2011 EGR Problems

Derek LS6

New member
Hey guys, this is my first post but have been watching for a long time. first off i have to say that i have learned so much from this forum :bow:. We do hvac and have 3 sprinters. A 2005 & 2006 T1N 140" 2500's and a new 2011 NCV3 170" 3500. On my new van somewhere around 1000 miles it started hesitating anywhere between 1500-2000 RPM. It would make a sneezing sound and loose all power for a second. Kindof dissapointing on a brand new $45,000 van ive had ordered for 3 months. Anyways, i have ran powerservice diesel kleen +cetane boost ulsd formula since 50 miles on the odo. Always fueled up where the concrete and dump trucks fill up in town. Took the sprinter in for service at the dealer we bought it from (Freightliner of Knoxville, TN). I told them that i wanted the tech to ride up the street with me to show him the symptom as it was hard to replicate on demand. So we went for a ride and i got it to sneeze and he agreed there was a problem. The van had 1900 miles on it when i brought it in. Heres his descripton of the work he done (Ride with customer to verify complaint. Hook up computer and checked for codes. Found 2 codes 148C00 and 149A00 EGR has internal fault. Test EGR and actuate and failed. removed and replaced EGR valve. Cleared codes. Regen system and test drive OK. 5002 BB)

Parts Used
1) A-642-142-23-80 EGR Gasked
1) A-642-140-14-60 EGR Valve

The van is running like a top now and feels like the valve has made a big difference in the low end torque. Fuel mileage seems to be unchaged. I have to give the tech kudoes for the work he done. I cant tell the valve has been changed by looking at it. From the time we got back from the test drive he had me back on the road in 1 hour. He said he has been working on them since they started selling them in 2002. He seems to know his stuff.
 
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jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
It's a common problem on all 2007+ diesel vehicles from all manufacturers running around the US and Canada.

-Jon
 

BRANCALEONE

Member
You may think that a Big manufacturer like Mercedes will fix or try to fix the damn problem...you think? Well it doesn't look good for us customers or potential new customers.
I own 2 Sprinters and am a former owner of T1n, all of them with the same fri@@%&ng problem. Not to mention the paint job.
I have found so many things that are not well designed that I'm thinking Fiat will be a good competitor, the Australian can bark as much as he wants... those Mercedes are not better than FIAT especially for the price we paid.
We all should go down under and buy the Sprinter there and see if they really are so great....

Mauro really pissed with Mercedes.
 

Derek LS6

New member
yeah, you would think they would try to correct the problem. im sure it has cost MB plenty of money replacing them under warranty. i have several friends with 2007+ diesel pickups that havnt had any problems. i understand that extended idling can lead to a fouled EGR valve, but i have never idled mine more than 5 mins. almost all of the 2000 miles on it were drivin on country roads, no city traffic.
 

jdcaples

Not Suitable w/220v Gen
yeah, you would think they would try to correct the problem. im sure it has cost MB plenty of money replacing them under warranty. i have several friends with 2007+ diesel pickups that havnt had any problems. i understand that extended idling can lead to a fouled EGR valve, but i have never idled mine more than 5 mins. almost all of the 2000 miles on it were drivin on country roads, no city traffic.
I only lost one valve during the warranty period.

I think Jef (cedarsanctum) also lost only one during his warranty period.

Carl (sprintguy) said (somewhere around here) that after he replaced the valve, temp sensor and cooler on Dodge Sprinters that landed in his dealership's service bay, they never came back.

I'm not sure it's worth it to them to recall or re-engineer, or otherwise take a corrective action when, statistically, most of drivers will dump the van well before it rusts out from under them; leaves them stranded in Death Valley or becomes economically unreasonable to repair (BTW, most Sprinters are owned by businesses and individuals that aren't on Sprinter-Source or contributing to the YahooSprinterVan group; shocking, I know).

In short: it doesn't make sense to us, but we're not buying new vehicles - or leasing them - every two years like most drivers as seen through the warped glasses of manufacturers.

It probably makes perfect fiscal sense to the Daimler managers that make these decisions, just like it makes sense to the EPA to mandate complex emissions equipment and just like it makes sense for Navistar, Cummins and Isuzu to manufacture and market engines in this region, even though they can't really fix the situation, either.

-Jon
 

Chandlerazman

Active member
Mine is hanging in there (egr) however, the dealer did say they will replace it the next time my cel comes on... 42k so far.
 

cedarsanctum

re: Member
My EGR valve was replaced at ~6K miles, have not had any problem with it since, i think. It is in the shop now for a CEL/malfunction code, but it remains completely drivable with no symptoms of any problem.
I believe the EGR valve in ours was defective from the factory. It started acting up right away, i thought at first it was just the way they ran. When it got worse to the point of LHM and malfunction codes showing, the dealer replaced the valve, and we are now at 20,000 miles with no more EGR problems. That is mostly highway miles, with no idling longer than a stop light.
Jef
 

ebsprintin

surviving member
Cedar,

I wonder if your vehicle will be returned to you with a new egr (cooler?) temp sensor. I replaced my egr valve at 200,000 miles and last week it was the temp sensor. My fuel economy appears to have picked back up with the new sensor.

eb
 

Derek LS6

New member
Cedar,

I wonder if your vehicle will be returned to you with a new egr (cooler?) temp sensor. I replaced my egr valve at 200,000 miles and last week it was the temp sensor. My fuel economy appears to have picked back up with the new sensor.

eb
I am also curious. The tech that worked on mine said that the temp sensors were also a common weak point.
 

cedarsanctum

re: Member
Well i'll be darned, that was a good call. The failure was a boost air temp sensor failure. Light is now out, will be driving it this weekend to check mileage. That was actually pretty good on the last leg of the last trip. Cruising all day at 65 to 70 and the days average was 21.9 mpg by the gauge. This leg was from Ashland to Portland.
21.9mpg.jpg
The overall mileage was low, mostly because of driving into a heavy storm in California that week. Heavy headwinds, lots of snow in the mountains. Fun.
But we drove a lot of miles.
19.8mpg.jpg
Jef
 

strok

New member
just got my EGR valve replaced on 2011 sprinter 40k km. It was acting on 1500-2000 RPMs. Working good now.
 

Scottinmd

New member
I have an 11 with 75k. Out of warranty. that is doing this exact thing. But no code. Could an egr replacement be my fix? I'm already looking at a p20be code. Which is the def heater. And I know that's a whole other problem area. This air temp sensor makes me wonder as well. Driving this thing in temps above 85 is horrible. This morning I headed out with temps in the upper 60s. The van ran like a top. The hotter it has gotten today. The worse it's running.
 

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