2020 MERCEDES BENZ SPRINTER 2500 Power Train Problems

I’ve had two issues with my sprinter van that were transmission shift module that left me stranded with no way to shift the car into neutral. I was blocking a fuel pump and couldn’t get the car into gear. The first time I was stuck in a parking lot with the same issue. I can’t believe no one else had this issue. The screen message said “Service required do not shift gears” I purchased the van new in 2020. It only has 17000 miles on it. The dealerships Mercedes Benz in Sioux Falls and Mercedes Benz in Rochester Minnesota repaired the van.

repeated EGR clogging and malfunction: bucking or stumbling behavior, inability to accelerate properly, disabled shifting affecting ability to slow or stop without excessive use of brakes, Limp Home Mode suddenly without warning including inability to maintain a safe speed on highway and speed minimums that the vehicle cannot keep up (20 mph max while climbing moderately), unable to downshift when going downhill - relying solely on braking to keep speed below safe limit or speed limits. EGR failed again after cleaning, in as little as 3 months. No repair seems possible, only repeated cleanings. Since this happened so much, we have been in several unsafe situations due to the sudden and unheralded degradation of performance and safe use of the vehicle. Once repaired, the condition can come back immediately due to the computer still guessing that it is still in failure (limp home mode returned suddenly without warning as we merged onto an interstate with no exit for 7 miles uphill… and only made 20mph). Check Engine light could come on, and did, but never during the actual degradation of performance - and went often after a few run cycles. Mercedes dealers have confirmed and performed all services on the EGR and related issues (malfunction once caused the aircleaner element to be sucked in and that caused a MAF to be destroyed by contaminants): 1) first signs of issue before 43,000 miles (when check engine light and/or LHM happened -repaired 18sep2023, 51,871 miles, MB service code: LI14.20-N-073867); 2) 26 DEC 2023 - EGR failure diagnosed and replaced by MB dealer. Cleaning had not fixed the issue or failure was final as found by driving by technician and not by codes! 3) 09/jul/2024 - MAF replaced, EGR codes noted - but functioning, fix by MB/Canada 4) 07/24/2024 - 70,547 miles - EGR Clean by MB Missoula MT - failed upon highway same day 5) 07/25/2025 - 70,600 miles - MB Missoula MT cleared computer 6) 88,340 MB cleaned EGR - runs ok again

While driving the vehicle, 4x4 and low range would engage on its own. It would cause the transfer case to grind, clunk, and lock up. This happened while the vehicle was in motion and could have easily sent the vehicle out of control. Some warning lights appeared on the dash. I took it into the dealership, they diagnosed it as a glitch in the transfer case actuator software. They updated the software and declined my warranty claim since the powertrain warranty did not cover software updates. I had to pay out of pocket for this fix. The issue is common to this model.

Since date of purchase, May 2022, the electrical components have not worked properly. The solar panels have never worked, the second alternator used to only charge while driving intermittently now it doesn't work at all, and plugging into shore power sometimes melts the cord. The chassis battery frequently drains requiring constant starting or a jump. It has been replaced four times. The cabin lights continue to flicker when turned on. I sought help from the dealer just weeks after purchasing the van. Due to parts and labor shortages, it wouldn't be for 5 months that they could work on the vehicle. Which they did on and off for five months before sending me from Oregon to Alabama to have the manufacturer work on it. They sent me 2300 miles to fix a brand new vehicle that they sold me. After having been to over 15 Mercedes dealers, towed to many, and to the Tiffin manufacturer (and when it turned out not to be fixed. I took it right back but then when it still wasn't fixed. I sought help from Mercedes.), the van is still not fixed and I am often without power.

The vehicle experiences complete loss of power (dead peddle) in 2 situation. both of which happen completely randomly. 1. From the start at zero miles per hour. In this situation you will start to move and then there is no power no matter how hard you press the peddle. This is very dangerous when turning into traffic. The vehicle has completely stopped running the risk of T bone collision. 2. There is also "dead peddle" while driving on the highway. The problem happens quite often. There have been situations where I have slowed from 60mph down to 20mph forcing me to pull off the road before the vehicle has regained power again.

After starting engine and putting transmission into drive, vehicle does not respond to throttle and will not move forward. If I put the transmission into neutral or park, the engine will respond to throttle input. Vehicle may respond to throttle when in reverse. This is an intermittent problem that seems to occur at higher altitudes than our home base of near sea level. The issue has occurred at 4,000 to 12,000 feet elevations. Sometimes the check engine light has come on during these events, but the check engine light clears by the time returning home. When taking the vehicle to Mercedes Van Service to have it checked, no diagnostics data can be found and they cannot reproduce the issue. This issue has occurred numerous times has has been to the Mercedes Van Service Center 4 or 5 times already for the issue. The last event occurred on 10/10/2023. The vehicle eventually behaves normally after several start attempts but makes it very difficult and potentially hazardous when attempting to leave remote campsites. When issue occurs, you don’t know when it will decide to behave normally or if you’ll need to call for emergency assistance via our Garmin satellite handheld unit because of being in a no cellphone service area.

