This article is my personal opinion, based upon my experiences with Mercedes Benz Sprinter vans. Please understand that these vehicles are used in a commercial trucking application with annual average mileages exceeding 100,000 miles, and that I am not an automotive or diesel expert. The majority, but not all of the problems occurring with these vehicles occurred after the initial 100,000 miles. It is my belief that the problems I have experienced, will occur with a vast majority of every Sprinter as the mileage of each vehicle approaches 120,000 miles. Only 3 vehicles have reached 150,000 miles without serious charges for maintenance.to the EGR-DEF- exhaust system.

Over the past 7 years I have owned a total of 47 Sprinters. I own an expedited trucking company and keep detailed maintenance and repair records on every vehicle. These records are available to Mercedes Benz if desired. This article is being written to warn potential buyers of this vehicle of the fatal flaw hidden in each of these vehicles.

Prior to 2008, when the United States Government mandated diesel exhaust regulations, the Sprinter, manufactured by Mercedes Benz and sold as a Dodge was a real workhorse. These vehicles performed admirably, providing us with lifetime expected mileages of 500,000 and more. The cost for maintaining these vehicles while slightly higher than their American made counterparts made up for these differences with their reliability and long term service.

Since 2008 Mercedes Benz developed an extremely complex and expensive exhaust system to comply with our government regulations. Prior to entering the exhaust system the fumes from the engine pass through an EGR valve. The exhaust system is comprised of a CDI (control unit) which monitors and actuates the sensors and valves in the exhaust system; a DEF pump. A DEF tank, a DEF temp sensor, a DEF level sensor and an SCR control unit with actuators and sensors. These items a located under the hood. The actual exhaust system has three major components; the OXI-Cat and DPF section and two SCR Cat sections. The OXI-Cat section has an oxygen sensor an exhaust temperature sensor and a backpressure sensor. There is a N0x sensor and a dosing valve between the OXI-Cat section and the first SCR Cat section. In the first SCR Cat section there is another temperature sensor, and the last SCR section has one more N0x sensor. Once the exhausted fumes and particles have passed through this area they are passed through a particulate filter.

If any of these parts fails prepare to pay as little as $600 for a N0x sensor (there are two), or approximately $800-$1000 for an EGR valve, to a couple of thousand for a SCR catalytic converter (there are two) or a particulate filter (thankfully only one).

In addition to the complexity of the system, you now must deal with each dealership and their pricing for parts and services. Sprinters are serviced by Mercedes Benz dealerships across the country. An oil change can cost as little as $170 at one dealership to as much as $400 by many others. The repairs to your exhaust system can vary almost as much as their prices to perform a simple oil change.

Further complicating the problems with this vehicle is the lack of reliability to the repairs made by each dealership. We have had numerous “repairs” performed at various dealerships at costs of $2000, only to have the engine light appear again within a few hundred miles. Then when taken to another dealership the “problem” is diagnosed as another sensor or valve and once again we have been charged up to $2000. Mercedes Benz diagnoses of the check engine light are unreliable and many times we have been charged for repairs that do not resolve the problem.

If the system becomes completely clogged and the entire system needs replacement, prepare to pay approximately $6000. You read that correctly…$6000.

Mercedes Benz Sprinter fatal flaw is directly related to the components involved with their exhaust system. The cost in maintaining and repairing these vehicles is a staggering average of ten cents per mile. Compare that figure to less than two cents a mile for that of their American counterparts made by Dodge Ram’s ProMaster and Ford’s Transit.

Another contributing factor to Mercedes Sprinter ownership woes, is that Mercedes Benz dealership’s treat the maintenance and repairs of a “commercial vehicle” no differently than their luxury vehicles. Mercedes Benz needs develop a dramatically less expensive exhaust system, or replace the diesel engine with an efficient 6 cylinder gas engine if they plan to continue to sell these vehicles as commercial trucks and compete effectively against Ford and Dodge.

If you plan to use your Sprinter as a true commercial vehicle, and plan to drive more than 50,000 miles a year, it would serve you well to look at the Ford Transit or Ram ProMaster. Consider nothing more than the differences in the costs of oil changes…Ford or Ram $30- $40…Mercedes Sprinter $170-$400. Now look at the cost for the first 100,000 miles $300-$400 for the others vs $1700-$4000 for the Sprinter. The differences in other routine maintenance items are relatively consistent with the differences seen for oil changes.

When you couple the excessive charges for routine maintenance with the astronomical charges for repairs to the items associated with the EGR-DEF- Exhaust System, the cost of ownership is an expense that can greatly affect your bottom line. Our expenses for a fleet of 28 Sprinter vans (2012’s & 2013’s) in 2014 was a staggering $270,000! That’s nearly $10,000 per van per year in maintenance and repairs. Can your business afford such an expense? I can assure you that mine cannot. With the odds at 6.4% of a Sprinter reaching 150,000 miles without very costly repairs, we are replacing these vehicles as quickly as we can get the ProMasters and Transits delivered.

While I am informed by my local dealership in Louisville that their sales have never been higher for the first quarter of previous years, it is my belief that when the truth of the fatal flaw is known, their sales will plummet.

Wake up Mercedes Benz! If you’re going to compete in the commercial truck market in the United States, lower your parts and service rates and give us a gas engine without the present diesel exhaust system- The fatal flaw of the Mercedes Benz Sprinter.