2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500: ABS light or ABS activating

Filed Jan 3, 2022 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 2,000 miles · AR · crash

The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that while driving at 30 MPH, the ABS warning light and the electronic stability control warning lights illuminated. The contact also stated that the motorhome was making abnormal clunking sounds. The contact was able to continue to drive at less than 30 MPH. The manufacturer was notified of the failure and advised the contact that one of the wheels must have failed to patch the ground. The manufacturer advised the contact to turn the vehicle on and off three times using the ignition key for the warning lights to disappear. The contact stated that he did so and the warning lights and warning messages disappeared; however, they reappeared the next day. The contact stated that while driving at 50 MPH and towing his Volkswagen vehicle, the transmission disengaged and the vehicle made an abnormal clunking sound. Then the transmission reengaged and disengaged causing the vehicle to lurch forward. The contact continued to drive the vehicle. The contact stated upon starting the vehicle the failure reoccurred. The RV was taken to the dealer who diagnosed that the rear axle speed sensors, knock sensors needed to be replaced, and the recall repair for the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V042000 (ELECTRONIC STABILITY CONTROL) was completed. The contact also stated that the dealer cross-fired the speed sensors which caused the computer to not allow the vehicle to drive more than 35 MPH. The vehicle was not diagnosed or repaired. The contact stated that while driving at 5 MPH, the vehicle leaned on his right side and crashed into a street sign. The air bags failed to deploy. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was not filed. The contact stated that while driving at an undisclosed speed, The warning lights reappeared and the vehicle leaned and hit the curb. The air bags did not deploy. There were no injuries sustained. A police report was not filed. The manufacturer was notified of the failures and offered the contract to trade the vehicle. The vehicl

Filed Jul 16, 2021 · Driver assistance · 23,580 miles · TX

The contact owns a 2016 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V042000 (Electronic Stability Control) however, the part to do the recall repair was unavailable. The contact stated that while driving over a railroad track at a slow speed, the vehicle independently accelerated with the ABS, check engine, and traction control warning lights illuminated. The contact was able to safely stop the vehicle and shut-off the vehicle. Due to the failure, the contact had the vehicle towed to the dealer. Due to the parts for the repair not being available, the dealer decided to place a new, yet defective, speed sensor on the vehicle as a temporary repair and the contact drove the vehicle back home. The manufacturer was informed of the failure but offered no assistance. The contact had called three separate dealers and it was confirmed that the part would not be available until the fourth quarter of 2021. The vehicle was not repaired. The failure mileage was 23,580. Vin tool confirms parts not available.

Filed Jan 31, 2021 · Acceleration, Electrical · 18,000 miles · FL

Wheel speed sensors keep failing. I have had eight sensors fail in three years of ownership. Transmission shifts erratically, speed surges, ABS, check engine light and braking is impaired. This happens when vehicle is in motion.

Filed Jan 21, 2021 · Acceleration · 40,000 miles · FL

For the third time the esp and ABS system warning message is shown, at first the speed of the vehicle increases, in this case from the set 60 MPH to 70, at which point I shut the cruise control down. From then on for the rest of the days travel c.a.200 miles and for the rest of the trip (450 miles) cruise control was inoperative. Each time it happens a mechanic visit is necessary. The vehicle is a winnebago navion

Filed Jan 4, 2021 · Electrical, Engine · 13,200 miles · FL

Driving on a dry day, smooth road, with cruise control on 65mph at 7:45pm. This vehicle is converted with a thor 24hl camper on the chassis. Five hours into the days drive the vehicle flashed asr/esp triangle - and jerked abruptly but instantaneously but remained on cruise control. 2 seconds later: ABS light on, asr/bas light on, esp light on cruise control stopped functioning (fyi - a very heavy accelerator pedal spring makes driving difficult, for hours on end, without cruise working - especially for the older drivers likely to be driving this rig.) pulled off the side of the road, set flashers, and turned off engine for one min hoping to reset the fault. Turned back on - no change off then back on and the yellow check engine came on steady along with three previous auction lights (above) vehicle had experienced (with the previous owner) a previous 'wheel speed sensor failure' and it was repaired. . 'wheel speed sensor failure' appear at epidemic levels on the two rv facebook groups associated with this vehicle. The 5th key turn after initial fault and failure of cruise control the three lights went out but the check engine light remained on. On approximately the tenth key turn the check engine light went out. Vehicle returned for service at mercedes dealership 'under warranty'. My issue lays in the potential for the vehicle to enter into the limp mode if another censor shows a fault and I'm on the alaska highway 200 miles from the nearest possible service. Dealer refuses to share tech data concerning reset of fault condition or a mercedes fix for this now well known and documented vehicle shortcoming. This issue can and will get people killed as they 'limp' down the highway to get serviced or are forced to pull over in heavy traffic to check out what mercedes should be warning is all about proactively.

