Is it just me? Or is something always broken on a Sprinter?

After searching for about a year, I bought a 2005 118 highroof with 190k miles last year, it now has 193k. It seems like something is always wrong with it. Does it ever end, or will I be dealing with problems the entire time I own it?

First thing I fixed was the AC, the rubber in the pulley of the clutch went bad and the compressor wouldn't turn on, it worked for a while, but is terrible, my van has a partition and it can't even keep the front cab cool.

Next it got a EGR CEL and I got to experience limp home mode for about 400 miles, I finally figured out it was the tiny rubber anti friction dampner inside the EGR valve.

1 day before a trip out of town, the AC stopped working again and it's not the same problem as before, I thnk its the ATC this time. The compressor turns on when directly wired to the battery, and the fuse and relay are good.

Less than a week after replacing the anti friction dampner, and everything being back to normal, except the broken AC, and the CEL is on again. I have yet to see what it is this time.

To top it all off, there is a rust hole in the top of the windshield frame that likes to let water into the cab when it rains.

I've heard such great things about Sprinters, and now that I own one, I'm seriously doubting their greatness.

That all sounds about right? Actually doesn't sound too bad! It's 14 years old, any 14 year old vehicle will have similar or more issues. Do you have a sprinter-abled scanner to see what that code is? All vehicles have issues, and when you buy any used vehicle with an unknown history you inherent whatever it throws at you. Maybe the PO didn't take great care of it? Anyone can have egr issues, or a/c issues. Sometimes you run into streaks of things going wrong, but don't let it discourage you.

These things are solid in very many ways, it's up to you if you want to continue to make love to the damn thing to keep 'er on the road...

I have had many many issues with my van in my ownership from 200k-250k miles. Most of the problems were due to PO negligence. There was a lot to do when I bought the van. Once I got everything up to date and did some preventative maintenance, the joy of ownership has greatly increased. But this thing is not a car, it's a rig. There will always be something to be done. I'm overall pretty happy that I can drive a vehicle with 250k and actually enjoy it, for what it is. And get comments on it.

With that said, I don't plan to own it forever!

It's not you, it's the sprinter.

I have a love/hate relationship with the sprinter. Amazing vehicle, incredible torque and mileage, roomy. But after a lifetime of mostly Toyotas, it's amazing how often something is wrong. My wife's corolla is the same age as our vans, and just runs. Never had to tighten a door, replace a lock core or fix the automatic door locks, had catastrophic issues with a parking brake, replace a seatbelt, or had the air vents crack even though they are often opened and closed. But all that is routine in the sprinter.

My limited experiences with a Mercedes 90's era sedan, and a couple of friends' Volkswagons, seem to suggest that odd things breaking is normal for a German car, but very odd for a Toyota or Honda.

I think without this website I would have had at least twice the problems, and most of them bigger. Without this website I would have given up. Now I'm trying to hold on at least 4 more years.

nutterbutter said:

........Never had to tighten a door, replace a lock core or fix the automatic door locks, had catastrophic issues with a parking brake, replace a seatbelt, or had the air vents crack even though they are often opened and closed. But all that is routine in the sprinter.

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Funny, I've messed with 80's Toyo vans a fair bit... pretty much had to deal with each item you list here. Of course they're now ~33y.old!! <;~o

Zundfolge said:

That all sounds about right? Actually doesn't sound too bad! It's 14 years old, any 14 year old vehicle will have similar or more issues. ...

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Bingo. And it's a Mercedes.

I gave up on the 2004 A/C. I don't need it where I live and lived without it when we traveled south. Keeping an older vehicle A/C unit operating can take time and money. Most other things on a T1N I can handle DIY.

vic

But after a lifetime of mostly Toyotas, it's amazing how often something is wrong. My wife's corolla is the same age as our vans, and just runs.

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Same here, I own a 07 4runner, brother has went through a 2nd gen 4runner and now on a 1st gen tacoma. The old 4runner had 300k on it when he sold it, owned it for probably 8 years just kept running probably had less than $4k in repairs over that time period. And ran when he sold it. He bought his tacoma with 200k and runs like a champ and their gas.

The sprinters are 14 year old vehicles but too me that should be nothing for a well built reliable vehicle. To me old is older than 2000 thats when I feel you can blame faults to its age. Some vehicles are just built very well and some not, I had a 98 jeep Cherokee, I loved that truck but compared to the Toyota same year it seemed like it was always something that it needed. The most reliable truck ive owned was a 1986 Econoline with the 6.9l idi diesel, bought it in Colorado for $1600 and drove it back to Florida with only a flat tire. The more I look on this forum the more it seems to push me towards American diesels, that or try to find a Toyota diesel.

With older vehicles small items will keep popping up. Think of it as the nature of the beast. If your older vehicle was owned by people that only worked on it. When it was broken down. Then you have a lot of work to catch up on. Your the one that has to decide when your tired of dealing with the problems and replace.

micha said:

Funny, I've messed with 80's Toyo vans a fair bit... pretty much had to deal with each item you list here. Of course they're now ~33y.old!! <;~o

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My friend called his "The Pervia"

I’ve owned lots of old cars – in fact I drive almost exclusively old cars, and although the jury is still out on the Sprinter, as a general rule, buying an old German car strikes me a terrible idea. Living in the dry Southwest I expect every car I own, except for an E46 BMW, to outlast me.

I could write pages on the problems I’ve had with the BMW and Sprinter. In contrast, I have a 2000 Honda Insight with 360K miles, a 1992 Honda Civic with 350K miles, and a 1992 Toyota T100 with 185K miles. I bought each of those cars for under $2500 and put about $500 in deferred maintenance and repairs into each at the time of purchase. I would not hesitate to drive any of those cars across the country at a moment’s notice.

