just gets dangerous in the ice we tend to get... they can get up to speed better than many 2WDs, but they don't stop any better. :surprise:
KenB
PS I thought michigan was cold!!
If the brakes get hot, it groans and growls. Sounds like a warped rotor or something. Apparently this is not un-common with fully metallic brake pads. Seems to be an imperfect bonding issue. They still haven't fixed it for me though, it's like pulling teeth to get something fixed.
They have finally heard the noise of which i am speaking, so next week it goes in again....
I'll let you know
I also get a mean growl out of the brakes coming down from high speeds. Anyone else have this issue?
My turbo seals are already leaking, dealership tried to hide that one. It goes back in next week for a few repairs.
The heater control doesn't work properly, it always blows at your face.
See what happens when you don't buy it from mercedez, they slap some dodge emblems on it and it falls apart!!!
Adam - Ontario, Canada.
"Claying" is the cure if this is the case. You work over the areas with the clay (see Hog Wash Clay in your browser), then you buff and wax.
Apparently most tru rail dust will rust and this will show as rusty looking pin dots.
See Sherwin-Williams:
http://www.sherwin-automotive.com/reference/troubleshooting_guide/rail_dust/inde- x.cfm
KenB
I read one place where a guy had to have a module or part from Germany in order for his Sprinter to get back on the road.
Both keys supplied with van don't work? Just curious, not that this could be a fix... but what if the keys are going bad?
Please keep us posted. This site seems very helpful to me.
KenB :confuse:
I think there is a fundamental difference in philosophy betwen American or Japanese, and German engineers that is apparent here. The American will send heat to the cabin first, and the German is more concerned with bringing the machinery up to temp first. This is also demonstrated by the climate control in my wife's Mercedes. The auto climate control does nothing until there is a certain level of heat in the system, then the fan comes on full blast and turns itself down as the car warms inside.
The Sprinter 2-seat will mount on the 3-seat "receiver cups" without the need to adapt anything. The 2-seaters are available on various Sprinter forum postings, EBay and the RV surplus site out of Elkhart, Indiana where a lot of Sprinter conversions are performed.
Now, with the heat up, the aux. heater is supposed to snooze until the heat goes below 165 in the engine/heater. but if indications are true, then it is still in low heat mode and using fuel slowly. This heater can sound like a little jet engine when it is up and running and spins down over a several second period when you shut the engine down.
Fuel use is increased because the heater uses fuel directly to heat the water flowing through it.
Pump priming for the heater may take several second if it has never been used. The heater should be used at least 10 minutes every month to keep it ready to work.
I agree that M-B prefers to give heat to the engine first and the passengers second. I also found that the aux. heater is not needed to keep temp up when driving on the highway at 2 F and 70 MPH, but the temp drops quickly at idle at this outdoor temp.
KenB
By 80,000 you are to have the abbove completed. When it is done, the transmission fluid used is critical. It must be the genuine (apparently synthetic) version of the M-B or D-C fluid for this application.
Other people have experienced similar problems and got their transmission back running/shifting OK just by changing trans fluid and making sure that they get the correct fluid.
I don't yet have 6,000 miles on mine, so I don't have much experience except with the trans leak from the o-rings on the sensor which seems common. Apparently Miller Tool does have a transmission dipstick, but it measures from touching the bottom of the pan, is very long, cannot be left in the diptube, and the use of such devices requires that you know the internal temp of the trans.
Found the description on Yahoo Groups Sprinter Van (most active users group I've found so far). I have seen more than one description of the trans slipping (near 80,000 Miles) which were fixed by simply changing fluid.
IMHO, if you take out 5 quarts and put in 5 quarts (and you didn't have a leak), then you don't need a dipstick to determine level. That, and changing fluid out is way cheaper than changing a trans out (unless you still have to change the trans anyway).
KenB :confuse:
hans
The dealer is still recommending we bring it in. He does not recommend replacement, but a partial rebuild - about $2000.00 versus about $4000-$5000 to replace the transmission.
The lack of the dipstick still is a mystery to us. The dealer told me that there is a special tool to check the transmission fluid. That just boggles our minds.
glenpierce@aol.com