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The short of it is that the backlash was HUGE. There was only one place in the whole area that made their quota after that... Yep!, the locally owned dealership!!!
They split up the "Group", and the dealerships are all back under individual management (or at least appear to be).
KenB :shades:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FJN/is_11_33/ai_55412294
Is it like that in all States?
.
Now all of the dealerships in OKC are separate, have been re-named, most have apparently different owners (most completely different than before the "collection" absorbed them. The Fred Jones mentioned in the article; which was a big old dealership, repair and rebuild facility, and regional Ford parts warehouse, was sold/renamed (Bob Howard Downtown Ford).
KenB :shades:
consumers have the power to make change!
I have 2004 Sprinter cab and chassis, 2.7L / I5 Mercedes Diesel, we added a stakebed. We have 39,000 miles. Lately the driver has experienced that at 65+ mph the vehicle will loose power and drop to 60 mph and not go any faster. If he stops, turns off the vehicle, restarts it, then everything is normal. :sick: bhmet.
This problem is possibly a computer/sensor problem (needs a technician to diagnose).
Otherwise, the problem is likely a tire size mis-match. At speeds over a set amount 45-60 MPH (not sure, thought it was 45) the computer can sense the difference in tire rotational speed and decide that instability is about to set in (ASR/ASP/Anti-lock/etc.) and slow the vehicle, and not reset until a complete stop/cycle.
Below 45, the ASR/ASP works a bit differently and usually won't trip-out solely based on (slightly) different tire speeds unless the difference is more pronounced (spin).
SO, replaced any tires lately? Rotate tires to keep wear even? Using Spare that hasn't been in the rotation? Got extended warranty or a dealer you can trust to diagnose the problem and not rob you blind?
KenB :surprise:
the dealer said that they had to replace a lot of them that is why they had the part in stock. i think at the same time they richened up the mix because i lost a few miles to the gallon.
Thx-
Looking for repairs, MPG (fuel economy), maintenance, etc.
KenB :shades:
Thanks,
KenB
I read the last 5 pages of this forum, seems like a good group. My wife and I are preparing to purchase a Sprinter, probably new, from a dealer. We live in SoCal and my little beat up '86 Toyota pickup, though fine for a commuter to work, needs to go.
We've decided on a 118" standard height: my wife's an artist and some of the canvases she buys/paints/sells are too big to haul in her car. As a hobby I restore vintage European scooters- some have ended up in museums or at shows, and we don't want to buy an enclosed trailer....my truck can't handle the GW and neither can her TDI Jetta. Also, I'm in the military, and the less crap I have to haul around the country the better!!
So: anyone have any suggestions about the purchase process? Frahm Dodge has about 50 Sprinters, and it's about 100 miles North of us (we're in San Diego). I'd like to take advantage of the '07 arrivals- nothing like floorplan pressures to get a dealer to drop prices a little on last year's vehicles. We'll buy before the end of the year.
Thanks,
Eric
PS. 07 will come in gasoline version too.
nescosmo.
Ken have you have any experience with the new ULSD fuel, my van seems to work fine with the trash LSD that the US sell and some give me better mileage than others. I use power service diesel Kleen as additive and truck run very smooth also i use chevron delo 400 15w-40 oil dino with very good results. What do you use and how is your van perform, sometimes on my i hear a knocking, service manager said is normal. I will like to know were i can buy a dip stick for my tranny i will like to know where my oil is, let me know if you know were to buy one. Thanks.......
nescosmo.
I thought you knew me better...
Oklahoma does not yet have ULSD, but we are getting the new '07 diesels from other truck and car lines (no Sprinters obviously). Our "trash LSD", as you call it, is OK from high-volume fuel stations, we avoid suspected low-volume locations. Being an area (OKLA.) that has lots of farm and oil-field activity, even the small towns have some pretty hih-volume dealers of diesel fuel.
My dad and I have both been using Power Service Diesel additive (white bottle/red lettering). His Ford 7+ liter diesel is getting 19+ MPG and runs better on the P.S. My Sprinter (@19,000 miles) still gets 20 MPG all of the time, in or out of town. I discovered the Power Service web site and discovered that we should be using the P.S. Silver bottle (Diesel Kleen (Sp?)) because it has higher cetane boost and we don't need the anti-gelling until later in the fall.