Filed Nov 9, 2020 · Acceleration, Brakes · 3,000 miles · FL

When I went to try the 4 wheel drive the following things happened: a clunking sound in the rear of the vehicle. Numerous warning lights came on . Abs, collision avoidance, cruise control, check engine, ESC or esp. Over time the lights cleared but came back on weeks apart. I am a retired nasa safety/reliably engineer. In my opinion all of these lights come on as a result of failures of one or more wheel speed sensors. This is a major safety problem as when there is a failed or intermittent operation of a failed speed sensor. All of these safety systems fail when the one sensor fails. This failure could occur unexpectedly at any time. Leading to loss of lives and vehicle. I have not received any warning letters on this major safety failure. According to the dealer mercedes is aware of this issue. After the vehicle is out of warranty mercedes says they will charge the owner to fix it. At the very least the issue clearly necessitates that this issue be elevated, to consumers, and that the issue be fixed . A warning that describes the issue and mercedes status on a fix should go out to all the appropriate parties immediately. The vehicle was stopped put in neutral then 4 wheel drive was engaged, immediately when moving there was a big clunk and the warning lights came on. They went out then came back on intermittently for months. One time they came on just sitting at the light. Failure of multiple safety systems due to a sensor failure is unacceptable. I believe a design fix is urgently needed and should be pressed for hard by the government. Currently there is no fix. And mercedes is not adequately warning the public of the issue. Until I pressed mercedes hard on this intermittent problem I was not made aware of what exactly the problem was. The failure of one sensor speed causes multiple safety systems to not work.

Filed Nov 5, 2020 · Brakes, Driver assistance · 18,600 miles · MD

Third-time speed sensor failed while driving ' all 3 times while driving on highway. Causes the vehicle to speed up / slow down and lurch with the engine doing high revs. Cruise control become inoperable. Abs, forward collision, and parking sensors become inoperable. Brakes perform erratically for several moments and then ABS indicates it is inoperable. Van becomes hazardous to drive while the electronics attempt to sort out what is going on. Very glad I was not in congested traffic each time this happens as the van becomes unstable. M-benz solution is to replace sensor ' this does not seem safe nor viable long term fix.

Filed Oct 18, 2020 · Acceleration, Fuel system · 11,000 miles · OH

Mb sprinter has fault that generates instruments indicators of ABS, skidding and another. Before this occurred transmission shifting became erratic and when breaking the engine revved up and also made brakes unless. No accident occurred but was almost out of control.

Filed Oct 5, 2020 · Acceleration, Brakes · 25,000 miles · NC

Wheel speed sensor failure caused vehicle to disable cruise control, ABS brake system and put the transmission in limp mode. Cannot accelerate more than 25 MPH on the interstate. Was travelling at 62 MPH when event occured. Frightening experience!

Filed Jun 29, 2020 · Acceleration, Brakes · 22,700 miles · CA

Abs/esp/ceck engine warning lights all came on at once. Mercedes dealer diagnosed problem as left rear RPM sensor. Made repair. Understand from owner forums sensor failure is very common on these vehicles. Only had 22,700 miles. Mercedes needs to work on improving these parts or make repairs at no charge.

Filed May 25, 2020 · Driver assistance, Transmission · 14,000 miles · GA

This mb sprinter 3500 3.0 diesel is the chassis for a 2018 thor chateau 24fs rv. 2018-07-06 - 8485 miles: left rear speed sensor replaced. 2018-09-14 - 9488 miles: right rear speed sensor replaced. 2020-05-22 - 14127 miles: left rear speed sensor replaced. In all cases the traction, skid, and ABS lights come on along with the check engine light intermittently. When this occurs, the transmission can shift many times per sec when turning a sharp corner (and cause the rv to "buck"). Also the transmission can drop out of drive multiple times and rev the engine rpms at highway speeds, also causing the rv to "buck". A startled driver might try to turn off the engine at highway speeds and lock the steering wheel. Mb service agent on 5-22-2020 told me that they see this with rv's "all the time, but never seem to see it when the sprinter is just a van. Unclear why this is happening". This is a safety issue that could cause an accident!!! It almost did for me driving 55 MPH on I-515 in ga near woodstock and other times. Also caused me to have the rv towed to the mb dealer in atlanta from tybee island ga at an expense of $600. At minimum, mb should update their esp computer to sanity check the date being given by the wheel speed sensors. If they don't make sense, then disable ABS, traction and skid, but don't start shifting the transmission multiple times per second, or take it out of gear and rev the engine. *dt*jb*dt

Filed Aug 29, 2019 · Brakes · 18,763 miles · TX

Tl* the contact owns a 2016 mercedes-benz sprinter 3500. While driving 65 MPH, the vehicle accelerated and the ABS, esp, traction control, and check engine warning indicators illuminated. In addition, when the brake pedal was depressed, the vehicle continued to accelerate. The contact shifted into neutral, pulled off the road, and powered off the engine. The vehicle was restarted, but the failure recurred three times down the road. The vehicle was towed to mercedes-benz of the woodlands (16917 I-45, conroe, tx 77385, (936) 206-7500) where it was diagnosed that the rear driver and passenger side speed sensors had sporadic readings. The vehicle was repaired. The manufacturer was not notified of the failures. The approximate failure mileage was 18,763.