2006 Sprinter 3500 engine complaints

Filed Aug 16, 2006 · Engine · 2,700 miles · CA

I purchased an itasca navion which is built on a 2006 dodge sprinter 3500 chassis. The mercedes engine, I found out after ours failed, has a history of problems with the turbo resonator opening up, resulting in the engine going into a "limp home mode" where the vehicle operates at 200 RPM or less. I was traveling southboung on the 101 highway south of santa barbara which is a hilly 2 lane highway. Due to the RPM restriction on the engine, the vehicle would dramatically lose power and speed on the slightest incline. It was on one such incline that I found myself with a large 18 wheeler bearing down on me in the #2 lane. Due to the small incline we had just encountered, my speed dropped to below 20 MPH. There was heavy traffic in the #1 lane, so neither the 18 wheeler nor I could jump into the #1 lane to avoid an accident. Rather than forcing the 18 wheeler to lock up to slow down, I dove into a very narrow shoulder with what appeared to be a steep dropoff. Had the should not been wide enough, I do not believe that it was possible to avoid injury or death on this incident. Greatly shaken, I was forced to take side streets all the way back to my home in altadena, ca. I had my vehicle taken to a dodge dealership for repair, where the mechanic knew exactly what the problem was without looking at it. The part was replaced with the same non-upgraded part. From the research I have done since this incident, I have found that this problem has been well known for several months, and I have heard of failures on the replacement units as well.

Filed Jul 26, 2006 · Engine · 7,400 miles · MD

Part failed causing inability to operate at safe speeds on highway. Part is called "turbo resonator" and has a reputation as a weak part. Several owners of same type of vehicle have had failure. I saved the defective part.

Filed Jul 5, 2006 · Engine · 16,000 miles · TX

Second turbo failure leading to long drive in limp home mode. Gps moving average speed of 47 MPH. Low speed of 28 MPH. Distance to get home this time 600+ miles took dealer 15 days to repair. First repair took 10 days.