I used the recommended Mobil 1 full synthetic 0W-40 meeting the MB 229.51 (exceeds 228.5 required for 2004 US Sprinter). It was exactly 1 quart low with 9 quarts (up to temp) after running to fill the filter that was changed of course. After the other quart was added, the level is full (SLIGHTLY down when cold, nowhere near 1/2 quart low reading). Hot, drained down, wiped off, inserted and left for 5 seconds, and then removed carefully... the level is full... never over. 0W-40 has the wide heat/cold range that will work in Oklahoma year round. I have not been able yet to find the downside to this oil that you expect, and a diesel engine oil is specifically NOT required by MB or DC.
I frankly cannot fathom an engine that would show 1/2 quart low until hot and then show full. To my mind, I would think that the engine would have to have an expansion capsule (like an altitude or temp. compensation bellows) in the pan to achieve such a huge volume change.
Van performance is good, great in traffic, loaded is slightly slower, running both A/C units is the biggest drain on power of all. Have not pulled trailer yet. Runs very smooth, not very much on the rattles diesel can be prone to.
Lookup the big Dodge dealer near Houston I think (Berry Dodge is the name), they sell the (Miller) dipstick service tool and the new clips to re-seal the transmission dip tube when you are finished checking (sometimes the parts are on Ebay). No one has yet admitted to selling a dipstick that you can leave in place.
Thinking of changing to AMSOIL certified to highest level of MB and european oil standards (including the C4+) as well as very low wear and boil-off much lower than most.
Also, the price is the same or less than Mobil-1. The AMSOIL will probably be 5-30 or 10-40, either is good for all but the very lowest temps I have ever seen growing up here in OK. The winters are warmer than when I was a kid.
KenB :shades:
Some reasons are: 3 liter V6 cdi with more power but not more fuel consumption ; keyless entry and slide ; electric sunroof ; Nav System ; Adaptive ESP ; The new one is being reviewed very favorably compared to the old one. Do not buy one until you can compare , which will be about 2 or 3 months.
http://www.whatvan.co.uk/Slideshows/Sprinter-UK06-LP/pages/page_15.html
wow, I never thought about parking restrictions! I would be parking it on the street, like you stated. All the prices they have listed are $31K to $32K for the 118". I read that invoice is about $27.4K, so I need to get them down....
Trashboy
Trashboy
The problem is finding a dealer with inventory that has the desirable options. There is a bewildering array of standard stuff and options. There are dealer codes that for me became quite confusing.
I visited 2 dealers and learned the codes then I faxed my specs in dealer lingo to 5 dealers. It then became a matter of trade off to select the nearest to what I wanted.
It ended up that the dealer with closest to what I wanted had a behind the seat partition that I didn't need. He kicked it in for free so I could take it out. He also had the best price but that was because hed didn't include some stuff the others did.
I bought it over the phone, sight unseen with all the paper work including the financing and out of state registration via snail mail.
I am pretty well pleased. At 70 mph on constant interstate cruise I get 22-23 mpg.... never less than 22.
I couldn't get the windshield washer to work and assumed it was so sophisticated (mercedes ya know) I was not up to the task. I finally declared it defective. I took it to the selling dealer 100 miles away and learned he couldn't fix it..... no multifunction switch in stock. I took it back yesterday to learn that the new switch didn't fix the problem and the "sprinter technicnan" wasn't there and he was the only one really qualified to get into what must be a wiring problem.
I drive a lot and find that I'm not nearly as tired after 200 miles as with my Acura Integra. The driver compartment space is awesome.
Not sure whether you would exagerate or not... but you have to admit that 1/2 quart swing cold/hot in a motor is a lot of SWING.
I just thought of one possible quirk on my oil change... if the Mobil 1 bottles were short by just 5%, the diffence in 10 quarts would be 1/2 quart... could the bottles be short?
KenB :shades:
any luck with fixing? turbo, air sensor, or other trouble codes? tire size troubles? Any update would be appreciated.
KenB :confuse:
I scheduled a dealer service, one - there is only one in the orange county of southern calif. that works on the sprinter and one in the far north of Los Angeles (Lancaster)- where we bought it. Two - about two days before the appointment, the check engine light went out and it started running like new - Go figure! I have a independent big rig shop do all the scheduled maintenance. If any other troubles develop I'll post them.
Later
bhmet. :confuse:
I found several dealers on the internet and knew of 2 and he recommended another. I sent faxes to those he mentioned an one fairly near on the internet.
