Seeing the USA Sprinter Style

Hello Sprinter Drivers,

This western half of the USA is beautiful, photos just do it justice. Bigger bthan real life. My wife and I are zig zaging across America,2006 Roadtrek Sprinter. We go from one authorized Sprinter dealer to another,be it Dodge or Freightliner. The dealerships are really space quite a distance apart,we have learned to drive in the limp mode,more scenic that way. The check engine lite helps us stay on edge as we cruise at 63mph. I'm 66 yrs. old been buying cars used ,new since 1957, this is by far the most UNDEPENDABLE ever! We get about 3800 miles between breakdowns. On the road this is Freighting,Expensive and Booring. Our Diesel is the greatest disapointment. If we ever get back to Gettysburg Pa. I promised my Higher Power I will never venture from home again.


Al Albanowski
Roadtrek RS 2006
Gettyaburg, Pa.

Sorry to hear that Al.

We've been lucky so far with all of our vehicles, including the Sprinter. We've driven the Sprinter from San Francisco to New York and back. I haven't had the pleasure of going into limp mode yet, but I'm only at ~35kmiles. Hopefully I will never see that day, especially when we're out traveling.

I'll have owned my Sprinter a year in June. I bought it with 27000 miles on it and have 42000 on it now. From my home in Michigan I traveled to Colorado last fall (17 days) and around the SW (OK, TX, AZ,NM,UT,CO, etc.) this spring (29 days). In between there have been some trips around the Great Lakes region, the latest a 5 day camping trip in N Michigan which I took last week.

So far I've made two trips to the dealer (while at home) for minor items that were covered under warranty. I've experienced nothing while on the road that would require me to divert to a dealer.

Al, I am sorry that you've had such trouble with your Sprinter. Would you mind sharing the details of what the dealers found wrong so that we might add to our storehouse of knowledge?

Tim

al albanowski,
I guess I really don't know what to say. It doesn't sound like a great way to tour the good ol' U.S. of A.

I've always said that everyone should somehow figure out a way to drive from coast to coast across the USA. I found that the best pictures I've ever seen weren't able to capture the beauty properly. There were places in the Rocky Mountains and Appalachians that I have literally pulled over just to look longer and I'm not a stop and look longer kinda' guy.

You didn't ask for advice, but there is one thing I've learned from my 2004 2500. Most everything that turns on the Malfunction Indicator Light (MIL or Check Engine Light) is nothing that requires immediate attention. I feel I need to repeat this for emphasis: Unless there are other lights that come on at the same time, the MIL is nothing to panic about. If your vehicle is running properly you can take time (measured in days if necessary) to find a shop to check for problems. Most all MIL triggers relate to (possible) emissions system problems. I invite others to please correct me if I'm wrong in this advice.

As an example only.
One thing that is a real nuisance is the 2004 - 2006 OM647 engine Glow Plug Module which senses (or imagines) problems in the glow plug system. In 2004 - 2006 (and newer) models the glow plug monitor system triggers the MIL. I suppose that is because it can relate to emissions.

***
20120625 edit: If you have a DPF Diesel Particulate Filter then the glow plugs are not MAY NOT BE just used for cold temperature starting. The glow plugs are also used to help increase the combustion temperature for re-generation. So a glow plug MIL is still not a panic situation for a DPF equipped Sprinter, but glow plugs are MAY BE more critical for year around operation than for pre-DPF engines. The glow plug warning should not be ignored indefinitely. My guess is you're probably OK for hundreds of miles operation, but probably not thousands. (Just an opinion.)
***


Another MIL I have experienced is related to the O2 sensor plausibility. My explanation of that code is it means the signal from the O2 sensor is not what is expected/allowed within the program expectations. The O2 sensor plausibility code may affect fuel economy, but it is not a reason to seek immediate attention.

A scan tool to plug in and read the codes gives you the ability to decide whether to respond immediately or even ignore the MIL signal (as I often do with glow plug codes).
https://sprinter-source.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=205
If the Sprinter is a diesel it is not completely OBDII compliant, but even then a cheap code reader from Harbor Freight should give you basic information and direction.

