"The Fatal Flaw of Mercedes Benz Sprinters"

D

dryerex

New member
I just had the ad blue tank heater failure come up.
Have 75,000 mile on the 2012. Dealer took care of it under the 100,000 mile warranty.
Of course I let them know it is mandated that it is covered as an emissions system unit.:thumbup:

My understanding from the tech guy is that the coating on the earlier tank heaters gets eaten up by the urea and then causes the failure.

Picking up "Jake's Party Bus" today from Sprinter of Greensboro. Good job guys.:clapping:

No hassles, and they covered the rental, no problems, had the parts in stock.

I'll keep everyone updated to see how long this one lasts.
Ralph
 
L

lindenengineering

Well-known member
mdew said:
I have had my 2013 van to 2 different shops. Both cannot override the system .
Click to expand...
That's because they don't have the tools to scan and teach in the systems!

Its goes like this:
If I am a shop owner heavily commited to domestics or say Asian cars I will /should have investment in scan tools and equipment to support those product lines.
So if a vehicle like a Sprinter comes my way I will be able maybe to do somethings on the rig but not all..
Equally & opposite, I am for example heavily commiited at Linden to three product lines MB, Landrover, and Toyota Prius. Plus heavy duty big trucks.

If a BMW rolls into the shop I can do some things on it but I don't have a BMW dedicated scanner so some of my abilities are "clipped" since I don't have access to the vehicular systems & more importantly because I haven't invested in say a $10,000 scan tool investment to work on one or two BMW's annually that might just come my way.
Its not sound business decisions to contemplate that level for little return and remember repair shops repair cars for profit not pleasure!
My suggestion would be to find a shop in you area that specializes in Sprinter repairs.
Dennis
 
Old Crows

Old Crows

Calypso 2014 View Profile
Less fun to drive? Taking a beating on value?

Regarding residual value. Losses are in the eye of the beholder. If VWs lose value it would be largely due to the perception that they have inferior performance or reliability. That remains to be tested in the field.

Which brings me back to the first point..... Less fun to drive? Less MPG? The 'ad hoc' testing done by several magazines/forums/blogs appear to indicated that you might lose a "few" horsepower and torque feet. Few is not 'a lot!" And, you might loose an MPG of 2-3. That is not a lot... High MPG values only count for enhancing sales numbers and bragging rights.

Crow thinks that when all the chips are cashed, an diesel VW owner won't even notice the difference between his old car's performance and one that has been 'repaired.' Everyone seems to be whinging about the expected loss of performance. No one really knows what that may be as the 'tests' are between those in 'EPA test' mode and 'street mode.' You need a third metric..... 'repaired, up-dated, meets standard' mode to compare any losses in performance or fuel economy.

Crow also thinks that VW's boffins will sort out a 'fix' that will meet the requirements while retaining a significant amount of the perceived 'lost' performance.

I suspect much of VW's issue relate to the cost per unit of installing the SCR/DPF/DEF systems on their cars..... that would raise costs if they wanted to maintain company profits.
 
imstilllarry

imstilllarry

Active member
lindenengineering said:
My suggestion would be to find a shop in you area that specializes in Sprinter repairs.

Dennis
Click to expand...

Dennis, the thing I really dislike is that the system shuts you down. I had this happen on my 2013 because of a bad NOx sensor twice. My question, is there a way to by pass this? Are there after market ECUs or other solutions? With dealerships so far apart and only open 5 days it's not hard to get stranded.

And second, it seems like it's always the exhaust system somewhere. What is you advice to avoid issues? Additives, min RPM, etc.

Thanks, Larry


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
johnshmit

johnshmit

Well-known member
imstilllarry said:
Dennis, the thing I really dislike is that the system shuts you down. I had this happen on my 2013 because of a bad NOx sensor twice. My question, is there a way to by pass this? Are there after market ECUs or other solutions? With dealerships so far apart and only open 5 days it's not hard to get stranded.

And second, it seems like it's always the exhaust system somewhere. What is you advice to avoid issues? Additives, min RPM, etc.

Thanks, Larry


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Truc..._73_74_75,searchweb201527_5,searchweb201560_9
 
flman

flman

Well-known member
Graphite Dave said:
Here the problem is Prius drivers who are trying to save the earth. We live in a very liberal area that is polluted with Prius vehicles.
Click to expand...
I got the Subaru, prius and other ugly little car drivers that just got their license from the gum ball machine on their 70th birthday, previous to that they lived in the city and rode mass transit.
 
G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
flman said:
I got the Subaru, prius and other ugly little car drivers that just got their license from the gum ball machine on their 70th birthday, previous to that they lived in the city and rode mass transit.
Click to expand...
Be careful here. At 77 years old I feel a bit vulnerable to comments about old drivers. I will say I will not be in the way of anyone. Normally I will be the car passing others but will always get out of the way for the rare person going faster.
 
flman

flman

Well-known member
Graphite Dave said:
Be careful here. At 77 years old I feel a bit vulnerable to comments about old drivers. I will say I will not be in the way of anyone. Normally I will be the car passing others but will always get out of the way for the rare person going faster.
Click to expand...
Why, did you just get your license too? :rolleyes:
 
G

Graphite Dave

Dave Orton
flman said:
Why, did you just get your license too? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
At 15 1/2 years old I was at the DMV on my birthday to get my learners permit. So far have never had an accident with another vehicle. Slid off the road on ice with my Fiat 600. Let my new 2002 BMW roll down my driveway to hit a dirt bank and end up on its side by not leaving it in gear or setting the emergency brake. Still have BMW with 114,000 miles on it after the $10,000 for repairs. Just to be sure I now remember to set emergency brakes, I did the same stupid thing with my Dakota pickup at the post office.
 
flman

flman

Well-known member
Graphite Dave said:
At 15 1/2 years old I was at the DMV on my birthday to get my learners permit. So far have never had an accident with another vehicle. Slid off the road on ice with my Fiat 600. Let my new 2002 BMW roll down my driveway to hit a dirt bank and end up on its side by not leaving it in gear or setting the emergency brake. Still have BMW with 114,000 miles on it after the $10,000 for repairs. Just to be sure I now remember to set emergency brakes, I did the same stupid thing with my Dakota pickup at the post office.
Click to expand...
Seems like you had a few senior moments, but at least you were not behind the wheel. Reckless me has been in few accidents. One time I put a Chevy Monza into a total spin, slid up the snow bank and punctured the fuel tank with a fire hydrant. Did that in my late teens. :smirk:
 
thorn

thorn

Member
Graphite Dave said:
At 15 1/2 years old I was at the DMV on my birthday to get my learners permit. So far have never had an accident with another vehicle. Slid off the road on ice with my Fiat 600. Let my new 2002 BMW roll down my driveway to hit a dirt bank and end up on its side by not leaving it in gear or setting the emergency brake. Still have BMW with 114,000 miles on it after the $10,000 for repairs. Just to be sure I now remember to set emergency brakes, I did the same stupid thing with my Dakota pickup at the post office.
Click to expand...
Years ago our neighbour was getting his mail at the end of his drive. He left it in gear and his car ended up going down a hill, through a fence letting out a bunch of cattle and then onto a busy road. Luckily, nobody was hurt. It took a while to find the cattle, they were running all over the place!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top Bottom