They all provided prices and I was able to speak with the best three. I visited 2 of the 3 during the process and actually saw and drove a Sprinter. I was not too hung up on pricing as it was similar and a few hundred was not going to break the deal. It finally boiled down to dealing with the man that had a Sprinter nearest to my specifications.
Regarding the partition, It turns out to be good. It has a window fully across the width and provides good visibility on the blind side through the sliding door window. The main feature is temperature. It cools down very quick and ditto heat. I had always considered a partition but wanted one with a sliding panel. I had visions of adding standard partition and replacing the door with a plexiglas sliding panel. I don'r think I am going to that trouble now hoewver.
Interesting factoid..... a van is fully depreciable if among other things it has a partition. There are several criteria to depreciate beyond $25k and a partition is one. That is the whole $35k is depreciable.
For the general record.....
My Sprinter is a little over 2 months old and passed 5,000 miles yesterday. It has used no oil. I checked the computer and it shows 6,800 miles to oil change. I drive on cruise at 65 0r 70 mph 98% of the time on the interstate. The last tank got 23 mpg.
Dodge.com only shows the 2006 sprinter. Here is a link to what I believe is the 2007 but does anyone know if dealerships already have these in. I figure people would have made a big deal about the 07s coming out but maybe not.
Any thoughts?
">
http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Jul06/28_German_Commercial_Vehicle_Prize_Won_By_Mer- cedes_Benz_Spinter.html
My local Sprinter dealer said back in May that I could order a 2007 Sprinter in September. Well, September has come and gone. Not holding my breath ...
2003 140SHC 2500, 27,000.
When you go up into the mountains, these key data points are no longer valid and the system may have to re-learn some of what it knows, especially at the extremes of operation (idle and full power, for example).
Some problems with MAS sensors are common in some 2002/2003 models. Mass Air Sensors are sensitive to the volume of air flowing into the engine differently for changes in altitude due to the changes in barometric pressure (air density). Some hot wires in the sensor are cooled by the air flowing over them and the change is calculated.
More air, colder air, higher density air: they all cause a bigger change. Less air, warmer air and less density all cause less of a change in the heat (resistance) of the wires. The temperature sensor on the intake side helps the computer to reduce the air temperature's effect on the MAS sensor calculations, so this sensor is also critical.
The engine computers in place until very recently almost always assume that mid-band RPM and power levels are OK and adjust very little in that range. At full power and at idle, the conventional engine computer had a more vital role in the control of the engine. This was the big claim to fame of some of the "tuners" and "tuning chips". The more complex chips could maintain computer control throughout the power band. All chips should now have enough on-board intelligence and memory/mapping to cover all the range of engine RPM/power/etc.
The range limits continue to be those areas that challenge the computer the most (very few RPMs= fewer data points for engine timing info to work with; higher RPMs = more data points, but also rapidly changing temps and pressures to work with).
I have had two Astro/Safari vans, and each one would periodically just forget how to idle or run... restart the system a few minutes later (same temp/conditions) and the darned things continued to run great for YEARS with out any failure. In fact, I never have had a major failure from either of them beyond 100K miles (but not far past :P ).
When you take it in, make sure they allow for a diagnostic download of these symptoms you've been having... It may cost since your's is a 2003... If you are still in waranty, it should not cost to have the codes checked.
KenB
So, question is if the sensor, doors refusing to lock, etc. issues with early vans now have appropriate fixes available or if I should really avoid an early van.
Thanks-
Personal use vehicle converted to RV and I'm trilled to get 28+ mph. I put the propane where the spare tire had rested and gave it the available fitted rack. I don't like that I disabled a very well designed system and will redue that next year.
As a point for people who have not had the link between engine and turbo breakdown could posters give a little bit more info to validate their problem so that we might become a 'class' to deal with DC rarther than as individuals.
thanks , paul
2003 140 SHC 2500
back to the Sprinter.
Turning on the windshield or foot air flow, or both, does nothing else to the flow... You have to close off all of the "vents" in order to push the air up, down, or both with any meaningful force/volume.
The two vents over the radio are always COLD (or outside) air if the outside air is open, they do not get air through the heater core. Of course the outside air keeps coming on again and again after stopping/resuming short trips, or running down the road more than about 30 minutes. the latter is bad for my wife's type of asthma if we are in traffic (like a trip to Dallas/FortWorth).
I, too, originally noticed that the air from the vents always seemed to go straight from cold to HOT... except sometimes it could be modulated a bit. So, it occurred to me to let the two vents over the radio mix with the air from the HOT vents. This turns out to be part of the PROBLEM.
