Mercedes Sprinter Diesel Emissions Recall

Wazoo

Member
I recently received in the mail a Mercedes Emissions Litigation Class Action Claim Form. Similar to the VW Class Action a number of years back. I understand that Dodge Diesel also had this happen. Mercedes is requesting that owners bring in the van and the dealer will install an emission modification that updates the emissions control system software on the vehicle. Once done and the claim is submitted then Mercedes will send out a check for up to $3,590.
I talked to VW owners and a Dodge Diesel Truck owner and the told me that having this modification done can drastically change the performance and MPG of the vehicle (in a poor way). The Dodge guy ended up selling his truck because the performance was so poor.
I am obviously interested in the $$ but if my Sprinter is going to run like crap afterwards then I am not going to do it.
Has anybody had the modification done? How is the vehicle running?
Any thoughts on this recall would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Tim
 

#yardsale

The cruelest dream, reality.
You are going to be in a tough spot if you don’t do it. Some states...most....all, I don’t know which will not renew your registration if certain recalls are not performed.
 

bigb

2011 Winnebago Via 25Q on 2010 3500 Tucson, AZ
There are a couple threads on this already, some have already had the modification and are reporting no negative effects so far. As far as the VW, I have a 2015 and have no issues at all, could not be happier with that car and my extended warranty, maybe the issues were on the older models I don't know. Of course anyone who had after market tuning or defeat software is probably going to notice less performance.
 

Moto Vita

Active member
You are going to be in a tough spot if you don’t do it. Some states...most....all, I don’t know which will not renew your registration if certain recalls are not performed.
What state are you in and how do they know if your recall has been performed?
 

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
There is way more than a couple of threads about it.
So far only positive replies about modifications and hard to beat following 4 years warranty
It is Bluetec settlement btw, not diesel and not recall.
 

Flagster

Active member
"It's not a recall"

I had it done on my 2015 last week. There is no difference that I can tell after the modification.
 

WinnieView1

Well-known member
One more time, this is NOT a recall. Get it done if you choose to and collect from the class action suit;


Everything else about this is speculation and just like the vaccine we won't know much more or have any relevant data for those with the MB AEM for some time (which may not come until the settlement cash is no longer available).
 

afisher48

New member
Just got mine back this week after the AEM settlement repair work. I am not happy with the performance. I have had this van since 2012 with 140,000 miles on it. The software tuning caused several issues for me. The turbo lags a lot. I can push the pedal to the floor and it hesitates for about 3 seconds before the turbo kicks in. Its definitely not as fast off the line and it does the same thing during passing. The engine behaves differently in between speeds of 30 and 70. I did notice that once you are in 5 gear the rpm hesitation is not so pronounced. Before having this done I did not have to put the pedal to the floor to get the turbo to kick in, rate of acceleration is slower than I am used to with this van.
 

WinnieView1

Well-known member
Perhaps it's the transmission shift patterns, which needs to relearn the driver's preferences, which could take around 100 miles.
 

Kajtek1

2015 3500 X long limo RV
Perhaps it's the transmission shift patterns, which needs to relearn the driver's preferences, which could take around 100 miles.
x2
I drove yesterday my sedan with AEM done on OM651 engine. It was a bit jerky at gear shifting at the beginning, but after 30 miles it smooth out.
 

blutow

Well-known member
I don't know the exact details of the emissions updates for the MB "diesel fix", but I know it's conceptually similar to the VW updates. There will certainly be situations where you will lose performance and/or fuel economy with these type of updates.

Basically, both VW and MB got busted pushing the limits of a gray area related to emissions. It's all about how emissions are tested on cars, sort of like the tests for fuel mileage. Very few people drive their vehicles in a way that match the test conditions. For emissions, car manufacturers have always had "situations" where they can throw emissions out the window for the sake of performance (for short periods in theory). For example, the engine control module might sense that the engine is running too hot. In that situation, emissions can can be set aside until the engine returns to a normal range. Car manufactures have taken that concept and pushed the envelope. Any time it senses a load of x, any time it's too hot or cold, etc. They have taken it so far that some of these vehicles don't spend much time the "rated" emissions mode. VW and MB took it to a new level and created software that detected the emissions test situation. So, the emissions test was basically the only time those vehicles actually ran really clean. You could argue all the manufactures were already cheating (and continue to), but VW and MB crossed a flagrant line.

So, the fix by VW and MB basically forces the "good" emissions mode into actual real-world driving situations. They still have situations where they can go into bad emissions mode, but not as often. Good emissions mode hurts performance, fuel mileage and potential longevity. How much more often you are in good mode vs. bad mode depends on how you drive and all kinds of other variables. I wouldn't expect to feel any big difference when you put the pedal to the floor or when climbing a mountain pass (both situations would typically force the vehicle into bad emissions mode), but your normal driving torque and power curves might drop enough to be noticeable or you might see a small drop in mileage. It's a hard thing to figure out, even on a dyno, because they don't share the details of what triggers this stuff. Also, it's not as simple as good and bad modes, in reality the emissions output falls on a continuum. To think that MB is pushing out a fix to optimize emissions and there are no situations where your fuel mileage, performance, or reliability isn't going to suffer is naive. It may not be dramatic and it may only happen in certain driving situations, but there is no free lunch on this stuff. I'd probably take the $ and hope the changes aren't noticeable, but you can't think there isn't a tradeoff. I made out like a bandit with the VW diesel stuff. They made the buy back too attractive to even consider the fix.
 

WinnieView1

Well-known member
I don't know the exact details of the emissions updates for the MB "diesel fix", but I know it's conceptually similar to the VW updates. There will certainly be situations where you will lose performance and/or fuel economy with these type of updates.
We are willing to wait and see what the long term differences are and will be able to buy lots more diesel fuel with $3590.
But you have to wonder why MB finally got their act together along with the CA lawsuit at about the same time. ;)
 

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