I've been having some issues with the 4wd on my 2019 170 of late. The issues may be related, or not. Started last August on a trip to Overland Expo in Flagstaff. When pulling out of a parallel parking spot, the van appeared to lose power to the drivetrain while also putting itself into 4wd and Low Range (I did not accidentally press those buttons), and emitting a troubling sound. Shutting down and restarting seemed to resolve the issue. Brought it into the dealer since the warranty was soon expiring. They updated software and could not replicate the issue.
A few months ago, on the trip to Baja, I attempted to use 4wd to drive through some deep beach sand. I should have been in low range also but completely whiffed on remembering to do that. Anyway, the van did not perform well in that sand - felt like virtually no power going to the wheels. I was getting suspicious that the van was not actually sending any power to the front wheels even though the 4wd light was solid red. And, once I got out of the sand thanks to the help of my Maxtraxx, and after an overnight just off the beach, I noticed that the van did not want to go out of 4wd. Ended up driving 50+ miles on the highway before being able to successfully get out of 4wd.
Once home, the van then sat for a month. Started it up a few days ago, and tried to see if it would enter 4wd. All conditions were met, and I used the N-D-R-N technique but the red light never stopped blinking. Drove it on 2wd for an hour. Then tried to engage 4wd again - and the red light went solid immediately. And it disengaged without problem as well.
I then put it back into 4wd to test out the Low Range. It entered low range without delay. Moved forward fine. But when I put it in reverse, it produced a loud sound as soon as I took my foot off the brake, and it would not move backwards.
Brought it back into the dealer, and they are treating it as a continuation of the issue that occurred last year when it was still in warranty. They said that they will open up an "engineering case" and get MB involved. Not sure where that will take it.
My takeaway is that the van does not like to go into 4wd or come out of it when it is "cold" - ie., within a short time from start up. It appears to move into 4wd and out of it easily after it's been driven a while. The issue with reverse in Low Range is a new one, although I honestly don't know if I had ever previously put the vehicle into reverse when in Low Range so it's possible that the problem has always been there.
And I'm suspicious about whether I am actually getting power to the front wheels when the 4wd light is solid red. There does not seem to be an easy way to confirm it. As I understand the MB 4wd system, the vehicle will apply braking to any wheel that starts to spin as a way to shifting power to other wheels. With other vehicles, you could jack them up to see if the front wheels would spin when in 4wd but I assume that would not work with a Sprinter.
I know that there have been many, many posts on 4wd issues - thumps, software updates, etc... But I'm wondering if anyone has a relatively easy way of confirming that 4wd is working correctly? When I engage 4wd on my truck, it's obvious from a performance standpoint. But, candidly, the "smart" systems on the Sprinter 4wd make it more difficult to notice any performance different in 4wd vs 2wd.
And, secondly, I am wondering if anyone else has encountered problems with reversing in Low Range?
Thanks.
A few months ago, on the trip to Baja, I attempted to use 4wd to drive through some deep beach sand. I should have been in low range also but completely whiffed on remembering to do that. Anyway, the van did not perform well in that sand - felt like virtually no power going to the wheels. I was getting suspicious that the van was not actually sending any power to the front wheels even though the 4wd light was solid red. And, once I got out of the sand thanks to the help of my Maxtraxx, and after an overnight just off the beach, I noticed that the van did not want to go out of 4wd. Ended up driving 50+ miles on the highway before being able to successfully get out of 4wd.
Once home, the van then sat for a month. Started it up a few days ago, and tried to see if it would enter 4wd. All conditions were met, and I used the N-D-R-N technique but the red light never stopped blinking. Drove it on 2wd for an hour. Then tried to engage 4wd again - and the red light went solid immediately. And it disengaged without problem as well.
I then put it back into 4wd to test out the Low Range. It entered low range without delay. Moved forward fine. But when I put it in reverse, it produced a loud sound as soon as I took my foot off the brake, and it would not move backwards.
Brought it back into the dealer, and they are treating it as a continuation of the issue that occurred last year when it was still in warranty. They said that they will open up an "engineering case" and get MB involved. Not sure where that will take it.
My takeaway is that the van does not like to go into 4wd or come out of it when it is "cold" - ie., within a short time from start up. It appears to move into 4wd and out of it easily after it's been driven a while. The issue with reverse in Low Range is a new one, although I honestly don't know if I had ever previously put the vehicle into reverse when in Low Range so it's possible that the problem has always been there.
And I'm suspicious about whether I am actually getting power to the front wheels when the 4wd light is solid red. There does not seem to be an easy way to confirm it. As I understand the MB 4wd system, the vehicle will apply braking to any wheel that starts to spin as a way to shifting power to other wheels. With other vehicles, you could jack them up to see if the front wheels would spin when in 4wd but I assume that would not work with a Sprinter.
I know that there have been many, many posts on 4wd issues - thumps, software updates, etc... But I'm wondering if anyone has a relatively easy way of confirming that 4wd is working correctly? When I engage 4wd on my truck, it's obvious from a performance standpoint. But, candidly, the "smart" systems on the Sprinter 4wd make it more difficult to notice any performance different in 4wd vs 2wd.
And, secondly, I am wondering if anyone else has encountered problems with reversing in Low Range?
Thanks.