If you close the vents over the radio, then ALL of the cooler air flows over the heater core, and the adjustment knob for temp is MORE effective, especially with cold (outside or A/C cooled) make-up air.
Certainly you get better de-fogging of the windows with COLD/dry outside air which loses even more relative humidity percentage-wise when warmed, and/or with A/C cooled and de-humidified air. Keeping warm moist breath moving out (positive cabin air flow, from outside up front to out the rear cabin vents) is also very helpful.
To conclude, I find that you should just barely turn on the heat to start with unless it is very COLD/foggy and you have to heat up quickly to warm up or to clear windows. If you ever turn the heat know on full at any temp over about 40, it will take a long time to get the heat back under control (heat lag is HUGE). Just cracking the heat on is enough until below 40 when the engine is hot.
So, it seems the Mercedes engineers can still learn some tricks from their new partners in the US from Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep. Americans are certainly used to better heat/air controls in their vehicles.
KenB :shades:
I can only find 1 dealer within a 100 mile radius of San Diego- that's what I get for living with a nat'l border directly to the South. As I expected, prices are getting more flexible as we approach the end of the year. I also agree with your opinion about a few hundred bucks: not as important as paying for the options I want. I will be looking for that partition, you talked me into it.
As for the tax implications: before we even started down this road I contacted my tax consultant about a Sprinter. We will be taking advantage of this, since my we'll be using it almost exclusively for hauling her canvases and stuff around.
What size Sprinter do you own? Do you have the ASSYST system option?
then click on enter site
next page at bottom click on wheelchair ramps.
this shows the rear ramp but i think i seen a side ramp also.
It sounds like the rear tires but has more vibration and grind seemingly than that.
Occurs when the vehicle is gliding down to that speed not on the way up.
I have Assyst and at 5,000 miles it was indicating 6870 till oil change
For the record on this forum, here are the IRS rule regarding deductability of a van above the $25,000 level.
Exempt Vehicles Not Subject to the $25,000 Section 179 Limitation.
Exempt vehicles that meet any of the following criteria are not subject to the $25,000 Section 179 limitation if they are:
Designed to have a seating capacity of more than 9 persons behind the drivers seat,
Equipped with a cargo area of at least 6 feet in interior length which is an open area or is designed for use as an open area but is enclosed by a cap and is not readily accessible from the passenger compartment, or
Designed with an integral enclosure, fully enclosing the drivers compartment and load carrying device and does not have seating rearward of the drivers seat and has no body section protruding more than 30 inches ahead of the leading edge of the windshield.
There is apparently a fix for it according to the Yahoo
Sprinter group people.
I have experienced it myself with my 06,158" cargo.
The best way to avoid it is to downshift.I usually use the
down shift option,always being carefull not to over-rev,
and I don't experience this noise anymore.Besides,downshifting
can save on the brakes also.
I also have what has been labeled as a fuel line vibration.
I don't think that it is a fuel line vibration at all,it just sounds like it could be.This noise is at approx.1800 to 2100 RPM and on the acceleration mode as opposed to the
rumble strip noise that manifests on the deceleration mode.
Regards
Guy
Note to Altered Sprinter,send me an e-mail.Lost your e-mail.
Already I'm happy with the "short bus", as we're referring to it....
The work covered under warrenty was 2 sensors and 1 resonator and one sensor not covered by warrenty ($20.97) and it ran great for 50 miles than the same problem. I talked to the service manager about this and he brought in a specialist to look at it and he found a hole in the intercooler (rock?)(non-warrenty!) have yet to pickup and drive it. Even with these problems my driver loves the truck, I'm not as loving! bhmet
that may confirm my father's assertion that you should have a screen installed behind the grill to keep debris out of the very fine fins on the newer cars...
It would save the rock damage to intercoolers as well.
What sensor would NOT be covered by the same warranty that covered another (at low miles)? was it physically abused (damaged)?
KenB :surprise:
Thanks,
Kenneth
I'll send an email to-nite
sorry for not picking up on this sooner been having a busy time overseas back home now
Richard (ALTERED SPRINTER}
Sorry for the off topic, group members,just trying to stay in touch with my Sprinter friends.
Regards
Guy ( Sprinterman )
Second question. I purchased a CD which contains the factory service manual. I can not find a complete wiring diagram on this, just small sections scattered about. Does anyone know of a complete wiring diagram available for download.
Thanks!