I just drove the T100 from California to Illinois (2000 miles in 2 days) last weekend. It didn’t burn a drop of oil, had absolutely no problems, and averaged 20.3 mpg. I’ve done the same trip in both the Civic and Insight probably 20 times without incident. Those cars are nearly unstoppable. Even changing the oil is optional – I think it has been years since I changed the oil in the Civic. Unlike German cars, my Japanese cars just never give any problems. What is it about German cars? I think they are the Rube Golberg version of cars.

Travel vehicles.
Poverty.

VW vans-55mph. Engine blew whenever, Too many years.

'77 Minnie Winnie 7-8 mpg. Engine blew at 140K, 4 winters.

1999 Honda CRV camperized-I almost went insane sleeping in it for one winter, Still running,

2002 Sprinter-Great camper. One winter in, happily looking at winter #2. Will pull my motorcycle. Repairable. 22mpg. 60-70 mph.

You make the call.

bill in tomahawk

My '66 Mustang took $1200/year in parts to keep on the road when it was 8 years old. That is $12,000 in today's money.
My 2005 Honda is taking $3000/year now at only 150,000 miles. Dealer wants $2500 just to replace the timing belt.
I had spare clutch parts in my '66 Dodge van glove box so I could fix it whenever. Like when I was leaving a new years eve party...
Yea, the VW. Just replace the engine again.

I've had the Sprinter for over ten years. I've had Everything replaced. Radiator, fan, Harmonic balancer, water pump, high pressure pump, alternator, power steering, AC, Injectors, Glow plugs, brakes, struts, Espar, Headlights, Windshield. And I'm not even at 400,000 miles yet.

gojamsgo said:

First thing I fixed was the AC, the rubber in the pulley of the clutch went bad and the compressor wouldn't turn on, it worked for a while, but is terrible, my van has a partition and it can't even keep the front cab cool.

...I thnk its the ATC this time. The compressor turns on when directly wired to the battery, and the fuse and relay are good.

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I'm assuming anyone messing with their A/C system knows that one of the first basic things to check is refrigerant charge level. But since you only mentioned fixing the pulley and checking the fuse and relay, I'll mention it anyway. Did you check refrigerant charge level? A leak and low refrigerant charge would explain your current symptoms: not cooling well over time and eventually compressor not turning on. The ATC could be doing its job by not turning on the compressor. It does this specifically to protect the compressor when charge level is very low. Without first verifying charge level, hotwiring the compressor to the battery isn't proving the ATC is bad, it's just circumventing the protections that are in place.

I have owned my 03 since 2017 when I took over my brothers business.
I got his vehicles.
The sprinter didnt run well, but it ran.
I replaced the clear fuel lines, and fuel filter... better.
I installed a chevy electric diesel lift pump and prefilter from a 90's mb diesel (I have a lot of old MB diesels) better...
Then it started puking black smoke, and running horrid... replaced the intercooler hoses, back to running well.
Then the injection pressure pump started dumping fuel... replaced it. Back running. Key broke in half on a job... made a spare from pieces, and a ford key filed down to fit, then got the OEM key replaced... ouch.
Then it started into limp mode... dealer said MAF bad... I changed it, sporadically it would limp... parked it.
Got it diagnosed, found bad wastegate solenoid... truck is running well again.
It has been a decent truck. Amazing fuel economy, worth it in fuel savings alone...
I also drive a 95 GM diesel suburban, a 94 gm diesel pickup, a 00 gm diesel pickup, a 96 gm diesel pickup, an 89 chevy astro van
An 04 gm gasser express van box truck...
I have replaced injectors, injection pumps, glow plugs, etc...
Sprinter wins hands down value...

Old rigs cost more in maintenance, just a fact.
That is why they are cheaper than new rigs.
So it goes.
One of the benefits of old rigs is sometimes they give long periods of trouble free service....
One of the drawbacks of old rigs is sometimes they give long periods of problems....
Those are my nuggets of wisdom for today.

My 2006 always has SOMETHING broken. If I fix it, something else breaks. It likes the attention. Tail light circuit board went TU for the 2nd time today, I fixed it last time, threw in towel this time and got new one from Europarts OTW.

I am a cheap A$$, at least with older vehicles I can general fix them myself without spending to much time or money. But yes, the sprinters are going to have problems. If MB had done a decent wiring protection job about half the sprinter issues would never happen, but such is life! I have had similar experiences across the board with domestic and import vehicles over 10 years old.

Wouldn't it be nice if when we bought our sprinters, that we bought a spare to sit waiting for something to break so we could always have a perfect sprinter?

Yes, checking the refrigerant with guages is always the first thing we do. My brother is a very competent mechanic and he helps me or does everything for me.

doug022984 said:

I'm assuming anyone messing with their A/C system knows that one of the first basic things to check is refrigerant charge level. But since you only mentioned fixing the pulley and checking the fuse and relay, I'll mention it anyway. Did you check refrigerant charge level? A leak and low refrigerant charge would explain your current symptoms: not cooling well over time and eventually compressor not turning on. The ATC could be doing its job by not turning on the compressor. It does this specifically to protect the compressor when charge level is very low. Without first verifying charge level, hotwiring the compressor to the battery isn't proving the ATC is bad, it's just circumventing the protections that are in place.

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Thanks for the replies everyone. Looks like im in for some headaches. And its nice to hear some negative feedback, as all of heard before was sprinters are the best ever! Too bad Toyota didnt make the sprinter.