Should I be concerned?

Just bought a brand new 2015 MB Sprinter Cargo Van (High Roof 144) on Monday. On Friday evening I pulled into my driveway and shut the engine off, when I got out I could hear a tick, tick, tick- ticking sound coming front either the engine or underneath – and there was a burning odor as well (not oil). Went into the house and about 30 minutes later I came back out and cranked the van back up for a few and shut it off and heard the ticking again with the odor but hadn’t heard or smelled it the next day after driving. The vehicle had 550 miles on it when I got it but I was told by different people that 550 miles on a new Sprinter is like 35 miles on a new Honda. Anyway, I have to wait a few days to get it in to MB Service, has anyone experienced this or heard of this.

99.9% chance that nothing is wrong.

The tick tick tick sound is from the hot expanded metal exhaust components cooling down, and the parts make very very tiny shifts against each other as some areas cool and shrink faster than others. Bear in mind that these shifts and expansion/contraction from heat are measured in thousandths of an inch. It will happen through the life of the vehicle, not just when new.

The burning smell is from cosmoline (a temporary dry coating on parts to prevent them rusting in storage) and/or assembly lube burning off. It will eventually go away, but might take a few weeks.

The cooling of hotter parts of the exhaust such as the CAT often produce ticking sounds in both gas and diesel cars and trucks although this usually decreases with age. However these clean diesels do something extra throughout their life which can cause this at seemingly random times.

When the engine management decides to regen (clean) the Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) it raises the temp in the filter by basically burning some fuel within the filter. This produces higher than normal temps in the exhaust for a short time resulting in some metal expansion within the DPF and CAT. After the regen cycle the metal cools and contracts which can result in the ticking sounds you heard.

Here is a short description of the DPF regen cycle: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diesel_particulate_filter#Regeneration

You may also be hearing the DEF pump purging after shut off.All three of my sprinters have made this sound.

CausinChaos,
Agree with trz453 and Walter.
Most likely your Diesel Particulate Filter (DPF) performed it's first regeneration @ 550 miles and you shut it off
while it was still in the process.
When you restarted it, it went right back into regeneration mode which raises the exhaust temperature (as suggested
in Walter's link) so it crackled and pinged the 2nd time you shut it off as well.
The "hot" metal smell was probably preservative oils/compounds on the exhaust system burning off as this was the
first time the DPF was heated to full DPF regeneration temperatures.
If you hear the pinging/crackling of hot metal in the future, and you have a few minutes to spare, it's probably a good idea
to get back in and find an interstate or freeway where you can run consistently @ > 40 miles per hour.
Drive for about 10-20 minutes and the regen cycle should be completed.
Driving @ > 40 MPH (maybe even downshift to get the RPM up above 2500 RPM) to maintain the increased regeneration
temperatures and increased exhaust flow will help the DPF to fully burn off the particulates and clean itself out.
As suggested, it was probably the first DPF regeneration cycle, and something you have never experienced before.
Might be worthwhile to mention it to the service advisor when you go in for your first service, or give your dealer a
call and ask if they feel it was a normal 1st regeneration.
Did you get the OM-651 4 cylinder 2.134 liter with 2 stage turbocharging and 7G-Tronic 7 speed transmission, or the
optional OM-642 V6 3.0 liter with the 5G-Tronic (NAG-) 5 speed transmission?
Makes no difference, as they both regenerate the DPF is precisely the same way.
Just trying to keep track of who has the OM-651's and how many have opted for the V6 5 speed.
Hope this helps,
Roger
P.S. would be good for you to add a bit of information of what model (cargo/crew/passenger/cab chassis) 2015 Sprinter
you purchased and which engine/transmission you have as this will help the members here to give you info/feedback
that pertains to your specific vehicle rather than generic info that may or may not apply.

I really appreciate all the information given here. This is a big investment for me as I try to chart out on my own as an independent contractor/small business owner. Days before I went in to purchase my Sprinter I was restless; very little sleep, with my wife telling me to relax. So just imagine my concern level when this happened. Nevertheless, it hasn’t happened since and now I know what to do when it happens again. Ironically, the dealer told me that if I’m doing route work to leave the engine running as I make deliveries for the very reason explained on this thread. So thanks again.https://sprinter-source.com/forums/images/smilies/bow.gif

The DEF injection valve opens up and allows for the switchover valve in the DEF pump to reverse the flow of DEF and empty the lines to prevent freezing. It's normal.

This just happened on a new to me 2016 with 12k mi. It is so nice to find this thread with a quick search. Thanks Sprinter community.

Welcome Brother Chaos. I always like to introduce new owner's to important MB publications.

Enjoy your Sprinter!

https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showpost.php?p=497185&postcount=1

Wait until one of you noobs fire up your preheater for the first time...it looks like a diesel powered cruise ship lighting the stacks after dry dock...
I thought the van was on fire...haha

I have a 2008 and recall in the past it would occasionally make ticking sounds after shutting down the engine. It was a mechanical sound, like a shutter valve clicking open/close, many times. It definitely was not the sound of a cooling exhaust, which has a distinctive sound that changes frequency as the temperature decreases.

what was the DPF going through a regen process?

The ticking or clicking sound on shutdown of the 2007-2008 version was in fact several extra full-stroke activations of the EGR valve in an attempt to keep it clean of soot and freed up.

This was an after-installed service bulletin which involved a software update to help prevent or delay EGR problems

I am not sure, but it could well be the new models still do this by default.

Rob S said:

The ticking or clicking sound on shutdown of the 2007-2008 version was in fact several extra full-stroke activations of the EGR valve in an attempt to keep it clean of soot and freed up.

This was an after-installed service bulletin which involved a software update to help prevent or delay EGR problems

I am not sure, but it could well be the new models still do this by default.

Click to expand...

Out of curiosity, I'll listen at the next power down.

I came home last night to the strong odor of burning hot metal emanating from the cab area. I just crossed 550 miles on my new '17 Sprinter, so it sounds like I caught my first regen mid-cycle. I was initially a little concerned but a friend forwarded this thread to me, so thankful to know this is normal.