The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact received notification of NHTSA Campaign Number: 22V796000 (Power Train) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The dealer was made aware of the issue. The manufacturer was made aware of the issue. The contact had not experienced a failure. Parts distribution disconnect.

None responsive throttle, driving on highway and engine loses power and loses all throttle response causing rapid slowing to traffic behind the vehicle. No warning lamps and CEL’s. Problem occurs at random times with no CEL or warning.

The contact owns a 2020 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 2500. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, the vehicle was jerking. The vehicle was taken to the dealer; however, no cause of the failure was found. The contact related the failure to NHTSA Campaign Number 22V796000 (Power Train). The manufacturer was made aware of the failure. The failure mileage was approximately 32,000.

Mileage: 32,000

The 2019+ Mercedes Sprinter EIS (Electronic Ignition System) module is bolted under the driver side dash board to the base of the A pillar where it meets with the firewall. The electrical connector of the module is pointing straight up - this is an issue because any liquids that might spill on the dash (dash cupholder) or any humidity from windshield interior condensation will drip right down the wiring and into the EIS module causing it to short out. _ If the EIS module shorts out, the vehicle will be inoperable until a new unit is fitted. _ The EIS module retails at $1800+ from Mercedes _ Had Mercedes installed the EIS module with the connector facing DOWNWARD - this moisture related issue would not exist. _ There is no drip loop provisions in the wiring. _ Mercedes is aware of the issue as they have created a plastic bag with part number A 638 546 00 35 and they are charging $20 for it. As of right now, Mercedes refuses to fix this issue preventatively. They will only repair it AFTER the EIS module has shorted out. They are refusing to treat this as a warranty claim even though it is clearly a manufacturer defect. Please help? Thank you

The vehicle was put into parked and somehow disengage itself from parked and rolled into a house.

There is a problem with the engine control parameters which occurs at higher altitudes. The vehicle will not produce adequate power. This is not simply normal power loss related to density altitude. This is a malfuntion where the vehicle does not respond to the throttle, and produces only about 2psi of turbo boost even upon extended application of full throttle. This problem occurs only on sprinter 4x4 models with the OM642 diesel motor. I experienced this problem for the first time yesterday when pulling onto a 2 lane highway at 7,000 feet in the sierra nevada. The vehicle began to move but as I turned uphill to cross the highway it produced no power and I was stuck straddling the center line on a blind curve. Extremely dangerous. Had to turn the vehicle off and restart it and it behaved normally until later in the day, on a steep remote 4x4 road. Unable to climb a small hill due to lack of power. Could not be resolved through any combination of turning off, waiting, warm-up periods, activating/de-activating traction control etc. Had to use winch to climb mild grade. This issue is well known to the Sprinter community and has been repeatedly reported to Mercedes Benz USA with no response or resolution. There are no warnings, messages, store error codes etc associated with this issue. Many descriptions of this behaviour can be found online: https://sprinter-source.com/forums/index.php?threads/106595/ https://windinmyface.com/Sprinter-Issues_Breakdowns-WillNotMove_RPMsDropEngineLugs.html https://sprinter-source.com/forums/index.php?threads/103019/#post-1130969 https://sprinter-source.com/forums/index.php?threads/94746/ There are many more. This is a known issue, relating to engine control software, that is very dangerous and the manufacturer has taken no steps to remedy. It is beyond time for regulatory intervention. Thank you.

This van is under recall for roll away incidents. The van did roll away and now has $9K worth of damage from hitting a stop sign and a wall. The van has been at MB Stockton Ca for months and months with out a resolution. Mercedes Benz sent us a letter yesterday stating they deny all responsibility and advising us to pick up the van. The recall is not complete. This vehicle is 100% unsafe and now prone to more incidents, we have refused to pick up the vehicle. Mercedes has advised us to appeal the case with them which we have done. They continue to stall the situation.

My husband was stopped at a stop light on Sept. 9th when the van randomly (and without provocation) shifted itself from drive into park. We called the dealership to explain the problem and ask that they look into it. We made an appointment and dropped off the vehicle yesterday. Service Department called and verbally stated that they had taken a van on a test drive and that the van had acted "normally" and that they anticipated returning the van to us with the instruction that if we experienced the problem again to contact them. I was not happy with this response as I felt that the problem was a severe safety issue and not enough had been done to investigate it. I quickly googled "mercedes going into park on its own" and found an article detailing reports of 2010 mercedes sedans going into park on their own while the driver was slowing to stop (exactly as we experienced). An accompanying official mercedes benz service department memo in the article confirmed the problem, mentioned the "auto p" feature and blamed the problem on a faulty ignition switch. I called the service department back, referenced the memo and asked if a faulty ignition switch could be to blame. The service department stated that it would be impossible because the ignition switch has changed. They stated that my husband must have taken off his seat belt and engaged the auto p feature. My husband did not unbuckle his seat belt that day. The dealership returned the van noting that they were able to duplicate the issue and engage the auto p feature by unbuckling the driver's seat belt at low speed. My husband and I tried to duplicate and engage the auto p feature ourselves by unbuckling the driver's seat belt after it was returned but were unable to do so. Interestingly, mercedes benz has recently issued a recall for driver's manuals because they acknowledge that the directions for how to engage the feature as explained in the manual are incorrect. Unbuckling will not engage auto p.