If you go into Limp Home Mode then that is another situation and my MIL advice does not apply. Hope this does some good. AP

Added:

Aqua Puttana said:

...

Don't let the MIL ruin your good time. Always remember that the dash warning lights are color coded. Generally speaking. Yellow means it's a problem which eventually needs attention. Red means it needs to be addressed right away. The MIL aka CEL is colored yellow. vic

Click to expand...

al albanowski said:

Hello Sprinter Drivers,

This western half of the USA is beautiful, photos just do it justice. Bigger bthan real life. My wife and I are zig zaging across America,2006 Roadtrek Sprinter. We go from one authorized Sprinter dealer to another,be it Dodge or Freightliner. The dealerships are really space quite a distance apart,we have learned to drive in the limp mode,more scenic that way. The check engine lite helps us stay on edge as we cruise at 63mph. I'm 66 yrs. old been buying cars used ,new since 1957, this is by far the most UNDEPENDABLE ever! We get about 3800 miles between breakdowns. On the road this is Freighting,Expensive and Booring. Our Diesel is the greatest disapointment. If we ever get back to Gettysburg Pa. I promised my Higher Power I will never venture from home again.


Al Albanowski
Roadtrek RS 2006
Gettyaburg, Pa.

Click to expand...

So sorry, Al. Yours is an unsual case and I hope it doesn't keep you from traveling. A question: have any of the Sprinter service folks diagnosed any problems?

My Sprinter is a 2004 SHC 2500, a 2005 Vista Cruiser (Class B RV) converted by Gulf Stream. The Sprinter at its GVW can also handle a 5,000 pound load in extreme mountain grades and weather conditions. I got home on 5/8/09 from a 3,200 mile month long trek through the high country of Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas. I was towing a 2008 V6 4x4 Access Cab Toyota Tacoma. I weighed my rig at the Ehernberg, AZ Flying-J's J-scale and was 13,180 pounds GCVW. The Tocoma weighed 4,600 pounds with the stuff I had in it. I traveled the high country 6K, 7K, and 8K passes and very steep grades on roads from Silver City, NM through Jerome and Prescott, AZ on AZ highway 260, and I-40 and I-10. I could maintain 50+ MPH by down shifting to 3rd gear and could pass the semis that had passed me on the flater sections of road where the speed limits were above my 60 MPH cruising speed. I averaged 18 MPG for the whole trip.

The worst parts were steep decending turns where the Tacoma would push the rear of the Sprinter to the point where the stability control light would flash in the turns and the ABS brakes came on to maintain the track set by my steering inputs. A US Gear integrated braking system would slow or stop me better than in the Sprinter driving solo. However, for the first time I could smell hot brakes and feel some brake fade when decending into Payson and again into Camp Verde.

The hauling performance was displayed while WB on I-10 from Palm Springs heading up the steep hill toward all the wind mills. The outside tempature was 107, the AC was on, and in 3rd gear at 50-55 MPH I was passing the semi-trucks. My climbing temperatures were: engine 227 degrees, transmission 205 degrees, the 2.5" post-Turbo exhaust pipe was about 875 to 900 degrees. The Scan Gage II reported the load as 99%, the instant fuel mileage was around 5 MPG, and the boost gage showed 20 PSI. The 2004 Sprinter has the little engine that could. As soon as I crested the hills the tempatures returned to normal.

My Sprinter has had a lot of help from John Bendit at the SprinterStore.com in Tualatin, OR. It has Koni shocks, the bigger anti-sway bar, the helper springs, a Diesel Dynamics module on the C setting, and the transmission cooler, along with a tranny, boost, pyrometer, and battery monitoring gages. It also involved some frustrating debugging in the first 2 years to get it reliable and the way I want it for the road. I plan to keep it for at least 2 decades, if I don't win the lottery.

Conclusion: A straight 5 cylinder Sprinter will preform acceptably at it's designed GCWR and provide better mileage, comfort, and access than any other vehicle with the the same load and driving conditions.

Joe

Pretty impressive rig...sounds like you have done your homework and have a setup that really suits you and more importantly you are using it to enjoy yourself (At least that's what it sounds like to me . On another note would increasing the US Gears bias toward the Tacoma help negate the pushing in the decelerating and downhill turns?

gary