Update on the verification of the 2004 Sprinter van T21 recall requirement: I just got a notice in the mail to register my 2004 Sprinter van and it has a 2nd page giving notice of the recall. While in WA we don't have to get the recall performed, as we don't have emissions controls like in CA, it doesn't appear to have any "exemption" status. You may want to check with CARB / SMOG to verify requirements. Happy ad-van-tures!Hey there Sprinter community! I just wanted to chime in and tell you all about my T21 nightmare because I wish this sort of frustration, BS and misfortune on no one.
I also wished someone had already been through the fire and posted a clear solution to help people like me. Unfortunately I couldn’t find that so I had to piece a solution together and here is what worked for me. I’m happy to say I have been through the ringer on this one but came out fixed on the other side. I hope this helps some of you. It’s a long read but worth it for those of you still in purgatory.
I own a 2004 Dodge Sprinter 2500 and I live in California. I received a notice in July 2019 that I was required to perform the T21 recall on my vehicle before I could SMOG and register it. I jumped on the forum to check the temperature and it seemed like everyone was chiming in saying to not do it… but… as a Cali resident… I didn’t have the option to opt out so I crossed my fingers.
It took me forever to find a dealership that could do the recall despite living in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. I finally found out that AutoWorld in Petaluma CA could do the work and they told me that they “have performed it several times before and it’s a quick job”. I made an appointment and dropped it off. I almost instantly got a notice from them that the job was completed and I could come get my van. I was ecstatic that it went so fast and smoothly. I made sure it was absolutely ready to go before heading up there and they said yes. I then went to pick it up and when I got there they told me the battery was dead and “this happens to some of these vans”. This began my 3+ month journey in frustration and wasted time.
The short of it is that they needed to get me a new instrument cluster because, as you probably know by now, replacing it is a by-product of the T21 recall programming on virtually all 2004 and some 2005 models.
At this time I didn’t know how big of a deal it would turn out to be as I later found out that this part has been “obsoleted” and therefore isn’t manufactured anymore. I also later found out that the shelves were all empty of the remaining ICs and I was basically screwed. The worst part of this is that they performed the flash to my ECU without having the IC part lined up so once they did that there was no going back and there was no part to fix so they launched me into purgatory.
The dealership then tried to send out an IC from another van to a company in New York to try and get refurbished to see if that would work. It didn’t. So after 2+ months of waiting without my vehicle I was then told that there was nothing more that they (or Chrysler) could do and that I should come pick up my van and I should see “what I could get for it” as a buy-back program from Chrysler because there were no other options.
My van is my home and I had just put a new engine in it less than 5K prior so it’s safe to say that that option wasn’t actually an option and that we needed to figure something else out.
I went and picked up my vehicle and continued to research everything I could and call any leads I found. I mostly struck out but thanks to this forum I was able to locate some important leads.
Firstly, I contacted Jeffrey Wong at the Air Resources Board at the California EPA(Phone: (626) 575-7009, E-mail: jwong@arb.ca.gov, Web: www.arb.ca.gov). He is easily the most friendly and helpful government employee I have ever encountered or probably ever will. I told him about my predicament and he offered to connect me with others that might be able to help and told me that work was happening behind the scenes to solve this issue. It was vague but it gave me the hope I needed to believe ANYTHING was happening on the other side to solve this cluster-f@&k.
Secondly, I read on here that someone had success with sending their parts into S.O.S. Diagnostics in Oregon (http://sosdiagnostics.com/vehicle_owners.html). I reached out to them to see if they could help and they confidently told me they were well aware of the problem happening with Sprinters like mine, that they have fixed them before, what they would need and how much it would cost. I was finally a little optimistic for a possible solution.
I then told the dealership that I found this S.O.S. lead and that they should try it out as a solution. They thankfully agreed and got Chrysler to approve the work so I took my van in again to hopefully get repaired. It took another 2 weeks to get back but this time it FINALLY WORKED!!! My IC works like it did before this madness and my systems all seem to be go. I was finally able to get it a SMOG (through the Cali BAR “Ref”) so now I’m just waiting on my tags in the mail as well as reluctantly keeping an eye on my dash to make sure the “fix” is actually sticking.
So there we go. That is my summed up version of this debacle. I sat in absolute BS purgatory without my vehicle for 106 days and had to waste countless hours of my life trying to solve this on my own because I wasn’t getting much help from the dealership and absolutely ZERO help from Chrysler. This only got fixed because of help from people in this thread and from a lot of legwork on my part. The squeaky wheel did get the grease.
I should also note that I DIDN’T PAY A CENT to get any of this work done. This was all billed to Chrysler. Because of this simple “T21 ECU Flash” I ended up with a new O2 sensor, turbo, a refurbished IC and over 2 months of a car rental while mine was in the shop. If you’re in this situation make sure you don’t pay for it or if you have paid out of pocket to get reimbursed. This all falls on Chrysler and their terrible handling of this ordeal.
One last thing is that apparently 2004 Sprinters are now “exempt” from needing to perform this recall because of this fiasco. I never could get complete confirmation on this but if you haven’t done the recall and are being told you need to… DON’T and dig into this some more.