POWER STEERING HOSE IS NOT LONG ENOUGH, IS POORLY CONNECTED/CLAMPED, AND HAS BEEN DISCONNECTING FROM MULTIPLE OF THESE VEHICLES, CAUSING AN IMMEDIATE EMERGENCY SITUATION (LOSS OF POWER STEERING), AND AN IMMEDIATE VEHICLE BREAKDOWN. MERCEDES IS AWARE OF THIS ISSUE BUT HAS THUS FAR FAILED TO ADDRESS IT

Mileage: 7,000

I ONLY HAVE ABOUT 2200 MILES ON THIS VEHICLE BUT I HAVE NOTICED 3 TIMES THAT THE ELECTRONIC 4 WHEEL DRIVE ENGAGED BY ITSELF AS I WAS MOVING DOWN THE ROAD. YOUR ARE ONLY SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO ENGAGE THE 4 WHEEL DRIVE WHILE STOPPED. I NEVER NOTICED ANYTHING UNTIL I SAW THE RED LIGHT WHICH COMES ON WHEN THE 4 WHEEL IS ENGAGED. I WENT ON LINE TO SEE IF OTHERS HAD EXPERIENCED THIS AND I SAW SEVERAL REPORTS OF THE SYSTEM ENGAGING AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GET IT DISENGAGED AS WELL AS HAVING THE VEHICLE NOT BE DRIVABLE AFTERWARDS. I HAVE NOT EXPERIENCE ANYTHING BUT IT GOING INTO 4 WHEEL DRIVE ON ITS ON WITHOUT ME ENGAGING IT. IT OCCURRED WHILE IN MOTION AND TWICE ON EXPRESSWAYS AND ONCE ONN A LOCAL LOW SPEED ROAD

VEHICLE ACCELERATES UNCHARACTERISTICALLY SLOWLY UPON COLD START IN COLD TEMPERATURES / HIGH ELEVATION. MANY DOCUMENTED CASES IN PREVIOUS AND CURRENT MODEL SPRINTER WHICH USES THE SAME OM642 DIESEL ENGINE. HTTPS://SPRINTER-SOURCE.COM/FORUMS/INDEX.PHP?THREADS/71254/ THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE TIMES WHERE I TRIED TO CROSS AN INTERSECTION OR MAKE A LEFT ACROSS A HIGHWAY UPON RECENT COLD START AND THE VAN ACCELERATED VERY SLOWLY, LEAVING ME MOVING VERY SLOWLY ACROSS THE OPPOSING TRAFFIC LANE(S).

Mileage: 9,000

THE 4WD IN THIS VEHICLE DOES NOT DISENGAGE PROPERLY EVEN WHEN DONE PER THE OWNERS MANUAL INSTRUCTIONS. UNDER 1,000 MILES ON THE VEHICLE . FOR EXAMPLE, I STOPPED THE VEHICLE, SHIFTED TO NEUTRAL, ENGAGED 4WD AND DROVE FOR 15-20 MINUTES ON A DIRT ROAD. I PULLED OVER TO ENJOY THE VIEW, PUT THE VEHICLE IN PARK BUT LEFT THE ENGINE RUNNING. WHEN I ATTEMPTED TO PUT THE VEHICLE BACK INTO DRIVE, THE 4WD DECIDED IT WAS TIME TO DISENGAGE (WITHOUT ME PUSHING THE BUTTON TO DO SO) AND IT MADE ALL SORTS OF LOUD GRINDING AND CLANGING SOUNDS AS THE MECHANICAL PARTS BASHED AROUND. I WENT TO NEUTRAL TO DISENGAGE AND THAT DID NOT SOLVE IT. IT REFUSED TO GO BACK TO 4WD EITHER AND THE TRANSMISSION WAS INOPERABLE. I TURNED THE VEHICLE OFF SEVERAL TIMES AND FINALLY GOT IT TO BE DRIVABLE AGAIN IN 4WD. ALL OF THIS HAPPENED ON A FOREST SERVICE DIRT ROAD, ALMOST FLAT SURFACE WITH JUST A SLIGHT ANGLE BACKWARD IF I TOOK FOOT OFF BRAKE.

Mileage: 600