Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500 check engine light comes on

Filed Aug 31, 2026 · Brakes · IN

This vehicle was subject to the federal safety agency Recall Number 19V003 involving failure of rear wheel speed sensors. The recall was completed by a dealer in April 2022 at 70,466 miles. At just under 90,000 miles in August 2026 a failure was indicated for the right rear wheel speed sensor. Error code C003A indicated on OBD-II scanner. This failure triggered ABS, ASR/ABS and EPS warning lights for functions including antilock braking, traction control and stability control. This also triggered a check engine light and speed control was disabled. The owners manual indicates a risk of accident. Dealer and MB says there is no additional warranty or action for the wheel speed sensor that repeatedly fails.

Filed Dec 31, 2024 · Acceleration, Transmission · KY

Vehicle suddenly lost ability to accelerate. After driving narrow mountain roads with a lot of downshifting and upshifting, vehicle was on a long, gradual downgrade, then approached a long, slight (4%?) upgrade. Vehicle would not maintain speed and began to decelerate. Pushing the accelerator to the floor did nothing. Attempted to manually shift gears, but transmission would not downshift, or upshift. This almost resulted in being rear-ended by a semi. The speed limit was 55 and vehicle had decelerated to ~25 mph by the time I found a place to pull over. I stopped and was able to shift into Park. Revved engine and it behaved normally. I shut off engine for 1 minute and then restarted. Transmission and all other systems worked fine and continued to work normally for several hundred miles since then. There was no CEL, or other warning. There was no indication that it entered "Limp Mode." I suspected that something went wrong with the logic in the electronic transmission. Mercedes Benz dealership could NOT find any codes logged in the OBDC. The service manager told me, "It might have been some kind of computer glitch." This was a 2-lane, country road. The semi was behind me, and several cars were behind the semi. For about a mile there was no place to pull over. One impatient driver passed both the semi and my Sprinter in a "no passing" zone. We were all fortunate that there was no collision.

Filed Sep 2, 2024 · Fuel system · FL

Tried to drive over Wolf Creek Pass in Colorado. About halfway up, the vehicle started losing power and eventually lost all power. The engine was running but even with the pedal to the floor it was totally unresponsive. This put us in a dangerous situation as I had to park on the side of the road with huge drop offs and semi trucks. I managed to turn it around to come down the pass coasting. The engine finally became responsive again at lower altitude. The yellow “check engine” icon was on when this started. Managed to come back to Pagosa Springs and shut it down several times and re started. The engine light finally went off.

Filed Apr 24, 2024 · Driver assistance, Steering · TX

I was driving my van and out of nowhere it locked up and power steering malfunctioned. I was in NY at the time. Tried to get MB to help explain what was happening. Said they would send a Tech out. Found out they were going to send a tow truck and that was it. I had several pups on board and had to get them safe. So I figured out how to drive it with no power steering all the way back to Houston. While driving we got into some rain. Which for whatever reason the rain kicked the power steering on for just 5 or less seconds. This kept happening on and off while in wet road conditions. I was freaked out as the change made the steering go from impossible to beyond sensitive. We could have so easily flipped had I not been paying attention and driving at a slow speed. This also made all the safety features not accessible. No blind spot, cruise control, lane change or any of the important functions this van is equipped with. I would like to note that MB had to replace the engine due to a defect. Took 4 plus months. I have had issues ever since. Engine light came on all 4 of my trips. I know one that was the reason is VOX sensor. Fixed it and then happened next trip. Plus other sensors replaced. This van has been horrible! Bought it and was told they run up to 500k and these new engines they expect to see a million miles. I can’t even get it to 100k I called MB USA and started a complaint. They acted concerned and would contact me within 48 hours. Never to hear back from anyone. This was the same response when the engine malfunctioned. I was going to be given a loaner van and never heard or could connect with anyone.

Filed Nov 18, 2021 · Driver assistance · 18,000 miles · LA

The contact owns a 2018 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated that while operating the vehicle, the ABS, check engine, and cruise control warning lights illuminated. The cause of the failure was not yet determined. The contact indicated that the vehicle was recently serviced under the federal safety agency Campaign Number: 21V042000 (Electronic Stability Control) however, the failure occurred. The local dealer and manufacturer were notified of the failure. The approximate failure mileage was 18,000.

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 Jun 1, 2021 · Driver assistance · 5,500 miles · GA

The contact owns a 2017 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 3500. The contact stated while driving at 65 MPH, the cruise control disengaged as the ABS and ESP warning lights illuminated. The contact pulled the vehicle over and read the owner's manual to get information on the failure. Upon restart, the check engine warning light illuminated. The contact received notification of the federal safety agency campaign number: 21V042000 (Electronic Stability Control) however, the part to do the recall repair was not yet available. The manufacturer was contacted and confirmed that parts were not yet available. The contact stated that the manufacturer had exceeded a reasonable amount of time for the recall repair. The failure mileage was 5,500. 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 8, 2021 · Acceleration, Engine · 43,000 miles · FL

I own an rv on a mercedes 3500 sprinter chasis. I have experienced numerous failures that cause the rv to speed up rapidly and I have to take emergency action to avoid an accident. Usually, I shift into neutral to disengage the transmission. I have ~43,000 miles on my rv and I have experienced this issue and mercedes has replaced the wheel sensors 6 different times. All maintenance performed on the vehicle has been provided by a mercedes dealer service center. Doesn't seem to matter if I am driving on the freeway or city streets, when the failure happens, the vehicle starts to accelerate rapidly, rpms skyrocket, the dashboard gets three trouble indicator lights that come on, the check engine light comes on. I am picking up the vehicle from the local mercedes dealer today after just having another sensor failure. I was driving on I-10 when the most recent failure occurred. The vehicle began to accelerate, rpms went very high. Very scary situation. The "when did this happen" date I've entered is for the most recent failure. I have experienced this issue numerous times.

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.