My final parting perspective is… I had just recently and severely broken my leg when I originally took my van in for the recall and by the time I got it back and fixed I was already healed up and walking without assistance. Yikes. I hope y’all fared better than me!
T21 Emissions Recall Notice
- Thread starter white whale
- Start date
autostaretx
Erratic Member
Another trick for getting around the battery drain is:
At end of driving, turn off the Sprinter.
Then turn the key back to "run" (don't start it)
Then turn the key back off and remove it.
To tell if that "fixed" it, wait 45 seconds for the dashboard to turn off.
If it did, your battery drain has ceased.
If the dashboard does NOT turn off, then the drain will continue.
--dick
At end of driving, turn off the Sprinter.
Then turn the key back to "run" (don't start it)
Then turn the key back off and remove it.
To tell if that "fixed" it, wait 45 seconds for the dashboard to turn off.
If it did, your battery drain has ceased.
If the dashboard does NOT turn off, then the drain will continue.
--dick
I'm considering doing the t21 recall for my 2004. I'm in Alabama (for now) so no reason to do it other than: 1) I read somewhere that if a MIL/CEL triggers when they do the recall flash they must also repair that?
My gas mileage hasn't been great and some slight performance issues, even after fuel filter change (actually the performance was amazing right after! But after a couple drives it's back to where it was.. I'm wondering if maybe it had more to do with me disconnecting the battery for a long time? Would that affect/reset MAF/transmission/accelerator adaptations at all?). So I'm hoping that 2) performance and gas mileage improve if the dealer replaces my MAF, O2, or any other sensors, for free?
I already know my O2 sensor is out of (resistance/ohms) spec but isn't throwing a MIL/CEL. I wonder if my MAF is too? 3) As part of the recall process, do they do a MAF reset and drive around? Would the MIL/CEL trigger pretty quickly if the MAF is actually out-of-spec?
Also, are there not any solutions on these forums about software fixes for the IC/EGR battery drain? I'm surprised someone hasn't shared the code difference between a pre and post t21 ECM software. I understand that maybe MB prefers a dongle fix, but for DIY folks a software fix seems nice..
My gas mileage hasn't been great and some slight performance issues, even after fuel filter change (actually the performance was amazing right after! But after a couple drives it's back to where it was.. I'm wondering if maybe it had more to do with me disconnecting the battery for a long time? Would that affect/reset MAF/transmission/accelerator adaptations at all?). So I'm hoping that 2) performance and gas mileage improve if the dealer replaces my MAF, O2, or any other sensors, for free?
I already know my O2 sensor is out of (resistance/ohms) spec but isn't throwing a MIL/CEL. I wonder if my MAF is too? 3) As part of the recall process, do they do a MAF reset and drive around? Would the MIL/CEL trigger pretty quickly if the MAF is actually out-of-spec?
Also, are there not any solutions on these forums about software fixes for the IC/EGR battery drain? I'm surprised someone hasn't shared the code difference between a pre and post t21 ECM software. I understand that maybe MB prefers a dongle fix, but for DIY folks a software fix seems nice..
ECU
2006 T1n 118 Sprinter
The T21 recall addresses a failure of the MAF that doesn't trigger a CEL.
I was just testing my EGR valve and found that it worked but was not operating. The adaptation stuff.
I replaced my MAF.
I now have better fuel mileage. Cooler running. Smells better when starting in the morning.
I believe that the adaptation reset after driving at operating temperature for 30 minutes. So I think that you having the battery off would do a reset temporarily.
I just researched my vin for the recall... No recall needed. I guess after all these years, they've given up.
A CEL can be cleared by just about any scanner.
I was just testing my EGR valve and found that it worked but was not operating. The adaptation stuff.
I replaced my MAF.
I now have better fuel mileage. Cooler running. Smells better when starting in the morning.
I believe that the adaptation reset after driving at operating temperature for 30 minutes. So I think that you having the battery off would do a reset temporarily.
I just researched my vin for the recall... No recall needed. I guess after all these years, they've given up.
A CEL can be cleared by just about any scanner.
marklg
Well-known member
Its complicated.
To get it done, you have to find a willing Dodge or Freightliner dealer, depending on your badging, which is hard these days. Most refuse to do it.
I cannot find the US instructions, but the Canadian ones tell the dealer to look for codes before and only address new codes from a specific list that were not there before the flash. They also say get approval for any fixes before doing it. I'd say the risk is high that if you have any codes before they won't fix things for free, and they may not get approval to fix new codes. It is a big risk.
They may not approve paying for the dongle fix if you need it. Tuners change stored tables for the most part. Actually decompiling the code and making effective changes is a step above that and I have not heard that was done. Why would Mercedes make a dongle if they, who have the code, could make the changes and come up with a second version that addresses the power down stuff easily?
Frankly, I would not do it. The chances of any of these things going wrong is higher than the chances of things going right. In general, if you are having symptoms, fix them. The instructions seem to say they will only fix things for free if you had no issues before, or at least that is my interpretation.
Regards,
Mark